The Best Place to Live in Kentucky... (Lexington, Louisville: houses, rent)

[Herford Bray]

I would like to learn more about cadiz Kentucky

[SandraDee]

I would have to agree with everyone, the forested/Cave Run area is nice, and I am fond of it because I am a Geologist. I currently live in the Northern Kentucky area and it is fairly nice because you can have a garden, etc and not be too far from big city things such as Cincinnati being 20 minutes away and Lexington about 1.5 hour and Louisville 2, give or take which speed you are going! To go hiking and do the outdoors thing, there ara couple of places in Southern Ohio, close to NKY to do that, but mostly it would be the La Grange/Cave Run sort of thing is you wanted closer.

[desiree253]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Are these areas within an hour of major shopping? I know Huntington has some decent stuff, but when people say they want "country" but within an hour of major shopping, I always steer them towards the Louisville-Lexington corridor. NKY is great too, but is really more like Ohio.

I guess the idea of major shopping is really only in the "eye of the shopper" right? Some people in Eastern KY (including myself) consider a Wal-Mart and a few shops major shopping, if your town only has a Piggly-Wiggly... Right

Seriously, I figure if someone can't find major shopping in a town (Huntington) of over 50,000 people (which is only about 10 miles from Ashland and well within an hour of Grayson/Morehead/Mt.Sterling whatever), or in Knoxville (over 50,000 pop.) and within an hour of Middlesboro, then by gosh, move to Louisville is right!

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by desiree253

I guess the idea of major shopping is really only in the "eye of the shopper" right? Some people in Eastern KY (including myself) consider a Wal-Mart and a few shops major shopping, if your town only has a Piggly-Wiggly... Right

Seriously, I figure if someone can't find major shopping in a town (Huntington) of over 50,000 people (which is only about 10 miles from Ashland and well within an hour of Grayson/Morehead/Mt.Sterling whatever), or in Knoxville (over 50,000 pop.) and within an hour of Middlesboro, then by gosh, move to Louisville is right!

Good point Desiree. Everyone has their own tastes, and that is great! But, people need to be aware of what they are getting into. If its a woman who likes buying makeup at Sephora or Macy's or Armani suits for work, she is going to have to live in Louisville if she is set on KY (or perhaps NKY which is more Cincinnati).

Incidently, Louisville lacks a lot of major shopping for its size. For instance, most cities Louisville's size have a Saks Fifth Avenue, but the city does not.

[nlschr0]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Good point Desiree. Everyone has their own tastes, and that is great! But, people need to be aware of what they are getting into. If its a woman who likes buying makeup at Sephora or Macy's or Armani suits for work, she is going to have to live in Louisville if she is set on KY (or perhaps NKY which is more Cincinnati).

Incidently, Louisville lacks a lot of major shopping for its size. For instance, most cities Louisville's size have a Saks Fifth Avenue, but the city does not.

Proud of that new Sephora, eh? FWIW, there is a Macy's in Lexington, also.

Chainwise, I would love a Trader Joe's and IKEA, but...

[lexingtongal]

If woodsy is your thing you should look around the Red River Gorge area. It is only one hour from Lexington is one of the prettiest areas I've seen anywhere in this country.

[Diamond Dee]

Danvile and Nicholsville area is pretty good near the KY river also and not bad going north of Burgin too.

[Davart]

Well let me chime in here for Western Ky ... since every other part of the state has been mentioned.
Paducah, Benton, Murray, Mayfield and other REAL western KY towns are great ... sure there not as well known as the Golden triangle area but that's ok we kinda like keeping it to ourselves. We have lakes, Kentucky, Barkley, Reelfoot (part in KY most in TN) rivers Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, Clark and a few others. Tons of wildlife refugees and wetland areas, the Land between the Lakes (LBL) and there is always some little festival going on in one town or another.
I think the folks here west of the lakes think of their part of the state as one big town or community since we are so far away from the KNOWN parts of the state. If you like the out doors and nature it's a great place we have shopping and culture too, just not as much as some would like. I've had a few friends from others parts of the country move here and so far none of them have regretted their choice.
Now of you want everything within a couple of blocks of your house, forget it ... you have to drive here. But having lived a number of years in Chicago it's takes less time here to go 15 miles than it does to go 2 or 3 blocks in Chicago ... so it's a wash.
Well that's my 2 cents and horn tootin' for the far western end of the state.

[lovintexas]

In order, I'm going to talk about: Why not to move to Lexington, why you should consider Danville, and why you should REALLY consider metro Louisville.

I personally am not a big fan of the Lexington area. The school system is not that good, the traffic system was last adequate in 1975, drivers don't know how to yield, most of the people I meet are snooty, and the suburban communities (Nicholasville, Lawrenceburg, Winchester, Georgetown, etc.) are basically dumps. I live closer to Louisville than Lexington, but would much rather go to the first city. The ONLY place in central KY I would recommend is Danville.

Danville is nice, small town living, and only 35 miles SW of Lexington. The housing costs and property taxes are the lowest of any central KY community of 15,000+. It's a very nice and clean community with decent, hard-working people, three colleges, three state historic sites, one of America's most thriving small town arts communities, decent shopping--you basically never HAVE to leave town unless you have to.

My preference is the "obtuse angle" that consists of the south and east Louisville Metro area. I define that as Hardin County north of the parkways, Bullitt County (except Shepherdsville,) Jefferson County (outside of the urban service area,) Oldham County and Shelby County. The cost of living here is still substantially less than other metro areas even in Kentucky, the highway system is decent, the job market is growing (especially in Hardin and Bullitt,) and there are good public and private schools (Jefferson and Oldham.) Public schools in the Louisville Metro rank better statewide and nationally than do schools in Lexington, Owensboro, Northern KY, and other metros.

Louisville is Kentucky's most thriving metro area. It's no Las Vegas, but it beats the socks off of Lexington, too. Anywhere in Louisville you live will put you within 5-10 minutes of Wal-Mart and Kroger and 10-20 minutes of Lowe's, Home Depot, Applebee's, O'Charley's, etc. Don't forget to check out Bardstown Road (The Highlands and Original Highlands,) Crescent Hill, Clifton, and other great neighborhoods that make Louisville, Louisville. If you don't want neighbors, you might be thinking, "Louisville is not the largest city in the world, but it might still be crowded enough." I understand, the Louisville-Elizabethtown Metro area has 1.4 million people. But don't be fooled. Out in the knob areas of Hardin County and south and east Bullitt County, as well as the gently rolling limestone hills of north and east Shelby County (Bagdad, Cropper, Cedarmore areas,) you will find relatively low-cost land or country houses with few neighbors.

But, no matter where in the metro you live, from the most rural to most urban areas, you'll still be less than one hour from Downtown Louisville, unless traffic is horrible, which it seldom is (at least compared to other large cities around the country.)

So, in summary:
AREAS TO CONSIDER:
1. Hardin County (except Radcliff/Ft. Knox,)
2. Bullitt County (except Shepherdsville,)
3. Jefferson County (outside urban service, or roughly east of National Turnpike and outside I-264,)
4. Shelby County,
5. Oldham County,
6. Danville/Boyle County, and
7. Some nice small towns in west KY maybe worth considering are Murray and Cadiz.

[Davart]

^^^^^Deja Vu ...^^^^^^