Considering a move to Louisville... Help? (Lexington, Jeffersontown: spring break, rent, crime)

[ECX]

I am considering a family relocation to the Louisville area and I have some questions.

My wife and I are in our mid-30's and have an 8yr old and a 6yr old. We are tired of living in poluted Delaware and need a change.

1. What is the overall weather like?

2. Public schools. Where are the "good ones"

3. I dont want to live "in the city" What are the good subs??

4. looking for a single family home around $200k to $275k

5. Crime and safety?

6. We are really into fishing, boating and other outdoor activities. We hate being trapped inside due to bad weather and lack of things to do. Will Louisville be good in that respect?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

Mike

[censusdata]

1. Winters are generally mild, little snow (temps can run from the 50s or 60s for highs to teens

2. Public schools. Where are the "good ones"
Most students in Jef. Co go to privates schools. There are some good magnet schools such as Dupont Manual

3. I dont want to live "in the city" What are the good subs??
Areas North of I-64 are the most affluent and safe, such as Lyndon, St Matthews, and Springhurst. Also nice areas along I-265 (the Gene Snyder Frwy) east of I-65 (Fern Creek, Jeffersontown)

4. looking for a single family home around $200k to $275k
That should be no problem w/ KY cost of living. Try this site to view homes: Courier-Journal.com - Map Search


5. Crime and safety?
Usually rated Top 10 among cities w/ 100k+ residents. There were 81 murders this year, mostly West of downtown and in the Shively area
Murder map: courier-journal.com » Jefferson County homicide database

6. East of Downtown, the Ohio River has very slow current and is more like a lake, so boating and jet skies are common. It's excellent for catfish. Nearby lakes offering bass fishing include Taylorsville Lake and Guist Creek Lake, both located about 35 miles from downtown. Land btw the Lakes area is about 200 miles away, and Lake Cumberland is 130 miles away

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by ECX

I am considering a family relocation to the Louisville area and I have some questions.

My wife and I are in our mid-30's and have an 8yr old and a 6yr old. We are tired of living in poluted Delaware and need a change.

1. What is the overall weather like?

good, kind of like delaware weather

2. Public schools. Where are the "good ones"

Oldham County kentucky has the best rated overall. Floyd County Indiana and Jefferson KY also have great schools if you know which to look at. Search my posts for "schools" to see more.

3. I dont want to live "in the city" What are the good subs??

Oldham County...East and NE Jefferson County burbs from Jeffersontown to Middletown to Prospect.

4. looking for a single family home around $200k to $275k

done. its cheap here in parts


5. Crime and safety?

8th safest large city in america


6. We are really into fishing, boating and other outdoor activities. We hate being trapped inside due to bad weather and lack of things to do. Will Louisville be good in that respect?

yes, lots of lakes around, plus the river. You may consider some of teh developments in northern Oldham County. I hate exurbs and sprawl, but Oldham may be the place for you. Tomocox is our NE suburban expert, and i hope he will chime in as he usually does.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

Mike

A great place for a young family..any more specfics PM me....

[missymomof3]

Most students in Jefferson county go to private school? I doubt that.

[K. Dunn]

Hi ECX!

Back track a bit in this forum and you will see that a lot of your questions were also asked by me previously for the same reasons, and have been answered. We too are in our 30's/early 40's couple with two girls ages 5 & 10. Ca residents now, and very active. You will also find pictures I posted of a lot of Oldham County on my last visit just a few months ago.

If you can handle Delaware winters, this will feel very mild in comparison. A lot of people from the Great Lakes region and NY are migrating south at this time, and Louisville seems to be happy to take them in, along with Lexington, and other parts of Kentucky as well as NC, VA, TN, and SC. All popular migration spots.

Definately recommend East Louisville area, especially Oldham County if [which it sounds like your like us and don't want to live in the city] you like a more rural feel, yet want to still be close to the Big City for activities. Economy is growing, housing market is stable [unlike a lot of the country], lots of great outdoor things you can do with the kids like the zoo, hiking, bicycling, ect. Louisville is in the process of trying to complete a bicycle path completely around the city of Louisville which will be fantastic. The fairly new river front area is beautiful for families. Their park system is probably one of the best in the country. On sites like realtor.com you will find lots of homes in your price range [same range as us] through-out the Louisville area, even in the higher end areas of Oldham County. For Oldham County check out Crestwood, Goshen, Prospect [probably too high priced but occasionally you will see one in our price range], La Grange, & Riverbluff. All are withing a 25 minutes reach of Louisville. Our favorite area is the Borowick Farms area between La Grange and Crestwood. Just a nice spread-out housing area each with property, tons of homes in our price range!

Even closer in Jefferson county check out Anchorage, Brownsboro Farm, & Creekside. All of these areas are very safe compared to the national average and all are quite beautiful! I have been over there twice now in the last 6 mths and now are getting more serious and plan on bringing over the whole family for a look/see on spring break coming up in a few months. Let me know if I can help you any further!

If you want to see more photo's that I couldn't post due to space restraints on this site, go to Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing, type in Oldham County, Kentucky. My monicker is "wandering photo nut". You will see lots of photo's from Franklin county through Shelby County on into Oldham County. Good luck! Hope to see you over there someday!

[censusdata]

Pictures of the Louisville Metro Bike Loop
West End, near Bells Lane Panoramio - Photo of Metro Loop Bike Trail
SW, near Riverside Gardens Panoramio - Photo of Mill Creek Bike Trail
Bridge over Mill Creek Panoramio - Photo of Metro Bike Loop- Mill Creek Bridge

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

Most students in Jefferson county go to private school? I doubt that.

exactly, Louisville/Jefferson is the nation's 16th largest school district with nearly 100,000 students and is a fine urban school district where the magnet schools offer great education with diversity. By comparison, the largest local private school system is the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville with less than 20,000 students.

If I were relocating to louisville with kids and wanted public school, I would rent for a year in an area I liked and enroll my kids in JCPS. If you dont like it, you can always buy a home in a suburban district like Oldham.

[tomocox]

Missymom, if I were a betting man, taking the economics of the situation and making a hot political situation, a majority of Louisvillians would choose private/parochial over JCPS if tuition could be supplemented/covered by vouchers or some other credit.

It is likely that attitude that causes the muddling of the stastical facts.

[missymomof3]

Those who can't afford it need to get their kids in the traditional lottery then. I am blessed to have all three of my kids in it.

[tomocox]

Missy, you are exactly correct. Discipline in JCPS is so weak. Football is a highly disciplined sports skill. While many believe that the Catholic schools are able to recruit, I suggest that its the discipline training that makes the difference. Louisville Male (which is traditional and instills traditional discipline values) is the only JCPS school which completes perinnally for football championships. As a matter of fact, in 2006 there were four state-wide school size determined classes. That meant there were 8 schools represented in the Championships, of those 8 five were parochial. This year with a new format of 6 classes, of the 12 schools 5 were parochial.

When the public schools nationwide get the message, they will realize that what is missing most generally is school discipline. In fact, I would say that it is the one ingredient that Oldham County public schools have verses JCPS.