Considering relocating to KY---Religion an issue? (Lexington, Louisville: neighborhoods, school districts, stats)

[SFLWR]

if you like the rural areas then Daviess Co. has some nice places for that . Outdoors living is what I like too, all of what you mentioned you can do anywhere in KY really but I do know their is a Fish and Game in Yelvington (Daviess Co. ) for camping and all that. Maybe Erickp can tell ya about "stuff to do " in Evansville , I just know the MALL and it's not a far drive.

erickp- I didn't know Evansville had mutton ! But ol' hickory is better than moonlite, I think. We don't have it where I live now

[goobersmoochers]

Originally Posted by SFLWR

Owensboro is in Daviess Co. ..the population of the co. is around 94 thousand and city is around 55 . It's a nice town but not really much to do there. They do have an ice rink and a laser tag (thinking of your teens ) the mall is nothing but a drive across the river to Evansville IN is only 30 min. and has a nice mall. Also across the river in Santa Clause is Holiday World...an amusement park that is really nice ( we usually go every yr. ) Ok....I'll get back to O'boro now....the houses your probably seeing that cheap are in a bad part of town and real old houses...if you tell me the roads I can tell you better or if you find more that you wonder about, just tell me the name of the roads and I can tell you maybe about that area. You can find a nice home in a decent area for 60,000 or a nicer area and nicer home around 80,000. and up. Do you want to live in town or more in a rural area ? I lived in some of the rural areas and can tell you about them too. The schools in the county are better than the ones in the city in my opinion. I went to school there but that was at least 100 yrs. ago... but mercy sakes, noooo , not 40 in a class ! and I don't live there now but my family does ( I called mom on some of this ) I'm sorry, I don't know about how the teaching jobs are. Oh , their is a Unitarian church . Hope this helps and if you want to know more about certain areas , just let me know.


I almost forgot.... they have bbq mutton there that is the best

The most recent website we looked at is frontdoor.com. My dream house (at least in pictures) is on 7th Street. It's got a turret! I always wanted a turret...Why in the WORLD is THAT house only $35,000? If it's a "bad" neighborhood, just how bad? Others are on Orchard, Parrish (for $20,000? How is that possible?) and 13th West.

The only things we could figure were either these areas had been flooded, are GOING to flood, they're REEEEELY old (we're okay with that, we're kinda handy), or they are in real yucky gang neighborhoods...What's the story? Or is the housing market that bad right now?

[SFLWR]

my idea of "bad" neighborhood just means run down homes , maybe rough people, resale could be bad-
7th street- could be ok
orchard- bad neighborhood
parish-maybe ok , nice homes but old and busy street
13th w- old homes but probably ok


I didn't get anywhere with frontdoor.com but I think I saw these on realtor.com the houses look nice.....these are all what I call "in town" and I don't think you could have a goat but when I looked for anything with at least 1/2 acre nothing came up ! Find that hard to believe.
Here's what I would "suggest" (cause I'm getting ready to move too, only to TN ).....see where you could transfer for a job first or get one. Go to that area and rent for awhile til you get to know the place better and then buy. Drive around to get a "feel" for each area, talk to the people. Personally, I think Lexington is prettier of the 3 you mentioned .

[goobersmoochers]

Thanks!

[kelbeth]

goobersmoochers- I am a life-long Kentuckian. I live in Bowling Green now, but I grew up in a small town. I think with your careers, you would be able to find work just about anywhere. I have some friends in BG who consider themselves agnostic, and even though I consider myself a Christian, there are some days where I wonder about God. Regarding the religion, you will probably do better in a larger town, like Lexington, Louisville, or Bowling Green. Lexington and Louisville have many schools, and Bowling Green has a total of four high schools, with a fifth coming in the fall of 2010. Contrary to what some of the Bible thumpers on here might lead you to believe, not everyone in KY attends church. My parents still live in that small town that I grew up in, and they do not attend church. It isn't an issue, no one is putting them on any prayer lists, or anything like that, but still, it is a pretty religious area. I attend a Catholic church, but haven't been in over a year, and of course, being in a larger city, it isn't an issue for me. Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions.

[goobersmoochers]

Kelbeth, Thank you. That is reassuring. How are crime, home prices, entertainment in Bowling Green? I know the pics that are posted show it to be GORGEOUS! How big is it, including surrounding areas? Thanks again for the info.

