What do you like Least?

[BMH47]

Originally Posted by InLondon

Ok now, Lexington ranks good in the "food shopping" category. Sorry but we have a Whole Foods along with a million other grocery stores. Forget about that? What else do we need?

Thats all that I came up with. But if you have spent any time anywhere else you would see what I mean about the food shopping. What is important to one is not to another. Over all Im pretty happy here.

[herbgal]

First off, I do not think of Lexington as a city! It's a wannabe city, more like a large town.

I agree, the traffic stinks!

Nightlife downtown is vibrant if you like to bar hop!

You had better learn to "bleed blue" because this town does everything around basketball!

There are restaurants that serve cuisine from every ethnic background...not sure how good they are though.

The Bluegrass Farmers Market is small but it's a grower/producer only market so you know that you are truly buying local goods.

You might have to drive to a few different grocery stores to find what you want at a decent price, but Lexington has plenty of them in all price ranges. Meijer's, Krogers, Save A Lot, WalMart, Slones, Good Food Co-op, Whole Foods, etc.

Warning, if you decide to travel dowtown during the week and expect to find plenty of parking...forget it! Parking in downtown Lexington is crazy and almost impossible.

Do not venture to the downtown public library unless you are prepared to fend off the "beggars!"

It's a college town in its own way.

You have one decent mall left and you could spend the whole day shopping and eating, they have everything! But, you have to fight the traffic to get to it! lol

To be honest, if I had my "druthers" I would not move to Lexington proper...I would move to an outlying town and conduct my business as needed in Lexington.

JMHO, take it for what it is worth.

[Hey_Hey]

I would disagree with the food shopping sentiment. Within a 5 minute walk of my house I have three independent, locally owned groceries (Good Food Market if you're into organic and locally grown food, Slone's Market, and a Mediterranean grocery store). Within a short drive we also have a Fresh Market and a Whole Foods. There are several Krogers as well as wal-mart and meijer, but you definitely have choices. Sure, it's not what Chicago offers or what other larger cities offer, but I think it's definitely adequate.

A couple things I wish Lexington had:
1. An art museum
2. A more established symphony
3. A zoo
4. An urban shopping district instead of suburban shopping only
5. Light rail/People mover or a more viable bus system

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by herbgal

There are restaurants that serve cuisine from every ethnic background...

Really? Because I saw no Lithuanian, Polish, Jewish or Bohemian joints in Lexington when I lived there, all are easily found around here. And here I can get Columbian, Peruvian, Ethiopian (terrible food IMO) West African, West Indian, Vietnamese, Serbian, Russian, Persian......you get the picture.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Really? Because I saw no Lithuanian, Polish, Jewish or Bohemian joints in Lexington when I lived there, all are easily found around here. And here I can get Columbian, Peruvian, Ethiopian (terrible food IMO) West African, West Indian, Vietnamese, Serbian, Russian, Persian......you get the picture.

Oh Tom, have you forgot that Chicago is much LARGER than Lexington? Umm, that's why Chicago has more of those type restaurants.....Duh.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by InLondon

Oh Tom, have you forgot that Chicago is much LARGER than Lexington? Umm, that's why Chicago has more of those type restaurants.....Duh.

The fella said "every ethnic background".

I figured you'd rise.

[herbgal]

I'm a "gal." hence the name "herbgal" and I stand corrected...Lexington has quite a good selection of different ethnic restaurants. How's that!

BTW, we do have an African restaurant... Sav's Grill and I have been told it is quite good!Sav's Grill - Historic South Hill - Lexington | Urbanspoon

[exileinbriville]

# 1 - the ice storms.

# 2 - the ky theater's booking agent. Please change the films up more. Slumdog millionaire played for months it seems. Get a wider selection of midnight showings. Rocky horror is great. But come on!

#3 - get a grocery store or larger market downtown!

#4 - not enough restaurant variety for vegan/vegetarian lifestyles.

