Possible move to Louisville (Middletown, Crestwood: crime, mortgage, new home)

[MattDen]

Originally Posted by LouisvilleJake

MattDen-

I am sorry you did not enjoy your time in Louisville in the early 2000's - But not every city can please everyone.

I moved to Louisville after being raised on the west coast coast in California and Oregon, and when I moved to Louisville, I immediately fell in love with the place. The lush landscape of Kentucky, and the urban environment of Louisville, truely impressed me.

You did not sem impressed by Bardstown Road, but I find a continuous 3 mile strip of restaurants and art galleries impressive for city the size of Louisville. And I would hardly call the Highlands "partially gentrified". Gentrification implies that the area lost affluence and fell into disrepair. I wouldn't call Cherokee Triange (which inspired Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby to make Daisy from Louisville) "gentrified". It has always been affluent and impressive. Or Cherokee Gardens. Or Highlands-Douglass. It's cool you visited Bardstown Road, but you don't know the history of the neighborhoods of the Highlands.

You also mention Old Louisville as having a "few" Victorian mansions. If Old Louisville only has a "few", I'd love to see a lot! Old Louisville is America's largest remaining collection of Victorian mansions, actually, and it was never a commercial hub for Louisville. Again, the history of the area. I also like the fact that there is not some hopping commercial district in Old Louisville - I mean, downtown is right there.

Again, not every city can impress every person - and that's cool. But, to this non-native, I find Louisville an amazing city that I would recommend to almost anyone. I can't wait to move back from Chicago.

Louisville is good but not great, but thats just my perception based on what I saw and I was only there a month

Its not I didnt enjoy the month in Louisville, Its just not my favorite city. I wouldnt mind living in Louisville, but it wouldnt be my first choice. If I was grading the city based on my opinion- I would give it a B. Its landscape is nice, good architecture (some of it could have been better maintained in parts of the city) and clean but Louisville just lacks an urban feel and other then the architecture it I wasnt very impressed with the urban neighborhoods.

The people of Louisville werent friendly either, I wouldnt classify them as unfriendly. On the friendliness and welcoming scale id say they are average

I thought Bardstown Road was nice but the retail and restaurant corridor was fairly spread out, it is long but it lacks density. It was a very clean, well maintained street but it didnt seem to have many people around when ever I was in the Bardstown Road area.

I do remember Louisville as having a very nice green landscape, very good architecture but some of the good architecture wasnt restored to its full potential and it was also a very clean city.

I think Old Louisville for being a dense urban neighborhoods with very nice architecture could have had more retail establishments and a more urban feel.

It just seemed to be a little lacking on vision and energy, seemed like the city wasnt trying to reach its fulll potential.

[suncoastman]

[Quote:] Again, not every city can impress every person - and that's cool. But, to this non-native, I find Louisville an amazing city that I would recommend to almost anyone. I can't wait to move back from Chicago. [Unquote]


LouisvilleJake....

What a great post. How descriptive & I felt it really came from the 'soul'.
You made me feel as if I was there in your telling of all the neat things.

Hope you make it back to Kentucky. I just purchased a home & will be there soon.

God Bless.

Joe

[Putty]

I love Louisville, I mean for someone like me that is into historical housing!!! ACK it is more than my wildest dreams could ever handle. It would take years for me to study these houses, and I could stand in front of each one for several hours just gawking..........LOL Then u go the next street and they are even more amazing, I am so glad these houses are so preserved.

[shauben2007]

[Quote:] Again, not every city can impress every person[/quote] True, my wife and I lived there for 2 years, while I didn't like Louisville at all, she despised it with every cell in her body. I can also count on one hand the number of people we met there during the 2 years that we'd call friendly. YMMV.

-Steve

[LouisvilleJake]

Then you simply weren't friendly either. Seriously.

If you live in any place and can't find "friendly" people, then there is something wrong with you and your wife. Are you YOU friendly people?

[Capo]

Louisville is a friendly place - definitely an improvement where I came from.

[suncoastman]

Originally Posted by shauben2007

[Quote:] Again, not every city can impress every person

True, my wife and I lived there for 2 years, while I didn't like Louisville at all, she despised it with every cell in her body. I can also count on one hand the number of people we met there during the 2 years that we'd call friendly. YMMV.

-Steve[/quote]


It's a shame Steve that neither you or your wife found any friendly people in Louisville.

I have to agree with LouisvilleJake, if you are friendly, than it WILL be difficult to find anyone friendly.

I myself have never in my 66 years lived in a place where there wern't friendly people all around me. Oh there was the occasional grouch, but you'll get that anywhere.

Just remember that you reap what you sow...

God Bless.

JOE

[shauben2007]

We have lived in multiple cities both before and after and found Louisville to have the least friendly people we've come across, yes there were a few, but just a few that were genuinely friendly. Obviously others results may vary.

-Steve

[ajsnod]

I grew up in Louisville. We moved 4 years ago. All of my family still lives there. (I am sooo homesick) Louisville is a great place to live. There is a large number of Catholics, thereby the Catholic Schools. Each parish feels that a catholic education is important, and that they need to make it available to every child. The High schools are not parish schools, but are administered by religious orders. The public schools are good too. In fact very few of the parish elementary schools offer advanced courses, so if your child is in advanced classes he would go to public schools.

I have never seen a KKK presence in Louisville. I am sure they are there, like everywhere else. Louisville is not the enviroment that the KKK might be successful in. Louisville is about the arts (Opera, Ballet, Actor's Theater, JB Speed Art Museum), College Basketball (U of L, U of K & IU), the Kentucky Derby, and Parks (Lots and Lots of parks). Of course that is not all--I could go on and on!

As far as a great neighborhood with newer homes--there are several! I would go East (out Westport Road, Brownsboro Road) Still a lot of new construction going on there! I don't know much about Southern Jefferson County, except that there is a lot of growth there too.

As far as a mixed marriage, I don't think anyone would care. Louisville is a mix of all kinds of people from all over. I think every demographic group is represented.

[Jopers]

You get what you give and you are what you eat. :P