Areas to avoid?? (Lexington, Georgetown, Winchester: for sale, apartment, rental market)

[Tiff74]

We are moving to Lexington at the beginning of July and are searching for a house. We'll be renting for awhile until our home in Maryland sells and we get a good feel for Lexington and where we want to buy a home. I've seen a lot of information about a lot of neighborhoods but are there any particular areas to avoid?? We're looking for something at about $1000 a month if possible. We have two children but both are home educated so schools aren't really an issue except that they tend to reflect the quality of the neighborhood. Because we are renting we aren't worried about resale value and such but obviously we want a neighborhood where the kids can play with neighborhood kids and not worry about crime, domestic violence, etc. Any suggestions and/or places to steer clear of?

[blossom4792]

It might help to know a little bit more about your interests, but my instinct is to send you to the southeast side of town (Hamburg, zip 40509). This is newer, tons of kids, lots of development, shopping, etc.. The drawback tends to be the public schools, especially middle and high school, so that wouldn't be an issue for you.

If you like older homes and neighborhoods with more character, you can look at the south side of town, try zip codes like 40503 or 40502 (this is the wonderful part of the inner Lexington, pricier), some parts of 40504.

And then you can't lose with the southwest - 40513 and 40514 (these are some of the "move up" neighborhoods associated with good school pyramids).

[Tiff74]

What interests would be helpful to know? My husband's big interest is cycling. He is an avid cyclist and is used to riding to work. However...he will be working at Lockheed Martin and it looks from my map app like it is located in an industrial park kind of far from town. He would like to be within 10 miles of work in order to ride there but I'm thinking that isn't very feasible. It looks like there are plenty of good riding roads in the area so he can ride after work if need be.

[LEXpert]

$1000 a month is going to get you a 1200-1300 square foot newer home in a newer neighborhood outside Man O War, or a bigger older house in in an older area. Look at houses that are for sale in the $120-150k range.....that is about what you can expect to rent for $1000 a month.

To be quite honest with you, the rental market is so tight right now that you aren't going to have a whole lot of choices. Check them out then hit the crime map, sex offender registy, and do the same for the surrounding neighborhoods. We have many nice areas that are close to ones that aren't so nice (except the south end of town-it is fairly consistant-which is why it is easy to make it the "Default" recommendation.) Most of the time that isn't a big issue unless there is a lot of cut through or pedestrian traffic. I think your price point will eliminate most of the neighborhoods you are wanting to avoid.

[cartomanlex]

Lockheed Martin is located in the Bluegrass Station at Avon so riding a bike to work,even from Hamburg, will be somewhat problematic. It would involve using both Man o' War and Winchester Rd. and they are not conducive to biking.

If you are not set on living in a subdivision you may look at renting an older farmhouse or someplace in North Middletown. There is an active home school network in the area and I know a few folks who gather from as far as Winchester, Paris and Georgetown for their education. It may be something that you could investigate.

[CraigCreek]

If your husband is working in Avon, I would suggest that you also give strong consideration to living in Winchester. It's a very nice smaller historic town, with less traffic (but on I-64). It's not that far from Lexington for shopping, sports and cultural events, and the cost of living is less. The commute to Avon would be about the same as from the Hamburg area of Lexington(but biking to work would still not be advisable - way too much traffic on those roads).

[EclecticEars]

Avoid Andover. Those spoiled rich blond chicks might rob you blind by using their shiny Lexus rims and shiny blond hair. Bling blingin' after they go to Keeneland.

[CraigCreek]

Um, EE, met a blonde in a Lexus lately?? :-)

Boy, you gotta look beyond the "shiny" surface...just sayin'.

[greenways]

With a budget of $1,000 for rent, you'll likely default into a safe, decent neighborhood, no matter what you pick. I can't think of any house/apartment I've seen in a bad area for that much.

[Tiff74]

I'm definitely excited to hear that our budget will go further here. In most places we've lived that will get you right smack in the ghetto. Lol! I'm already loving the COL in Lexington. Someone please tell me that translates to grocery stores too!

Lol @ Eclectic. We lived in Montgomery County Maryland, are now living very close to Princeton University, and I grew up across the street from a boarding school. We can handle Andover people. Lol!

Thanks for the tips about biking to work. I had a feeling from mapping it that it may be a bad idea. Glad to have back- up.