so i've read some of the related threads... (re: relocating) (Lexington: home, best schools)

[deeslee]

but I'm still going to ask!

WARNING -- LONG!

My husband (25 years old) and I (23 years old) currently live 20 minutes outside of Seattle, WA, and we are looking to relocate. We are very interested in moving to Kentucky for a number of reasons:

1. Husband's family lives in Mississippi. We want to be close but not too close -- within an 8-10 hour drive.
2. Husband has fond memories of visiting relatives in Paducah. From what he remembers, he really liked it.
3. From what I have read, Kentucky seems to be a very underrated state. It has a lot going for it, but it still manages to keep a low profile.

Okay, so my questions:

1. We would like to find a nice suburb to settle down in. And ideally, we'd like to live within a 30 minute drive of one of the larger cities. We're looking into the Bowling Green area. Are there some good communities around there? And does the area have some diversity (e.g. in ages, in ethnicity)? I'm half Japanese/half Caucasian, and husband is full Caucasian. I lived in Greenwood, MS for 5 months (with husband) without too much awkwardness, but I was one of maybe a dozen Asians in town.

Also, I'm in the medical field (office-side). How are the hospitals and clinics in Bowling Green? Husband has worked in bookstores for the last 3.5 years and would like to continue in this industry for awhile. Any good bookstores -- preferably independent?

2. My parents have decided that they want to follow us to wherever we move to, because they have no ties to where they live now, and they want to be near us and future grandbabies. So... would this area also cater to retirees?


Thanks SO much for reading and for ALL your help!!! Much appreciated.

[kygman]

Deeslee, I can't tell you much about the Bowling Green area and not going to be one of those that talks about other places. Especially in a college town like Bowling Green, you should have no problems with diversity. Western, like just about any university anywhere, is a "melting pot" of people from all over the world. I went to 411.com and did a yellow pages search of bookstores in Bowling Green. It came up with 10 for sure. It lists more but I think it starts repeating some of them.
As far as other cities besides Bowling Green to be close to, you'd be a little over an hour from Nashville, Tn. So, if you or your parents are big on country music, you can be at the Grand Ole Opry in no time. lol
There's plenty to see and do also. You'll have to check out the Corvette Museum. Bowling Green is where GM make the Corvette. There's also Mammoth Caves (world's largest underground cave system) and on up I-65 to Lincoln's birthplace and his boyhood home, plus My Old Kentucky Home and quite a few Distilleries (Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, etc.). You can also go west for Kentucky and Barkley Lakes and the 170,000 acre Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
I'll say this early, but welcome to Kentucky!

[deeslee]

Thanks for your response and all the info! My parents love history, so they'll be glad to hear all that.

We're actually pretty open to other suggestions as far as places to live in Kentucky; it's just that Bowling Green stood out to us for whatever reason. I'm also really interested in Louisville and its surrounding area, because I read that it's a nice up-and-coming city with great suburbs. My husband is a little put-off by its size -- he likes somewhat smaller cities.

So if you have other suggestions, please feel free to share!

[HiBall]

You might consider London, it is east of BG. It's on I 75 about 40 miles north of the Tennessee line. 1 hr to Lexington and 1.5 hrs to Knoxville. London is certainly smaller than BG, the city of London population (I Think) is about 7000. Laurel county population is nearing 70,000. I don't think anything Asian would be a problem. I think we got a few bookstores also. London has a new hospital that has just opened and as I can hear lots more doctors have came here. London is considered as one of the best places in the state for retired people.

Just something else to consider...Good Luck!!

[kygman]

If you have seen all the relocating to Kentucky posts then you've seen all I have to say about western Kentucky. If you're not set on one area to move but want a big city close by, why not look at Henderson, Ky? Henderson County Tourist Commission, Henderson, KY It's right across the Ohio River from Evansville, In . The John James Audubon state park is on the north side of town. Audubon was known for his paintings and studies of birds.
Kentucky State Parks - Home A copy of his "Birds of America", published in England in 1827, recently sold at Sotheby's in London for $10.3 million. The park has another copy of the book in the museum.
I lived almost 30 years in the next county from Henderson County. If you like motorcycles Sturgis, Ky. has the Little Sturgis Motorcycle Rally the 3rd weekend in July every year. I think the crowd was down this year to around 20,000 bikers. There is the Ellis Park Horse Racing trackon the other side of the river, but still in Kentucky. Evansville also has a semi pro baseball team playing in the Pioneer league.
You might want to also check out Murray, Ky. home of Murray State University. For several years Murray and the Kentucky Lake area was considered one of the top retirement areas in the US. Murray State, for 20 years, has been chosen by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best schools in the country. I just saw that MSU is the top-ranked Kentucky regional public university in the 2011 U.S.News and World Report’s Best Colleges guide. Murray State University on the Web I guess the closest "city" to Murray would be Paducah. Paducah is kind of the shopping "hub" for western Kentucky. If your mother likes quilts she will love a trip to Paducah to the National Quilting Museum. The quilting convention every year brings thousands of people to Paducah and western Ky.

[deeslee]

Thank you!! Very helpful. I'll have to do some research on London, Henderson, and Murray. I mentioned Murray to my husband, and he said, "Oh yeah! My cousin played football for Murray State!"

[EclecticEars]

Suburbs within 30 minutes of larger cities are generally still rural or small town in character in Kentucky. Consider this as you are moving from a metropolis which, spanning from Olympia to Bellingham, has nearly as many people as Kentucky itself. These towns I think may also fit what you are looking for.

Examples:
Lexington--okay, it's really a suburb of itself and doesn't have real suburbs, per se. Per se, with the exception of Nicholasville, but I find the town to be unremarkable. You might consider some exurbs like Wilmore and Midway, albeit much smaller but still in great locations with easy proximity to Lexington and other nearby larger small cities.

Louisville: Oldham County in KY and Floyds Knobs in IN. Also consider Mt. Washington as it is a nice exurb.

Northern Kentucky: Alexandria, Independence, Union, Walton are all nice options and semi-rural. Alexandria is more rural in character even though development has rapidly encroached down the US 27 corridor.

Small cities to consider are Danville and Frankfort in central Kentucky; in western Kentucky, Murray, Owensboro, Henderson; in southern Kentucky, Bowling Green and maybe London, although London is just a little bit out in the sticks for me.

[nlschr0]

I'm not an expert on Bowling Green, having only visited there from time to time, but we have some friends who moved there from Cleveland OH and they really enjoy it. According to them, the schools are great, the hospital there is good (Greenview), and there is a good number of ethnic and unique local restaurants. They also said that it is a pretty diverse town, given its size, because of the presence of the university. There is a decent amount of shopping, stuff to do with kids, and parks, etc. And, like others said, you are within 1-2 hours drive to Nashville and Louisville. Plus, it is along one of the most direct routes to NE Mississippi from Kentucky. I would definitely keep it on your list!

[easydoesit]

Smaller places - BG or Murray

I like the idea of having the economic stability and events university towns offer

Both are close to some great outdoor areas

[thomasgargus]

Murray Ky , For M.S.U.