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Old 07-12-2006, 12:26 PM
 
Location: Long Island, New York
96 posts, read 560,630 times
Reputation: 78

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.............I will be retiring within the next 12-18 months from Long Island, NY. After working for 30 years in New York City; I am looking forward to the possibility of retiring to a nice, small mountain town ( I have heard good things about Kentucky ) where I can fish in a small pond & look at spectacular Green Forests......However; I don't think that my wife wants to stray too far from malls or supermarkets........Does such a Mountain Retirement Town exist in Kentucky ??....And would Berea or Versailles or Murray fit the Bill ???
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Old 07-12-2006, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Old Louisville
108 posts, read 762,915 times
Reputation: 102
Quote:
of retiring to a nice, small mountain town...would Berea or Versailles or Murray fit the Bill
Before I go on answering your questions, I just wanted to tell you that those three cities really aren't "mountain towns". Versailles is outside of Lexington (Bluegrass region which is pretty flat), Berea is bluegrass too (again, if I remember correctly, pretty flat), and Murray is Western Kentucky (a few smaller hills). Most of what would be considered "Mountain towns" are in the Eastern half of the state (Appalachia). I am assuming then, that you instead were meaning just a small, nice community that is rural but not too far from civilization?

You might want to look at this post (retirement in Danville, Murray, or Berea)...may help some in your decision.

//www.city-data.com/forum/kentu...ea-murray.html

One of my earlier posts also had small towns in Kentucky located in close to larger areas of the state:

//www.city-data.com/forum/kentucky/6987-ct-ky.html


Anyway, to answer your questions:

Berea, KY - Berea is a city in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. In 2004, the city population was 12,738. Its most prominent institution is Berea College, which owns a substantial percentage of the city's land. It is also one of the fastest growing towns in Kentucky. By 2010 Berea is on pace to have a population of 17,068 by 2010, a 73% increase over the town's census 2000 population of 9,851. The Mid-May Kentucky Craftmen's Guild Annual Fair is held there each year and the city is particularly known for its crafts (hence the festivel). Berea is located south of Lexington (about 45 minutes) and is in a fairly rural part of the state. As for lakes, there are a few small lakes around berea...no state parks of national forests though. From what I have heard.

Murray, KY - Murray is a city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,950 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Calloway County and the home of Murray State University. Murray is situated 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the 170,000-acre (690-km&sup2) "Land Between the Lakes" recreational area known worldwide for its fishing, boating,swimming, camping and wildlife population. The only downside here is that the closest large city (for your wife), would be nashville (120 miles away). Beautiful part of the state though.

Versailles, KY - Versailles is a city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 7,511 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Woodford County. The city's name is pronounced differently than the French city of the same name. From what I have heard, it is a nice area surrounded by horse farms. Lexington is approximately 20 minutes away.

Hope this helps...if you have any other questions...let me know!

http://www.versaillesky.com/history.htm (broken link)
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Old 07-13-2006, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Long Island, New York
96 posts, read 560,630 times
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........Thanks, RPP.......I appreciate your advice.I don't know if or where my ideal retirement town exists; but, so far, I am gravitating between retiring to Kentucky or Tennessee ?.....My " Source " has been a Book entitled " The 50 Best Small Southern Towns " & I have read about recommended retirement Towns such as Berea, Kentucky & McMinnville, Tennessee ?? Both of above Towns are refered to as " mountain " towns & I like the idea of living in a town which accepts retirees ( not a gated community & I am not a Golfer) where I can buy a house ( with small property- in NY I had a corner lot on 1/3 acre which was considered large property ) & the town has nice views of surrounding green mountains + ( ideally ) there would be a small pond or lake nearby ( not lakefront property ) where I could drive to and go fishing if I wanted to?? .... I would also like to settle in a Town with Good Hospital(s) & ( for my wife ) perhaps a Mall and/or Wal-Mart + Supermarket that is within 10 miles of Town ??....And; as long as I'm asking for so many amenities.....Another feature that I have learned about is " Dry " Counties which don't exist in NY, so...I would like to settle in a Town where I could also enjoy a Scotch if I wanted to ??------I would welcome any & all suggestions ???.....thanks, Don

Last edited by DADDYO49; 07-13-2006 at 12:06 PM..
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Old 07-13-2006, 04:18 PM
 
Location: Old Louisville
108 posts, read 762,915 times
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This site provides a list of all 120 counties in Kentucky as well as which are wet, which are dry, which are moist (county is dry but some of its cities are wet), and which are limited (drinks are served only in restaurants). It also lists wineries as well as which cities are wet, limited, etc. (Madison is a moist county as well as allowing wineries and gold courses to serve alcohol).

removed

Land prices compared to NY are great and you should be able to get a nice sized home with some acerages for a good price (2 bed/2 bath is probably going to be 120,000-150,000 range). Acerage can run anywhere frome 2,000 to 25,000 per acre.

