Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What positive or negative things can you tell me about living in Evansville? We're looking for possible places to retire to besides where we're living now... Madison, Wi. The cost taxes is too high here, it's too liberal & we've had it with the long cold winters. Looking for a lower cost of living, safe area, pretty surroundings, close to shopping, places to hike & bike & especially good disc golf courses to play on. Other places we're considering are... Henderson, Ky... Owensboro, Ky... Bowling Green, Ky... Elizabethtown, Ky... Cookeville, Tn & Smyrna Tn.
An airport not to far away would be good since our grown children will still be in WI.
I'd be interested in hearing any input anyone has, positive or negative. If you need more info from me, just ask
If you are looking for a conservative town with milder winters, Evansville certainly fits the bill. It is cheap and generally safe as well.
The only disc golf course I ever played on in Evansville was on campus at USI. Honestly, I have no idea if there are others, I have a rather one track mind once I find a course I like. I would bet Henderson and Owensboro have no disc golf, but that is a guess and really have no idea.
For me personally, I would limit the list of options to E-ville, E-town, and Bowling Green; but that is just me. Henderson and O-boro lack anything beyond the bare basics of a town. Air travel from either place will require driving to Evansville. BG is obviously close to Nashville and Louisville; with E-town close to Louisville.
I guess this is a less than helpful post. I am kinda burned out right now; feel free to DM or ask specific questions, or wait for erik and the other E-ville posters whose names escape me right now.
Evansville has a casino and nearby entertainment "district." It is a fun time.
DC 38...
I've already checked into the disc golf scene of all the cities of interest to us & just so you know, Henderson & Owensboro do both have a disc golf course. The one in Henderson is only 9 holes, but plans are in the works to add 9 more holes. Owensboro has a 27 hole course, with Hawesville, Ky 15 mi away also having an 18 hole course. I like to have more then one option when it comes to disc golf. We do tend to play on one course where we live now, although there are three. The one we prefer, takes out the baskets & puts them back in sooner/later then the other two & that's when we go elsewhere to play
You must be talking of Mesker Park disc golf course. There is another called Eagle Valley with 18 holes, but the reviews aren't all that great for that one.
My understanding is that the Evansville airport isn't all that good due to the lack of size, meaning less commercial flights in & out, resulting in higher costs to fly. The only place we'd really need to fly to, would be back to Madison to see the kids though.
I am hoping to hear some futher input from others living in Evansville, that like or dislike living there.
Thanks for your input though
You must be talking of Mesker Park disc golf course. There is another called Eagle Valley with 18 holes, but the reviews aren't all that great for that one.
My understanding is that the Evansville airport isn't all that good due to the lack of size, meaning less commercial flights in & out, resulting in higher costs to fly. The only place we'd really need to fly to, would be back to Madison to see the kids though.
Mesker Park is different from University of Southern Indiana. I had no idea they had a course at Mesker Park. I am in Evansville now, might have to go check that out.
Yeah, the airport in Evansville is weak. I resorted to driving to Louisville to fly out when I was in college at USI. I have only flown out of EVV once. I was flying to Minnesota to visit family. There were two options, a layover in Atlanta or Cincinnati. It was cheaper the next time just to fly SWA out of Louisville.
I lived in Henderson briefly, and I do not like "Hendo" at all. But, that may have been because I was driving to USI and north Evansville daily for work.
....wait for erik and the other E-ville posters whose names escape me right now....
LOL and Merry Christmas, DC. I'm working on Xmas Eve babysitting a bunch of computers and the place is totally dead...basically just keep things running and I'm fine.
To the OP, Evansville would be fine. I personally like the way the state government is organized in Indiana better than Kentucky. Not was much croneyism (is that a word?)
But I know BG and E-town pretty well, and other than growing pains, they're both good places. Some people have a problem with E-town's dry status, but Radcliff is wet now and I imagine E-town or all of Hardin County will follow, if they haven't already.
BG has a lot of air options being close to Nashville, and E-town is near Louisville and within a reasonable drive of the Cincy airport, which is actually in Northern KY. Evansville's airport is pretty bare bones, and not easily accessible. A few years ago I broke my foot and couldn't drive for about six months. This is the only city I've ever seen where the city bus line doesn't service the airport.
Henderson is very local, in the sense that it's mostly people from Henderson; people who grew up there. With the bridge seperating the two towns, it's often difficult to travel from one to another if there is a traffic problem. Also, it's not a local call between the two, so for someone living in Henderson and working in Evansville, every call to work is long distance. Granted with so many unlimited calling plans now available, this isn't as much of an issue as it has been in the past.
I've not been in Owensboro in a long time, but judging from the posts on here, it's fallen on hard times, what with everyone talking about jobs leaving and the Executive Inn closing. But I'm not really qualified to say.
I'm also no help on the golf. Don't play, sorry. But I do live by Mesker Park, and the course looks beautiful and is nicely maintained.
Evansville's biggest knock is that it's not exciting. To me that's not important, but everyone has their own needs. Madonna hated it here when she was here filming "A League of Their Own." That tells me what I need to know.
And the Bible Belt basically starts here. After the court ruling a few years ago on the use of the phrase "In God We Trust," Indiana commissioned a new optional license plate bearing that motto. I don't have the stats, but it seems there are more of those plates around than the standard ones.
Whether it's the religious statement, or that Hoosier "nobody's going to tell me what to do" attitude, I'm proud of it.
Shoot, come on to Evansville. No strangers here, just folks you've yet to meet.
DC 38...
