Louisville City Breakdown Help (Shepherdsville, Germantown: real estate, condos, new home)

[jseigle]

I'm considering a move to Louisville in a few months and would like some basic info on the area - perhaps a breakdown of the major regions with regards to home prices / newness / area schools / commercial vs residential / or something of the sort.

The area which I'm mostly concerned about is anything within a 30 minute commute of the Louisville Airport.

We have an elementary school age child and would like to know what the best public elementary schools are in this wide area -- this will probably drive the choice of where to move and is usually a good indicator for neighborhoods as well.

Thanks !

[kimmieyky]

http://www.kde.state.ky.us/KDE/ - this site will get you started with the school system. It will direct you to schools within your desired area - with the requirements you seek.

Also - go to google maps, or mapquest - make the Louisville International Airport your starting point - zoom out from there. That will give you an idea of the neighborhoods located within your perimeter - along with the area of the schools you choose.

Driving to the airport is well within 30 minutes from surrounding counties as well - Oldaham, Bullitt, Shelby and Spencer - as all 4 have access to either I-64. I-65, I 264, or I-265. Depending on time of day - all are accessible within 30 minutes.

Start with the schools first - then contact the Chamber of Commerce and ed. dept. you choose. A relocation packet full of info will be sent - and this should make things easier.

If you go to the main page of C-D - google Louisville Kentucky - look for our link - there will be a page dedicated just for that area. Same with other surrounding cities. On that page, you will finds a listing of realtors in the area who are more than happy to help further.

I am totally with you on the child issue - school comes first - I personally, would start there.

Good luck and welcome to the Bluegrass!

[jseigle]

Yep, I've checked out the state school website and also done my research on google maps, wikipedia and city-data as well as other sites. The problem is my target area is just so large since there are so many places within 30 minutes of my job. There are around 50-60 cities/towns to choose from according to Google and investigating each is just outside of the realm of possibility. The amount of schools is just overwhelming as well and the raw data isn't always accurate - I'd like that personal touch that generally people know "hey.. so and so elementary is really the best"

I'm hoping for someone who's lived there for a while to give me the personal inside scoop on where the better neighborhoods are in the suburbs.. at least as a starting point for looking up real estate. My current search of "within 20 miles of Louisville" returns 1000 homes.

I just know I could definitely do this for my current city having lived there for a while -- there are definitely a couple areas which are thought of as the best to live in "best schools, newer homes, etc".

Thanks

[Peter1948]

the most valuable and most desirable places to live in Louisville are not the distant suburbs, but in older 1920's era neighborhoods that were known once as "streetcar suburbs" named after the trolleys that served them. With that in mind, I would really look first in the following zips:40204, 40205, 40206, and 40207. That covers a wide area of the east side of the old city (which is now merged with the entire county). The area with the highest er capita value of homes and the area that is easiest to sell is located in Crescent Hill/St Matthews. Highlands/Germantown/Buthcertown is also right up there. But, if you stick to those 4 zips I gave you, you should find what you want. Newer homes or condos built in those areas are very valuable and VERY pricey, but are well worth it bc real estate is all about location location.

These articles are a VERY basic introduction to the city but is a quick read and will orient you better. print them out and read it while looking at a map of the city:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville

http://wikitravel.org/en/Louisville


As Kimmie said, Louisville is a vast metro area and has suburbs in many counties. Some of the suburbs lack many retail amenities found in the core county though (Jefferson/Louisville). Louisville also has nice, quaint suburbs north of downtown in Indiana that offer very cheap new homes within 10 minutes of downtown and 20 minutes of the airport. All your major chain shopping is there, plus a couple quanit downtown areas offering local shops. Shcools are about as good as Louisville, but Louisville's magnet schools are better. During rush hour, you would be hard pressed to make it to the airport from much of Oldham and Shelby counties in 30 minutes. Bullit is much closer to the airport but retains a distinctly more "southern" feel than other parts of the metro. Also, Bullit is sorely lacking in retail, but I have a feeling that is about to change. I would expect Walmart, Home Depot, and a slew of chain restuarants at the Shepherdsville exit of I-65 in the next 2 years or so. Until lasy year, Bullitt was the most populous county in KY without a hospital. It is still the most populated KY county without a college. With a population approacjing 100,000 by next census, it is growing fairly fast.

But again, search those 4 zips i gave you. www.semonin.com is a good place to start searching those zips. Also try www.remax.com.