What's Murray like? (Henderson, Paducah, Mayfield: work, hospital, housing)

[rnc76]

Originally Posted by chatter crac

COAL FIELDS??? IT'S WESTERN KENTUCKY NOT EASTERN KENTUCKY....THERE ARE NO COAL FIELDS!!

Western KY has coal as well. But Murray doesn't lie in that area.

Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer - Physiographic

[cartomanlex]

Peabody Coal Co had one of the largest strip mine coal shovels in America, in the Wester Kentucky coal fields.

3850 article

[kygman]

I think kentuckydad must be the president of the Murray/Calloway County Welcome Wagon. I grew up in the Mayfield and Murray area and love it. My family still lives there and I would love to move back there sometime. As far as getting into a clique of friends. You're going to find that anywhere. But in Murray you will find more people not in that category. My son went to school there a couple years ago and talked about how friendly everybody was around town. Kydad, if there is that much wrong with Murray, either work to change things and quit trying to whine and cry to everybody or move! And you'll say it won't do any good. Never know till you try!

[KYCAT23]

I know that a lot of people love Murray, but I have to say that more people probably hate it. I went to Murray State and lived there for 10 years. My family and I escaped last summer to Paducah.

The problem with Murray is it is a snobbish little town with an inflated ego. All of the churches are either elitist or cultish with not much in between. There are nice people scattered about but more often than not people are generally rude - especially on the road. Traffic is terrible. I don't know if this has to do with the college students or old people or both, but it is true.

All I can say is thank God we are not there now - we are much happier now. Murray probably is too although I honestly don't care.

Anyone wanting to relocate to Murray beware - it is a friendly little town if you are originally from New York or L.A.

[jcm1986]

Clean
Well-kept
Historic
Small
Easy to access from I-24
Beautiful surrounding scenery

But the big turn offs for me:
1. Surprisingly snooty and sour for a small Kentucky town. I mean, come on, are all those college professors and farm girls' daddies $40,000/yr. (or less) millionaires? Not that you see a lot of people living way beyond their means by driving leased Lexus or Mercedes, but still, this is rural Kentucky surrounded by cornfields. I spent parts of my childhood summers at Kenlake State Resort Park and while the park and the area around it is nice, Murray itself seems really nice at first but after 1-2 days I'm reminded of why I can't stand the place: its atmosphere!

2. Murray State University has an UBER-inflated ego. It is more stingy in giving scholarships--alumni, merit, or what not--to students than the University of Kentucky! I mean, it's a great school with great programs, but it's still a regional school catering especially to students from the region west of I-65! I call it "Yale in Calloway County." It seriously calls itself "Kentucky's Ivy League University." It's NOT the only good school in Kentucky, ya'll! It has all the show and bragging of "oh, we're so special," but none of the substantial accolades and nationally-ranked programs to back it (except for Kentucky's highest public univ. graduation rate, I'll give it that.) I've had many generations of my family (including my dad) that have gone there, and they're very happy, successful graduates and great people, but I sure as heck never could!

[jcm1986]

Originally Posted by KYCAT23

I know that a lot of people love Murray, but I have to say that more people probably hate it. I went to Murray State and lived there for 10 years. My family and I escaped last summer to Paducah.

The problem with Murray is it is a snobbish little town with an inflated ego. All of the churches are either elitist or cultish with not much in between. There are nice people scattered about but more often than not people are generally rude - especially on the road. Traffic is terrible. I don't know if this has to do with the college students or old people or both, but it is true.

All I can say is thank God we are not there now - we are much happier now. Murray probably is too although I honestly don't care.

Anyone wanting to relocate to Murray beware - it is a friendly little town if you are originally from New York or L.A.

I seriously did not see this post before I typed my own. This is irony, and thank you KYCAT23 for helping to prove my point (although I disagree with the traffic variable, I've been to NYC and Houston. )

[imaginec]

You guys are bickering over Murray? YOU should live in Paris! Talk about a **** town....

[jcm1986]

Originally Posted by imaginec

You guys are bickering over Murray? YOU should live in Paris! Talk about a **** town....

I'm with you there, but Parisians (of Paris, Kentucky nativity) actually have a reason, generally. Paris and Bourbon County has a lot of affluence due to the horse farms, so it can afford to have nice everything, well-manicured country areas, a grand looking Wal-Mart, and even a Starbucks.

[bmacdo]

It's true that a lot of the students around Murray drive pretty much like idiots. In fact, I was T-boned last week by a young woman who just sailed right through a stop sign while yammering on her cell phone. See looked right at me but I guess my big Toyota Tundra with the headlights on was just too hard to see. The traffic is pretty bad in town but go a couple of miles in literally any direction and you are totally out of it. Try living in south Florida if you think the traffic around Murray is a problem. This is nothing, maybe 2 miles of fairly mild congestion and that's it. You do need to keep an eye on some of the students around town though. A lot of them tailgate, speed, run red lights and ignore stop signs. They also cruise through parking lots at 40 mph with no regard for pedestrians. I don't think this sort of thing is by any means limited to Murray, it's more just a sign of the times. Impatient young people who were weaned on video games and have no concept of how dangerous a real automobile can be. The trouble zone in Murray is limited to just a few square miles. It's really not that bad.

[oneview]

I had the pleasure to live in Murray for nine years and only moved because of a career change. Kentuckydad95 seems biased. Perhaps his job didn't work out or something else went sour. When I was there I found support for the Murray State Racers to be very high and their games were well attended with much enthusiasm. Among the people I knew and called friends, their first sports loyalty was to Murray State, then Univ. of Louisville, then UK. Murray State is a good school for a regional state university and the people there are very community oriented. It is not uncommon to find many, many persons volunteering for many good causes. As for the old guys running the town, I didn't see evidence of that. There is low crime, clean streets, and civic pride. A very positive development is a strict sign ordinance which keeps signs from popping up everywhere and messing with the scenery. Hazel, KY/TN is nearby if you love antiques. Paducah is close by and the Land Between the Lakes area is beautiful. Cost of living is very reasonable and many good neighborhoods abound. If you are looking you can find good housing in any price range. As in any town, look around. The hospital is good for a town this size and the university helps attract professionals.
Is it a small town? Yes. But it has many more ammenities than similarly sized small towns. BTW, for those interested, it has many good, solid churches and a very accepting attitude toward faith, but it won't be pushed on people.
Murray is an excellent town for retirement or for career persons, depending on your personal situation.