Any NYC/SF/Chi/DC transplants in Louisville? (Lexington, Covington: crime, consignment)

[mwrenchd]

Hi,
I grew up in western KY and went to UKbut ended up leaving the state for a while. I've been up north in NYC for about 6 years now and went back to school this past year to start my MBA (2 yrs program). The wife and I are seriously thinking of returning to KY, so I am spending the summer in Louisville to feel out the idea.

I won't deny that the time in NYC as 20-somethings has definitely shaped the two of us- from becoming foodies, to having good concerts or shows to go to any night of the week, being around well-educated (formally or otherwise) & engaged people most of the time, having easy access to higher-end shopping, great public transit, etc.

As great as New York is though, we know we will never be Yew Yorkers and are both kind of aching to get back to Kentucky. On the other had, I also want to be sure we're not romanticizing the idea. So I guess my question is fairly open-ended. I'd like to hear about other people's experiences moving to Louisville from one of the major metropolitan areas. Have you adjusted well? Is it what you had expected? Are you happy here? What things do you miss most? Do you intend to stay in Louisville?

Finally, a couple practical matters-
Where the heck is a good, *trustworthy* dry cleaner? I'm willing to pay more for somewhere that will treat my clothing well (i.e. not crease the collar into a triangle around the hanger) and will follow instructions (fold & press the double cuff so I don't have to). This basically means somewhere not staffed by high school kids (highland, *ahem*).

Finally, I recently picked up a nice consignment suit at a great deal. It needs some substantial alterations beyond bringing up the hems. Any recommendations on a good tailor or seamstress who can do more complex alterations like slimming the armholes, shortening sleeves at the shoulder, etc?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by mwrenchd

Hi,
I grew up in western KY and went to UKbut ended up leaving the state for a while. I've been up north in NYC for about 6 years now and went back to school this past year to start my MBA (2 yrs program). The wife and I are seriously thinking of returning to KY, so I am spending the summer in Louisville to feel out the idea.

I won't deny that the time in NYC as 20-somethings has definitely shaped the two of us- from becoming foodies, to having good concerts or shows to go to any night of the week, being around well-educated (formally or otherwise) & engaged people most of the time, having easy access to higher-end shopping, great public transit, etc.

As great as New York is though, we know we will never be Yew Yorkers and are both kind of aching to get back to Kentucky. On the other had, I also want to be sure we're not romanticizing the idea. So I guess my question is fairly open-ended. I'd like to hear about other people's experiences moving to Louisville from one of the major metropolitan areas. Have you adjusted well? Is it what you had expected? Are you happy here? What things do you miss most? Do you intend to stay in Louisville?

Finally, a couple practical matters-
Where the heck is a good, *trustworthy* dry cleaner? I'm willing to pay more for somewhere that will treat my clothing well (i.e. not crease the collar into a triangle around the hanger) and will follow instructions (fold & press the double cuff so I don't have to). This basically means somewhere not staffed by high school kids (highland, *ahem*).

Finally, I recently picked up a nice consignment suit at a great deal. It needs some substantial alterations beyond bringing up the hems. Any recommendations on a good tailor or seamstress who can do more complex alterations like slimming the armholes, shortening sleeves at the shoulder, etc?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Oh where to start. There is absolutely no way to compare Louisville to NYC. I can think of a few ways Louisville may trump NYC, though. It is so small compared to NYC that you can drive anywhere and there is never traffic. Everything is cheap and the weather is warmer and nicer. The people (in general) are more friendly. Louisville has a very active food scene, and a sweet foodie website:

LouisvilleHotBytes.com.

Check out the "forum" on that site, and there are many native east coast people on there. Louisville offers the most amazing dining I have scene for a city this size, but definitely not like NYC.

NYC has more of everything, more culture, shopping, sports, museums, diversity, etc. It is also true that dry cleaners are just not as good here as in NYC, but I find Highland Cleaners to be about as good as my favorite cleaners in Chicago.

If you give me more info, I can give you some more advice. Louisville can offer a small taste of your life in NYC, and the city has changed drastically in just three years (for the better). There is a very active art scene and a pretty good social scene (although relative to NYC, it sucks).

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask. There are many pros and cons to the move. If you like the urban vibe of NYC, there are a few neighborhoods that may interest you in Louisville but of course they will be much smaller and of course not nearly as action packed.

[mwrenchd]

Thanks for the reply stx. I didn't know about the hotbytes website, looks to be a good resource.

To clarify, I didn't mean to imply that Louisville should be compared to NYC or one of the other major metro areas. They all have their up and downsides. I grew up in Henderson and my wife in Convington, so it's not as if we are are through-and-through big city folk.

In fact, we're actually quite familiar with Louisville as a place to visit- know the neighborhoods, major attractions, and have a lot of good friends here.

We're also aware of the lifestyle tradeoffs moving to Louisville would entail. We do want to move to a smaller, quieter place where we can own a house and not be expected to work 60+ hours a week. And we're willing to take substantial pay cuts to realize that. But there is a lot I know I will miss in NYC if we leave.

