Community spirit (Louisville, Jeffersontown, St. Matthews: how much, home, neighborhoods)

[misueno]

As someone who lives on the east coast, and always imagined living on the east coast (DC to Boston), I find myself intrigued and focusing on all the wonderful attributes of Louisville. My research shows that Louisville offers so many of the things I am looking for in a home city, but research only goes so far...

The factors I can't determine from online research... sense of community, arts scene, ability to be actively involved in the community and part of greater exisitence in the community. Are there festivals? Outdoor music? Arts shows? Political activity?

I know Kentucky is generally a red state, but Louisville runs a little more progressive... how much more progressive? Would a born and raised east coaster be happy in Louisville? It seems to have so much to offer!

[mdawg]

People do have a sense of community here, but not necessarily towards the community as a whole, if that makes sense. Louisville can be broken down into "ends", which have their own characteristics and qualities. There is the East End, the South End, and the West End. A lot, or even most people who live in each area tend to stay within that area while going out to eat, to the movies, to the bars, and most of their friends will be in the same "end" as well. The ends can be further broken down into neighborhoods like Hurstbourne, St. Matthews, and the Highlands in the East End, Buechel, Jeffersontown, Dixie Highway, and Fairdale in the South End, and Park Duvalle and Portland in the West End. Generally, the south end is more working class, the West End has been historically black , and the East End is where a lot of people who have been relocated move, though there are many exceptions to this.

The art scene in Louisville is pretty awesome for a city of its size, and for being in Kentucky. The St. James Art Festival is nationally known, and there are other various art fairs and festivals that take place all over the city throughout the year, examples would be the Jeffersontown Gaslight Festival and the Middletown Milestone Festival. Outdoor music can be found on 4th Street Live! in the summer (Hot Country Nights) and on the waterfront (Waterfront Wednesdays), as well as other festivals with music on the Belvedere, like Lebowski Fest, and the Louisville Irish Festival. There are really too many events and festivals to name, you can get a schedule of events on the Louisville tourism website.

While Louisville is more progressive than rural Kentucky, it will not feel progressive for someone coming from a liberal East Coast city. It isn't overly conservative either, so somewhere in between would be a good way to think of it. It also depends where in Louisville you are, the South End and some of the East End suburbs tend to be more conservative, while the more urban parts are more liberal (the Highlands is probably the most liberal area in Louisville). If you want to get involved in the community, most people here will probably tell you to get involved in a church, which is a great way to meet people. But you can also volunteer for many different Museums, organizations, and volunteer groups. Just depends on what you're into.

[misueno]

Wow Mdawg! That was an incredibly helpful and insightful reply! Thank you, sincerely. I will be in Louisville next week. I already have some ideas of areas I want to focus my exploration, but you've given me a much better understanding of the area than I had up to this point. Best to you!