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My family and I are looking for a new place to call home. We enjoy the mountains, hiking, fishing, hunting, etc. We are looking to live near a medium-sized town where my wife can find work in the medical field and I can do IT stuff.
We are considering KY, TN, and WV. Why would a family want to move to KY instead of TN or WV? Please take into account the outdoor lifestyle we want to enjoy, land prices/taxes, and affordability. We currently live in TX and cannot abide the heat and other problems. We both miss mountains and the outdoor lifestyle. Our goal is to perhaps buy about 10-20 acres of land and either build a small home or throw up a new manufactured/modular home.
Land is fairly inexpensive in Kentucky, depending on where you choose to locate. Property taxes range from 7.89 per thousand to 9.93 per thousand also depending on the county. I think property taxes will be much higher around Lexington but Craig Creek would know more about this. Hopefully he will chime in here. Utilities are cheaper in Kentucky than any other state. And of course, no matter where you live in Kentucky you are never more than an hour from a lake, and often more than one lake. Bowling Green is a lovely area but Dixie Girl can talk about property taxes. I am in Russell County so taxes here in rural Lake Cumberland are pretty cheap. Red River Gorge for hiking and you won't find a more gorgeous place to hike. The Appalachians are beautiful and fishing is a religion in Kentucky, not a sport.
Property taxes on "unimproved" farmland in some of the counties surrounding Fayette (which is Lexington's home county) are very reasonable. Rural property is assessed as to its functionality, so if you find a "farm" which lacks fields and is instead wooded and very hilly, you may find the local property taxes quite low. "Improved" property is another matter.
In addition to the mountains of eastern Kentucky, the land along the Kentucky River is quite hilly and wooded in Central Kentucky, especially in the Palisades, the 300 foot limestone gorge through which the Kentucky flows for over thirty miles. The Knobs, which form an arc to the south and west of the Outer Bluegrass, have similar topography, so you might want to look in these areas as well.
There are many small farms in the Knobs outside of Danville, in the Rolling Fork area, with wooded hills and pastureland valleys. Danville would be close enough for a fairly easy commute, and includes the excellent Ephraim McDowell Hospital.
A homestead exemption applies to property owners over 65 in some areas, including Lexington and Fayette County (which has Urban County Government). Your best bet would be to look at places of interest, then go to their websites for info or contacts who could provide the answers to your questions.
Otherwise, Kentucky is filled with good places for hiking, hunting, and fishing, work in the medical field is available in most cities and middle-sized towns, and IT can be done from home just about anywhere.
London just opened a brand new hospital last year - St. Joseph London and it is already expanding!! They seem to be hiring new people all the time since the new hospital opened. London is at the foothills of the Appalachians. There's lots of places to go fishing around here.
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