Can you be so kind as to tell me how Louisville and Lexington differ and... (Ashland: relocation)

[gimme it]

which city you prefer and why? We are considering a relocation and we are coming from the NorthEast. Looking for nice neighborhoods not too far from the downtown areas, but in residential area. Also interesed the areas with good schools. I hear Oldham Cty has good schools, but it seems too far away from the city. I thank you in advance

[gimme it]

rather than brand new developments. Again, thanks.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by gimme it

rather than brand new developments. Again, thanks.

Well, Lexington is basically more of an overgrown small town that totally revolves around its college. Louisville is 2-3 times bigger and feels more like a "big city" but without the big city headaches. Louisville is cheap, friendly, has little traffic, and many outstanding established neighborhoods. Crime is low for its size outside parts of the west end. Louisville also offers substantially more arts, dining, festivals, culture, etc. The zips you will love are 40204, 40205, 40206, and 40207. All are older neighorhoods with high median incomes and are over 90% caucasion. The architecture and parks around Cherokee Park are amazing, and some were even the setting for F Scott Fitzgerald's book, the Great Gatsby. If you want more of a mixed ethinicity and social neighbirhood, try 40208, and specifically the area around 4th and Hill. Also, downtown (40202) has an increasing concentration of some pretty cool condos if you are into that sort of thing. All the neighborhoods I mentioned were developed pre WWII, so the housing stock is older but also more magnificent. Louisville also has some nice post WWII era inner ring suburbs that are not too far out. If you are into the more modern post 1980 "cookie cutter sprawl," we have that too of course. There are also some nice small town/suburbs outside the county/city which are within 20-30 minutes of downtown--which is nothing considering in most big cities these communities are over an hour from downtown.

The JCPS school system (Louisville) is great, and I would definitely send my kids there. Oldham has slightly better test scores as an average, but its schools cannot compete with the tops in JCPS where I have seen Manual HS send 20 graduates each year to Ivy League type colleges.

[gimme it]

It sounds like you are a Louisville fan. Would there be any reason to choose Lexington over Louisville?

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by gimme it

It sounds like you are a Louisville fan. Would there be any reason to choose Lexington over Louisville?

Well, I cannot think of anything. There is nothing in Lexington that Louisville doesn't have, but Louisville offers more amenities and really not too much hassle like a big city. If you want to be in a total university town, choose Lexington. Lexington also is more southern than Louisville. Don't get me wrong, Lexington also has some of the qualities of Louisville on a smaller scale and is a nice place, but just doesn't offer as much as Louisville. As cities are classed, Lexington is not really in Louisville's league. In the same way, Denver is over twice the size of Louisville and offers more amenities, etc. Its just the way cities are "tiered."

The school systems are roughly equal between Lexington and Louisville, and the weather is the same. Louisville has substantially more suburbs to choose from if that is your thing, and one suburb (Oldham County) is probably the state's top rated school district. You will also find more transplants in this area and it is not as "clicky" as Lexington (like if you didn't grow up there or in KY they look at you weird). Lexington really doesn't have any suburbs at all. Louisville has better and more shopping, dining, arts, etc. Louisville also has more jobs, and more high paying Fortune 500 companies. Lexington has a bit of a smaller town feel but not so much so since one must navigate the city mostly on surface roads. In Louisville, you can hop on a freeway and travel 20 miles in 20 minutes unless it is 5 PM downtown.

[nlschr0]

Lexington has some areas that would fit your needs - beautiful, historic homes in Ashland and Chevy Chase areas, with top-rated schools.

Lexington is certainly smaller than Louisville, but it does have strong growth in its downtown area. Also, the surrounding area of Lexington (Woodford County, etc)is beautiful - IMO the most scenic in the state. As a whole, Lexington has a higher average income and home value than Louisville, which also means that houses are more expensive in Lexington than comparable homes in Louisville.

