Lexington or Louisville?

[censusdata]

Actually, the Louisville & Lexington Metro areas are growing exactly the same percentage wise. From 2005 to 2006 both grew by 1.2%, w/ Louisville's 13,764 adding and Lexington's adding 6,795.

Louisville's metro growth has increased dramatically and is growing at its fastest rate since the 1960s. In Lexington's metro is continuing to grow at the moderate pace it has had since the 1950s (about 15% btw each census)

Louisville Metro Growth by decade:
1960s 16%
1970s 5%
1980s 4%
1990s 10%
2000s... on pace for 12%

Sources: Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jcm1986]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Lexington = terrible traffic, snooty people, no middle class (you're either a snob or redneck), laughable park system

Louisville = one of America's best park systems, few traffic jams even in rush hour, 8th safest large city, many great eclectic neighborhoods

That pretty well sums it up! Louisville and its surrounding environs have a cheaper cost of living, too. Lexington, in parts, is very plastic, materialistic, and all about keeping up "with the Jones'." It seems to take up a larger region of the city, because it's a lot smaller than Louisville; that said, it seems to define that city's character more. (Wait, excuse me, somebody else put it best: Louisville is a city, Lexington is a town. My bad.)

I'm not saying Louisville doesn't have that, too, but because it's a larger city, there are more neighborhoods (and the types of people that live within them) to choose from--eclectic, historic, older suburban, middle-class, working-class, Somalian, Cuban, Indian, etc. Lexington doesn't have quite the diversity.

[apostropheAHP1]

To me, Lexington is the perfect size for a city. You never have to go far to get where you need to be, and you never have to drive on a freeway. But, of course, it depends on where you are in Lexington.
Any place that's relatively close to the UK campus is a good bet. You can watch college football in the fall, visit the arboretum (a great plus), you're close to the downtown area, which does have some good eatin', and you're close to all the big concerts and events that roll in at Rupp Arena.

Louisville is a nice city, but it's way too big for me. One of the great things about visiting there is the Ohio River. And it's really nice to be by the water, but I could never live amongst all those Card fans!

and in defense of Lexington's social structure: there are plenty of regular middle-class people in the city. If you live in a high-end neighborhood, then sure, maybe some of the people there are snobs! It all depends on what neighborhood you choose to live in, and broad generalizations about the character of the inhabitants of a city shouldn't make that decision for you. You get to choose your friends, right? Like I said, the area around the UK campus. It's perfect.

[tomocox]

If I am considering only Lexington or Louisville, I must admit there would be quite a toss-up; however, I would take the Louisville area over Lexington if I chose to live in Oldham County.

Welcome to OldhamCounty.com! is a perfect place to see how good we have it in the Louisville economic market, but reside in a semi-rural setting.

[Sustainedtetany]

I know there have been a lot of comparisons of Louisville and Lexington but my husband and I are visiting both cities for a possible move in 2009. We are looking for an area which is good to raise children, we can have 1+ acre of land and a nice house (250,000-350,000-preferably on the lower end) and there are outdoor recreational activities (mainly running trails/walking/hiking). I am in the medical field and do not anticipate any difficulty finding a job but he is a teacher and I was not sure about Kentucky's educations system and their need for teachers in either of these cities.

Any feedback appreciated