Looking at moving from California to Kentucky.... or Maine. (Lexington: homes, purchasing)

[walessp]

I lived in Bangor for 4 years and loved it, for the most part. The only real negative for me was black flies. Once you get out of town you could be carried away by these pests and their bites leave you itching for months!

walessp

[Oldhag1]

You might want to consider South Central or southern Western Kentucky, as those areas seem to fit your criteria better. If you look hard enough you'll be able to find some property under $80,000 but there will be some issue with it.

Word of warning when considering ultra cheap property, do your due diligence and make sure the property was not a meth lab at some point.

[hogsrus]

Originally Posted by phoenix02

Hogsrus-

https://www.facingsouth.org/2011/08/...ls-abuses.html

Well, in my 60+ yrs of living and working in Eastern Kentucky, I have never seen any such condition. Now, to say the article isn't true, that's not for me to say but, I will say some people will do anything to collect money from a coal company or any company for that matter.

I haven't had a well since the early 60's.

If this concerns you so much or if you're looking for ways to convince your self Kentucky isn't for you, why even consider Kentucky at all? Yah....the more I think about it, Maine. I'd take black flies itching for months over a blazing water well any day.

I'll add, don't believe everything you see on the internet even though it is illegal to provide false information.

[phoenix02]

Hogsrus-

I am not trying to make Kentucky less of an option, rather looking for information on a fact I have found online. Apparently coal mining has done some very bad things to the water quality in East Kentucky. I don't know if that is far east, southeast KY or the entirety of eastern KY. I have been looking in northeastern KY, about an hour or two outside of Lexington.

I am not one to just assume an isolated story.

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politi...heir-tap-water
Kentucky Community Hopes Trump Infrastructure Plan Will Fix Water System : NPR
Report: 'Erin Brockovich' chemical found in Eastern Kentucky drinking water
EPA Reaches Settlement to improve Water Quality in Eastern Kentucky | KRWA - Kentucky Rural Water Association


I have spent hours reading EPA reports, news, Kentucky municipal water quality assessments, etc. I see there are a handful of counties that are most troublesome, but I am wondering if the issue extends over the entire east or if it is just relegated to far eastern KY. For this I have yet to find a reliable answer.

I have been searching and researching for 3 years now before settling on Maine and Ketucky as my most likely options. Any input is greatly appreciated, but please don't think I am just believing hype of a single news report, ever. I personally don't trust any news source or government organization, or corporation for that matter, to be completely honest. They are all self serving for one reason or another, so I have a tendency to spend way too much time seeking out all the information I can find before coming to a conclusion. This is why I came here. I appreciate your assessment that you have personally never experienced a water quality issue. This gives me some confidence that perhaps the issue is more isolated to certain areas than it seems.

[PONYPULR]

In Maine your winters will last waaaay longer than your warmer season. Consequently you will need to heat your home longer, much longer than in KY
.
Serious cold weather in KY occurs in January and early February. By the end of February Lowe's has flowers out in their garden dept!
I would suggest that you do some research on line at real estate websites, like lbar.com, where you will get a wealth of info on the areas of KY. I, too, do not think you will be happy in eastern Ky, and do believe you will find something in your price range in the counties surrounding the Bluegrass.
Good luck to ya!

[marino760]

Originally Posted by phoenix02

Hogsrus-

https://www.facingsouth.org/2011/08/...ls-abuses.html

I'm curious as to why you feel you need to limit KY to the eastern part if you're concerned about the water there. There are other parts of the state that are not flat, have plenty of forests and agriculture and are low cost to buy a house and land.
As someone already mentioned, south central part of the state may fit what you're looking for as well.

http://libertykentucky.org/

[426HemiCA]

Winchester is about as far east as I would consider, pretty easy access to Lexington, but much cheaper, Garrad County or Jessamine County is also good options but Jessamine can be expensive in a lot of areas since its close to Lexington. Also, if considering Jessamine west of US 27 check out the map for the potential I75 Connector. A lot of the areas between Lexington and Louisville iare pretty nice. Imwould still, stay west of the Rockies for the lower humidity though.

[Peter1948]

Moderator cut: off topic

To the Op, I'd move around the Red River gorge area, so you are close to Louisville and Lexington.

