Louisville perception (Lexington, Covington, Florence: 2010, condo, credit)

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by Nmissi

As one born and raised in the South End, let me add to this that there are definite "neighborhood" flavors here as well; I live in Valley Station, it ranges from "Well to Do" nearby (Prairie Village, Valley Station Road area) to supposedly "Bad" (Valley Village, Kosmosdale) but I've never really felt unsafe anywhere in Valley Station. My mom lives on the outskirts of Fairdale, as a kid I traipsed all over the Old 3rd/Outer Loop/New Cut road area without fear or incident. And I would put Kenwood Hills or Windsor Forest up against any east end neighborhood for review; lovely homes in wonderful neighborhoods. The Southern Parkway/Iroquois Park area is exquisitely pretty and pleasant for the most part.

The West End boasts some of the loveliest architecture imaginable, in various states of repair, renewal, or decay; I would love to see it come back to prominence. Portions of the East End are still rural, but other areas are growing congested with superstores and suburban sprawl. (I try to stay as far away from Shelbyville Road/Hurstbourne Lane/Westport Road as possible.) Old areas like Cherokee Triangle are gorgeous, but terribly expensive. My cousin lives in the Highlands; it's tremendously artsy and attractive, but not very child-friendly in my opinion.

Pretty much, any end of town you choose, you can find a likely place to live. There's plenty for everyone.

I agree whole-heartedly! Thank you for the post and promoting my beloved-south/southwest end!

[missymomof3]

Here's a couple of the Southend neighborhoods

windsorforestwindsor forest Louisville Kentucky history

Hardwood Forest (Arnoldtown rd) Hardwood Forest - Three D's Development - Louisville, KY

[dru84]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Just in a nutshell, Louisville really is a nice city. When I lived there, I had both good and bad experiences. That said, when I moved there, my bad experiences with the people were SO bad that I've never forgotten about them and the good experiences have never quite seemed to outweigh them. It's a shame really. I'm not a mean, impolite, or socially inept guy, and I'm not one to harbor resentment, but I've not forgotten about how hard of a time I had adjusting to Louisville. It is so hard to meet people there. I would describe my relationship with the city as "like-love-hate."

On the flip side, if I stay in Kentucky, it would probably be in Louisville anyway b/c it offers the bulk of the state's arts, cultural, urban recreation, employment, and entertainment options. I'm not a huge fan of our small towns, which seem to be predominantly white trash with a honky tonk attitude (these types of people are generally different from true country people.) But, there are plenty of places in this country I'd MUCH rather live than Louisville and Kentucky.

I hope you like this place better than I did and do!

I'm sorry to see that so many people took offense to what you said. But I think I understand where you come from to a point. I currently live in Louisville and go to U of L. I moved here from San Fran so I find Louisville less diverse. The weather is not bad here but overall, I don't find downtown Louisville an attractive , fun city. Compared to other cities, people are not as friendly. I have found some to be quite ignorant when it comes to other cultures and other people. I have also encountered a lot of racism here. Actually one of the best clubs here had to close down because they got sued for Racism. I guess I find Louisville quite boring. People who are either born or raised here seem to love it here. In my case, I'm from the Fiji Islands and then I lived in the Bay area so for me, I'd prefer staying in a coastal area with more diversity. I love learning about other cultures and it's hard to do that living here. I'm sure if I grew up here, I would like it. I just can't wait to move back!

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by dru84

I'm sorry to see that so many people took offense to what you said. But I think I understand where you come from to a point. I currently live in Louisville and go to U of L. I moved here from San Fran so I find Louisville less diverse. The weather is not bad here but overall, I don't find downtown Louisville an attractive , fun city. Compared to other cities, people are not as friendly. I have found some to be quite ignorant when it comes to other cultures and other people. I have also encountered a lot of racism here. Actually one of the best clubs here had to close down because they got sued for Racism. I guess I find Louisville quite boring. People who are either born or raised here seem to love it here. In my case, I'm from the Fiji Islands and then I lived in the Bay area so for me, I'd prefer staying in a coastal area with more diversity. I love learning about other cultures and it's hard to do that living here. I'm sure if I grew up here, I would like it. I just can't wait to move back!

I'm glad to see that somebody at least kind of understands. Most Louisville residents, native and long-time transplants alike, just don't understand how a person can't "like" or "fit in with" Louisville. I guess it's b/c they've become comfortable and complacent in their setting and lifestyle and expect people that move there to adjust to life as they know it. I mean, not that it's necessarily right for a newcomer to impose their old lifestyle on a Louisvillian by saying things like "This is the way we did it in...", but L'ville has a very good ol' boy, who-you-know and not what-you-know culture. Not characteristic of a real urban area, if you ask me, in this case supposedly part of America's 35th largest metro area (or something like that.) Overall, not very friendly to "outsiders." I was raised 50 minutes east of the city and yet was treated sub-par and even sneered upon by native Louisvillians for not being "one of them," and sport was even made of my slight accent, which is noticeably Southern but not hickish (gentle, but not twangy or whiny.) It's Kentucky, people...hello, do you see anything wrong with this picture?

