Western KY area, possible relocation from Michigan! (Louisville, Hopkinsville: real estate, rentals)
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Hello, My family and I may be relocating to Murray, KY area. The job is in Murray. Can you please share with us some info about Western KY. We both are born and raised Michiganders and have only driven through KY through I75. Some questions: ~Our oldest is graduating.. what colleges aside from Murray State are within 2 hours including Christian colleges? ~We homeschool are younger 2 children- Are there homeschool groups in the area? ~Is this area considered tornado alley? And why are there no basements in KY if they have tornadoes frequently? Where do you go for shelter in your home? ~ Is the surrounding area fairly flat or are there some hilly/mountainous areas? ~How close is Mammoth Caves and Lake Cumberland? ~ Would we have trouble finding homes to rent? We would like to rent initially. ~Would we stick out like a sore thumb with our midwestern accents or is there no difference to the Western Kentuckians? ~Is this a conservative area or more liberal given it is a college town? We currently live in Ann Arbor area which is very liberal d/t U Of M. ~ Is there broadband internet or dial up? ~ What are the good hospitals in the area, I am an RN...so may need a part time job there. Thanks so much for your input. I have read other posts and it seems Kentuckians are very friendly and welcoming!
Hi, table! Have a safe trip down to Kentucky!
Between Mayfield and Paducah there is Mid-Continent University (MID-CONTINENT UNIVERSITY). It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church. The Kentucky Community and Technical College has several branches statewide. Inside the 2 hr time span from Murray would be Paducah and Hopkinsville.
Can't help you on the homeschooling information. Somebody joked with my step daughter about home schooling her 7 yr old son and 14 yr old daughter. She said there's no way she would every home school. She enjoys the peace and quiet by herself during school hours! lol
Don't know who told you there aren't any basements in Kentucky. We don't have one at this house, but both houses I lived in growing up had a full basement. If we had to go for cover here we'd probably go to the inside closet or in the crawl space under the house.
The land is mainly flat. Depends on what you call hills. My exwife grew up in Utah, in the mountains. To her the Smoky Mountains are hills. lol We have small hills in the area but not like eastern Ky.
Mammoth Cave is 156 miles from Murray.
Lake Cumberland is 216 miles. Before heading out to Lake Cumberland hope you check out Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Kentucky Lake is only 15 miles from Murray. It's the largest artificial lake by acreage east of the Mississippi River. Lake Cumberland is the largest by volume.
The Chamber of Commerce used to have a list of all rental property in Murray/Calloway County. If they don't, they could probably tell you where to check.
You're worried about your accent? Coming to a university town where you'll see (and hear) people from probably every state in the Union, plus who knows how many countries. And you're worried about your accent here? lol
Yes, they have broadband.
As far as the hospitals, the Murray Calloway County Hospital (Murray Calloway County Hospital, Murray, KY) just opened a new wing in the last couple weeks. There is also the Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield. Both my parents have been patients at Jackson Purchase and were well taken care of. There also 2 hospitals in Paducah, Western Baptist (Home) and Lourdes (Lourdes)
Yeah, I skipped the politics question.
I thought I would throw in some info. I grew up in Madisonville KY and though I dont live there now...I have siblings in the Kuttawa KY area and friends in Paducah and had a neice go to Murray State Univ about 10 years ago. I have only been to Murray once....so Murray specifics I am not much on....but for the general area I can give you my thoughts. I have also lived in the metro Detroit area in the early to mid 90s....Ypsi and Northville-Plymouth and was a member of the AA Jaycees.
As for basements....much of Kentucky has lots of limestone thus making full basements very expensive to build. My sister and family have a walkout basement near Kentucky Lake. You will see more basements in areas of the state where limestone/rock is less prevelent (such as Louisville). Much of the Kentucky Purchase area is OK for basements as well.
Murray is a small town but growing. It is nice quiet college town with a lot going for it. It is a close drive to Nashville via I-24 which you runs not too far east of the city.
It is in a conservative area I would say. Religion and churches are rather important. Baptists were a pretty strong voice in the town I grew up in.
I dont know if you know this....but many areas are dry or limited in alcohol purchases. I grew up in a dry county and city and I no one in my family drank so I know no different. I did not see any drink alcohol until college.
But Murray recently passed a law allowing buying alcohol by the drink in larger restaurants. But beer/wine/other alcohol are not sold in stores in the county or city (at least to my knowledge).
In my area where I live now...it is a small town....and homes for rent are pretty hard to come by. There just aren't a lot. Most rentals are managed by rental companies or real estate agencies. Here a couple I found....I have no part of any of these so I dont recommend any over the other. But call one of these and you will get a good start at what is available. It might be difficult though.
About the accent. Funny you ask. I grew in western Kentucky and all my relatives and parents have pretty strong southern accents. But I never had one...in fact school kids asked me so much where I was born I said northern Illinois. When I go to visit...I get asked were I am from often.
The land between the lakes area is a great area for boating...fishing....hunting and bird watching. great for any outdoor activities.
I hope you like it. Could I ever move back....no...but I dislike the heat and humidity and love the cold and winter. Obviously not a good match. But the people of the area I always found to be warm and hospitable.
