Things to Know Before Moving to Kentucky (Louisville, Shelbyville: rent, crime)

[bishard2]

- I just read the thread from Croce- is the weather really that miserable there?! We live in Oregon, and yes, it gets cold here, but it's winter! We were hoping to move to an area that was comparable, if not a little nicer- I'd like to hear some more takes on the weather there...Thanks so much!

[tomocox]

I have lived here 56 winters. Kentucky winters have ranged from mild to extreme. I have seen 22 below zero, 22 inches of snow, ice storms, and mid-winter blizzards with drifting snows. I have also lived winters where the low never got to single digit temps. The best indicators of winter severity comes from the National Weather Service and what they call "Heating-Degree Days" which measure the hours and days in a form that truly guage severity.

I would say that Louisville Kentucky has a near perfect four season climate. We get four totally separate and nearly equal seasons, not always in the same year, but typically we do see a very well balanced seasonal climate.

[bishard2]

Thanks Tomocox...I guess I want to make sure we don't move to an area with TOO many surprises, that includes the weather!

[Cattknap]

Croce - as the wife of a veteran officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (soon to be retired to KY after 33 years with the force), I can guarantee you that Louisville's auto accident rate in no way begins to compare to the rate in Los Angeles. First, L.A. is a very large, very densely populated area. L.A. usually has the #1 most congested freeways in the nation (as rated annually by the federal government). I've driven the freeways and streets of Los Angeles my whole life and I've driven the streets of Louisville many times, even during rush hour - no comparison - not even close.

Keeping in mind that L.A. is huge geographically and in population density and having the most congested freeways in the nation, it stands to reason that Louisville drivers could in no way be grouchier or ruder than L.A. drivers. There is traffic here at 5 am - there is traffic at 11 pm - 7 days a week.

Groceries are terribly expensive every place. I went to Trader Joe's today and brought home 3 bags of groceries - 2 packages of fish, one of ground sirloin and the rest was fruit and vegetables, one lb. of butter, one half gallon of non-fat milk, 2 packages of nuts - the cost: $76. No bread, no sweets, no cheese, no flowers, nothing fancy - I carried everything into the house in one trip from the car. Food prices are predicted to rise fairly dramatically throughout the U.S. in 2008. ERS/USDA Briefing Room - Food CPI, Prices, and Expenditures: Analysis and Forecasts of the CPI for Food

I know you have had a bad few months since your move to Louisville - hopefully, with spring will come some new, happier experiences.

[kygman]

I just retired recently from the Ky. Dept. of Transportation after almost 30 years of service. The reason for spraying the brine (salt water) on the roads is to prevent to ice from bonding to the roadway. Why use brine? It works and only cost about 8 cents/gallon to make. In the district I worked in, we haven't used sand in a long time. Used to use a salt/sand mix, but now spray the salt with liquid calcium chloride. It works at a lower temperature than salt.
While we're talking about the transportation department, I want to put a plug in for the workers. When you see someone standing out there with their hi-viz shirts and hats and holding a paddle with stop on one side and slow on the other, pay attention to them! They aren't out there just for the fun of it. They are out there to protect the men and women out there trying to work on the roadways. That's not just highway workers but contractors too. And the state says that highway work is a non-hazardous job classification.

I'll get off my soap box now! lol

My parents live in western Kentucky and just met a lady at church who had just moved from somewhere in New England. When she went to pay her property taxes she asked if that amount was for 3 or 6 months, like she used to pay. Said she almost died of shock to find out that was for the whole year!
I had some neighbors move here from California and couldn't believe how much produce cost here compared to out there. I reminded them it didn't have to be shipped so far out there! lol
I've lived in western Kentucky all my life..so far! Wouldn't trade it for anywhere!

[cobolt]

I don't know that produce is all that cheaper on the west coast than back east, the midwest, or the mid atlantic states. WA is the apple growing capitol and they're pretty expensive here.

[mjbackus123]

Originally Posted by Croce

mj - Here's a quick answer to your question about taxes. If you live and work in Louisville Metro there is an additional 2.2% income tax. If you work in Louisville metro but live outside, it's an additional 1.45% Tack that onto the 6% state income tax and you are up to a state and local top income tax rate of 8.2%. So if you have a job most of your income will be taxed at 8.2%. That's because even though the state has a graduated income tax from 2 - 6%, the top rate kicks in on all income over $8001. As far as Illinois - the state income tax is a flat rate of 3% of federal AGI with a $2000 per person deduction. Now the property taxes are much higher in Illinois as are the sales taxes. Maybe that is what you are referring to when you mention 10 - 11 percent.

croce - this is going only by what i know...the taxes on purchased goods within cook county, il., is near 10%. the city of chicago was talking of raising it to a lofty 11%. not quite sure if that is the case, but everything is expensive here. i will deal for sure with the 3-4% decrease kindly ;-) especially on booze (no tax! YEAH...did i get that right on the no tax?!) but honestly, i would like to now more about the mold and things...that is very scary to me. my wife in particular has some fairly bad allergies, how do most folks get along with that down there?!