As for cultural diversity, well I know it's not San Francisco. Take a trip throughout Kentucky sometime and you'll realize that L'ville truly is the "melting pot," of sorts of Kentucky. If I stay in Kentucky, it will probably be northern Ky., as it is (I've found) more accepting of "outsiders," has a better job market, and is immediately across the river from beautiful Cincinnati.

You'd like to move back to SF, and I'd like to move to Texas. God be with us!

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Just in a nutshell, Louisville really is a nice city. When I lived there, I had both good and bad experiences. That said, when I moved there, my bad experiences with the people were SO bad that I've never forgotten about them and the good experiences have never quite seemed to outweigh them. It's a shame really. I'm not a mean, impolite, or socially inept guy, and I'm not one to harbor resentment, but I've not forgotten about how hard of a time I had adjusting to Louisville. It is so hard to meet people there. I would describe my relationship with the city as "like-love-hate."

On the flip side, if I stay in Kentucky, it would probably be in Louisville anyway b/c it offers the bulk of the state's arts, cultural, urban recreation, employment, and entertainment options. I'm not a huge fan of our small towns, which seem to be predominantly white trash with a honky tonk attitude (these types of people are generally different from true country people.) But, there are plenty of places in this country I'd MUCH rather live than Louisville and Kentucky.

I hope you like this place better than I did and do!

were your personal bad experiences of your own making or were these random bad experiences with strangers? or the service sector ie plumbers, etc? The area around st James
looks charming - how is that part of town? I am thinking of getting a pied a terre in Louisville to get a more urban experience than where I am now - outside of Murfreesboro TN - very rural. I am an ex NYC dweller so this is a bit hard for me..what other cities would you prefer to live in? I can't do winters anymore so I am most interested in southeast versus northeast..

[Shesflipped!]

Wow. This is all very interesting, which leads me to ask something I've always wondered about~and I hope people will answer honestly. My family is considering a relocation to Louisville from Michigan, where we have lived all of our lives. Will we be accepted? Will my children be accepted at school? Or is there some bias toward Northerners moving into the South? We've always loved the South, and have always hoped to move there someday. The first post on this thread was someone who thought Louisville was a tough place to fit in...any other experiences? (Good or bad) Are the suburbs any different? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[tomocox]

She's, I will only speak for myself. I have often responded similarly on this forum. You will be accepted, if you are accepting too. Here in Oldham County, we have a genuine desire to accept people of all walks. What we find when people don't feel accepted however, is the people themselves don't accept us. We are a truly diverse population, but unlike many stereotypical diverse communities, we have a higher level of residents with college and post graduate degrees in our homes. Not to suggest we don't have poor folks, but our population is now mostly immigrant to Oldham County rather than native. We have people from all over the world living here. So, at least here, you will be accepted if you accept us.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by Shesflipped!

Wow. This is all very interesting, which leads me to ask something I've always wondered about~and I hope people will answer honestly. My family is considering a relocation to Louisville from Michigan, where we have lived all of our lives. Will we be accepted? Will my children be accepted at school? Or is there some bias toward Northerners moving into the South? We've always loved the South, and have always hoped to move there someday. The first post on this thread was someone who thought Louisville was a tough place to fit in...any other experiences? (Good or bad) Are the suburbs any different? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Of course you will be accepted. This isn't the REAL south anyhow. It is south compared to what you are used to, but trust me the real south starts in southern KY and TN.

Louisville is a large metro area of 1.3 million. It has one of the fastes growing immigrant populations in the south end, and everyday I see more and more plates from places like MI, OH, and IL especially. I think we accept all these people quite well. I lives in two of the aforementioned states and when I moved here everyone was very friendly like they always are.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by Shesflipped!

Wow. This is all very interesting, which leads me to ask something I've always wondered about~and I hope people will answer honestly. My family is considering a relocation to Louisville from Michigan, where we have lived all of our lives. Will we be accepted? Will my children be accepted at school? Or is there some bias toward Northerners moving into the South? We've always loved the South, and have always hoped to move there someday. The first post on this thread was someone who thought Louisville was a tough place to fit in...any other experiences? (Good or bad) Are the suburbs any different? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hun you will be accepted as long as you come here with an open mind and heart. What we don't appreciate are those who come here thinking where they come from was better or telling us what we do wrong, etc etc. Accept us "as is" and you will do fine. Hope this helps!

[Rapartist]

Country peeps don't like the city but we have got a lot of support for a NBA team in L'Ville which we should have here. The Redneck country peeps don't like The Mohammed Ali and they probably won't support the NBA. All they cares about is UK Basketball and Adolph Rupp which is ancient History.