Possibly Moving for Louisville Med School (Bardstown, Liberty: crime rates, houses, safe area)

[thenextstep]

Hi all-- there's a good chance that I'll be moving to Louisville for medical school (I'm torn between there and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA-- but right now the finances are saying Louisville).

First- anyone have any experience with the med school or how it's regarded either positively or negatively?

Second- I've done some preliminary searches for houses and found some really affordable housing near downtown (40 - 80K) within a mile or 2 (or 3) of the med campus. Ideally, I'd like to be able to walk or ride to classes & the hospitals if possible. I have a wife and 2 kids (2.5yrs old and 7 mths old), so I'm very concerned about safety. Any input? We're looking for no less than 3 bdrs. I've mainly looked on remax's website around the areas labeled downtown, shively and old louisville-- but these areas don't mean a whole lot to me.

Oh- I've lived in Miami for the 14 of the last 15 yrs (the wife for 10), but we're not concerned about the winters.

If it takes a while for me to respond- bear with me. My cpu is on the fritz, so I have to check email etc at the library about once a day.

Thanks!

[censusdata]

U of L's Med School is one of the best research institutions in the US, based on major innovations.

It was the site of...
- the first prosthetic face
- the first successful hand transplant
- the first wireless artificial heart transplant
- development site for Gardasil, the first cervical cancer vaccine
- some sources even claim it had the first ambulance, emergency room, and one of the nation's first blood banks

University of Louisville - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CNN.com - Getting a new face after rare infection - February 8, 2002

There are some very nice (and safe!) areas near the med school. I'd look just east of it in the Phoenix Hill, Original Highlands, and Irish Hill areas. The Bardstown Road corridor in those areas also offers a great nightlife and many shops and restaurants.

There used to be a dicey public housing complex right next to the med school, but it was razed and replaced with a new mixed income development. Crime rates in the area have really dropped since that occurred.

Original Highlands




U of L med school




The former public housing site - now called Liberty Greens

[thenextstep]

Censusdata, thanks for the input. Very thorough-- I'm planning on visiting Louisville sometime next month. hopefully I'll be able to look around at some housing a bit. Any recommendations on contacting a realtor to help with a preliminary search while I'm there?

Thanks

[tomocox]

Louise Venettozzi with RE/Max Connections does a lot of Old Louisville very well. I would recommend her as a first contact.

[stx12499]

Also, Alan Mertz. You may even consider Liberty Green that censusdata posted before. When you contact a realtor, tell them you want to search zones 1-3. Also, there's absolutely no way you will find any home for under 80k in any safe area, so forget about that idea. There are some steals right around 80-90k though in parts of Germantown which are safe and nice for familes, although you will be looking at a two bedroom shotgun home with less than 900 square feet.

[censusdata]

I'd guess Irish Hill would have comparable home prices to Germantown. Original Highlands would be a bit more pricey