Paducah vs Bowling Green

[leonard]

Originally Posted by sean&diane

We're looking at a potential move to either Paducah or Bowling Green. Really looking to find a friendly community oriented area with a hometown feel. We really want to find a neighborhood where people get out and walk around and talk to their neighbors. Lots of kids and good schools. I work out of my home, so the job market really doesn't matter.

Looking for opinions how these areas compare. Also please recommend specific neighborhoods to look at.

Thanks!

Hi,

I am in Bowling Green right now, to check out the area. It is a beautiful area. Dixiegirl has suggested some outlying areas as well. We went to Avaton today and it is a very nice area. The only negative and I do not know how this compares with Paducah, is the traffic.

For a city the size of Bowling Green the traffic was very heavy and congested. I live in California in a city of over 100,000, right next to a city with over 100,000 and another at 40,000. Other than three streets during rush hour we do not have as heavy or as congested traffic as we have experienced here.We arrived at about 2PM and no matter what hour we were driving the streets were congested. Especially hwy 231. We drove around a significant part of Bowling Green and rarely found fast flowing streets, even the wider ones.

However it is a beautiful area and everyone we have met and spoken to has been very friendly. We are looking tomorrow at Franklin, a smaller community south of Bowling Green.

Dixiegirl has been very helpful, so check with her on the finer details of the area.

[leonard]

Spent another day here in Bowling Green. Visited Franklin and Scottville as well. The whole area is beautiful. The traffic was a bit better today, inspite of a large car show. It appears that Bowling Green is the main industrial center for the area and has a lot of traffic in and out. If someone is used to a city, similar in this respect, then Bowling Green will probably be a good location.

[censusdata]

Originally Posted by leonard

Spent another day here in Bowling Green. Visited Franklin and Scottville as well. The whole area is beautiful. The traffic was a bit better today, inspite of a large car show. It appears that Bowling Green is the main industrial center for the area and has a lot of traffic in and out. If someone is used to a city, similar in this respect, then Bowling Green will probably be a good location.

Most of BG's traffic problems are along Scottsville Rd and Campbell Lane, the rest of town does pretty good on traffic.

If you want to see traffic problems come to Lexington. There are FIVE in/out roads with Scottsville Road level traffic problems and two beltline roads that are equally as bad

[dixiegirl7]

I am hoping some of our traffic problems will be alleviated when some major road construction is finished. They are eventually going to have a golf cart path that goes around Bowling Green so maybe more people can get around on it for short trips. It is sort of very spread out for that though. Our traffic problems are caused by two things IMO....there are about 17,000 student at WKY and no restrictions on bringing their cars to campus and the fact that everyone in all surrounding counties come to Bowling Green for most things like eating out, shopping, doctors visits, etc. We really need some sort of bus system.

[leonard]

Originally Posted by dixiegirl7

I am hoping some of our traffic problems will be alleviated when some major road construction is finished. They are eventually going to have a golf cart path that goes around Bowling Green so maybe more people can get around on it for short trips. It is sort of very spread out for that though. Our traffic problems are caused by two things IMO....there are about 17,000 student at WKY and no restrictions on bringing their cars to campus and the fact that everyone in all surrounding counties come to Bowling Green for most things like eating out, shopping, doctors visits, etc. We really need some sort of bus system.

I did speak to a girl who in Bowling Green and was born there and she said the school traffic is a lot of the problem. Mind you I am in Murfreesboro, TN right now and it also is a college Town, with twice the population, and nowhere near as bad a traffic problem. I do believe it is due to the lay out of the roads.

I loved the area and the people. Only the traffic was a negative.

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by leonard

I did speak to a girl who in Bowling Green and was born there and she said the school traffic is a lot of the problem. Mind you I am in Murfreesboro, TN right now and it also is a college Town, with twice the population, and nowhere near as bad a traffic problem. I do believe it is due to the lay out of the roads.

I loved the area and the people. Only the traffic was a negative.

Maybe I am just used to it...lol. I know back ways to get most places to avoid a lot of the traffic also. The up side is that you probably went through Nashville and it makes Bowling Green look like a good traffic situation. Hope you are having fun. Murfreesboro is a nice area. The populations of Bowling Green and Murfreesboro are really about the same. Warren County, which is the county Bowling Green is in has a population of over 100,000 even though they say Bowling Green only has about 60,000, but as you saw it all blends together traffic wise.

[leonard]

Originally Posted by dixiegirl7

Maybe I am just used to it...lol. I know back ways to get most places to avoid a lot of the traffic also. The up side is that you probably went through Nashville and it makes Bowling Green look like a good traffic situation. Hope you are having fun. Murfreesboro is a nice area. The populations of Bowling Green and Murfreesboro are really about the same. Warren County, which is the county Bowling Green is in has a population of over 100,000 even though they say Bowling Green only has about 60,000, but as you saw it all blends together traffic wise.

Hi,

There is over 100,000 people in Murfreesboro alone. The county is more than double that.

However I believe the biggest difference is that Bowling Green is the Industrial center of that whole area and everyone goes there. Murfreesboro on the other hand sends a lot of it's residents to Nashville each day and that reduces the load.

Bowling Green is more like the Nashville of the southern portion of Kentucky. It attracts more traffic, while Murfreesboro does not have quite the same draw in TN.

Still Bowling Green was a very nice city and we have made no final decisions yet.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Most of BG's traffic problems are along Scottsville Rd and Campbell Lane, the rest of town does pretty good on traffic.

If you want to see traffic problems come to Lexington. There are FIVE in/out roads with Scottsville Road level traffic problems and two beltline roads that are equally as bad

And at that, Nicholasville Road, E. New Circle, and Man O' War, as well as Richmond Rd. and Tates Creek Rd. at times, are all worse than Scottsville Rd.

But as BG continues to grow, so will the traffic problems on Scottsville, Campbell, in downtown, and maybe even on Cemetery Road. Only time will tell.

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by leonard

Hi,

There is over 100,000 people in Murfreesboro alone. The county is more than double that.

However I believe the biggest difference is that Bowling Green is the Industrial center of that whole area and everyone goes there. Murfreesboro on the other hand sends a lot of it's residents to Nashville each day and that reduces the load.

Bowling Green is more like the Nashville of the southern portion of Kentucky. It attracts more traffic, while Murfreesboro does not have quite the same draw in TN.

Still Bowling Green was a very nice city and we have made no final decisions yet.

I think you are right about that. We are the hub of all of these surrounding counties. You didn't even see the worst time of the year...the month before Christmas, it is horrendous in the Scottsville Road/Campbell Lane area. Glad you had a nice trip. You had great weather for it.

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

And at that, Nicholasville Road, E. New Circle, and Man O' War, as well as Richmond Rd. and Tates Creek Rd. at times, are all worse than Scottsville Rd.

But as BG continues to grow, so will the traffic problems on Scottsville, Campbell, in downtown, and maybe even on Cemetery Road. Only time will tell.

I live off of Fairview which is basically Cemetary Road and since they widened it to 5 lanes it is much better, but before that at rush hour it was bad. I hope the 5 lanes will be ok for a few more years.