lexingtongal? nlschr0? others? Quick question, here on househunting trip (Ashland: apartments, low crime)

[ic-epi]

As you may remember we are here for the week looking at houses and long story short, we are looking seriously at a home in Stonewall and might end up making an offer on it. But I was just on here searching through backposts about Stonewall and school districts, and nlschr0, you said something about Stonewall Elementary and Jessie Clark Middle not being "your favorite schools". Since you are an educator I really respect your opinion, but am confused since these schools rate high and since I am getting mixed messages from reading various posts. Any help you could give would be SO great! Thank you!!!

[ler0719]

Someone help this woman!!

[nlschr0]

Hi ic! Sorry if I was confusing in my posts before - Stonewall is actually a pretty well-rated school, just not on my "personal" lists of favorites because I haven't spent much time there and I have a few other schools that I just really love. If you like the house, I think you might be fine with the schools. Jessie Clark isn't on the list of "absolute top of the list" considering test scores, but I don't have any personal negative experiences there. There was an issue in the news in March (I think) about a drug investigation there but the parents and administration were praised for their proactive steps and response to the incidents.

So, don't let my post scare you away - I would consider those schools myself. I would just do more research on Jessie Clark because I don't have a lot of personal knowledge of it. Hopefully someone else here has better experience with it and can give you an accurate summary of it!

Glad to hear from you - keep us updated!!

[ic-epi]

Thank you so much nlschr0! I do not know what I would do without all of you!

Also I should say that I didn't mean to put all of the pressure on you to give me the "right" answers. I do know that this is our decision and actually I feel exactly the same as you, nlschr0. The schools look pretty good on paper, but I am much more sure of the Cassidy/Morton/Henry Clay combo than the Stonewall combo, and I don't know much about Jessie Clark other than what I can find online. Based on that particular back post of yours I just wanted to be sure that you didn't have a specific negative experience with those particular schools.

We will see our "final four" houses tomorrow (these being the ones that made our final list -- all in all we saw probably 50 or more houses in the past three days). There are really two contenders that stand out for us, and they are in totally different neighborhoods and totally different price points. The one in Lakeview is fabulous, much more expensive, and the Cassidy/Morton/Henry Clay school combo. Then the one in Stonewall, which we like also but we'll have to give up some space if we get that one. There is also one in Palomar and one in Harrods Hill, but my husband is less enthralled with those subdivisions although the houses are pretty good.

We loved Ashland Park but the houses we looked at (i.e. that we can afford) just did not feel roomy enough for three kids (including two soon to be teenaged boys). Coming from an almost five thousand square foot house it is tough.

We looked in Versailles all day today and although we like the town, we are underwhelmed at the choice of houses in our price range. Lots of new subdivision houses which my hubby really just does not like, and not much else.

I'll let you know what we do. Thank you again everyone!

[lexingtongal]

Sorry I didn't weigh in. We've been out of town and I didn't take a laptop!
You've probably made your decision by now but if not I would recommend Lakeview. Less traffic issues, better schools, etc.
Location, location, location

[gimme it]

Hi Ic-epi, I am sure you and your husband will make the right choice. I'm trying to picture Lakeview. I think we drove near it. Is it a gated community, very upscale and manicured? I think we might have been outside of it. If it's what I'm thinking, it sure looked lovely. You can't go wrong if you pick the Stonewall neighborhood either, IMO. It's near everything and it has a nice feel to it. I guess you will go with what feels comfortable to you. Trust your instincts. Keep us informed.

[gimme it]

I just looked at some Lakeview houses online, and they look great. I like one in particular that was a stately colonial with an inground pool. Is that the one? I saw it, and I said that Ic-epi would probably like this house. It would be quite funny if i was right

[ic-epi]

Thanks. I'm trying to trust my instincts. It's tough! A half million was our absolute top dollar for a house and the Lakeview house is right at that. Gimme it, I'd love to know which house you found in Lakeview that had a pool etc. We didn't find it. Actually we did view a house in Lakeview that had an inground pool and great lake views for somewhere around $520k and the house needed a TON of work.

The Lakeview house is 2091 Norborne. The pics online do it no justice -- it's fabulous. Terrific curb appeal, absolutely wonderful inside. Everything we would need and dream of. My concern is that I would love it to be about two blocks west, more into the Lakeview subdivision. It's the most expensive house in the two block radius. That concerns me with a half million dollar house. It's pretty close to the entrance to lakeview and the apartments etc.

I agree it's a good deal, but it's a stretch for us so any opinions you all can give us would be welcomed. We have until 11AM tomorrow and we will see the Final Four a last time, and then make an offer on something. We fly out Friday afternoon.

All input is more than welcome....

[Tory]

ic-epi - As you know, we have been researching Lexington. Just wanted to pass on a website that you may want to check before making your final decision. It's called livingchoices.com. Gives all kinds of data about individual zip codes, including crime stats. I've checked 40502 and its crime is quite high.( both personal crime such as robbery and assault, and property crime such as burglary) 40503 is a bit less, but still high. 40513 has the lowest. We are concentrating our search in 40513 because of this - and because the schools rank very well.(Rosa Parks, Beaumont, and Dunbar). Just wanted you to be aware of this site! Good luck in your choice! (BTW, we live in a suburb of Washington, D.C. in Northern VA that has very low crime - and this is reflected in the livingchoices.com site - so I'm fairly confident in their numbers)

[gimme it]

The house that I saw with the pool was on Edgewater Rd in Lakeview (520k+). However, I just looked at the house on Norborn and it's pretty much perfect. It is totally updated, neutral, tasteful, spacious, clean, classic.... A great family house. I was able to go on a virtual tour, and it was beautiful. Good luck. You'll make the right decision.