Things to Know Before Moving to Kentucky (Louisville, Richmond: transplants, house)

[censusdata]

If you think Louisville's traffic signals are timed bad, you need to drive in Lexington for a while. Frankfort and Bowling Green also have worse traffic problems than Louisville IMO

[KYcoyote]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

Most of the crime occurs in the west end of town, not the South.

Hmm, have heard parts of town are now tryin for dry ordinances forbidding sale of alcohol - is this at/near West End?? If so then not on account of liquor stores bein knocked off by robbers i hope. Yet arguably an excellent measure towards keeping the peace.

And something that struck me about Louisville when dwelling up that way, it's an agressive town in healthy way kinda like New York where folks also drive cars like they stole em and slow pokes get elbowed outa the way. Again thats good thing - competitive fast drivers knowin what they're doing and showing no mercy for sluggards. Remember the automobile bicycle wars circa 2005? Great competitive sport for everybody! Meanwhile would be great if they synchonized traffic lights - then it would be like race-horses lining up at starting gates. Otherwise coupla years ago traffic was never fatally slow, I could get between Radcliff and anywhere in Louisville roughly 30 mile trip in less than 40 minutes at any time of the day.

[tomocox]

A bit of background first. Kentucky law allows voting precincts (some states call a precinct a "ward") to have a local option on whether to be "dry" with no alcohol sales, or "wet" where alcohol may be sold by package, drink, or product (beer or wine & liquor).

In the November 2007 election, 4 western Louisville precincts voted to stop sales of alcohol. Right now, that election is being challenged in the courts.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by KYcoyote

Hmm, have heard parts of town are now tryin for dry ordinances forbidding sale of alcohol - is this at/near West End??

yessir it is

[maree77]

came on this forum to get some advice about schools an nice areas to live in but 4 some reason it wont let me post so figured id start reading an see if it will let me reply ...so any ways im looking at moving around e town an would luv to hear about any good schools an places to live with small children aged from 5- 10 cheers lol the mould thing got me haha

Originally Posted by Croce

Things to know about living in Kentucky, for those planning a move here.

We moved to Louisville about five months ago. What follows are some of the things that we learned about Kentucky after moving here from the perspective of an outsider. I am sharing them on this forum for the benefit of those considering a move here.

1. WEATHER - The weather here is awful. It’s been cold damp and raining most of the time. What’s amazing is that even though the actual temperature may be in the thirties it feels much cooler. The humidity is very high and this makes it feel colder. In other words – the weather is miserable. Mold grows all over the place and any surface that doesn’t receive direct sunlight will most likely have mold growth. This means sidewalks, the brick on your home, decks, etc. I have lived in Chicago, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Germany, Spain and elsewhere never seeing anything like this.

2. TAXES – Kentucky has a state income tax with a maximum rate of 6%. This is not bad, BUT what I didn’t learn prior to our move here was the Jefferson County occupational tax. If you work in Jefferson County, you must pay an additional tax. If you work and live in Jefferson County, the tax is higher. This is no small amount. Make sure you are aware of your taxes BEFORE moving here.

3. HOUSING – When you first drive around the Louisville area and into the near NE suburbs you will be impressed by the beautiful homes on large lots that are available for quite reasonable purchase prices. They are all unique and it’s rare to find two alike, even in newer subdivisions – so you are purchasing a custom home for very little money. For those moving from states that have large builders like Lennar, Centex, Toll Bros, etc. this seems wonderful – no cookie cutter houses. Here’s the problem – family builders, who may be building only a couple homes a year, build many of these homes. The floor plans, heating/cooling capacity, energy efficiency have not been proven. When you buy a home from a large builder – the design has been proven. Here, it’s a crapshoot. You may end up with an ill designed HVAC system, improper placement of vents, thermostats, poor drainage, etc. You may find too many windows, not enough, or it might be 85 degrees in the MBR and 60 degrees in the family room. Of course, you will have beautiful columns and dentil molding to admire. If there’s any problem with these homes, you really don’t have much recourse from these family builders because most have one foot on a banana peel and the other edging toward bankruptcy court.

4. RADON GAS - A lot of the homes here have a radon problem. I don’t know if this gas really causes lung cancer or not, but I’m not going to risk someone in my family getting sick years from now because I didn’t get it taken care of properly. So if you buy a house here – have it tested for radon. If it tests higher that 4 Pico curies/liter you owe it to yourself to have a radon system installed to evacuate the gas prior to it entering the basement. This turned out to be just another unanticipated expense for us.