[SFLWR]

Oh yea, BG has a good mall too !! alrighty....I'm out a here....ziiiiip

[kelbeth]

You're not going to find alot of violent crime in Bowling Green. I'm not a criminal, or anything, but I'm guessing that drugs are the biggest issue regarding crime in BG. As far as home prices go, you could get a decent three bedroom/two bath home in a clean, nice subdivision for around $150,000. If you looking for someplace a little nicer with a little more acreage, expect to pay $240,000-$250,000. I think the city of Bowling Green has around 60,000 residents, with more living out in the county. It is the largest city in the area not alot of growth in the smaller towns around BG. Also, you have Louisville about an hour-and-a-half to the north, and Nashville an hour to the south, if you want to get away to a bigger city for a day. Also, BG has a very large population of Bosnian immigrants, so we have some pretty nice Mediterranean restaurants, plus alot of the national chains. As far as stuff to do, we have a minor league baseball team, WKU Hilltoppers, bicycling club, many nice parks, a water park, Capital Arts theater, Mammoth Cave is nearby, and a mall that is okay, but certainly no haute couture. Barnes and Noble is a favorite hangout of mine. Bowling Green does have some nice areas, but stay away from the West side of town (Russellville Rd. and Morgantown Rd. areas). The downtown is nice (this is where the capital arts theater is), with many nice non-chain restaurants, and a small park (Fountain Square Park) on the square. During the summer, the city hosts "Concerts in the Park", where local bands give free concerts on Friday nights (I think). Also, we have an International Festival every year downtown, and several 5K road races throughout the year (and one very big 10K). I'm not sure if you have school-aged children, but the best schools are W.R McNeil, Cumberland Trace, T.C. Cherry, Natcher, and Potter Gray. I think I've about covered it all. If you have any more questions, let me know.

[llgator]

I second Kelbeth's comments about Bowling Green. Bowling Green lives like a bigger place. I think that is because it is a university town---home to Western Kentucky University. WKU.edu In addition to the international diversity it brings, WKU brings a lot of people here from lots of different places throughout the country, counting faculty and students. It makes for a distinctly different flavor than you find in Owensboro which seems like a smaller town even though it's actually a little bigger than Bowling Green. I'm a lifelong resident. (BTW, don't let the comments a about diversity fool you...BG is still WAY majority white! You won't ever find yourself out-numbered.)

There are also 2 excellent public school systems here with many schools that are among the best in the state...Bowling Green City Schools and Warren County. In addition, there are a lot of teachers who live in Bowling Green who teach in nearby county school systems like Barren, Allen, Logan, and Butler County schools.

On the church angle, I'm Christian but attend church infrequently. There are plenty of what I call "church-y" people here (go twice on Sunday and never miss a Wednesday night service either). But I have never known anyone to force their views on people nor corner anyone who does not wish to be cornered. I've never had a problem or heard of anyone who does! There is a fairly large Southern Baptist contingent here (for your mom) as well as congregations of nearly every faith, Christian and non. I think the religious diversity here makes it possible for people who do not have faith to live here comfortably as well. The area is generally conservative in politics although again, I think Western Kentucky University provides great diversity of views.

I don't want to knock Owensboro but Bowling Green is definitely be worth a comparison if the general idea of Owensboro is appealing to you. I did a post in another thread a while ago about Bowling Green that had some links in it...here it is: http://www.city-data.com/forum/kentu...-kentucky.html

One more reason I'd look at Bowling Green more favorably than Owensboro is our proximity to Nashville TN (60 miles south of here---a straight shot down I65). Nashville has pretty much anything you can't find in Bowling Green and the entertainment options there are phenomenal, even for non-country music fans. Airline service out of Nashville is very good as well. Nashville as the "getaway" for fun beats the heck out of Evansville IN!

Hope this helps in your sorting all things out. If you have any other questions about this area, feel free to ask as there are several posters who are familiar with the area along with a few who always reflexively bad-mouth it (even though they don't live here!) LOL That's just the way these boards are.

[goobersmoochers]

Thanks! I'm hearing a lot about Bowling Green, and as I wrote yesterday, the pics sure make it look pretty.

I was a bit nervous at first about the religion thing, but so many advocated respect for each other's religious choices! I can see that Kentucky may be better in that respect than my very small and Baptist previous hometown in Texas, and my very Catholic hometown now. The fact that so many came to my defense (Thanks Beilart, nokygirl, and others!) made me feel like we could feel comfortable in Kentucky.

I appreciate your info...keep it coming!