Hi, table! Have a safe trip down to Kentucky!
Between Mayfield and Paducah there is Mid-Continent University (MID-CONTINENT UNIVERSITY). It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church. The Kentucky Community and Technical College has several branches statewide. Inside the 2 hr time span from Murray would be Paducah and Hopkinsville.
Can't help you on the homeschooling information. Somebody joked with my step daughter about home schooling her 7 yr old son and 14 yr old daughter. She said there's no way she would every home school. She enjoys the peace and quiet by herself during school hours! lol
Don't know who told you there aren't any basements in Kentucky. We don't have one at this house, but both houses I lived in growing up had a full basement. If we had to go for cover here we'd probably go to the inside closet or in the crawl space under the house.
The land is mainly flat. Depends on what you call hills. My exwife grew up in Utah, in the mountains. To her the Smoky Mountains are hills. lol We have small hills in the area but not like eastern Ky.
Mammoth Cave is 156 miles from Murray.
Lake Cumberland is 216 miles. Before heading out to Lake Cumberland hope you check out Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Kentucky Lake is only 15 miles from Murray. It's the largest artificial lake by acreage east of the Mississippi River. Lake Cumberland is the largest by volume.
The Chamber of Commerce used to have a list of all rental property in Murray/Calloway County. If they don't, they could probably tell you where to check.
You're worried about your accent? Coming to a university town where you'll see (and hear) people from probably every state in the Union, plus who knows how many countries. And you're worried about your accent here? lol
Yes, they have broadband.
As far as the hospitals, the Murray Calloway County Hospital (Murray Calloway County Hospital, Murray, KY) just opened a new wing in the last couple weeks. There is also the Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield. Both my parents have been patients at Jackson Purchase and were well taken care of. There also 2 hospitals in Paducah, Western Baptist (Home) and Lourdes (Lourdes)
Yeah, I skipped the politics question.
Well, anything taller than a house, lol, is what I would call a hill. Michigan is fairly flat where I live. I am just wondering if there are large rolling hills, or is it Iowa/Kansas flat??
I enjoy peace and quiet too, I get that at other times of my day! Besides for us, there are more important reasons to homeschool, it is not for everyone!
The Land Between the Lakes sounds beautiful! Cannot wait to see it!
I hope you like it. Could I ever move back....no...but I dislike the heat and humidity and love the cold and winter. Obviously not a good match. But the people of the area I always found to be warm and hospitable.
I hope this helps
Thanks Dan that was helpful info!
Well, I do not care for humidity myself, but what I dislike even more is the frigid cold and even more so the 6 months of no sun!!! It's depressing!
As far as terrain....that area seems pretty similar to the Ann Arbor area....generally flat but some rollings hills. Fair amount of trees....and as been pointed out Land Between the Lakes (LBL) nearby with lots of trees and lakes. Not really hilly but a few. No hills like eastern Kentucky.
Oh, How about Cadiz??? Are Cadiz local welcoming folk?
Is that area similar to Murray KY?
Are there rolling hills? Homeschool groups? Private Christian schools?
Thanks
As far as terrain....that area seems pretty similar to the Ann Arbor area....generally flat but some rollings hills. Fair amount of trees....and as been pointed out Land Between the Lakes (LBL) nearby with lots of trees and lakes. Not really hilly but a few. No hills like eastern Kentucky.
Dan
Got it! Would you say there are more tornadoes than in Michgian?
Got it! Would you say there are more tornadoes than in Michgian?
I am a meteorologist for the National Weather Service up here in North Dakota/Northwest Minnesota...and I grew up studying the weather patterns as a kid in western KY.
In my opinion....tornadoes are pretty rare in western KY. They certainly can occur...there was one in Madisonville in the past 10 years (cannot remember the date -- I think Nov 05). But overall straightline wind damage and hail are the main threats. The main tornado alley in the plains states runs from north Texas into Kansas and west central northwest Missouri....parts of Iowa....eastern and central Nebraska and then into southeast SD.
There are other secondary tornado belts in the country....with one seemingly from parts of central and southeast Illinois through parts of Indiana then to northern Kentucky and southwest Ohio. The Louisville area sees more frequency of Tornadoes than southwest Kentucky it seems. Of course even in Louisiville, tornadoes are still rare with wind and hail the main threats.
In comparison to southeast lower Michigan....the severe season in Kentucky is longer and you can have violent storms in every month (even January) so your chances of being in a tornado are higher but still rare. Nothing I would worry about. As every homeowner, there should always be a designated shelter to go to. The local TV stations in the area do a good job with weather awareness and the local NWS office in Paducah does a good job with severe weather warnings.
Ice storms in that area do occur more frequently than in southeast lower Michigan however. The main winter period is from mid Dec to mid Feb. But in many cases our winter storm down there is more a snow turning to a cold rain. Snow accumulation on the ground for more than a few days doesnt occur too often.
If you like warm and hazy summers this is the place as highs 88 to 93 and pretty muggy weather is common in June til August. You are thankful to get a cooling showers in the evening.
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