Oldham Co vs. Highlands/Crescent Hill/St. Matthews (Louisville, Newburg: how much, new home)

[dcforbreakfast]

I'm torn! There really are some fabulous places to live in/around your city! We are currently in the "exploring" stage, as there is no definite plan to move yet, but we want to be ready in case it happens. We are in our 30's and have two young children, one elementary school age and a baby. I love the Highlands/Crescent Hill/St. Matthews areas so far a lot. St. Matthews seems really similar to where we live now.

We don't mind an older house with character as long as it has a lot of updates and square footage, however the allure of new construction is hard to resist. Giant closets and finished basements! Oooh! There seem to be a lot of great areas in Oldham County and the schools are definitely a draw. I'm not sure how people decide!

Here are some details of what we're looking for: (I read the sticky!)

-Where you are working
Potentially NW of the airport/North of 264

-How much you are willing to spend on housing
275,000-375,000 (need 4 bedrooms/2 full bathrooms/2 car garage)

-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate
20-25 miles out/30-40 minutes max (obviously closer is better, but my husband swears he doesn't mind driving if it means we live in a great place)

-If you have kids: Private school or public school?
We prefer great public schools that you can walk to or a short drive (elementary age) We would also consider private if necessary (what is the price range of tuition, anyone know?)

-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight?
We do not want to be in a rural setting, but we don't mind suburbs or small town. We'd prefer something with a lot of neighbors and kids, don't need a lot of land, small yards are fine. Ideally would like to be able to walk to most things (grocery, restaurants, shops). However, a planned community with a golf course/pool/or tennis courts would be a great substitute. We want the kids to be able to find kids on the street to play with. Oh and there needs to be a Target within reasonable distance! Ha!

-Community amenities important to you
A nearby YMCA would be great, parks.

-Pie or cake?
I like both.

[rpmgirl]

I grew up in the Highlands right next to Lakeside swim club(have you seen Lakeside yet?). So of course my vote would be the Highlands. The families are awesome, kids of all ages and you will be right there where everyone wants to belong to Lakeside. Oldham county is great. But living right in Louisville....you are close to six flags(buy the summer pass), the Louisville Zoo is amazing(again, summer pass)!! My daughter(7) just came home from a three week stay with grandpa and went to zoo camp. You can walk to Bardstown rd., for breakfast with friendly hello's along the way. After a long day at the pool/zoo/festivals/parks walk back up to Bardstown rd. for an ice cream or the pie shop, where my daughter and grandpa went every night. You are close to all the downtown celebrations and museums. You would be a mile to the big hot air balloon race/festival. You are close to at least two or three parks. It comes down to whether you want city life or a more quiet life. Even if you lived in Oldham co. you could still come in to Louisville for events. My opinion, I love the Highlands, I would be comfortable putting my children in the schools, and I like having plenty of activities at my fingertips.
Let me know what you decide. If you move to St. Mathews or the Highlands, I can get you sponorship to Lakeside if you would like.
Good luck!!

[tomocox]

rpmgirl makes some very compelling arguments for the area around Lakeside/Bardstown Rd/Taylorsville Rd area. If you are looking for an urban lifestyle, she's on target. You must be prepared however to pay for non-public schools. While your children should be directed to some very solid area public schools, the JCPS school assignment plan is in shambles. If you are lucky and your children get one of the neighborhood schools, they will get a good to great education. If on the other hand, they are assigned to an "improving" school, you'll need to invest in a nearby non-public school.

If your lifestyle however is suburban to rural, you can be comfortable with anywhere in Oldham County. The schools are nearly all equally outstanding. The neighborhoods are safe, and there is an air of community with enough room to not worry about your neighbors hearing you sneeze.

[spence425]

the desire to be within walking distance of grocery, restaurants, shops, etc, seems to exclude most of oldham county. the tradeoff being what tomocox mentions above about schools.

[FiveHounds]

Help - anyone in Crestwood, KY with information: we are relocating to the Louisville area soon; we found a lovely home in Becker's Quarry in Crestwood. However it backs up to a farm that we understand will be turned into a community park within a few years. Who can I speak with in Crestwood about these plans to turn this farm into a park?? What kind of noise can the residents of Becker's Quarry expect if a park is behind their properties?? This could be a real deal-breaker for us.

[tomocox]

I know the property well. The noise from the train would be more of a concern to me. The park's designs haven't been completed as I understand. I drive by your potential home and the park several times a day.

[FiveHounds]

Yes, while looking at this home with our realtor TWO trains went by! I have to wonder just how many trains per day go through that area?? We love the subdivision and the home we are considering is beautiful. We just have some concerns about the train noise AND this potential park behind us. IF it's a park with soccer fields, baseball fields, tennis courts with lights so that kids can use the park well into the evening hours, then that would NOT be a good thing for nearby residents. This could negatively impact the property values. Would the residents in the area have any voice in this matter?

