Second home in Louisville Area (Elizabethtown, St. Matthews: real estate, renting, condos)

[gypsy.sol]

Hello,

I was born and raised in South Florida and have lived here all of my life. My brother moved to Kentucky in 2008 and settled in E-Town. I have been traveling at least once a year since then to visit him and his family. I fell in love with Kentucky on my first trip (went in October and that foilage was amazing) and feel as though it is my home away from home. I lost my father 3 years ago and it is just my mother and I now. We feel lonely for family (especially around the holidays) and are seriously considering buying a second home in Kentucky to be closer to my brother. Elizabethtown is nice but we are city girls and like to be near shopping(we buy organic so have to have a Whole Foods within a good travel distance) restaurants, symphony, museums, etc.

That being said, we are looking to invest in a home in the Louisville area. My brother mentions St. Matthews, but that is a bit more than we want to spend. I have heard of an area called Crescent Hills? We are looking to keep it under $200,000. Condos are not out of the question. I like the idea of being very close to the city. Within walking distance to amenities, coffee shops, restaurants. However, we are concerned about crime in the city. We have lived in gated 24 hour communities for many years and have an alarm system. From my research, I have not seen any community that is gated in the Louisville area.

Anyway my question is....what areas in Louisville are safe, and nice and clean. Looking for something charming. Have seen those brownstones in Historic Louisville! Sure those are pricey In my dreams! Also we would like to be near a park so we can take our little dog. Thanks

[cubedeathk]

Crescent Hill and Clifton would both be good historic and more urban feeling choices, and there are a lot of condos in your price range in that area (and the area south of Brownsboro Road is better than the area north, so you may see some very cheap condos there, also called Clifton Heights, though it's not really unsafe, just not as nice, and Brownsboro isn't really a nice pedestrian street). You won't find any gated communities around there, but Whole Foods will just be a few mile drive up Shelbyville Road. There's a nice dog park just north of 64 on Cochran Hill. I wouldn't totally rule out St. Matthews too, there are definitely condos under 200k and even smaller houses.



The Highlands are probably out of your price range, but you could also afford a nice place in Germantown (including Schnitzelburg, St. Joseph and Merriwether), Audobon, and Parkway Village. Those are all nice somewhat walkable and somewhat more urban older neighborhoods depending on where you are, though there are fewer condos there and Whole Foods is further away. I think Clifton and Crescent Hill are a better fit though based on what you wrote here; crime isn't really a concern in any of those areas, but Clifton and Crescent Hill probably have less since they aren't nearly as close as some areas that are still up-and-coming.

[BurnInTheMil]

I’ll have to agree and throw in Clifton & Crescent Hill. Both are good areas, near downtown, near restaurants, bars, parks, etc...and are more affordable than areas such as The Highlands.

Another option would be just across the river in Southern Indiana, specifically New Albany. It is very up & coming, a lot of local flair downtown, has the river walk/waterfront, some rest restaurants, shops, etc...and is within your budget. It’s also very walkable & urban in downtown.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by gypsy.sol

Hello,

I was born and raised in South Florida and have lived here all of my life. My brother moved to Kentucky in 2008 and settled in E-Town. I have been traveling at least once a year since then to visit him and his family. I fell in love with Kentucky on my first trip (went in October and that foilage was amazing) and feel as though it is my home away from home. I lost my father 3 years ago and it is just my mother and I now. We feel lonely for family (especially around the holidays) and are seriously considering buying a second home in Kentucky to be closer to my brother. Elizabethtown is nice but we are city girls and like to be near shopping(we buy organic so have to have a Whole Foods within a good travel distance) restaurants, symphony, museums, etc.

That being said, we are looking to invest in a home in the Louisville area. My brother mentions St. Matthews, but that is a bit more than we want to spend. I have heard of an area called Crescent Hills? We are looking to keep it under $200,000. Condos are not out of the question. I like the idea of being very close to the city. Within walking distance to amenities, coffee shops, restaurants. However, we are concerned about crime in the city. We have lived in gated 24 hour communities for many years and have an alarm system. From my research, I have not seen any community that is gated in the Louisville area.

Anyway my question is....what areas in Louisville are safe, and nice and clean. Looking for something charming. Have seen those brownstones in Historic Louisville! Sure those are pricey In my dreams! Also we would like to be near a park so we can take our little dog. Thanks

Agree about Clifton! Get a good realtor. PM me with questions. Glad you enjoy or historic, beautiful, and up and coming city!

[ServoMiff]

Gated communities is a Florida thing. It's completely non-existent in Kentucky except for the most elite of homes/neighborhoods.

The reason generally is because it's a worthless expense for an area with better zoning laws and relatively low crime. Florida leads the nation in fraud and petty crime, and with terrible zoning laws you could have a million dollar home next to a shack if you didn't have a planned community or gated subdivision, so it makes sense there.