[Dhult]

Originally Posted by phoenix02

Hello all! I am currently residing in the High Desert of California with my wife and 3 little girls. For various reasons, we are unhappy with our life here and want to move. I am looking for a lower priced area that doesn't experience much in the way of Tornados, at least some snow and no crazy hot and sticky deep south summers. My initial desire was for Eastern Tennessee, as I lived there a couple years as a child and have always wanted to move back, but there are few properties in our price range, most of which are short on land and are a mobilehome, which we would rather not have. This is going to be our forever home, so we would like a house.

So far Eastern Kentucky, with the scenic mountains mixed with tillable land and inexpensive properties, as well as Maine, with its amazing scenery and cheap land are at the top of our list. As far as price range, we will have, at most, $80k to work with. My preference is to be below that to have money for repairs, etc.

My criteria are as follows-
-3 bedroom or more house.
-Preferably older home I can restore over time.
-2 acres minimum, at least 5-10 preferred.
-Some tillable land to be self sufficient, as well as far enough from town to not have to worry about people getting bothered by a large garden or some chickens.
-Acess to hunting- on my own land all the better.
-At least a 2 car garage, preferably a larger garage or barn to convert into my shop.
-Hopefully a good church nearby to plug in to.

That gets pretty specific, and narrows the options down considerably. I am finding houses that meet my criteria in east Kentucky as well as through out Maine. I would prefer hills and mountains over flat land, such as western KY, but am amiable to it as a possibility. Now, my concerns-

Kentucky-
-My BIGGEST CONCERN about Eastern KY- water quality. I have yet to find a map of areas of concern, what counties have problem water supplies from mining runoff, etc. I do NOT want to move my family to an area where my well catches fire or runs a different color but clear. Any ideas? If north eastern KY better than south eastern?
-um... pretty much everything else about the area seems great.

Maine-
-much liberalism and over taxation.
-over taxation. Houses I am looking at, in the middle of nowhere with a couple acres of land, can have $2k+ property tax bills. Insane.
-COLD. Will we freeze? Dunno.
-Cost of living. The cost to heat through half the year, as well as higher food prices when the weather is inclement and we cannot provide our own.
-taxes and costs. Registration for my 2000 Excursion is over $160, PLUS yearly inspections.
-Much more difficult to homeschool, which we do with all our children.
-plus and minus here- post Christian culture. The mission field in Maine is massive, but I fear also being without a support Community if there are no good churches around.

BUT- Maine is remote. Cheap to buy in to. Less likely to have to deal with people in an SHTF situation. There are many positives to Maine, if it wasn't for the cost of living.

As I said, we homeschool- 2, 5, and 8 yr old girls. Quality of public schools is not an issue. I am self employed. I currently own a woodshop, producing everything from custom pistol grips and guitars to furniture and full kitchens. I am working on setting up the business to be primarily online, but shops within driving distance I can consign work to would be nice. Also, reliable Internet is a must, even if it is DSL or cellular. I would like to be within driving distance of a city with a hospital and whatnot should the need arise. Say, an hour away?

So, what say you, great Kentucky CD forum? Is East KY a good fit for us? Where is the water safe? Any other input?

Thanks!

Hi Apple Valley,

I'm looking to leave CA in a few years. Your thread title caught my eye. I considered Kentucky and came to the conclusion it wasn't in my top 5 choices. You asked for other suggestions so I'll give you mine since you mentioned taxes, SHTF, Taxes, water, Taxes and a few other things I considered. One state down on the Cumberland PL.

[phoenix02]

Dhult,

Eastern TN was my first target. I lived there a couple years as a boy and fell in love with the place. But, I don't think it is to be. First, that area is turning quickly into a favorite destination for retirees, meaning property prices have quickly escalated out of my price range. Second, they have some homeschooling requirements I don't like all too much- Kentucky is much more free in that regard. But, if I could find what I wanted- house, not mobile or manufactured, with a good size garage or barn or even full basement for my shop, not in town but not too far from town, on at least 2 acres, for $80k or less, I would consider it, but those properties are few and far between. Most in that $80k range I have found need another $50k to be made habitable, which is not an option for me. At $80k, it has to be in good enough shape to move in, slap some paint on the walls and do any other work over time. I will only have max $80k to work with, so if the house needs work for my family to be able to live in it, I have to get it below that to absorb the cost of repairs and be under $80k.