Louisville has more distinctive city vs suburb areas, and also more distinctive segregration of people by income, education, race, ethnic background, etc, according to its last demo study.

Both places have their benefits, and I prefer Lexington over Louisville. Louisville is a larger city, so I am actually surprised that I prefer Lexington because I dearly miss my home cities of Chicago and Cleveland (and I love the big city atmosphere), but personally I have found more cultural and political interests within Lexington.

If you give us more information about your likes and needs, that might help narrow it down for you.

[lexingtongal]

Check out www.lexchamber.com/doc_lib/BluegrassRankings.pdf
It is a comprehensive listing of accolades from many different sources on Lexington.
Lexington is small enough to have charm and character and large enough to offer an active arts scene, a vibrant downtown, great neighborhoods, a diverse population, great restaurants and most any amenity you could want.
Lexington has an active Newcomer's Club to help acclimate people to the area.
visitlex.org also lists many things to do in this area.
Fayette County (Lexington) has a host of offerings for public schools. There are some very good schools as well as a lot of magnet programs. Ashland Park and Chevy Chase are within walking distance of downtown but are in good school districts.
Louisville is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. The traffic is horrible and it is so spread out it can take forever to get from one place to another. A friend of mine got married in Louisville and it was one hour from the church to the reception; all within Louisville. I personnaly just don't want to be in my car that much. Lousville also has air pollution issues that Lexington doesn't.

[Toria]

Originally Posted by stx12499

You will also find more transplants in this area and it is not as "clicky" as Lexington (like if you didn't grow up there or in KY they look at you weird).

interesting - as a "transplant" I don't find this to be the case at all !

Lexington really doesn't have any suburbs at all.

I'm not sure why this would be a negative? In fifteen minutes you can be in several towns and cities right outside of Lexington proper - Paris, Georgetown, Nicholasville, Winchester etc to name a few. And they happen to contain some of the most beautiful scenery in the country....Woodford County and Bourbon County would be pretty hard to beat for scenic beauty. Green rolling hills (the kinds of colors you'd see in Ireland!), gorgeous horse farms galore, and lots of nice neighborhoods, shopping close by too.

[gimme it]

I guess it's true what they say about people from Kentucky being so nice We are planning a trip to your neck of the woods next month so we will be able to see for ourselves what feels right. As of now, dh is leaning towards Lexington and I'm leaning towards Louisville. I'm a born and bred NYer and he's from a small town in the midwest. This may why we differ. I had mentioned earlier that I wanted a Leave it to Beaver neighborhood, but I'm finding that the homes built prior to WWII have teeny yards and are close together. Now I'm thinking about neighborhoods that are 20-35 yrs old with sprawling ranches or Colonials. A nice size yard, but not necessarily huge. My ideal neighborhood has signs of life: children riding their bikes, people watering or planting in their front lawns, parents walking by pushing a baby stroller, and neighbors chatting to each other. Am I dreaming? I want this and I want to be able to go into the town/city for lunch, a stroll, coffee at an outdoor cafe. Being near pretty parks is very important, and in an ideal world, there would be a path to rollerblade on I have a hundred other things on the list too. And of course access to good schools, public or private is very important. Knowing this, please keep on suggesting neighborhoods in both of these cities. Would Anchorage fit the bill? Much thanks.

[lexingtongal]

Glendover area sounds like a match for you in Lexington. There are larger lots and some ranch style homes. Lansdowne also has large lots and ranch style homes. Both of these areas are still within New Circle Rd but not quite within walking distance of downtown. Glendover is in a better school district though.
There are no ranch style homes (or very few) in Ashland Park and Chevy Chase. The lots vary from tiny to quite large though. The latter two areas are very family friendly, in good school districts, and are within walking distance of about any amenity you would want.
From Ashland Park you can walk to 10 restaurants, both family style and fine dining, grocery stores, dry cleaners, farmer's market, liquor store, banks, etc.