Looking for Retirement in Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville: real estate, how much, house)

[Bob284]

Hello Everyone

I am preparing and planning for my retirement 9 years down the road. I am interestest in the area on the Kentucky and Virgina border relatively close to Wise County and Norton, Virginia.

Having read the intro to this forum here is my answers to the put forth

-Where you are working - Currently I am working for a major Architectural Firm in Butler PA.

-How much you are willing to spend on housing - from $25,000 to $150,000+- depending on the property. I would prefer acerage with a nice house if possible and might consider a higher priced property if circumstance called for it.

-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate - If I have to continue to work I will possibly be commuting to Norton where I am confident I can find work in the field of Architectural Design and Construction.

-If you have kids: Private school or public school? - This is not applicable for us.

-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? - I am predominately interested in the small town rural life style. Quality of living environment not quantity. I am a big fan of the people of the hills of western Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. My ancestors were early settlers in the frontier lands of Virginia in the late 1700s. (Scott County Virginia and Norton, Virginia)

-Community amenities important to you - I am flexible. As this will be retirement for my wife and I and most likely at that time we will probably need to be relatively near medical facilities that will be there when we need them.

-Pie or cake? - Both!

All things considered we are not rich and our retirement as with many Americans today will be sprase at best and I would like to make it as comfortable as possible. If I have to retire I can think of no better area or people to retire with.

Please feel free to jump in with your recommendations. They will be greatly appreciated.

Regards - Bob

[Digger57]

Bob:

It seems as if you have it pretty much worked out and, if that is the area that fits your desire, go for it! I am not very familiar with the Eastern part of the state but I do know it is a pretty region.
I plan to retire to Kentucky around the same time frame as you. We have a few acres on the Green River in the south central area just north of Bowling Green.

Good luck!

Digger~

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by Bob284

Hello Everyone

I am preparing and planning for my retirement 9 years down the road. I am interestest in the area on the Kentucky and Virgina border relatively close to Wise County and Norton, Virginia.

Having read the intro to this forum here is my answers to the put forth

-Where you are working - Currently I am working for a major Architectural Firm in Butler PA.

-How much you are willing to spend on housing - from $25,000 to $150,000+- depending on the property. I would prefer acerage with a nice house if possible and might consider a higher priced property if circumstance called for it.

-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate - If I have to continue to work I will possibly be commuting to Norton where I am confident I can find work in the field of Architectural Design and Construction.

-If you have kids: Private school or public school? - This is not applicable for us.

-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight? - I am predominately interested in the small town rural life style. Quality of living environment not quantity. I am a big fan of the people of the hills of western Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. My ancestors were early settlers in the frontier lands of Virginia in the late 1700s. (Scott County Virginia and Norton, Virginia)

-Community amenities important to you - I am flexible. As this will be retirement for my wife and I and most likely at that time we will probably need to be relatively near medical facilities that will be there when we need them.

-Pie or cake? - Both!

All things considered we are not rich and our retirement as with many Americans today will be sprase at best and I would like to make it as comfortable as possible. If I have to retire I can think of no better area or people to retire with.

Please feel free to jump in with your recommendations. They will be greatly appreciated.

Regards - Bob

Pikeville sounds great for you. It is a beautiful, rural town, cheap, friendly folks, on the border, and is really the only part of eastern KY I would feel safe if were older because it has a decent hospital. With the exception of the area around Huntington, WV or Lexington, trust me, you do not want to have a stroke or heart attack etc, in an extremely rural area where the closest hospital is awful. Pikeville medical center is growing and is nice, and now even has a full time neurosurgeon who was lured from Louisville for over 1 million a year. He is a young guy and has a private jet and flies back to Louisville and many east coast cities for entertainment when he is off

The town of Pikeville is tiny but it has a bit of "culture" since it is the center of that part of Appalachia. There are some very wealthy folks in town, many of them coal mine owners, but the people on the outskirts are as poor as anywhere in the US. Much of Appalachia is like this, as you know. The downtown is cute and they have some fun small town festivals in the summer.

[Bob284]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Pikeville sounds great for you. It is a beautiful, rural town, cheap, friendly folks, on the border, and is really the only part of eastern KY I would feel safe if were older because it has a decent hospital. With the exception of the area around Huntington, WV or Lexington, trust me, you do not want to have a stroke or heart attack etc, in an extremely rural area where the closest hospital is awful. Pikeville medical center is growing and is nice, and now even has a full time neurosurgeon who was lured from Louisville for over 1 million a year. He is a young guy and has a private jet and flies back to Louisville and many east coast cities for entertainment when he is off

The town of Pikeville is tiny but it has a bit of "culture" since it is the center of that part of Appalachia. There are some very wealthy folks in town, many of them coal mine owners, but the people on the outskirts are as poor as anywhere in the US. Much of Appalachia is like this, as you know. The downtown is cute and they have some fun small town festivals in the summer.

Thanks so much for the info. I have been getting alot of good input about Pikeville and it is very close to Norton, VA. There are a great many folks that think very highly of this town and frankly the pictures I have seen in this forum definiitely show a nice clean town. I am already taken with several of the people who live there that I have conversed with thru this forum. They have been very nice and exceptionally friendly. I already feel like I am part of the community and I have never actually been there.

Do you happen to know of any local Real Estate Agents that have web sites that you can share so I can look at some properties to get a sense of what might be available.

I do appreciate your input. I am definitely considering that area.

Thanks - Bob