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Old 05-16-2007, 03:05 PM
 
Location: New York City
2,814 posts, read 6,845,405 times
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We entered the city along the waterfront (unfortunately, we didn't find it attractive). We then ended up in the northwest section. I think we then headed east on Muhammed Ali Blvd. We zigzagged through the west end and eventually took Main St, heading east. When we got to the Highlands, we liked what we saw, and we both agreed that the area around Cherokee Park and Seneca Park was absolutely beautiful. I vaguely remember like a street called, Cannons Rd or something like that. As for burbs, we drove around St. Matthews, which I liked and my husband didn't. We also toured Blue Ridge Manor, Douglas Hills and Bellemeade. They were only okay. By that point, my husband didn't want to be in a suburb of a city that he didn't feel comfortable with. I really started to like the area as we headed north up 265 towards prospect. I fell in love with the Summit shopping area. Prospect was lovely, but Hunting Creek, which was in our price range was too sterile and manicured for my husband's taste. Also, we did not see a soul on any of the streets. We then drove to Goshen, which we found to not be what we were looking for. From there we drove to Buckner and then on to La Grange, which was a disappointment. I could have been happy living near Cherokee Park, but I'm sure we could never afford that area.

Now for Lexington, we did drive through the "bad" part of town, and your idea of bad is nothing. I loved the area around Transylvania U. and Gratz park. North of that is not particularly nice, but it wasn't in the same league as Louisville's bad neighborhoods. Coming from NYC, we don't scare easily, but we do have a sense of an unsafe neighborhood.
Overall, Lexington seemed more homogenously nice and well-kept. It seemed more comfortable and less big cityish. We explored every nook and cranny, and it was all good. I loved Woodland park, and the small town feel we got there. Jacobson Park was nice too, but I preferred the cozyness of Woodland Park. Again, our favorite neighborhoods in our price range are possibly, Tahoma Terrace and definitely Stonewall. We loved Chevy Chase, Ashland Park and Shadeland, but I think we would only be able to afford a tiny house there. I'm sure people can be very happy in either city. But for us, Lexington was a better fit. For our daughter, the highlights of the trip were a visit to the Build A Bear store in the Summit shopping plaza and lunch at Chuckie Cheese (something we never did before). She also loved the Lexington library and the fountains outside. The farmer's market was nice and the playgrounds were good too. I see it as a fun city for children.
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Old 05-16-2007, 03:22 PM
 
Location: New York City
2,814 posts, read 6,845,405 times
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Default Some more impressions

We found everyone to be very friendly and nice in both cities. Lexington seemed quiet for a college town, but I realize that it is summer break now. Is the town more lively during the school year?

On our way home, we stopped in Paris, which neither of us liked, but we had lunch in a great little restaurant called Medallia. As for the most spectacular scenery, we drove south on 627 after Paris, and that stretch was incredible. One amazing horse farm after another. I highly reccommend that drive if you haven't taken it. Sometimes, I think we have caviar taste and a hamburger budget
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Old 05-16-2007, 04:16 PM
 
528 posts, read 2,472,241 times
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Originally Posted by gimme it View Post
On our way home, we stopped in Paris, which neither of us liked, but we had lunch in a great little restaurant called Medallia. As for the most spectacular scenery, we drove south on 627 after Paris, and that stretch was incredible. One amazing horse farm after another. I highly reccommend that drive if you haven't taken it. Sometimes, I think we have caviar taste and a hamburger budget

The restaurant is Migalia's, which is very good indeed! And while downtown Paris is in need of a coat or two of paint, the surrounding areas are gorgeous and it's a really nice town. A huge part of Boubon County is still considered Paris....for example you were still in Paris while you were driving on 627, past Claiborne Farm and the other big horse farms.
Claiborne gives a very nice tour, btw........Glad you enjoyed your trip!
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Old 05-16-2007, 09:45 PM
 
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Hey gimme it, glad to see you are back and enjoyed your trip! It sounds like maybe you both preferred Lexington over Louisville, but even so, was Lexington all you expected it to be?

Did you see the schools in Lexington? What did you think?

