Louisville and the Young Professional (Lexington, Frankfort: transplants, houses, job market)

[aad2h]

I have read quite a few posts on here about Louisville, and am very impressed so far. I have had 2 phone interviews with a company up there, and will be coming up Friday for an in-person interview, so things are looking good. I have also applied to UofL for grad school in the fall, so waiting to hear on that as well.

I saw an earlier post on life around Lousiville for young singles (I'm 24 F) but it didn't really seem to answer the question totally. Is Louisville a singles-friendly city, or strictly family oriented? And by singles and single life, I don't mean only just going out and getting trashed all the time! I know that there is a college there, but I am not interested in the "college lifestyle" in all its glory anymore

I just want to move to a place that has lots of things to do and lots of opportunities to meet other people my age who are doing the same things as me as far as life stages are concerned. I currently live in Chattanooga, TN and there are NO opportunities for young professionals beacuse there are no jobs here...everyone who goes to the local college here leaves immediately after to graduation for careers elsewhere.

So, with all that being said, any insight would be greatly appreciated! Any places/neighborhoods/etc you can suggest for me to check out while I'm up Friday? I know I have seen the Highlands and Old Louisville mentioned. I am definitely for finding an area that is more diverse, laid-back, and maybe even, dare I say, less "southern..." don't get me wrong, I have loved the 13 years I've spent in the deep-er south, but I am ready to try out something new!

Sorry for the long post...again, any help/advice would be welcomed!!

[censusdata]

The Highlands would have the highest concentration of young professionals in Louisville, especially the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. The Frankfort Ave corridor (Clifton/ Crescent Hill/ St Matthews) is also really nice with lots of shopping and restaurants

I live in Old Louisville and really like it, but OL has more of a college area feel to it and there are few good shopping areas here.

[kingcopper]

The Highlands and Crescent Hill are the best areas for you. Anywhere in the surrounding neighborhoods will do fine for living. The best streets to find coffee houses and social scenes such as yoga studios will be Bardstown Rd, Frankfort Ave., and Lexington-Shelbyville Roads. You'll meet plenty of good, sober people in those hoods.

[stx12499]

Agreed. This is like New York compared to Chatanooga. And it is not southern at all compared to where you are. You will feel like you are in the Midwest in the Highlands, Crescent Hill, downtown, and St Matthews. Louisville is more than just a college town, and has several loarge colleges besides UL at that--ie IU southeast, JCC, Bellarmine, and some smaller ones like Spalding, Sullivan, and Ivy tech. Louisville is muc more progressive than anywhere in TN, but is probably not as happening for singles as Nashville (although it is probably just a different vibe). Louisville is much more liberal and artsy than anywhere I have seen in TN. I am a male close to your age range so if you have more specific questions, please feel free to private message me. Search my posts and you will get more of an idea for the beat of the city. Here are some ideas to help at first:

Backseat Sandbar

LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Home | LEO Weekly

Velocity Weekly - Louisville, Kentucky

[missymomof3]

What kind of professional are you? That may make a difference too.

[aad2h]

I currently work in health promotion and wellness.

I am planning to go to grad school with the intent of transitioning to counseling...although I have really been thinking more about the possibility of going back for a nursing degree instead as it would open up quite a few more doors in my current field.

So...undecided right now. Just staying in health promotion right now until I make my mind up completely.

Is it hard to meet people and get connected there if you are not a local? Here in Chattanooga many are from here and don't really take to getting to know transplants since all the people they grew up with are here- which is understandable, to a point. I have seen varying opinions in other threads, so I imagine it might just depend on the person.

[Off Topic]

I think a young professional would have a terrific time in Louisville. Lots of great bars, restaurants and music, lots of sports options, and a great arts scene. You might even consider living downtown near Fourth Street Live.

Good luck! We need more people like you here.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by aad2h

Is it hard to meet people and get connected there if you are not a local? Here in Chattanooga many are from here and don't really take to getting to know transplants since all the people they grew up with are here- which is understandable, to a point. I have seen varying opinions in other threads, so I imagine it might just depend on the person.

I recently visited Louisville on a reloation recon mission, and I thought people were pretty friendly and approachable. Easy to strike up conversations and such. I have no firsthand info as to how easy it would be to make friends, but I think if you put yourself out there you shouldn't have a problem. I currently live in an area where it's very difficult to make friends because people are introverted (weather-related I think) and pretty insular and self absorbed, so Louisville looks really great to me. I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

[backseatsandbar]

It depends largely on if you're willing to put yourself out there. I went to college here and moved away for grad school, but now that I'm back most of the people I hang out with and see on a consistent basis are people that I've met on one-off nights where I just go out and decide to meet people. If you're willing to go out to a bar and just strike up a conversation or to do the same at a concert or coffeeshop, then you'll fall madly in love with this city. For me, there's no place in the world like the Nachbar to just go and meet the nicest people. Louisville has colleges, but it is not a college town by any means. We've got one of the best theatres in the country (Actor's Theatre of Louisville), a pretty strong music scene, some incredible art galleries, and food the likes of which have never even passed through TN....there's almost always something to do here and it isn't hard at all to find people to do things with...

I'm just a couple years older (27m), so I can understand your concern, but if current culture is your thing, you'll love it here...

[Eastern Roamer]

Louisville has three public radio stations. That says a lot about a city. I need to pay a visit.

So many "happening" cities have become saturated with young urbanites - meaning high demand = high housing prices = hyper-competitive job market. Louisville seems like a little undiscovered gem. I just hope it has progressive and smart political leadership to manage the inevitable growth.