California family thinking about coming to Lexington area! (Louisville, Frankfort: young professionals, restaurants)

[lexingtongal]

Our school district was a Blue Ribbon district, I believe in 2005. Check out this link for some general info.
http://www.lexchamber.com/index.php?...ange_well_id=2
Also, check out www.fcps.net for district scores.

[kygirl79]

Originally Posted by lexingtongal

I think the closest ATV riding area is around Livingston. It's about 1 - 1 1/2 hours south of Lex.
There is no extra charge for tornado coverage.
Storm windows are to keep out the cold in winter. They usually have 2 panes of glass and one screen. During the summer you "park" the lower glass pane behind the upper pane and pull down the screen.
Older homes generally have basements. No separate storm shelters in this area that I am aware of.
I am always surprised when people state we have a higher than average crime rate. I haven't looked into it myself (because I feel like I live in Mayberry) but on the Chamber of Lex website they have a stat listed that within the last several years Lex was listed as one of the top 5 safest cities? Personally I can think of areas to avoid and if you do so you won't have any concerns.
Other than lower end homes I don't know of many that don't have garages or at least carports (in some of the older neighborhoods).

I know they stopped ATV riding at Livingston a few years ago.

[lolliloobedoo]

Hey K! Have you made your decision yet? I'd just like to say that many of the comments that you received from transplants concerning Lexington are soooooo cliche. Lexington is a college town, so there actually is a huge number of transplants here. There is more than "mall shopping". We have a lot of small independently owned fashion boutiques,furniture stores and book stores. There are countless family owned ethnic restaurants...(Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese etc. etc.) Here is the problem that I see with transplants. They move into the suburbs and never go downtown. We have VERY ACTIVE Art & Music communities. We have two magnet programs in the public schools that offer International Degrees.
I NEVER get dressed up to go out to dinner. I don't do Church. I spend a lot of time outdoors.
It is January 8th...60 degrees and beautiful today. While this isn't really "normal" weather, it also isn't crazy. You know there's that crazy joke about KY weather...don't worry if you don't like it. It will change tomorrow.
In short, I'll just say that what I've found from people who move here is that they find what they WANT to find. If you want to find KY cliches...that is what you'll find. If you want to find an interesting, complicated place. That is what you'll find. So come on down! We'd love to have you here!

[wheresthereef]

IMO Lexington is a great quality of life town. Housing is probably 1/3 of what it is in California. Crime is low. City is clean. Lots of good neighborhoods.

Education is always of concern in Kentucky. Kids can get a good education here, but there are some good schools. The thing that is bad is that the schools seem content to let kids just go through the system. It will be up to you to make sure your kids are in advanced classes and are donig the right things. I have a son at Duke and a son at William & Mary and they went to public schools in Lexington.

My kids went to Tates Creek High School. Dunbar has a great reputation.

I don't know much about the elementary schools (my kids are out of school). Veterans Park is supposed to be excellent.

[amanda757]

I just had to chime in reading some of the posts on here about the lexington area, the husband and I are trying to find a area (a new state) to call home. Its getting so that we dont even like it here anymore and the only things keeping us is, (the kids are young) my dad (healths not great and my husband works for him) and he doesnt make enough to live here.........

We are on virginias eastern shore, one of the poorest counties simply cause the housing cost has skyrocketed (everything is near the water) and the average income is very very low!! my family has lived here all our lives. We have looked at Iowa feel like that is a little too much snow for my liking :P So Im on here checking out places just a little closer to home with simular stuff. I have looked at Richmond, Berea, Mt. Sterling and Morehead. any of you guys can comment on those areas. I like the busy small town feel, but a 30 min ride to the city. cause here I have to take a $17 toll bridge tunnel to go to va beach and norfolk and I would go more often if I didnt have to do that LOL My sons are 8 and 3 and we are in our late twenties. husband spent almost 4 years in college studying wildlife fisheries managment, but hard to find a job with that he has found. But job wise he isnt going to be picky if it can afford us a decent neighborhood and pay the bills

thanks you guys are a big help, love these boards!!!
AMANDA

[wheresthereef]

Originally Posted by amanda757

I just had to chime in reading some of the posts on here about the lexington area, the husband and I are trying to find a area (a new state) to call home. Its getting so that we dont even like it here anymore and the only things keeping us is, (the kids are young) my dad (healths not great and my husband works for him) and he doesnt make enough to live here.........

We are on virginias eastern shore, one of the poorest counties simply cause the housing cost has skyrocketed (everything is near the water) and the average income is very very low!! my family has lived here all our lives. We have looked at Iowa feel like that is a little too much snow for my liking :P So Im on here checking out places just a little closer to home with simular stuff. I have looked at Richmond, Berea, Mt. Sterling and Morehead. any of you guys can comment on those areas. I like the busy small town feel, but a 30 min ride to the city. cause here I have to take a $17 toll bridge tunnel to go to va beach and norfolk and I would go more often if I didnt have to do that LOL My sons are 8 and 3 and we are in our late twenties. husband spent almost 4 years in college studying wildlife fisheries managment, but hard to find a job with that he has found. But job wise he isnt going to be picky if it can afford us a decent neighborhood and pay the bills

thanks you guys are a big help, love these boards!!!
AMANDA

I have lived in lexington for the last ten years, but because of my work, I have had the opportunity during my life to live in 7 different states. OH, KY, NC, SC, TN, Mo, and FL. All of them had their pluses and minuses. My experience is: you can always find a place to live that will satisfy your needs if you are happy with yours jobs. Most people that I have known over the years who were unhappy, were that way because they couldn't get work in their field.