[kygman]

Originally Posted by cobolt

I don't know that produce is all that cheaper on the west coast than back east, the midwest, or the mid atlantic states. WA is the apple growing capitol and they're pretty expensive here.

I was just going by what my neighbors were telling me. They acted surprised that produce prices were higher here than California. I was looking at the price of grapes last night. My wife and I joked wondering if Walmart offers bank financing on grapes. lol

[johnsonkk]

Thanks for the long post and breakdown by topic on your experiences in Louisville. We just move down to San Antonio after 10 years in Louisville and it might be beneficial to post a similar thread on our experiences after moving to San Antonio.

1. WEATHER - Louisville averages 108 sunny days a year (Breckenridge, Colorado averages 300+ sunny days/yr). The average wind speed is 8 mph (Bismarck, SD has 14+mph wind speed average). There are places that have are 'better' weather categories but there is nothing less surprising than researching a future city for weather data.

2. TAXES – Both Louisville and Lexington are in the top 10 cities in the country for highest 'city income taxes'. I wasn't aware that you were charged more for living outside the metro area. This is why the huge industrial park in Brooks is growing like crazy. All workers (like the new Geek Squad - Best Buy) do not pay the 2.5% local income tax. I'm surprised more businesses don't expand outside the city since it's instantly like giving every worker a 2.5% bonus.

4. RADON GAS - The total cost for an average radon 'venting' system runs less than $2k. The instruments that measure radon show the effects of door openings and normal HVAC use vs. having a completely dormant home. I'm very leery of the statistics on radon gas and find it hard to have 4.0 p/Ci as the definitive benchmark. Most equipment I've seen used cannot measure that activity level with that specificity. If I did find out my home had 3.5 p/Ci, would I be greatly relieved while 4.5 would throw me into a panic? The levels can change from 8.0 p/Ci down to 2.0 in less than 20 minutes of air circulation. I'm much more concerned with air quality (inside and outside) especially in areas surrounding the LG&E coal burning plants along the Ohio River. The prevailing winds blow the smoke/particulates over into Louisville.

5. ROADS/TRAFFIC - Louisville is much better than most cities by having drop-out points and alternative roads. San Antonio has so many roads that would make create 'relief points' but a strong neighborhood coalition got the city to put roadblocks right in the middle of a roadway! The only way to travel is on the main interstates and highways.
Insurance is a strange animal. We moved 50% closer to the downtown area and insurance went up. They explained that your new zip code requires a higher rate even though I explained I used to travel through that SAME zip code plus 25+ MORE miles each day!

6. COST OF LIVING - For the items you mentioned, prices can be affected by who you know. I've rehabed a couple of homes and every contractor was a referral and through those referrals come lower prices.
Energy prices are much lower outside LG&E's domain. Electricity in Kentucky averages 4 cents / KW (thanks to the hydro generators) while some states average well over 10 cents / KW. I don't know how LG&E can continue to charge twice or three times the rate that the Salt River RECC (Bullitt co) charges.

Thanks again for your original post.

[K. Dunn]

Thanks Croce for that honest information for us wanna bees who are thinking of moving out. Good to hear from someone who just did the same.

Now one thing I must say though, is one cannot honestly evaluate a areas weather unless one has been there for a minimum of 2 years. That way you would see and experience all 4 seasons twice and make a thorough evaluation. Moving to a new area in the Fall and then making a weather comment in the middle of winter? Just the shock of adjusting to a new climate would make someone think about it. I have contacted several people who moved from a tropical or dry climate to the Louisville or Cincinnati area and all said it took them a year or two to adjust, but now love it! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though eh? You can live in a nice warm dry place like Phoenix, AZ but then HATE the 120 degree humid heat of Summer which like a cold winter, keeps you inside. Like someone said, nothing is perfect. I probably live in one of the most temperate climates in the USA currently over here in Thousand Oaks, CA with generally mild 50-60 degree winters, and 80-90 degree summers. But neither Southern CA or AZ has the beautiful green of Kentucky now do they? Takes rain to get green! Always a trade-off involved. I know for my family that the serious cold of winter will be the biggest adjustment we will have to do. Still look forward to it though! Sure will appreciate when the Spring/Summer comes!!!

Now on a different note, what the heck is Radon? Now that worries me being a Daddy too. Don't like those kind of surprises.