You must check out the disc golf course at Mesker Park, if the other one is called Eagle Valley, then most likely you'll appreciate the other one more, especially if the reviews are accurate Maybe after you do, that will be the only course you play at. Feel free to let me know how you like it.
I'm going to check out the cost of flights back to Madison from Evansville , Louisville & Nashville to see just how much difference there is in cost.
Little bit of a difference in the population between Henderson & E'ville.
erikp...
Not too concerned about the employment issues in Owensboro, since we wouldn't be in the job market.
What is it about Evansville that keeps you there? We're really not into the cultural attractions, more the physical adventure things. I do want to be in a city with decent shopping options, as well as restaurants.
As long as religion isn't thrown in my face, It doesn't matter much to me how religious anyone else does. I don't care to have anyone feeling the need to be in my business though. I would think E'ville is large enough that it wouldn't be a problem.
I think a visit is in store
What is it about Evansville that keeps you there? We're really not into the cultural attractions, more the physical adventure things. I do want to be in a city with decent shopping options, as well as restaurants.
As long as religion isn't thrown in my face, It doesn't matter much to me how religious anyone else does. I don't care to have anyone feeling the need to be in my business though. I would think E'ville is large enough that it wouldn't be a problem.
I think a visit is in store
Shopping is plentiful, albeit mostly the national chains and mall boutique stores. We have the big name stores... Macy's, Sears, JC Penney, Burlington, Target, Toys'R Us, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Gander Mountain, Dick's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and so on.
Crime is not too bad here. I'll spare you the sad story, but for a few years I lived in one of the worst parts of town (Governor & Riverside/ Sweetser projects area, for the locals... you know the neighborhood's going to heck when the liquor store on your street closes). In all that time, I never had my house or car bothered, even though I'd sometimes sleep with the windows open in the summer. Most of the violent crime seems to be involved with other criminal activity like drug dealing, or is the result of domestic and family situations.
The areas outside the city are great if you hunt, fish, or hike. Within easy reach, Southern Illinois' Garden of the Gods and Western Kentucky's Land Between the Lakes are big attractions.
The best thing about Evansvlle is the people. It's off the beaten path to the point that most people do know each other or have some kind of direct connection with a friends or relative...work with so-and-so or live near so-and-so or got to church where so-and-so does. So it becomes natural to treat everyone like family.
I'm proud of Evansville's make-it-happen attitude. The religious attitude isn't just a surface thing. It's a committment. instead of whining aboutr how "someone" should do something, we do it. There are an abundance of charity functions among neighbors. I'm not speaking just in the formal organized sense, but the kind of thing wherer the neighborhood bar collects money for someone's medical bills, or bikers will organize a ride to benefit a friend who's struggling. There's a great sense of community...the morning after Election Day, the lead non-polititcal story was about the death of a cantankerous turkey which had become a roadside fixture (run a Google search on "Wilson the Turkey.")
The loss of America's industrial base his us hard. We're still picking up the pieces. Change came slowly here, but fifteen years ago, we were much like Detroit when it hit the skids...decaying downtown, lots of boarded-up real estate, negative population growth. As with much of the Midwest, we went from a booming manufacturing economy in the seventies to a struggling community trying to keep up. You'd be amazed at the strides we've made since then, embracing technology and transportation (just wait till we get I-69, the "Canada to Mexico" highway) In a bizarre way, maybe we've been going through what the rest of the country is starting to feel. Hopefully, that means we'll come out of it ahead of the curve as well.
Our scars are easily visible. We have picturesque areas with cobblestone streets and 19th Century mansions, but no one would describe Evansville on the whole as "a quaint, charming town." We are what our history has made us: blue collar, industrial, and defiant. It ain't Mayberry or Bedford Falls, but compared to most places, it's laid back, unpretentious, and comfortable.
erikP...
After checking on the airfare situation, Evansville vs the cities closer to Louisville & Nashville, I'm afraid the difference in cost is enough to make me reconsider moving to either Evansville, Henderson or Owensboro Ky. I checked the fare going/coming for all places on the same dates & Evansville came out to be twice as expensive as the other two! Even if we'd only fly out once or twice a year, that would make a difference(especially if I'm hoping our kids will fly to see as as well). There are things you've told me that I like & things I'm not so crazy about. Evansville kind of sounds like Bloomington, In with the closeness of neighbors, and the way the city city get's involved.
Thanks for giving me the low down
Well, I'm sorry to hear that, because I think anyone who gives his decision it this much thought would be a great asset to our town.
I love Evansville. There are an abundance of good things here but I try and be open-minded and remember that things that insignificant to me are important to other people, and vice-versa. I try to be a cheerleader for the city without misleading anyone.
We get a lot of bad publicity on this and other forums, and it's often related to the expense of flying. My kids live out west, so I fly to/from Salt Lake City every so often. I've become tricky at searching for fares.
Last year, it was cheaper to buy a round trip ticket than to fly one way
The two-hour ride to the Louisville airport isn't bad...beautiful scenery, and little traffic until you reach suburban Louisville. Heck, when my sister lived in Boston, it took her two hours to get to Logan airport, and she lived in town.
erikp...
I research just about everything, I feel like it's much better having information from others with some history, then going in blindly. I appreciate you thinking I might be an asset to your town The facts are the facts though, can't change them. I know that I wouldn't care to drive two hours to get to an airport, even if it were once a year. Heck, I only live five minutes from our airport, which is probably just a bit larger then yours. I'm thinking with the other options available to us, we should be able to find another location we'd like as well or better then Evansville, maybe even a bit warmer in the winter. What's most important is that you have found your "best" place & you're happy to be there
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