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by dcforbreakfast

I'm torn! There really are some fabulous places to live in/around your city! We are currently in the "exploring" stage, as there is no definite plan to move yet, but we want to be ready in case it happens. We are in our 30's and have two young children, one elementary school age and a baby. I love the Highlands/Crescent Hill/St. Matthews areas so far a lot. St. Matthews seems really similar to where we live now.

We don't mind an older house with character as long as it has a lot of updates and square footage, however the allure of new construction is hard to resist. Giant closets and finished basements! Oooh! There seem to be a lot of great areas in Oldham County and the schools are definitely a draw. I'm not sure how people decide!

Here are some details of what we're looking for: (I read the sticky!)

-Where you are working
Potentially NW of the airport/North of 264

-How much you are willing to spend on housing
275,000-375,000 (need 4 bedrooms/2 full bathrooms/2 car garage)

-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate
20-25 miles out/30-40 minutes max (obviously closer is better, but my husband swears he doesn't mind driving if it means we live in a great place)

-If you have kids: Private school or public school?
We prefer great public schools that you can walk to or a short drive (elementary age) We would also consider private if necessary (what is the price range of tuition, anyone know?)

-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight?
We do not want to be in a rural setting, but we don't mind suburbs or small town. We'd prefer something with a lot of neighbors and kids, don't need a lot of land, small yards are fine. Ideally would like to be able to walk to most things (grocery, restaurants, shops). However, a planned community with a golf course/pool/or tennis courts would be a great substitute. We want the kids to be able to find kids on the street to play with. Oh and there needs to be a Target within reasonable distance! Ha!

-Community amenities important to you
A nearby YMCA would be great, parks.

-Pie or cake?
I like both.

Stick with the Highlands. The area around Lakeside mentioned will be IDEAL for you. My diagnosis and recommendation for you is any area off Trevilian way between Bardstown and Newburg. Some popular and well respected streets include Valley Vista and Saratoga.

Additionally, please do not think there is no new home construction in the city, because this could not be further from the truth. For example, the area off Sylvan Drive is 80s to 90s construction and very highly respected. A large 4 bedroom newer home can be had in these areas in your price range. In general, St Matthews is awesome, but overpriced per square foot. However, the location is central to the entire metro, including Indiana suburbs, and it probably has the best resale outlook over the next five years.

Do not let the school thing scare you. If you like the Highlands, go for it!!!
For a suburban alternative, you may be interested in the master planned community Norton Commons. It will have some homes built in Oldham County, so you may get the best of both worlds there. It is designed like an old small town, but is in actuallity a knock of of the urban vitality of Louisville's city neighborhoods like downtown, highlands, clifton, old louisville, crescent hill, butchtertown, irish hill, limerick, germantown, etc etc etc.

Don't let anyone fool you also. The true BIG money areas in Louisville are off river road, near Glenview and Mockingbird Valley, which are two of the richest per capita cities in the US. Anchorage is also very wealthy on the east side.

[dcforbreakfast]

Yeah I saw the median income for Anchorage was something like $133,000! I've never seen a median income that high!

Thanks for the great responses. The school thing does worry me, just because I've read so much on here about it. I think if we chose one of the areas in JCPS we'd try for the public school first, then go to private if we have to. Does anyone know the average cost of elementary tuition to the private schools?

I just really like the idea of a community feel, you know your neighbors, the kids have someone around to play with all the time. You can walk to stuff etc.

If we did go the Oldham County route, which planned communities (IE something with a golf course, or a pool, clubhouse) would be closest to his work in our price range that you like?

STX, I loved Norton Commons but it is out of our price range for the size house we need.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by FiveHounds

Yes, while looking at this home with our realtor TWO trains went by! I have to wonder just how many trains per day go through that area?? We love the subdivision and the home we are considering is beautiful. We just have some concerns about the train noise AND this potential park behind us. IF it's a park with soccer fields, baseball fields, tennis courts with lights so that kids can use the park well into the evening hours, then that would NOT be a good thing for nearby residents. This could negatively impact the property values. Would the residents in the area have any voice in this matter?

There are approximately 20-36 trains that use that track. Ask the neighbors about how annoyed they are. I can't judge how annoyed you will be in Becker's Quarry although I lived in downtown LaGrange several years ago and every train that goes by Becker's either comes from or will go through LaGrange.

It is my understanding that the current plans for the park are "family" type recreation. With the excellent facilities at Peggy Baker Park (about 4 miles east off KY 22), I doubt there will be another ball park.

The park is owned by the City of Crestwood, not the county. This is very important as the local citizens will be much more involved and considered than an non-local ownership.