Also, I know you said Versailles was kind of small for you, but did you spend some time there? Curious what you thought. I thought it was really small at first, but after spending half a day there and talking to lots of great, friendly people, I really liked it.
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Old 05-16-2007, 10:05 PM
 
Location: New York City
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Hey there,

I seem to have jet lag even though we drove. Anyway, we drove through Versailles, but didn't spend any time there. It is a sweet-looking town, but too small for us big city folks. I'm sure that you can have a nice life in a town like that. We definitely liked Lexington. In fact, my husband really liked it. In particular, he loves the Arts and Craft/ Craftman style houses in Ashland Park. The problem is that the yards are small in our price range. The more we saw Glendover, the more we liked it. Initially it looked as if the houses were too close together, but that wasn't the case on every street. We didn't intentionally drive by the schools, but we did happen upon Sayre, Lex Christian Academy and Lexington Catholic. We also drove by Cassidy and Morton. All of the schools looked nice from the outside.

I just have a couple of concerns about Lex. It seemed very quiet to me, but I have to assume it's more vibrant when the students are there. I also wish there was more water around (lakes, rivers, bays...). Finally, I wish there was more of a centralized, walkable downtown, like in Madison, WI (State St. for example). There are many little books shops and restaurants in Lex, but it's more spread out ( a few here, a few there). Otherwise, we see Lex as a good solid place to raise a family. We kept on saying how much it reminds us of Madison, which we love except that it's friendlier, more relaxed and the winters are warmer. Have you narrowed down your search yet?
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Old 05-17-2007, 05:46 AM
 
283 posts, read 1,022,061 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gimme it View Post
Hey there,

I seem to have jet lag even though we drove. Anyway, we drove through Versailles, but didn't spend any time there. It is a sweet-looking town, but too small for us big city folks. I'm sure that you can have a nice life in a town like that. We definitely liked Lexington. In fact, my husband really liked it. In particular, he loves the Arts and Craft/ Craftman style houses in Ashland Park. The problem is that the yards are small in our price range. The more we saw Glendover, the more we liked it. Initially it looked as if the houses were too close together, but that wasn't the case on every street. We didn't intentionally drive by the schools, but we did happen upon Sayre, Lex Christian Academy and Lexington Catholic. We also drove by Cassidy and Morton. All of the schools looked nice from the outside.

I just have a couple of concerns about Lex. It seemed very quiet to me, but I have to assume it's more vibrant when the students are there. I also wish there was more water around (lakes, rivers, bays...). Finally, I wish there was more of a centralized, walkable downtown, like in Madison, WI (State St. for example). There are many little books shops and restaurants in Lex, but it's more spread out ( a few here, a few there). Otherwise, we see Lex as a good solid place to raise a family. We kept on saying how much it reminds us of Madison, which we love except that it's friendlier, more relaxed and the winters are warmer. Have you narrowed down your search yet?
We're visiting again on Memorial Day weekend -- the kids will be going with us this time, as they are now at the very curious stage (since we will be moving there in 4-6 weeks). We hope to go to a baseball game on Saturday night as well as take in some more family recreational type activities that we didn't do while we were there without the kids.

When we visited Lexington we were downtown on a Friday night, and trust me, it was not quiet. In fact, it initially turned me off the residential areas close to campus (Ashland Park, Chevy Chase, Glendover, Landsdowne) because I thought they were TOO close. But at this point I'll bet it's a lot quieter in the downtown/campus area. Here in Iowa City, during this time of year the town gets extremely quiet (by that time, I'm ready for it and I love the peacefulness ) I would imagine that Lexington does as well, although probably less so because it is bigger than Iowa City.

I had the same initial reaction about the downtown area as you, probably because our downtown area here is set up similar to Madison's. However I did like the renovations they are doing to the area. And I love the residential neighborhoods around there. My problem is, I want to buy one of the million + dollar houses, not the 400k houses. Not going to happen!

As for narrowing it down, we really haven't, except that most of my focus is on the SW side or Versailles. But there isn't much in Versailles for houses.
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Old 05-17-2007, 07:05 AM
 
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Question I am so confused!!!

