Louisville Neighborhoods (Typical Info Request) (apartment complexes, rental market, crime)

[reimaginethis]

Hi, all. I'm hoping for some help.

I will likely be moving to the Louisville area in a few months to attend a Ph.D. program at the University of Louisville. The program is in Urban and Public Affairs -- so obviously, urbanism / city life is important to me.

I'm married and have a second-grader.

I prefer public school for my child, but more importantly, I prefer a school that is safe, fairly convenient, and of good reputation. I don't want to have to drive across town twice each day to get my child to/from school. I could possibly go with private school if no public school meets my criteria, but I suspect my budget will be stretched already.

Again, I prefer the city. I would live outside the city in a smaller town if it was a genuine, real town -- not subdivision sprawl.

I'm looking to rent, not buy. Having no idea what the rental market in Louisville is, I don't know exactly how much I'd be willing to spend. When I lived in Memphis, my rent for a 2BR townhouse in a great neighborhood was $950. In the town I currently live in, rent for my 2BR flat is $800. I would figure Louisville would be closer to Memphis on the rental rate scale, and I'm cool with that.

I have not been to Louisville in several years (more than a decade, I think), so I suspect neighborhoods/areas have changed during that time. I'll be visiting for a weekend in November. If you guys could recommend a few areas for us to include in our visit, I would be most appreciative.

[reimaginethis]

Thanks for the help guys!

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by reimaginethis

Thanks for the help guys!

Search craigslist. Anywhere marked Highlands, st matthews, old louisville butchertown, clifton, bardstown road, crescent hill, germantown, audubon park, lyndon would be to your liking.

Crime wise, old louisville is the highest, but not too bad, certainly not like memphis in town areas, and the homes are historic and gorgeous. The rest of the areas are very safe and family friendly.
Some zips you will enjoy include 40204 40205 40206 and 40207.

parts of 40208 in Old Louisville are good, and 40217 is a decent area too, although these in town areas have a bit higher crime than the four zips above.

I think you will love the pedestrian nature of frankfort avenue and bardstown road.

where did you live in memphis? I can direct you to a similar area in Louisville.

You are correct that a nice two bedroom is around 900, although you can find some nice 2 bedroom flats for as cheap as 700. Some of the luxury 2 bedrooms will run up to 2 grand, but anything over 1000 for a 2 bedroom in Louisville is considered expensive. In general, 800-900 can find you a very nice place, and craigslist is the best place to look IMO because it lists unique properties marketed by individual landlords, not sprawling apartment complexes in the suburbs like you see on apartmendfinder or apartments.com.

That said, if you prefer "complexes," a very nice one is Waterford Place, which has beautiful amenities like outdoor pool and jacuzzi with water features that reminds me almost of Florida, yet it is right in the heart of the metro area, although not in the heart of the walkable urban city.