Is Kentucky A Good Place For Retirement? (Owensboro, Murray: insurance, cheap home)

[donsabi]

I retired about ten years ago and moved around trying to find the right fit. Since retiring I have lived in PA, DE, NC, SC, and TN. So far the best fit for me is TN.
I have been looking at KY but know little about it other than it is a tax friendly state. C of L looks pretty good too.
I just wondered what others who have retired to KY from elsewhere think of their decision after being there for a while.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Kentucky often ranks well on those lists of best places to retire in the US....I am not yet of retirement age, but love it here.
I have lived in Connecticut, Maryland and Florida also. As you know, Kentucky borders Tenn., and they seem and feel very a like to me, so if you like it there you will probably like it here (I am sure there are some differences but culture and life here will be much more like that of Tenn. than many of the other amentioned places.)

[cremebrulee]

I was in Nashvillle for the first time, and it was glorious....love Kentucky, a lot, but also West Virginia is extremely beautiful right along with Maryland. And in Maryland, your closer to the beach?

But as far as Kentucky is concerned, (and I've visited a lot of states) but the people in Kentucky for the most part are extremely hospitable, nice, and straight forward. I love them. Oh you have your stinkers of course, but for the most part, Kentucky breeds some very polite and warm people.

I was visiting my son and family again. They live in a huge housing developement...300 - 400 homes and I cannot believe how quiet the community is. No screaming kids....honest! Why, b/c there are a lot of police officers who live in that community, who work swing shifts and I believe the parents there stilll teach their kids awareness for others. but my gosh, it was certainly a nice and quiet neighborhood, and in the evening, everyone goes out for a walk and chats with each other...lovely. I love it there, used to attend the Kentucky Derby every year.

[kygman]

Used to hear that when the police saw somebody driving drunk or speeding in small town Kentucky they didn't have to chase them. They knew who was driving what car or truck so all they had to do was drive to their home and be waiting for them, or call their parents and have them bring them to the station when they got home. lol

[cremebrulee]

Originally Posted by kygman

Used to hear that when the police saw somebody driving drunk or speeding in small town Kentucky they didn't have to chase them. They knew who was driving what car or truck so all they had to do was drive to their home and be waiting for them, or call their parents and have them bring them to the station when they got home. lol

lol to funny!

[HillWilliam]

Originally Posted by cremebrulee

I was in Nashvillle for the first time, and it was glorious....love Kentucky, a lot, but also West Virginia is extremely beautiful right along with Maryland. And in Maryland, your closer to the beach?

But as far as Kentucky is concerned, (and I've visited a lot of states) but the people in Kentucky for the most part are extremely hospitable, nice, and straight forward. I love them. Oh you have your stinkers of course, but for the most part, Kentucky breeds some very polite and warm people.

I was visiting my son and family again. They live in a huge housing developement...300 - 400 homes and I cannot believe how quiet the community is. No screaming kids....honest! Why, b/c there are a lot of police officers who live in that community, who work swing shifts and I believe the parents there stilll teach their kids awareness for others. but my gosh, it was certainly a nice and quiet neighborhood, and in the evening, everyone goes out for a walk and chats with each other...lovely. I love it there, used to attend the Kentucky Derby every year.

I have never thought of Md as a retiree friendly state for one reason, its gotten so darn expensive. When we left there back in 2004 from a small town outside Frderick, if you didn't spend 400k, you couldn't even get a small single family fixer upper. Taxes and other things are gettin pretty pricey in Md. There are some pretty areas but hard to find non highly populated areas unless you hit the western shore south of waldorf and the western part of Md away from the touristy areas like deep creek lake etc. I think Ky would be ideal for retirees due t othe cheap home and land prices compared to so many of the other states in the region.

[kygman]

A few years ago Murray, Ky. and the Kentucky Lake area were listed as one of the top retirement spots in the country.
Murray, Kentucky - MyMurray.com
I lived in Cadiz, near Lake Barkley, for almost 5 years. My wife and I were buying a 3 BR, 2 bath brick home on a half acre about a mile from town, on contract for $74,000. We put $4000 down and monthly payments were $650/month which included insurance and taxes.
I know you're looking for opinions of people who retired then moved to Kentucky. I'm retired FROM the state and have lived here all my life (so far!). Haven't ever had any need or desire to move. We've got the friendly people as some have said on here, quite a bit to see and do, and it's affordable. I worked for the state highway department for 26 years.
Donsabi, hope you check out some places (there's 120 counties to choose from) and find a place you like.

[cremebrulee]

Originally Posted by HillWilliam

I have never thought of Md as a retiree friendly state for one reason, its gotten so darn expensive. When we left there back in 2004 from a small town outside Frderick, if you didn't spend 400k, you couldn't even get a small single family fixer upper. Taxes and other things are gettin pretty pricey in Md. There are some pretty areas but hard to find non highly populated areas unless you hit the western shore south of waldorf and the western part of Md away from the touristy areas like deep creek lake etc. I think Ky would be ideal for retirees due t othe cheap home and land prices compared to so many of the other states in the region.

I didn't know that? I always drive thru and it just looks as pretty as WV and Kentucky....I cannot believe the vastness of the forests....thanks so much for the info.

[HillWilliam]

Originally Posted by cremebrulee

I didn't know that? I always drive thru and it just looks as pretty as WV and Kentucky....I cannot believe the vastness of the forests....thanks so much for the info.

where do you normally go through at? It changed quite a bit from the early 90's on into the y2k era sadly. What we saw was all the folks from Balt, N Va and Dc started to buy outside the Frederick area and the population exploded, seemed to triple overnight based on the traffic. Sorry don't want to hijack the Ky thread at all. E Ky is definitely our next home base once our place in S la is sold. We found it to be very similar in culture and attitude to where we were outside of Frederick md/harpers ferry Wv area, but seems like it was 30-50 years prior. which is a huge plus to us at least. Tired of the rat race and the more rural and laid back the better.

[TammyzHere]

Considering moving 6 hours South from Chicago to KY in search of less harsh winters. Found a cute little house in Owensboro that I like. I have never moved out of state. I'm not sure about the logistics of all that.