I am going down on Memorial Day weekend too!!! I am so excited. You know, what is confusing me is that I really in my heart know think that i will love Lexington much more than Louisville and it thought it would be the other way around. I was so set on Oldham County only but now I see all the pictures and houses around Lexington and I love it. Also, hubby wants me to look at new construction and in Lexington it is much cheaper than in Louisville. The only problem is I wonder how the jobs are in Lexington compared to Louisville. I can easily get a job as an Executive Assistant in Louisville for 40 - 45k. I wonder if that will be the same case in Lexington??? Does anyone know if the job market in Lexington is about the same? If they are very different we might even move to Southern Indiana....did you go there on your trip at all? Well, my cousin and I will only be there Saturday, Sunday and Monday and I plan to see all that I can with that little reant a car!! Was gas any cheaper down there? Probably not, but worth a try. What other good places did you eat at? Did you have any pizza by the way? I love New York pizza and don't know if I could do without it. I heard a place called Joe Bologna's is good...did you see that by any chance or restaurant called Ramsays? I have heard really good things. Sorry fo so many questions!!
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Old 05-17-2007, 07:27 AM
 
283 posts, read 1,022,061 times
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Originally Posted by ler0719 View Post
I am going down on Memorial Day weekend too!!! I am so excited. You know, what is confusing me is that I really in my heart know think that i will love Lexington much more than Louisville and it thought it would be the other way around. I was so set on Oldham County only but now I see all the pictures and houses around Lexington and I love it. Also, hubby wants me to look at new construction and in Lexington it is much cheaper than in Louisville. The only problem is I wonder how the jobs are in Lexington compared to Louisville. I can easily get a job as an Executive Assistant in Louisville for 40 - 45k. I wonder if that will be the same case in Lexington??? Does anyone know if the job market in Lexington is about the same? If they are very different we might even move to Southern Indiana....did you go there on your trip at all? Well, my cousin and I will only be there Saturday, Sunday and Monday and I plan to see all that I can with that little reant a car!! Was gas any cheaper down there? Probably not, but worth a try. What other good places did you eat at? Did you have any pizza by the way? I love New York pizza and don't know if I could do without it. I heard a place called Joe Bologna's is good...did you see that by any chance or restaurant called Ramsays? I have heard really good things. Sorry fo so many questions!!
Hi ler0719! I'm guessing most of your questions are directed at gimme it but I'll respond as much as I can!

First and most important, food... We had very good pizza at a place downtown that is relatively new, and I can't remember the name but my husband will. Or if Lexingtongal is still posting she might know which place I mean. It's a bar, but there were families/kids in there as well. We really liked the pizza and the place was crowded so I'm guessing others felt the same. I have heard about Joe Bologna's but we haven't made it there yet. Never heard of Ramsays but will check that one out. Gimme it is from New York, maybe she found some good New York style pizza while there!

I didn't notice gas prices (but last time we were there was a month ago so it wouldn't be relevent to now anyway). Gimme it can fill us in on that one!

I would think you could find a job as an exec assistant in both places, as that career seems highly in demand in general. Maybe someone can offer more info. I am in health care/research so I'm focusing on UK.

We are moving to Lexington for sure, in July, so I haven't checked out other comparable places (Louisville or southern Indiana). Hope you have a good trip! Maybe we'll see you there
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Old 05-17-2007, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Lexington Ky
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Was the pizza place in Festival Market? If so it's Brooklyn pizza. If it was on campus it was probably Pazzo's (my families favorite). Joe B's isn't New York style but it is very good. Ramsey's is a casual comfort food place. The food is good but the place seems a litte dirty. It's been around a long time and it seems like the owner has gotten lazy about details such as cleanliness! For similar, but better, comfort food I would recommend Suggins on Romany Rd.
I don't think you should have any problem finding a job. The Lexington Herald Leader is available on line. You might check the Sunday ads.
Gas prices hit an all time high this week, $3.19 per gallon!!!! Ouch.
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Old 05-17-2007, 09:12 AM
 
Location: New York City
2,814 posts, read 6,845,405 times
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Default Ler

Believe it or not, one evening when we were exhausted we had pizza delivered to our hotel from Papa Johns. We liked it a lot. Think of it as a step up from Dominos. We had pizza for lunch one day at Chucky Cheese. It was a first for all of us. My daughter thought the Chucky Cheese experience was awesome. She actually said, "this is the best day of my life." Coming from NYC, we wanted to do the suburban thing. The best food that we had was at a Japanese restaurant called, Miyako. We went there two nights in a row. My husband and I are sushi addicts, and it was so fresh and delicious. As for traveling, the gas prices were not cheap. We drove a lot and spent a lot.

Don't rule out Louisville. You may very well love it. There were so many charming neighborhoods on the east side. One thing I noticed in Lexington was that there were so many hospitals. Surely, you could find a job in one of them. Have a great trip!
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