Also looking at moving into the Somerset area (Lexington, Dayton: real estate, rentals)

[pyzik]

Hello all! My wife and I are getting the heck out of Michigan. We have been considering the Somerset area. Neither of us have been to the area before but from the internet looks nice.

As we all know, you can't always believe what you find on the internet
We are going to be driving to the area sometime next week to take a look around and make conversation with some of you locals.

I know there are several other posts on this topic, but I have specific questions I was hoping to get some answers for.

What is the crime rate like there?
Are there better areas of town than others?

We are in our early 20's and don't have careers yet, so we will be looking for work and going to school.
What is the job market like? (I have been browsing Monster and other sites and there doesn't seem to be much right now. Not unlike much of the rest of the country.)
How are rental properties in the area? (We will be renting for a while.)

Thanks in advance! That's all I can think of that I wanted to ask right now... I will add more as I think of them.

[InLondon]

Somerset is a nice area, in the summer time it's a big tourist trap however with all the out of towners going to Lake Cumberland. The lake is big business in Somerset. I think the largest employer is the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital and Pulaski County Public Schools.

I would recommend the SW side of Somerset. That's close to the lake and close to everything in Somerset as well.

Somerset has one of the nicest and largest libraries in the state. It just opened last year and it's still downtown. Also, downtown is nice and it's thriving with new construction going on.

This website lists the largest employers in Somerset: Pulaski County - Business and Industry

[censusdata]

I grew up 20 miles west of Somerset. My observations would be as follows:

Crime/ poverty: eastern parts of town/ Pulaski Co is more mountainous and has more poverty/ drug crimes. Western Pulaski Co tends to be more affluent. My cousin is married to a Somerset police officer who says drug problems are rampant in Eastern Pulaski County.

Job market: It's mostly a retail type of job market w/ some health jobs. Not much in industry or office work

Rentals: The catch with a lower end job market is that rentals/ homes are much cheaper. $50,000 - $75,000 gets you a nice 3 bedroom house.

Other: I'd generally recommend Nancy or Science Hill over living in Somerset itself. I'd say that the area south of downtown Somerset as well as KY 80 east & US 27 South are areas to avoid.

[Mrsnspectr]

Pyzik:

Small world - I have a friend who lives close to where you are now. We currently live near Dayton, OH, but my husband is from the Somerset area. We plan to move there some time in the next few years.

It will almost certainly be a huge change for you. For one thing, it is the one place in the world that has higher humidity than where we are now! If you and your wife like to be outdoors a lot in the summer, you definitely want to visit in the summer months to see what you think. It is a very beautiful area, but short of lake related activities in the summer, not a lot to do for "city folk." The mall is tiny, but there are a lot of retail stores and restaurants along 27. Lexington isn't terribly far away if you get the urge to do the big city thing, but the traffic there is so bad (well, not quite as bad as Detroit) we try to avoid it.

Also if you visit in the near future, the lake level has been dropped almost 50 feet to relieve pressure on the dam while a long-term grouting project is underway to repair leaks, so the lake is not at its most beautiful right now. There is a lot of interesting history in the surrounding areas if you like to explore.

The cost of living is much lower, but there aren't many high paying jobs, either. We have been looking at homes/real estate in the area for several years on and off, and the cost is definitely going up fast.

I agree with Censusdata - Science Hill and Nancy are much nicer areas than right in Somerset.

Hope some of this insight helps you out.