Checked this website out and it had some properties listed in and around berea (give you an idea of property value, etc...):

removed

I understand what you meant now about "mountain". If i remeber correctly, Berea does have quite a few hills around it, but I think maybe they are refering to it culturally (don't know for sure though. Of course, having been to the rockies, the Appalachian Mountains really don't seem like much more than tall hills. As for accepting retirees...I think you'll find that most small communities in KY are open to retired workers. Berea would be an excellent choice as it has a local college, it is a lovely small town, and it is well known for its arts and crafts.

Here are a few shots of Downtown:







Here is a picture taken outside Berea:


Last edited by Marka; 07-14-2006 at 03:11 AM..
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Old 07-13-2006, 04:29 PM
 
Location: Old Louisville
108 posts, read 762,915 times
Reputation: 102
Quote:
there would be a small pond or lake nearby ( not lakefront property ) where I could drive to and go fishing if I wanted to?? .... I would also like to settle in a Town with Good Hospital(s) & ( for my wife ) perhaps a Mall and/or Wal-Mart + Supermarket that is within 10 miles of Town ??
Lake Linville is relatively close to Berea (16 miles). It is located in Rockcastle County near Mt. Vernon. It is a very small lake but it is the closest and would meet your fishing needs. Lexington hospitals would treat more severe cases (45 minutes) although Richmond has a good regional hospital that could treat pretty much anything else (11 miles away).


Berea does have a Super-Walmart and Richmond would provide quite a few more shopping possibilities.

You may like to check out their website as it has a lot of info on it (calendar of events, city infor, etc..):

http://www.berea.com/

http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/AccessS....aspx?ASID=525
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Old 07-13-2006, 09:56 PM
 
Location: Long Island, New York
96 posts, read 560,630 times
Reputation: 78
Default Still pondering to retire in Kentucky or Tennessee ??

.............Thanks again for the info. & great pictures. Berea looks & sounds great; but I still wonder Berea compares to Greenville, Tenn. & McMinville, Tenn. ?? I believe they are all College Towns with some nice mountain scenery & I wonder if anyone knows how they compare with each other ( Cost of Housing ? Cost of living ? Size of Town ?? Crime Rate ? Local Shopping ?? Hospitals ??? Local attractions/recreation ?? , Etc. ) ???
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Old 07-15-2006, 06:16 PM
 
43 posts, read 206,738 times
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It's really diffiucult to answer a general question about cost of living because what may seem very expensive may be quite cheap to soeone coming from out of state. Remember that much of the state outside Lexington and Louisville is still blue collar and non-union. Sure, our 1220 sq ft house cost one-third less than the the 1500 one we sold in central CA, but our household income in 1/3 what it was there, too, and that's depending on 20 hours OT per week here. it's all relative. Same with crime. There is a meth problem in the rural areas, just like many other states.

Now, that aside....if you like golf and want to be near good medical care, I'd suggest looking at Versailles (pronounced ver-sales) and Danville. Oh, and maybe the area around Bardstown. It's nice there.

Don't let the dry county thing be what turns you off a town you otherwise like. Most people go to a wet town once a month and stock up for private use. Just don't flaunt it, sell it or offer it to any law enforcement officers.

You might want to take a trip out here and talk with folks. Find little diners and start up conversations with the people there. THey'll talk to you all day and you'll usually get a more balanced picture.

I don't think you can throw a rock here without hitting an (expletive) Wal-Mart, so no problem there. If your wife likes to shop, though, she may be hard pressed for any other options.
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Old 07-18-2006, 06:29 PM
 
2 posts, read 10,663 times
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Berea is a cool college town. I went to college there in the 90's. I do know that there are mountains in Berea. Housing in reasonable. The hospital is not all that, but UK Medial Center in Lexington is less than an hour away. Along with the malls. There is a nice super center WalMart in Berea. Berea is dry, but Madison County (were Berea is located) is wet. Richmond is only 15 minutes away if you want to go for drinks. Hope you don't base your decision on wet or dry. Kentucky is an awesome place to live.
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Old 07-24-2006, 11:05 PM
 
13 posts, read 51,826 times
Reputation: 15
Have you considered Midd*****ro, Kentucky. It is a lovely mountain community. Nice hospital, very nice mall-large enough but not so large you have to drop before you are finished shopping. Very friendly people. I've only been here a short period of time and I think this will be a good place to live. 1 1/2 hours to Knoxville, TN and about the same to Pigeon Forge (shopping heaven!)
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Old 08-06-2006, 02:35 PM
 
1 posts, read 7,973 times
Reputation: 12
Default crime rate comparison

If you want to compare city crime rates just put crime rate in your search function.

I am in Florida which is rated the highest for crime of all the states. We were looking at Tennessee for retirement, but it is rated tenth highest, and Kentucky was about forty second. Of course, large cities are always worse, and yes in both TN and KY there have been trouble with meth labs.

May I make a suggestion? Sign up for a newspaper for six months from the area you are considering. Some papers have an Internet news service, but it is worth getting the Sunday paper so you can see the ads. Ads tell a lot.

It is very hard in any small town to get work. You don't know people and there aren't very many jobs. Retirement is the best time for this option.
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