Working/Living in Downtown Louisville, surrounding area (St. Matthews, Bardstown: real estate, apartment)

[DCDoggie]

Hello,

My wife and I will be visiting Louisville in a couple of weeks. We are thinking of relocating as our restaurant company grows. The new restaurant site is at the 4th street live complex and I would like to know the best options for living in the area. Where should we visit? Where should we avoid? What about over the river and in Indy as an option? What areas are preferable over there? Our budget is $700-$800 as we want to make this a worth while move. A single family home is the ideal locale for us, but understand that that may be a stretch.

How is life in Louisville? I seem to be getting mixed messages here at CD? Some seem to really dislike it............yet others love it. I get the feeling it may depend on where one lives, so we want to make the best decision we can. Should we enlist the help of a Real Estate Agent?

Thanks for your input and help,

DCDoggie

[msamhunter]

Sounds like you have more than one restaurant. I hear it's a tough business so congrats on the success. Other than that, if your new restaurant is in Lou, no need to consider Indianapolis unless you had a restaurant in the Indianapolis area as that's a 2 hour drive and I'm sure you would want to be as close as possible to your investment.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by DCDoggie

Hello,

My wife and I will be visiting Louisville in a couple of weeks. We are thinking of relocating as our restaurant company grows. The new restaurant site is at the 4th street live complex and I would like to know the best options for living in the area. Where should we visit? Where should we avoid? What about over the river and in Indy as an option? What areas are preferable over there? Our budget is $700-$800 as we want to make this a worth while move. A single family home is the ideal locale for us, but understand that that may be a stretch.

How is life in Louisville? I seem to be getting mixed messages here at CD? Some seem to really dislike it............yet others love it. I get the feeling it may depend on where one lives, so we want to make the best decision we can. Should we enlist the help of a Real Estate Agent?

Thanks for your input and help,

DCDoggie

I don't think there is mixed messages. The ville is a great city. Every online city board has a few haters, and often these are people who are more upset with their social/financial status, so they take it out on their city instead of themselves. That said, there is not a lot of "single family" next to fourth st live. Most the rentals in that area are in highrises, and there are some quite nice ones in your budget. Please be more specific as to what you want? How important is it too walk to work? Are you affiliated with the new Gordon Biersh coming? If you are willing to live 1-3 miles away from work, there are amazing single family and duplex and threeplex type rentals in amazing urban nabes.

[DCDoggie]

Thanks for the reply, and yes, I am hoping to be part of the new GB at 4th St. Live. My wife doesn't drive, so being close to a bus line or within walking distance to stores, shops work for her would be good. I was hoping that my commute would be less than 20 minutes by car. In reading posts here and looking at listings on Craigslist, it seems the "nicer" parts of town are to the East. (Highlands, Clifton, St. Matthews). Are my assumptions correct? It seems that West and towards U of L, it is a bit older and a bit more run down. Honestly, we are coming to the "ville" soon to see for ourselves. But pointing us towards what you think are the areas you would want to live or hang out in. We would appreciate it. And Thanks,

[tomocox]

Let me answer your question about hiring a real estate agent. As a buyer, darn toot'n. If you don't and you find a house/apt listed by another agent who is a member of the local MLS, then hiring an agent from another firm (KY law doesn't help you if your agent is a part of the same brokerage) to aid you is effectively free.

One of the "I got dumb" phenoms of this generation is failure to understand the lack of representation that a buyer has when they fail to work with a buyer's broker/agent rather than only the listing agent.

Now, to prevent a sense of hypocracy, yes, at my office, we serve as "Dual Agents" many times. Just be certain that you read and understand the "Consumers Guide to Agency" which you are to be provided by a licensed agent almost immediately and certainly before any confidential information is shared.

[tomocox]

Let me answer the question of whether to hire a Realtor. Yes. Why? Let's say you find a house or apartment you would like to live in. Without hiring a Realtor from a firm other than the listing agent's firm, you will be unrepresented, giving the listing broker 100% of the commission rather than splitting the commission with a fellow member of the REALTORS association. In Kentucky, any licensed broker/agent must provide you with a "Consumers Guide to Agency" prior to your sharing of any confidential information. Read and understand that document.

