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Hi everyone! My husband has a face-to-face job interview with a big company in Lexington in November, and on the chance that they make him an offer...it's my job to do the research.
Let me tell you a bit about us, our likes and dislikes, and maybe you can help point us in the right direction of where to live, should he get the job.
We're fairly young--32 and 34, with two kids (13--14 in a few weeks, actually--and 7). Both of our children require a great special education system at school (son has Asperger's Syndrome, daughter has a speech delay). We love historic homes and trees and green and wide open spaces, but need to be within a 20 minute drive to "civilization" (re: Starbucks, bookstores, Target, grocery store, a mall or two, etc.). We're very liberal, strong supporters of GLBT, and we're pagan (our son is agnostic). I'm an author, he's a tech writer (who daydreams often of having a motorcycle to tool around on scenic drives). We all absolutely adore renaissance faires (and yes, we dress up). And we enjoy the occasional hiking. Daughter, like most 7 year old girls, loves horses.
Hubby was in the Air Force for seven years, so we've moved a lot. One of our favorite places to live was Salt Lake City, Utah (but alas, no job offers have come through for that area). We currently live in Saint Louis, Missouri and find it to be just too similar to the area we grew up in in Michigan (Flint). People smoke everywhere (bad for our daughter, who has asthma) and there's an arrogance here that lacks a reason for it (in my humble opinion--many people love St. Louis and that's great--it's just not for us).
We don't have great credit, but we have a solid rental history of four years (before that we lived in military housing for five years), and would love to rent a house (with a yard of some sort--bigger is better, yes, but we'd be happy with room for a patio set and swingset). We've lived in military housing (which are duplexes), apartments, and townhomes for too long--tired of sharing a wall! We'd prefer to stay under $1100/mo. and we'd like to rent in an area with excellent schools that has homes available for purchase under $160,000 (in case we decide to buy later on).
Hubby doesn't want to drive longer than a half hour to work (which is in NorthEast Lexington, if he gets the job). Personally, I need broadband internet and some quiet time to write. Also, we're not exactly fans of small towns...
So....is there anywhere at all that will fit us in or around Lexington?
I'm pretty new to Lexington so I'm going to ask others to comment on my recommendations. I would suggest you try to find something closer in, in the 40502 zip code. I keep thinking of Hollywood and Ashland Park ... in your price range, there is an area called "Kenwick" that seems to fit and gets you into the best junior high (Morton) and Henry Clay High School (the best or ranked alongside the best, etc.). I don't know that much about Kenwick, but it's a great zip code that has all of your prestigious, close-in addresses (Chevy Chase, etc.) in the higher price range.
I know you are looking to rent, but to get an idea of what I am talking about, I would suggest you go to remax.com (I like this site because they give you the schools and the subdivision) and search 40502 ... check out some of those houses that are around $179K, etc. Does this look like your style? These might not have big yards, but they would have the patios and I would presume more liberal neighbors, just a guess.
I don't know what Morton might offer, but since these are great schools, I would think they would have good resources. Not sure.
Hi, hth! I just visited Remax, and those homes look great! Kenwick sounds like the perfect place for us (I did a little Googling just now). In fact, something like this house (broken link) is right up our alley in tastes!
Thank you so much for your input--and of course, if anyone has anything more to add, please do!
Is renting with bad credit a problem in Lexington? It hasn't been a problem in St. Louis or in Salt Lake, but of course, I am concerned.
No clue about the credit question - maybe you need a big deposit, no clue no clue ... I stumbled credit-wise in my 20s due to a lot of work travel, couldn't keep up with my mail, etc., luckily was already in a mortgage and had a car ... hated life, became meticulous about paying bills ...
PS - "hth" is "hope that helps"; my username comes because I own golden retrievers
Having grown up in 40502. However, 40502 is the most expensive part of Lexington to live in (40502 is basically from Winchester Road to Tates Creek Road and inside New Circle Road). House prices here range from $150,000- $2,000,000. "Chevy Chase," as we call it, does have some older house from the 20s- 40s and are reasonably priced as to the rest of the area. SW and outer SE Lexington are also nice, usually newer construction and you're about a 20- 30 minute drive from NE Lex. Where is your husband working?
Commuting from 40502 area is very easy because 40502 is located basically in the SE central part of the city. Usually when commuting you are going the other way from rush hour traffic heading downtown so commuting downtown takes about 10 minutes in rush hour traffic and commuting to the outer areas of the city takes about 10 - 15 minutes. There's a Kroger inside a neighborhood on Romany Road within a 5 minute drive of all of 40502 and there are two Targets within a 15 minute drive. Starbucks are pooping up everywhere in the city and I don't know if you have discovered the amazing fast Italian restaurant chain based here in Lexington- Fazoli's!
Broadband internet is usually provided by Insight and television is provided by Insight or Dish Network. Time Warner is just starting to make an appearance here. AT&T and Verizon are the most popular mobile companies here.
40502 is the district for Morton Middle School, Cassidy Elem., and Henry Clay High School, which are consistently some of the top ranked public schools in the state. If you're looking into private or semi private schools, you should check out Lexington Christian Academy (LCA), Sayre School (pre k- 12 and where I attended), and The Lexington School (k-8).
Lexington also has the dubious distinction of usually ranking in the top 5 worst cities for allergies in the country. For me this was never a problem and even my friends with asthma didn't have many problems. The city instituted a public smoking ban in ALL public areas in 2002 or 2003 so your daughter should have no problem. I have also recently discovered that Lexington is the most expensive city in the state to live in, but it is sure worth the extra dollar! Let me know if you have any more questions and welcome to the bluegrass state!
Last edited by teebird1012; 10-27-2007 at 09:14 AM..
I'm new here as well. I don't know exactly how many hospitals (St. Joseph's, Central Baptist ...) but I get the impression that this is a really good place for an RN. Lexington has a good/low rate of unemployment; I'd assume your husband would be fine, generally speaking. [I see all kinds of signs for help wanted at retailers, for what it's worth!!!].
Hospitals:
Central Baptist, St Joseph and St Joseph East, Shriners Children's Orthopedic Hospital, Samaritan, UK, Cardinal Hill Rehab,
You should have no problem at all picking the hospital and position you want!
You will find Lexington to be incredibly "liveable". By that I mean it's not very expensive (below the national cost of living index). For the price range you've listed, you probably won't have much of an issue finding affordable housing/rentals. Lexington may have a few trouble spots as far as traffic goes--but the traffic situation here isn't NEARLY as bad as larger cities. You can get anywhere around town in less than 25 minutes.
Lexington grew from around 63,000 in the early 1960's to around 280,000 today. The only knock I have against my hometown is that the growth Lexington has encountered doesn't match the infrastructure planned for the city (e.g. no freeway running through the city, and an expressway (New Circle Road) that only circles about 3/5 of the city (other 2/5th is unlimited access). If you get to know Lexington (inside the "circle"), you can eventually figure out some shortcuts. Hope this helps!
I don't know if you're still looking in Lexington, but other good areas are around transylvania, and in arcadia park. One other good school is Montessori Middle School of Kentucky in Lexington and CMS Community Montessori School.
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