My family and I are considering a move to Kentucky from Florida... NEED MAJOR ADVICE... (Lexington: amusement park, neighborhoods)

[timelesschild]

40502 is mostly good, but also mostly expensive. The townhome complex I sent you is one of the rare exceptions - great schools for cheap rent. The nice thing about 40503 is that there is virtually every kind of housing option within it, and they are pretty well all safe and convenient.

40509, 40513, 40514 and 40515 are generally very safe newer outer-ring suburbs.

40517 is a mixed bag. Some good and some very bad.

[CivilLibertarian]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

40502 is mostly good, but also mostly expensive. The townhome complex I sent you is one of the rare exceptions - great schools for cheap rent. The nice thing about 40503 is that there is virtually every kind of housing option within it, and they are pretty well all safe and convenient.

40509, 40513, 40514 and 40515 are generally very safe newer outer-ring suburbs.

40517 is a mixed bag. Some good and some very bad.

Okay, great! Now I've got some good zips to make a solid comparison/contrast. As for 40517... does "very bad" mean this zip (in certain spots) would be bad by just about every city's standards or does it just mean "very bad" based on tamer Kentucky standards. Your crime rate in Lexington is lower than mine here in Tampa so I'm just curious as to what you mean by very bad. In other words, do you mean "dangerous"?

[timelesschild]

Yes, there are parts of 40517 which are actually dangerous. The worst of it is near Tates Creek High School, where there is some public housing; and there are a couple of other little undesirable pockets, as well as a few student slums. There are also some very nice middle-class areas, as well as a first-rate public pool.

Edited to add: I think it's dangerous by Lexington standards. When I got to thinking about public housing in Los Angeles, for example, the contrast is quite large. That area near Tates Creek High School is nowhere near.

[CivilLibertarian]

Originally Posted by timelesschild

Yes, there are parts of 40517 which are actually dangerous. The worst of it is near Tates Creek High School, where there is some public housing; and there are a couple of other little undesirable pockets, as well as a few student slums. There are also some very nice middle-class areas, as well as a first-rate public pool.

Edited to add: I think it's dangerous by Lexington standards. When I got to thinking about public housing in Los Angeles, for example, the contrast is quite large. That area near Tates Creek High School is nowhere near.

I really hate having to ask questions like that but it's a neccessary evil unfortunately. Do you feel like crime is becoming more and more of a problem in Lexington or is it just par for the course for a midsized American city? I've noticed that here in Tampa, the gang issue seems to be spilling into what used to be some of the more peaceful neighborhoods.

[telxon04]

Check-out the Ashland area of Ky. It is large enough (metro pop. 288,000) that there are plenty of jobs(well paying jobs in the coal, oil, steel, railroad, and marine industries) that you will easily find a job here. It is the largest inland port in the world and that is a fact. Due to it being the headquarters of a fortune 100 company(before Ashland Oil sold out to Marathon in 1999), the are cultural amenties that are abundant. Due to its spread out nature(b/c of the hilly terrain) the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. Marshall University in nearby Huntington is a great school with an enrollment of 17,000. The real estate market is affordable. Being located on the Ohio River, it experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and winters are cold. With the change of seasons, its unbelievable to see the wooded hillsides in the fall of the year. There are 3 major shopping malls within 15 miles radius. Its got everything you are looking for and crime is almost non-existent. Ashland, Ky has its own school system which has 6 elementary schools all located in state of the art facilities. Ashland is almost too good to be true. If you visit Ashland, I am sure you will fall in love with it. It's one of the few places in America where you can get all the small town charm and have big city ammenities at the same time. The Marathon refinery located there is the sixth largest oil refinery in the world and fuels the economy with great paying jobs.

[lexingtongal]

I really don't think crime is getting worse. I've lived here my entire life and crime never enters my mind unless I'm driving through certain areas of downtown alone at night. Even then I still do it I just make sure my doors are locked.
Most crimes that I'm aware of seem to be in predictable areas.

[CivilLibertarian]

Originally Posted by lexingtongal

I really don't think crime is getting worse. I've lived here my entire life and crime never enters my mind unless I'm driving through certain areas of downtown alone at night. Even then I still do it I just make sure my doors are locked.
Most crimes that I'm aware of seem to be in predictable areas.

That's great to hear lexingtongal! Lexington sounds great, we can't wait to come up! I have to ask these questions but I'm well assured that crime is a much bigger problem where I'm coming from than where I'm going to. Thanks!