Louisville's violent crime is almost exclusively relegated to points west of Interstate 65.

Clifton/Crescent Hill is a pretty nice area and while you won't have the comforts of a gated community, as long as you're smart (e.g. don't leave valuables in your car where visible or leave windows open with no window treatments where there's a lot of traffic) you're likely never going to experience anything different from the gated community. St Matthews would get you closer to the Trader Joes, but Louisville also has an independent chain called Rainbow Blossom - check them out as well.

I lived in Orlando 5 years and am actually moving to the Treasure Coast at the end of this month to help take care of my MIL. Louisville has some great amenities to offer, but the winters, combined with being laid off twice in the less than 3 years I've been back here really soured me to the place though.

Keeping the budget under $200k you're not likely to find the charm that you're looking for as well as the "nice, safe and clean", as we're in a bit of a Real Estate seller's market with very limited inventory which is pushing prices up significantly in the desirable areas. Not saying it's not doable, but it is getting much tougher, though starting to slow in the last couple of months. The cookie cutter house of sticks that I'm renting in Jtown is now worth roughly $200k and it's a vinyl village neighborhood with semi-trashy folks. You'll need a really good realtor to help you weed through the junk to find you a deal.

Louisville is not E-town and nor is it as well kept as anywhere in Florida. It's not an uncharming city by any means, but it has a lot more "grit" than you'd see in almost any Florida town other than Jacksonville.

[gypsy.sol]

Thank you Peter! Will do.

[gypsy.sol]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Gated communities is a Florida thing. It's completely non-existent in Kentucky except for the most elite of homes/neighborhoods.

The reason generally is because it's a worthless expense for an area with better zoning laws and relatively low crime. Florida leads the nation in fraud and petty crime, and with terrible zoning laws you could have a million dollar home next to a shack if you didn't have a planned community or gated subdivision, so it makes sense there.

Louisville's violent crime is almost exclusively relegated to points west of Interstate 65.

Clifton/Crescent Hill is a pretty nice area and while you won't have the comforts of a gated community, as long as you're smart (e.g. don't leave valuables in your car where visible or leave windows open with no window treatments where there's a lot of traffic) you're likely never going to experience anything different from the gated community. St Matthews would get you closer to the Trader Joes, but Louisville also has an independent chain called Rainbow Blossom - check them out as well.

I lived in Orlando 5 years and am actually moving to the Treasure Coast at the end of this month to help take care of my MIL. Louisville has some great amenities to offer, but the winters, combined with being laid off twice in the less than 3 years I've been back here really soured me to the place though.

Keeping the budget under $200k you're not likely to find the charm that you're looking for as well as the "nice, safe and clean", as we're in a bit of a Real Estate seller's market with very limited inventory which is pushing prices up significantly in the desirable areas. Not saying it's not doable, but it is getting much tougher, though starting to slow in the last couple of months. The cookie cutter house of sticks that I'm renting in Jtown is now worth roughly $200k and it's a vinyl village neighborhood with semi-trashy folks. You'll need a really good realtor to help you weed through the junk to find you a deal.

Louisville is not E-town and nor is it as well kept as anywhere in Florida. It's not an uncharming city by any means, but it has a lot more "grit" than you'd see in almost any Florida town other than Jacksonville.

Thank you for your insight. I'm sorry but what did you mean when you said Louisville has a lot more "grit"? Did you mean tougher? More crime?

[gypsy.sol]

Originally Posted by BurnInTheMil

I’ll have to agree and throw in Clifton & Crescent Hill. Both are good areas, near downtown, near restaurants, bars, parks, etc...and are more affordable than areas such as The Highlands.

Another option would be just across the river in Southern Indiana, specifically New Albany. It is very up & coming, a lot of local flair downtown, has the river walk/waterfront, some rest restaurants, shops, etc...and is within your budget. It’s also very walkable & urban in downtown.

Thank you. I have a niece that lives near Seymour. Will check out New Albany.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by gypsy.sol

Thank you for your insight. I'm sorry but what did you mean when you said Louisville has a lot more "grit"? Did you mean tougher? More crime?

No, I mean Florida is a tourist state and thus pays a massive expense in common area maintenance to keep up that "paradise" factor which is paid for in tourism tax dollars. Kentucky/Louisville does have tourism but it's primarily for horses and bourbon and doesn't have a city in it called "the city beautiful" so common area maintenance isn't a high priority.

There's a lot more weeds, litter, high grass during most of the warm months on interstates and highways with grass medians and just overall more of a dilapidated look in the older parts of the city when comparing to Florida. It's not unique to Louisville by any means; it's pretty common in the Midwest. Also get used to more potholes and poorer quality roads by comparison as well as areas with graffiti.

If you're not used to full-time residency in areas outside of Florida, this can easily be perceived as more gritty.