Which I guess is why I phrased my primary question as one more psychologically or emotionally driven. I think we have a good handle on the practical and more factual considerations when thinking about the move. Of all of the people I know who have left the state to pursue careers elsewhere, we are the first who are making the motions to come back. So we don't really know anyone else who has made a similar move and is able to reflect on it in a meaningful way. I guess that's sort of what I was looking for. Anyone who could provide a more reflective account of their experience moving here after being in a big city for a number of years.

[gimme it]

Hi there, I just had to come out of the woodwork to tell you that New Yorkers are actually very nice and friendly. It's a myth that they aren't pleasant. You have to remember that NYC is made up of so many people from so many places that it's often hard to tell who is originally from where. So maybe the friendly man who gives up his seat on the subway is originally from Idaho. Who knows? Anyway, I think the real difference is that Louisville will be a slower paced, less pretentious environment. No where in the world are people so fashion-conscious than here in NYC. Both women and men are slaves to fashion. I also think that in Louisville, you are forgiven if you are 10 lbs overweight. NYC is a tough city for those who aren't in perfect shape. I also imagine that children in Louisville don't grow up as fast as NYC children who seem overly precocious to me. New York is wonderful, but I wouldn't necessarily call it, "down-to-earth".

[Jerseyboy22]

Hey man, Im a NJ native Camden/Burlington area , grew up in Philly Center City, lived my teens in NYC right in Astoria, and college years in San Francisco right off of sutter street, my son is actually moving BACK to San Francisco this October he just cant stand the south anymore. Kids definately grow up fast in any city area, id even go so far to say NJ kids grow up faster then NYC kids, Figure it this way, NJ is the only state where every county is a Metropolitan area, also in each county you usually have a city with 150k-250k people in it. Then take into effect Camden/Trenton/Jersey City/Newark/ Atlantic City crime rate, gambling problems, prostitution, all but atlantic city make the US's top 20 for most murderous city. they also rank in the top 10 for biggest drug problems. Then you have the gang problems (NJ as a whole is a melting pot for more murderous gangs then your bloods and crips, im talking MS13 type gangs) then you have on average in each town a Highschool that is more diverse then most city schools are!! my sons school had 80% black and was one of NJ best schools ranking in the top 100 schools in Newsweeks top 1000 schools in the US. Then lastly take into consideration not only is NJ a metro area for each of there own big cities that reach over 150k, but were also where the majority of Philly and NYC people live, as i recall NJ area down to Newark is now considered NYC.

Also you have tor emember New Yorkers all are not about fashion that is a small fraction, Even in San Francisco the fashion people are few. And New Yorkers are very friendly!! Northerners are very blunt from what ive seen, they dont shoot the **** or beat around the bush they just go right to it, the Southerners ive met are the types to be nice to your face and talk smack behind your back to everybody in town. Generalizing as that is its ran true for my families experiences.

As for being overweight in these cities...its not forgiven because there is no reason for it. There is no reason one should be overweight in NYC or SF, People who would rather stay overweight paying for cab rides or taking extra time to wait for that subway line or bart line to take you 10 blocks is rediculous. Walk, for 2 cities with more stairs then all of kentuckey has, for more city blocks there just is no excuse. In San Francisco there is even less of an Excuse, Remember in SF fast food is illegal inside the city with the exception they do allow 1 of each so you do have 1 wendy's Bk and mcdonalds. they even allowed an in and out! But for the whole Fast food is illegal and food in restaraunts in SF with more then 20g of fat is also banned. besides the fast food bans the hills are insane you will get into shape just walking from Van Ness to Nob Hill. which looks far on maps but takes less then 10 minutes to walk to.

Its a whole different game when your city as a whole is so confined and dense with people, and cultures.

[Off Topic]

It sure seems like Louisville is a nice compromise between NYC and Henderson! You might get a little of the best of both worlds.

I absolutely love NYC, but it can be overwhelming. Louisville has plenty to offer without making you feel alienated. The difference in the cost of living can be put to a yearly visit to NYC.

[rflynchgo]

I'm not sure how much help I'll be, because we're only thinking of moving to Louisville and are not terribly far down that path, but I also spent 6 years in NYC and have now been in SF for a total of about 11. In between my SF sessions, I moved back to my hometown--Lexington--and had definitely romanticized it. Most of my friends had left and the town had changed in some ways I'm not crazy about. So I headed back to SF after a few years, and somehow managed to meet & marry another Kentuckian. We're now thinking about Louisville because a) my husband's family is there, and b) we think it offers a lot of the big city benefits with a more sane pace, which will be great now that we have a family.

I can tell you that when I moved out of NYC, I didn't miss it a bit. For me, it was a fantastic place during my 20s, but the shine wore off as the years went by & friends started moving back to their hometowns or out to the burbs.

The short summary is, I'm not sure I'd move back to Covington or Henderson, if I were you, but Louisville might give you the balance you're looking for.