[CivilLibertarian]

Originally Posted by telxon04

Check-out the Ashland area of Ky. It is large enough (metro pop. 288,000) that there are plenty of jobs(well paying jobs in the coal, oil, steel, railroad, and marine industries) that you will easily find a job here. It is the largest inland port in the world and that is a fact. Due to it being the headquarters of a fortune 100 company(before Ashland Oil sold out to Marathon in 1999), the are cultural amenties that are abundant. Due to its spread out nature(b/c of the hilly terrain) the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. Marshall University in nearby Huntington is a great school with an enrollment of 17,000. The real estate market is affordable. Being located on the Ohio River, it experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and winters are cold. With the change of seasons, its unbelievable to see the wooded hillsides in the fall of the year. There are 3 major shopping malls within 15 miles radius. Its got everything you are looking for and crime is almost non-existent. Ashland, Ky has its own school system which has 6 elementary schools all located in state of the art facilities. Ashland is almost too good to be true. If you visit Ashland, I am sure you will fall in love with it. It's one of the few places in America where you can get all the small town charm and have big city ammenities at the same time. The Marathon refinery located there is the sixth largest oil refinery in the world and fuels the economy with great paying jobs.

Well, Ashland sounds good too! We'll definitely have to mark it down on our must see list. Quick question though, how is the dental industry in Ashland?

[mayapple]

Originally Posted by CivilLibertarian

Hello all,

My wife and I have been looking to move our family out of Tampa, Florida due to the crime rising, unbearable heat/humidity year round (lack of 4 true seasons), and the constant influx of tourists and snow birds causing a population boom in our area to the extent that the infrastructure is starting to buckle. Everywhere we turn there is constant bumper to bumper traffic! But the biggest reason we want to leave is simply because we were both born and raised in Florida and we are ready for a refreshing change.

We would like to have you guys point us in the right direction in terms of where in Kentucky we might be best suited? Let me give you guys our info...
hi im from kentucky and i myself think youd like it here, beautiful state nice friendly people good schools great churches the spirited state.just incase youd want to think about ky.born and raised here, and have visited other states but this is where i,d call home.
*My Wife and I are both 31 years old. We have three youngsters (all boys) ages 9, 8, & 3. We would be looking for a good public school, and we will also be looking to rent an apartment or home as we would like to get to know our new environment and the local real estate market before we decide where and when to purchase.

*My career is a portable one that will allow me to work from home via computer. My Wife however, will be looking find work in the dental field. She is an office manager for a local dentist here in Tampa and has been for about 8 years now. She would at least be looking for something comparable in Kentucky.

*I am also considering going back to school to finish my degree (better late than never). I would prefer to have a community college available to me at first (it's been a while), but I definitely would like to have access to a major public university as well once I complete my stay at the JUCO.

*We are a Christian family and would love find a good church home upon our arrival. We'd be most comfortable with an evangelical (non-charismatic) non-denominational and/or most protestant churches.

*We love going to football games and would also enjoy taking the boys to the arena for some basketball. WE LOVE SPORTS!!!

*We do like to go out to dinner every now and then. Italian is our favorite. We are wine (don't tell the pastor!) and pasta people. We also like to kick back with a good slice of Pizza and a good brew every so often. We love to grill too. Museums, farmer's markets, a zoo, and a performing arts center would be nice as well if any of the above are close by.

*As I hinted at above, my Wife has always dreamed of living somewhere with true seasons. We looked at North Carolina (becoming too much like Florida, and not enough snow), and Tennesse (found out it's the murder capital of the South, ouch!) and decided to look into the great state of Kentucky! Statistically speaking, Kentucky seems to meet most of our needs and wants in a new home, and it's still within driving distance of our many southern state relatives. Anyhow, the big selling point for my Wife are the rolling green hills and the true seasons. So tell me, how "true" are they? How heavy is the snowfall in terms of driving in it and how would you rate your falls?

*As Floridians, I'm not sure how much we'd stand out in Kentucky. How accepting are locals of newcomers? Keep in mind that I'm not coming to change any function of how you guys do things up there. I just want to come up, work hard, raise my family, help my neighbor any way I can, and enjoy life as much as possible. I'm not bringing any high and mighty ideals with me so I'm hoping we can find our nitch in Kentucky somewhere.

Sorry for going so long! I'm just a little too excited!

So what do you think? Where would you recommend we look in your great state?

Oh, and... THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

i think anywhere in ky would be a good place but anywhere in morehead, grayson, greenup area would be good for you.really nice people and people helping people places. the schools are great ,the churches are great and there there to help people.i think you would fit in good with no problems.

[mayapple]

you be your own judge of things but as i see it theres crime everywhere but you dont see as much in this vicinity as most places.the schools are really good here and very well protected for the childs benefits i think .ive put 4 thru already and 2 more still going they love it and that says alot.i really feel you and your family would love kentucky.my mother in law lives in flordia and shes wanting to come back too.