Lexington, KY vs. Louisville, KY: Which is the better city? (Owensboro: apartment complexes, to rent)

[JimmyJohnWilson]

Originally Posted by pappy van winkle

Whoever said Louisville is more midwestern...I'm gonna have to disagree. Sure, maybe parts are, but that's just because it's a much larger and more diverse city. I'd say in a lot of ways Louisville is more Southern than Lexington. I'd venture to say that more people from Louisville proper have southern accents than people from Lexington proper. People in Lexington tend to associate a bit too much with Ohio (most are Reds and Bengals fans, etc). While Louisville borders Indiana, you won't find anyone associating with it outside of recognizing it's that state on the other side of the river.

I know I've mentioned it before, and I noticed Jimmy John Wilson actually made a map, but how citizens view surrounding areas is key in determining the mindsets of those citizens. Lexington natives "radar" tends to the Northeast: Cincy, Columbus, NKY, Ashland area. Louisville's tends to the western half of the SE: Bowling Green, Nashville, Memphis, Owensboro. Overall, I'd say Lexington is a more Southern version of NKY, while Louisville is a more urban version of Western KY.

Both are Southern, but different types. Lexington is more genteel, similar to Oxford, MS. Louisville is more raw and gritty similar to Memphis.

whats in bold i disagree with, whats not i agree with.

first off, lousiville has way more transplants simply because it is bigger. and thus southern dialect is certainly more prominent in lexington.

all that stuff about lexington being genteel or whatever is true to an extent, mostly around the henry clay estate and in chevy chase. but there are also other fancy southern places around lexington. transylvania seems to embody this as well. but a lot of lexington is gritty shotgun houses and middle class and lower middle class areas.

but certianly lousville gets more western KYers. but lexington gets a lot of eastern ky and south central ky. many people who work in lexington actually communte from places as far away as london. and many lexingtonians families are from the above said areas.

and ive never met anybody in lexington who "associates" with ohio (whatever that means). they generally associate with being the heart of the bluegrass. knoxville and cincy are both close by, but a lot of lexingtonians i know have moved to nashville as well. most people in lexington seem to "associate" negative things with ohio (as in being rude jerks). also in lexington people refer to nky as not being part of kentucky (and thus not part of them) so definitely no associating.

also who cares what PRO sports teams people in lexington like. kentucky has no teams. and tennessee has the titans, but they havent been there too long. hell i know people from lexington who are raiders and cowboys fans. when you have no pro teams you root for whats closest (even if its not that close) or you root for something random. that has nothing to do with cultural regional affiliation though.

[ThePoint502]

Originally Posted by pappy van winkle

Whoever said Louisville is more midwestern...I'm gonna have to disagree. Sure, maybe parts are, but that's just because it's a much larger and more diverse city. I'd say in a lot of ways Louisville is more Southern than Lexington. I'd venture to say that more people from Louisville proper have southern accents than people from Lexington proper. People in Lexington tend to associate a bit too much with Ohio (most are Reds and Bengals fans, etc). While Louisville borders Indiana, you won't find anyone associating with it outside of recognizing it's that state on the other side of the river.

I know I've mentioned it before, and I noticed Jimmy John Wilson actually made a map, but how citizens view surrounding areas is key in determining the mindsets of those citizens. Lexington natives "radar" tends to the Northeast: Cincy, Columbus, NKY, Ashland area. Louisville's tends to the western half of the SE: Bowling Green, Nashville, Memphis, Owensboro. Overall, I'd say Lexington is a more Southern version of NKY, while Louisville is a more urban version of Western KY.

Both are Southern, but different types. Lexington is more genteel, similar to Oxford, MS. Louisville is more raw and gritty similar to Memphis.

Having lived in both cities with family and friends in both of them...I disagree with about all of this post.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by rbryant

And on that same note, you can't compare Louisville's worst areas to Detroit. Parts of Detroit are urban wastelands,literally being reclaimed by nature.

And to my next point, I don't agree with the idea that Lexington is beautiful. Sure, granted *rural* Fayette and the surrounding inner bluegrass is scenic, but suburban and downtown are rather average to me. How is Nicholasville Rd more scenic that Shelbyville Road? And, the other highways leading into Lex-Versailles,Winchester,Richmond are typical suburban drags with typical chain restaurants and big box stores. What's scenic about that? So, if you want to talk countryside, sure the Lexington area is scenic, but for city vs city, I'm taking Louisville. Give me Old Louisville,Crescent Hill,Cherokee Triangle,Highlands over Lexington proper anytime.

Have you been to the Chevy Chase and Ashland Park neighborhoods in Lexington? I do believe they are very similiar to the ones you mentioned in Louisville.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by InLondon

Have you been to the Chevy Chase and Ashland Park neighborhoods in Lexington? I do believe they are very similiar to the ones you mentioned in Louisville.

I would say that Chevy Chase and Ashland have characteristics of Louisville's Cherokee Triangle, Crescent Hill and Clifton, but there's still a different sort of "air" between those sets of neighborhoods. I guess, even though they're both urban neighborhoods that aren't packed, Lexington still has more of that small-town sort of feel while Louisville just feels more old and urban. Make sense?