You mentioned that your husband studied fishery management. What do you do? The internet is such a beautiful thing. Start by looking at jobs everywhere. Don't limit by geography, I thought I would absolutely hate Missouri, but in reality enjoyed the 2+ years I lived there. If you find 3 jobs in your field then these are the 3 places you can move to. If you find 40 then great.

You are young. Keep yourself mobile. Rent at first where ever you go. Keep your job search and opportunities open. You are gaining experience in your field and moving toward finding just the right place. We didn't stop moving until our kids were in the 7th grade. At that point we wanted them to stay in one school and develop as young adults. We felt it was important that they be part of a community at that point.

Can you move at a monents notice? Do you own a home and need to sell before you can move? Can one of you move while the other stays for a while? How serious are you about moving? If you own your home put it up for sale now, then rent for a while if you have to.

My biggest advice is find a job first. Don't go somewhere planning to find a job once you get there. Trust me, there are very few places that you can't find an affordible home within 30 minutes or so of your work.

I've been married for 25 years. Your work and your family will make you happy.

[amanda757]

I stay at home (for now) havent gone to college, the only job experience I have is working at a chicken farm, and a greenhouse of a whole sale florist. I would go back to work and it would help but the cost of daycare is crazy here.....I wouldnt bring any money to the table. My husband has done a couple different fields in the past 8 years. none that include what he went to college for. no we can not afford to own a home here, thats the main reason we are looking at leaving. Even if he starts to make more money than he does now and I go back to work we would just be making ends meet still.

We were living in my mother inlaws guest house to save some money up while she tried to sell the property and well it sold in august and we had to move in with my dad cause the rent is upwards of 700+ a month lucky for us it was big enough for the all of us. yeah we were going to rent no matter what incase we decided we wanted to move closer or further outside a city....

There is just no opportunities here for young people and nothing to do here either...local sports, drink and drive, get in trouble and know everyones business. Alot of the Ok and Good jobs are going to those who have moved here, retired and looking for something to do!!! alot of folks from up north who can afford to pay these crazy prices for a house.

oh yeah I can stay a while if he was to get a job and needed time to get straight here. especially with my oldest in school.

thanks

[wheresthereef]

My advice is to start with a job search in your husbands field. From what I have been reading it is a growing market. Kentucky has spent quite a bit on fisheries, fish farming, fresh water shrimp farming, etc. I'm sure other states have done the same.

1. Start with the usual job search sites.
2. Talk to a bunch of head hunters until you find someone who is knowledgable with your husbands field.
3. I think your biggest starting avenue would be state and local governments.

If you are really interested in Kentucky. We have a lot of man made lakes and they do try to manage them well. There are a lot of small communities that are great places to live and raise a family. There are also a lot of poorly educated areas also, so it's good that you are doing your homework.

The towns you mentioned:

Morehead - College town. Not a lot to do there and not really much near by. I know there is fishery work going on around Cave Run Lake but I don't know a lot about it. Cost of living and housing in this area is low. School systems are not regarded very highly, from what I here. Not a lot of work in the area for you I don't think.

Mt Sterling - While I don't know a lot about Mt Sterling, it does appear to have a lot more going on than Morehead. Would still be easy access to Cave Run area (which by the way is probably the best beach in the state) and also only 30 minutes from Lexington. Seems to be an up and coming little town with quite a bit of new construction.

Richmond - I don't really know why, but I have never liked Richmond. It's a college town, quite a bit of new construction going on, because it's cheaper to build there than it is Lexington. It used to be a lot cheaper, but in recent years Richmond has become more and more Lexington South.

Berea - Nice little town. Small college. Pretty social place for families. Housing may be a little over priced, but everyone I know that lives there loves it.


Danville/Boyle County - The D/B area is nice. Nice little college town. Decent job market. Active community 30 minutes to Lexington. This is a place well worth looking at.

Harrodburg/Mercer County - Another nice little town. Very reasonable housing prices. They are building a brand new school that is supposed to be one of the most state of the art facilities in the state.

[bucket]

hi let me know when and what kind of property you will need i may be able to get you good value i am not a realtor eric

[scottclark]

We moved from Santa Clara, CA to Lexington.

It's a mixed change. Too little to do for young professionals. Since I work in internet consulting my clients are nationwide. It is much better now than when we moved here in 97. There are like 10 Indian restaurants and a couple are BETTER than the Bay Area restaurants.

Lexington needs downtown night life - they should look to Austin for advice.

Mostly Lexington is cosmopolitan and highly educated - [SIZE=2][SIZE=2]Lexington is a progressive and one of the top 10 “smartest” cities in the USA rated by CNN/Money magazine.[/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=2][/SIZE]