5. ROADS/TRAFFIC - The roads are inadequate for the traffic and the transportation department has not figured out how to set signals for efficient traffic flow. The red lights at some of the intersections are the longest I have ever experienced. You could almost get your oil changed while waiting at some of these lights. The highway on and off ramps can be dangerously close to one another. This can make merging on and exiting sometimes seem like a scene from a Mad Max movie. In addition, the drivers in Kentucky are without a doubt some of the worst I have ever come across. Drivers here run red lights and tailgate incessantly. I would hazard to guess that on any given day there are more accidents in the Louisville metro area than the Los Angeles metro area – and I’m not talking per capita. My auto insurance rates skyrocketed when I changed my address to Louisville.

The highway department in Kentucky sprays salt water on the roads and spreads salt, whenever there is a forecast of snow. I was told they used sand. This was not true. For those that haven’t experienced this salt treatment, let me tell you it is very hard on your car. I have a two-year-old car that could not be told from new when I moved here. After three months in Kentucky, the aluminum wheels are beginning to pit and the engine looks like it was salvaged from Hurricane Katrina.

6. COST OF LIVING - The COL here for actual everyday purchases is high. Kroger has shockingly high food prices. Dry cleaning and car washes are outrageous compared to Southern California. Home services in general are pretty expensive. Things like lawn maintenance; painters, remodeling, etc. are much higher than I am normally accustomed. The costs for utilities are high. If you buy a large house, your LG&E tab can easily be upwards of $400 a month.

7. FRIENDLY PEOPLE – The people here do seem friendlier and in many cases a handshake sealed a deal for me. I find this refreshing and have not had any bad experiences.

8. FREEDOM – This is hard to quantify, but one example is gun ownership. In California, just purchasing and legally owning a gun is an arduous process. Here, it’s just a matter of walking into the gun store and saying, “I’ll take that one”. I also found out that it is legal to keep a loaded gun in your car as long as it’s in the glove compartment. This would be a felony in several states. No sales taxes on liquor. I have never been to a state that didn’t heavily tax booze and cigarettes. I don’t smoke, but have been collecting sales tax free bottles along the bourbon trail. Kentucky is one of the few states where you can legally own a newer slot machine. In most states it has to be 25 years old. I’m sure there are other freedoms that I will find in future months.

9. NO LINES – This is great. No lines at the DMV, no lines at the urgent care, no lines in many stores. I love it.

10. SAFETY – I think it is quite safe in most areas. This is evidenced by the fact that most doors are glass and there are no double cylinder dead bolts. So anyone can walk through the front door with just a hammer and 2 seconds time. You also don’t see too many of those community mailboxes that are found in many subdivisions in other states. So far no one has stolen any mail to my knowledge. It’s nice to go out to my old fashion mailbox and put up the flag.

Hope this short list gives you something to think about. I’ll probably stay here for a few more years and then move to a warmer climate. The weather was my biggest surprise. I really did think it would be more temperate and sunshine more often. Good luck all.

[maree77]

o i forgot to mention that i was moving from australia to kentucky

[K. Dunn]

We have Krogers over here [also part of the Ralphs companies] in CA. Actually find them decent, and I did go to one over there in Boone County and found it similar. I see they get a lot of bad rap in general over there. So it will be good to know that there is even "better" supermarkets too!


Regarding the Car Wash pricing, over in here in CA a Gas Station Drive through car wash is $8-up. A Hand-wash or fancier set-up is anywhere from $12-30!! So don't worry your not alone in that front. Just joining the rest of the free market world. If people didn't pay it, they wouldn't get it!

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by censusdata

If you think Louisville's traffic signals are timed bad, you need to drive in Lexington for a while. Frankfort and Bowling Green also have worse traffic problems than Louisville IMO

Agreed, 100%!

[georgeky]

I joined just to give you a warning. It is ILLEGAL to carry a gun in the glove box. That is considered a concealed weapon, and you will be arrested for it. It must be in plain view. In other words, if you go through a check point lay your pistol on the dash or in the seat where it can be seen easily. I was born and raised/reared in KY, and it has never been legal as long as can remember to keep your pistol in the glove box. Other than that you can carry anywhere you like in plain view.

[dutchiris]

Originally Posted by maree77

o i forgot to mention that i was moving from australia to kentucky

We do have a deplorable shortage of kangaroos here in Louisville.