The Highlands? That's a unique nabe all its own in Kentucky.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by pappy van winkle

Whoever said Louisville is more midwestern...I'm gonna have to disagree. Sure, maybe parts are, but that's just because it's a much larger and more diverse city. I'd say in a lot of ways Louisville is more Southern than Lexington. I'd venture to say that more people from Louisville proper have southern accents than people from Lexington proper. People in Lexington tend to associate a bit too much with Ohio (most are Reds and Bengals fans, etc). While Louisville borders Indiana, you won't find anyone associating with it outside of recognizing it's that state on the other side of the river.

I know I've mentioned it before, and I noticed Jimmy John Wilson actually made a map, but how citizens view surrounding areas is key in determining the mindsets of those citizens. Lexington natives "radar" tends to the Northeast: Cincy, Columbus, NKY, Ashland area. Louisville's tends to the western half of the SE: Bowling Green, Nashville, Memphis, Owensboro. Overall, I'd say Lexington is a more Southern version of NKY, while Louisville is a more urban version of Western KY.

Both are Southern, but different types. Lexington is more genteel, similar to Oxford, MS. Louisville is more raw and gritty similar to Memphis.

I completely disagree. Louisville is much larger, more urban, and more Midwestern than Lexington. No one in Louisville cares anything about Owensboro or Western KY and most likely have no idea where these places are (I have been to Paducah and found it quaint but not even like a nighborhood of Louisville).

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by InLondon

Have you been to the Chevy Chase and Ashland Park neighborhoods in Lexington? I do believe they are very similiar to the ones you mentioned in Louisville.

Those areas cannot begin to compare to any urban area of Louisville. Chevy Chase and Ashland are gorgeous areas, but they are more like an inner ring suburb. Even the Heart of St Matthews is as dense, historic, and urban as those areas.

But all things are relative. I am not sure why Lexingtonians always wanna compare their city to Louisville...it cannot compare.

Likewise, as amazing as the Highlands are for KY, there are inner ring suburbs of large cities like Chicago which are just as walkable and urban. Take a place like Evanston or Oak Park in IL and compare it to the Highlands and see what you get. But then again, you don't often find folks in Louisville comparing the city to much larger places.

[rooster21]

Originally Posted by stx12499

I completely disagree. Louisville is much larger, more urban, and more Midwestern than Lexington. No one in Louisville cares anything about Owensboro or Western KY and most likely have no idea where these places are (I have been to Paducah and found it quaint but not even like a nighborhood of Louisville).

Gotta go with Pappy Van Winkle on this one. Most of the nation and the media sees Kentucky(this includes you, sorry) as being southern or appalachian. Louisville is nothing like Northern Indiana or Ohio and shouldn't aspire to be. I'm so sorry you feel that way about Western KY since we all love and aspire to live in the beautiful, sprawling metropolis that is Louisville. Really? That feeling is mutual for the most part and attitudes like yours may have something to do with it. You also said that no one compares your city to larger ones. Wouldn't Cincinnati fall in that category? That seems like a common comparison on here and its just like comparing Lexington to Louisville. Lexington for the win.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by rooster21

Gotta go with Pappy Van Winkle on this one. Most of the nation and the media sees Kentucky(this includes you, sorry) as being southern or appalachian. Louisville is nothing like Northern Indiana or Ohio and shouldn't aspire to be. I'm so sorry you feel that way about Western KY since we all love and aspire to live in the beautiful, sprawling metropolis that is Louisville. Really? That feeling is mutual for the most part and attitudes like yours may have something to do with it. You also said that no one compares your city to larger ones. Wouldn't Cincinnati fall in that category? That seems like a common comparison on here and its just like comparing Lexington to Louisville. Lexington for the win.

I agree Louisville is nothing like northern Indiana or Ohio. But it does have some Midwestern vibes, although I agree it is a southern city. Someone made the point that Lexington seems more Midwestern than Louisville and that couldn't be further from the truth.

As far as Owensboro, I am sure it is a fine town, but it is not on anyone's radar in Louisville.

Finally, although Cincinnati is much larger than Louisville in metro area, Louisville and Cincinnati are still much closer in size and urbanity than are Louisville and Lexington (Cincinnati is not even twice as big as Louisville whereas Louisville is 3 times larger than Lexington in metro area). That is a point that doesn't seem to be well taken on these forums yet.

[rooster21]

Originally Posted by stx12499

I agree Louisville is nothing like northern Indiana or Ohio. But it does have some Midwestern vibes, although I agree it is a southern city. Someone made the point that Lexington seems more Midwestern than Louisville and that couldn't be further from the truth.

As far as Owensboro, I am sure it is a fine town, but it is not on anyone's radar in Louisville.

Finally, although Cincinnati is much larger than Louisville in metro area, Louisville and Cincinnati are still much closer in size and urbanity than are Louisville and Lexington (Cincinnati is not even twice as big as Louisville whereas Louisville is 3 times larger than Lexington in metro area). That is a point that doesn't seem to be well taken on these forums yet.

That depends on what figures you use. If you use the CSA of each city then Louisville is bigger than Lexington by around 700,000 people and smaller than Cincinnati by around the same number. As far as urbanity goes, I geuss we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see it. What is on your radar then if half of the state isn't? Lexington can't be on the radar since its not even in "the same league", right? I never mentioned Owensboro because I know its nothing special and I don't pretend like its the center of the universe. I wish you cared about us.

[InLondon]

I care about Owensboro...