[andrewmp6]

If you have kids i would look more to oldham co is has better schools then louisville.But if you move there its a 20 min drive to louisville with no traffic.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

You can check out Louisville's bus routes here ~
TARC: Search by Route (http://www.ridetarc.org/searchbyroute.asp?Submit=GO&dolist=okdo&route=1 - broken link)
I love Louisville myself! It's an affordable city with lots of fun stuff to do, lots of art, culture,
friendly people and one of the best park systems that you could imagine.

[Dayton Sux]

The transit authority has a new "every 15 minutes" schedule for weekdays on certain lines. You might want to consider this if you or your wife plan on using the bus a lot. One of these runs is the one from Bardstown Road/Highlands area into downtown (on Broadway, about two or three walkable blocks south of 4th Street Live). The Highlands, around Bardstown Rd, are pretty walkable too...with a lot of stuff on Bardstown..

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by DCDoggie

Thanks for the reply, and yes, I am hoping to be part of the new GB at 4th St. Live. My wife doesn't drive, so being close to a bus line or within walking distance to stores, shops work for her would be good. I was hoping that my commute would be less than 20 minutes by car. In reading posts here and looking at listings on Craigslist, it seems the "nicer" parts of town are to the East. (Highlands, Clifton, St. Matthews). Are my assumptions correct? It seems that West and towards U of L, it is a bit older and a bit more run down. Honestly, we are coming to the "ville" soon to see for ourselves. But pointing us towards what you think are the areas you would want to live or hang out in. We would appreciate it. And Thanks,

Yes and No. To the west of 9th street is mostly no good, although there are some pockets of gentrification near Shippingport and Portland. Those areas are still crime riddled. The area around UL is a pretty nice mixed income and racially diverse area. Known as Old Louisville, it is the LARGEST collection of Victorian mansions and architecture in the US. The neighborhood is hit or miss, and there is not a lot of retail, but there are some neat corner stores, and a new student housing development near UL has met the need for fast casual retail.

I would not head all the way out to St Matthews if you are loking to be close. If you want to be in a more "upscale urban area" look to the progress east of downtown in Nulu, Butchertown, and lower Clifton. The orginal Highlands and Cherokee Triangle would also be ideal for you. You may also consider the Tyler Park and Bonnycastle section of the Highlands, bu these are a good 20 minute bus ride to the new GB (likely 10 mins by car but much longer when you consider traffic, parking, etc).

Downtown proper is pretty up and coming. If I were to rent downtown, it would be in the shiny new Whiskey Row Lofts. They look just so awesome.


There are lots of other cool lofts downtown if you know where to look.

1ba Mercantile Studio (http://louisville.craigslist.org/apa/2742480704.html - broken link)

In clifton, this place is a steal:

Condo Gated community; BEAUTIFUL INSIDE (http://louisville.craigslist.org/apa/2809415483.html - broken link)

About as far southeast as you'd want to live...you have to drive these hoods and find for rent signs...they vary greatly from property to property in the upkeep and price. This area is located in a very 24/7 area, perhaps the city's most vibrant community of the upper HIghlands:

1901 Deer Park Ave - UTILITIES INCLUDED (http://louisville.craigslist.org/apa/2784493037.html - broken link)

This is probably the best deal I found base on the condition of the apartment and location:

Modern apartment living (http://louisville.craigslist.org/apa/2811592510.html - broken link)

Old Louisville is a nice, diverse area. It's boundaries are roughly Brook St on the east, Oak St on the North, 7th St on the west, and UofL on the south. The area makes a nice "square on a map" and is surrounded on all sides by somewhat sketchy areas, but mostly for car break ins and peddly crime, not really violent crime. The area to the east of the unit referenced above is known as Smoketown/Shelby Park. Although it is changing, it is not a desirable area at present and is really the only area east of I-65 that leaves something to be desired.