Impressions of Lexington After Visit (Ashland, Columbia: real estate, job, hospital)

[Al555]

In anticipation of a possible move to Lexington from Columbia, SC my wife and I visited the city for four days last week, and after meetings regarding job negotiations we spent most of our time with a local realtor looking at property. We got, I think, a pretty good sampling of Lexington neighborhoods, including historic areas, older neighborhoods like Ashland Park and Chevy Chase, and newer suburban developments. We also hung out a good bit in the downtown, by ourselves and with folks from the university.

Though we now live in SC, both my wife and I are from large northern cities and we like cities very much, so we came to Lexington without a good idea of what to expect and probably, to be honest, with somewhat low expectations. To say that we fell in love with the city might be an exaggeration, but not by much. We arrived on a Thursday night and found the downtown buzzing. People were out, going to concerts and restaurants and bars, and it felt alive. The downtown is intimate and compact and well maintained with lots of green space. We ate at a restaurant called Bellini's, which could have been in Manhattan, and we had a few beers at a place called Da Sha's, which looks out over a green square. You get a sense in the downtown of something happening, with good restaurants and entertainment and new downtown living spaces.

We found the city in general to be attractive, especially the preserved historic homes scattered around downtown. The sprawl of housing developments on farmland around the city is, I think, unattractive everywhere, but Lexington manages to make it look better than most. Even the commercial areas seem neat and well designed.

We were told many times that Lexington considers itself to be a Southern city, but after living in Columbia, we felt back in the north. The geography is more familiar, trees actually have broad leaves, and the archetecture has an urban feel. We have been warned many times now about the conservative personality of the city, and have no reason to doubt that. But again, our recent point of reference (SC) is at least a temporary buffer to that. My wife and I are quite liberal, some tell us obnoxiously so, so we are sure to have our moments in Lexington, but even in our 4 days there we met many like minded people and felt welcomed and had a surprisingly good time.

Anyhow, the job negotiations went very well and we actually put a contract on an 1890 house in the downtown northside. We had been steered toward Ashland park and really liked it there, but we found what feels to us like the perfect house and neighborhood downtown. It was a little funny because someone had written here, in response to a question about where not to live in Lexington, about the dangers of w. 3rd street. So, we're buying a house on west third street. It is a truly spectacular neighborhood (to us) that borders a not so good one, but we're actually used to that. We'll be moving sometime during the next few months.

Thanks for all the help. This is a great board.

Al

[Toria]

congratulations, and good luck with the move!

[goldenmom7500]

Welcome! That is wonderful that everything went so well and you already found a house - congratulations!

[teebird1012]

Glad to have you here and that the city made a great first impression.

[bluegrassgirl]

Al- Welcome! You are right - there are some absolutely beautiful homes in the area you're talking about. I can understand for some though the concerns about the areas around the historical homes you're referring to.

Regarding the conservatism - I'm always very surprised when I read people's comments about that. I, too, consider myself liberal and have lived here my entire life (minus three years during my childhood) and have a mix of conservative and liberal friends. I've never felt the minority.

So, again, congratulations and hope your move continues to go so smoothly!

[Al555]

Bluegrassgirl-- Thanks for the comments. We love the area we've chosen and understand some of the disadvantages of downtown living--not just in Lexington but any town. But we want to come into the west 3rd street area well informed about what to look out for. The house we have a contract on is about one block west of Transylvania U. What can you or any of the other long time Lexingtonians tell me about the area, its reputation, and so on? We got one story from our realtor and folks in the neighborhood, but I'd be interested in hearing other takes on this area.

[goldenmom7500]

Hi,

I'm new here myself, but I just opened a community paper and there was a beautiful house on West Third Street in one of those real estate ads - a beautiful brick colonial. No wonder you like that area!!

[bluegrassgirl]

Al - I have no doubt that your home is beautiful! There are some absolutely gorgeous historical homes near Transy. Many Transy professors live close by in the type of home you're mentioning. The challenge in having a home there is to simply be aware of your surroundings. Third street is near some high crime areas as well as Eastern State Hospital (a state mental facility which is on fourth street). While it would be very unusual to see a homeless person walking down my street, it would not be to do on third street. There are also some students who live in some homes down there. It's not an area where I'd want to leave a five year old child in the yard to play by themselves for exampble. It does truly sound like you're very familiar with this type of area and won't be phased by the challenges it could present. I in no way believe the area is horribly crime ridden or that you need to fear that bullets will come flying through your windows! It's just simply an area that one would need to be more aware of their surroundings and the possibilities that exist around them. There are many advantages to being in that area as well. The attractions/opportunities that the Transy campus and the downtown area offer are ones that most people would love to have close by. The downtown area is considered safe to walk to when events are going on. Now, I wouldn't want to be alone walking in that area in the middle of the night when nothing was happening. However, when a large event is going on at Rupp Arena, you'll find people walking from pretty much third street to downtown.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

[whoabuck]

What a relief to hear you say that...

We are tentatively planning a move to the area later this year, and I'm pretty nervous about it...the weather (I hate cold), the politics (I'm hopelessly embedded in the left), and the culture (what does it mean to be a Kentuckian, or even a Lexingtonian). It's such a geographically small state, I feel (and I know I'm being completely irrational...) like it might not have a real identity.
I grew up in California, and have lived in Texas for 17 years - talk about state identity...Two words: Dude. Y'all. I embrace them both.

[wheresthereef]

Welcome to Lexington.