Family relocation - Oldham or not? (Louisville, Brooks: sales, chapel, houses)

[pmkeating]

Hi all,

I've read this board from end to end and learned a lot. Thanks to eveyone for the thousands of posts and replies.

I've recieved an offer for a job in Louisville (we're currently in NE Ohio). I think that cost of living and "culture" will be pretty similar to what we're used to. We've looked at house listings all over and it seems like there are nice areas in every corned of the Louisville area.

We have a very large family (6 kids age 11 and younger), so we're looking at larger (4-5 BR, 2500+ sq ft) homes. It seems like $250,000 can buy that. My wife likes a "country" feel. We homeschool now, but reevaluate every year, so good schools are a stong preference. Based on what I've read, that would point us to Oldham county, but the job location is far west Louisville, almost on the river (in an area Google maps calls "Greenwood"), and I'll need access to the airport. I'd rather not make a 45 minute commute. Is there a better option? It doesn't seem like there are many people recommending southern IN or the Sherpherdsville/Brooks area. Is there a reason?

Thanks all.

[tomocox]

This is by no means a damning comment, but rather as matter of fact as I can be. People are people and there are wonderful people at all spectrums. That being said, you asked about Bullitt Co and S. Indiana. Educationally, most S. Indiana school corporations rival Oldham County's superior public school system while Bullitt County seems to have more blue to gray collared people which typically do not have advance educated parents in the homes. Your S. Indiana homes are not much closer timewise than western Oldham County, which by-the-way has the higher valued homes. So, you have quite a quandry.

STX will fall over, but based on the job location, I might try really hard to either live in an Eastern High School "home" or possibly in the Iroquois area and enroll boys in DeSales. I only say this due to travel concerns. I'd take Oldham County schools any given day, but as you said, the 45 min drive isn't a happy alternative.

[pmkeating]

Tomocox, I'll have to display my ignorance here - when you say S. Indiana school "corporations", is that a technical term, or just the word used to describe administrative districts there?

When I say S Indiana, I mean New Albany, which seems much closer than areas like Borden. According to Google, New Albany is about 25 minutes.

[kingcopper]

You should definately consider Floyd Knobs and the Floyd Indiana School system. The Knobs offer the luxury and resale of Oldham along with stunning views of the Louisville metroplex!

[Abigail1031]

I grew up and lived in Southern Indiana since 1978 until last year. With that said, I thought it might help to give a little insight. I understand your commute time is an obvious large consideration. However, I would strongly recommend Floyds Knobs over New Albany. I grew up in Floyds Knobs and had a great childhood with larger land plots than I think you will find in New Albany. If you do decide that New Albany is better for you, I would suggest going to the 'outskirts' a bit. Like around Chapel Lane and beyond. I would stay away from State Street area, better around Grant Line, and better yet around Charlestown Rd. I think if you are looking right around the I-64 bridge, you will find this is probably not going to have the type of housing and 'country' feel that it sounds like you are looking for. Just my 2 cents...

[K. Dunn]

Tried to do a housing search in this Floyd Knobs that you are all talking about here. Couldn't find it listed. Can someone give me a more to the area like nearest city in relation to Floyd Knobs area or better yet a zip code? Much appreciated. Hadn't heard of that area before. Oldham has been our focus, but want to make sure. Thanks.

Update..

Never mind...did a re-look this time using New Albany and saw Floyd Knobs on that same map of that area. Looks good. Will have to look into that school comparison compared to Oldham. How is the terrain in that area. Is it hilly like Oldham, or more flat? We like hilly. Plus any info on the tax differences between the two areas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

[tomocox]

Kentucky will not have the very high tax rates that Indiana does right now. Along with a 7% sales tax, plus casinos, plus, plus, plus.. Indiana has a huge and terrible tax situation. That being said, KY has a 6% sales tax plus about 1-1.25% property tax.

S. Indiana towards the west from Louisville can range from extremely steep to rolling farm lands.

The biggest problem of living in Indiana and working in Kentucky or vice-versa are the bridges. Coming out of Floyd County can be especially tough at times, but then so can coming out of Oldham Co. or having to use effectively the entire length of the Gene Snyder (I-265 & KY 841 depending on where)

[pmkeating]

Can you elaborate about taxes? I saw some data showing that IN taxes were slightly lower than KY (much lower than my current state of OH) on average. Just bringing our cars to KY will cost me 6% of the total value (~$2,000). That's an entire year of state income tax for me now.

From what I gathered, the state + local tax burden for the following states is:
IN: 10.7%
KY: 10.9%
OH: 12.4%

Data is from a group called "the Tax Foundation." I don't know anything about them other than that they publish these numbers.

The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007

[kingcopper]

what the tax data really shows is the true burden on states right now. Ky's taxes are spread evenly around. If your trying to hide as much as possible without quality of life as an issue, I'd choose Indiana over Kentucky. As for the knobs, they are extremely steep on their fringes and offer panoramic views of the louisville metro area. Once your in the knobs, the terrain is very similar to what you'd see in Oldham County. The Sherman Minton Bridge "I-64" is not as congested as the other bridge options in my opinion and is closest to the Knobs.

[pmkeating]

I'm guessing that by "quality of life" you mean having things to do, right? We're pretty easy to please -- mostly we spent time together as a family, church, etc. With so many little ones, trips to theaters and museums are pretty few and far between.

If I'm misinterpreting you and "quality of life" means traffic, crack houses next door, etc please let me know.