anyone from sacramento move to kentucky? (Louisville, St. Matthews: lease, unemployment rate, neighborhood)

[emz916]

anyone from Sacramento, Cali move to Kentucky?
if so is it really cheaper?
jobs better?
how are you liking it?
which city and why?

[Vidyapati]

I'm originally from San Francisco Bay Area and now live in KY.
Yes, it is WAY cheaper! We paid cash for our 15 acre farm.
Don't expect the jobs to pay as high as they do in CA.
We chose to live in the middle of nowhere; didn't want to do the city rat race anymore.
Since we don't have a mortgage, we don't need quite as much money now.
We raise sheep and when we need extra money, we sell some sheep.

It all depends on what "you" are looking for.

[jessemh431]

LA native. Visited Sac once a few years ago. Can't say much about it since it was a while ago and I don't really have an opinion on it.

I'm in Louisville. Idk the COL in Sac, but I'd bet money it's more expensive than here. Example. I just signed a lease for a studio in St. Matthews which is a really nice, somewhat urban (by KY standards), upscale neighborhood. That's where Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, the Nike Outlet, Nordstrom Rack, etc. type stores are. I'll be paying $715/mo for a studio in a nice neighborhood in a nice complex with a pool, gym, sauna, tanning bed, fire pit, and laundry on site. I'm estimating about $850/mo total for all utilities and cable/internet. That's pretty expensive for here. Depending on where and when you look, 1 bedrooms can be about $600/mo.

Drinks in LA and SF that would be $10 are $6 at the most here usually. I remember on Halloween my favorite drink was raised to $4.75 from $4.50 and I couldn't believe it! Haha. Good craft brews are usually $4-7 while in SF or LA they would be $7-10. On Yelp, the $$$$ restaurants have plates for around $25. In LA and SF, that would be a $$ or $$$. Also, it's constantly rated one of the most underrated food cities in the country. You wouldn't believe it, but I've actually found the best tacos I've ever had outside of LA here in Louisville. I have my favorite Thai and Vietnamese restaurants that definitely rival anything I've had in CA. In general, the food, beer, and liquor scene is great, ESPECIALLY considering the size of the city and how little it is ever talked about. Also, I love that many restaurants have very big outdoor patios to dine and drink on and nearly every place has the large wall of windows that opens up when it gets warm out. I love places like that since LA and SF don't have many.

The unemployment rate in Louisville is lower than LA. The city is considering raising minimum wage to $10. Louisville is the most liberal city in state. It's actually quite liberal. I mean it's nothing like SF or West Hollywood or Santa Monica or Venice Beach, but for the conservative/backwards reputation Kentucky gets, I've found Louisville to be quite liberal and accepting.

While I do like it overall, I'm a huge urban city person. I need to be somewhere where I don't need a car. I hope to move to Chicago after graduating school. I'm here for the COL and school purposes. But for what it is to me, I love it. It won't be my forever home, but I'm really enjoying my time here. COL is great. Restaurants are great. The scenery is beautiful. Change of seasons is fun. Traffic is much better. And sweet tea. I'm in love with it now.