# 5 - the pushy scary wild fire trucks busting through traffic 100+ times a day.

[easydoesit]

Shouldn't the title (based on replies) be - what do you dislike the most?

Overall, my like for Lexington is largely based on my family and friends living there.

I think for a metro population that it has, it really lacks the "coolness" that factor that I often see in other college town/small-mid cities. And why doesn't Lexington seem to have it is a mystery to me as I think it would be easy.

When I think of college town/small-mid cities, I envision a progessive place, full of locally supported businesses, a solid nightlife that covers various age groups, funky & unique neighborhoods, etc.

What I see is a place that doesn't change much for the better, chains and franchises that serve some locals but tons of surrounding county visitors, a nightlife that mostly caters to and serves drunken college kiddies and Ball Home barf scattered all over the city.

Like I said, it will always be home and one of my favorite places but not always for the extra extracurricular acitivities and ambience. Lexington doesn't need millions and millions living there to have that "coolness" vibe

[EclecticEars]

1. The lack of "coolness vibe" that easydoesit above describes. Lexington has the potential (and enough quirky people) to be a larger Bloomington or San Luis Obispo, or miniature Austin or (dare I say) Seattle.

2. The odd conglomeration of countryside redneck/hickabilly, shallow yuppies, snoots, and old geysers. I know Lexington has a strong middle-class community, but you get the impression anywhere around the city that people in Lexington have "arrived." By that, I mean "arrived" from cosmopolitan places such as Sandy Hook, Barbourville, Brodhead, Kevil, and Smith's Grove.

3. The traffic situation. Period. 'Nuff said. Clearly demonstrates the complete embarrassments that are the Kentucky Legislature and Transporation Cabinet. Nicholasville Road can really substantiate limited-access freeway status from New Circle to Nicholasville's southside; 8-10 lanes in Fayette County, six lanes in Jessamine County. Not to mention Harrodsburg, Versailles and Richmond Roads, Man O' War Boulevard, and Newtown Pike. Driving in Lexington conditioned me well to drive in L.A., Atlanta and my current home of Cincinnati.

4. Country music. Seriously, how many times does some fool's dog die everyday in metro Lexington? For that matter, the entire radio lineup in Lexington is cheap, cheesy, lacks originality, and one of the worst in the country. (Gawd, I sure wish they'd bring back old Z103 from the 1990s, I LOVED listening to that station in middle school.)

5. U...K...24...7...obsession. In the newspaper, on TV, on radio, out of the mouths of crazed fans aplenty run amuck, advertised on ridiculous smack-talking shirts, etc. I flat out don't understand the hatred toward programs like: (1) Tennessee (UT fans really don't give a s**t about UK athletics and fans,) (2) Duke (Christian Lattener was 17 years ago, move on people) and (3) Florida (they're gonna beat you all in football every year through the 2050s, more than likely, so just hunker down and shut up.) (By the way, the best all-around and currently highest accomplishing athletic departments in the state are at UofL and perhaps even WKU.)

6. Although unrelated to Lexington proper, I do think its surrounding suburban/exurban communities are a joke. A flat out, verifiable joke. I lived in Lawrenceburg...never again. Harrodsburg, Georgetown, Versailles, Winchester, and Paris all have interesting historical sites, but the towns themselves are nevertheless not very nice and certainly unimpressive. The only towns I like (b/c of their historical sites, vibes, and clean appearences) are Frankfort and Danville.

Would I move back to Central KY? H*ell no! Didn't like it there, but I understand that for especially many multi-generational Central Kentuckians home is where the heart is. That heart, for them, includes family, friends, beautiful countryside, and a more laid-back lifestyle. I'm looking to move to Houston, Austin, or California in a year or two (I've been taking some scouting trips,) but if I were to move back to this region it would be to my current home of Cincinnati (or potentially Nashville.) I really admire Cincinnati, think it has a great quality of life and is still close enough to my parents in Central KY.

Just my $.02...now I'm preparing to be blasted!