Great Cities/Counties Around Louisville To Live (Frankfort, Elizabethtown: upper-class, real estate)

[turpin.josh]

Hey everyone. I will be graduating from college next June with a degree in Health Information Management. I keep checking jobs in the field and it seems like Norton Hospital in Louisville always has openings so I will more than likely apply there. My wife and I currently live in Northern KY and not that familiar with the Louisville area/surrounding areas. She does not like to drive in large cities so I was wondering if you could tell me some great surrounding counties/cities that are great to live, not too big, and to raise a will-be 1 year old child. This place to live will also be the one where we purchase our first home and we are not rich to say the least, so low housing prices are a plus as well. I don't mind driving 30-40 minutes into Louisville for a job. My wife currently works in a doctors office so she will be applying for something in the medical office environment.

Thanks so much!

[InLondon]

May want to post this in the Louisville forum.

[EclecticEars]

Best options:

Jefferson County: Anchorage, on the east end. Anchorage Independent has a markedly strong school system and is in one of the wealthiest census tracts in Kentucky.

Oldham County

Hardin County: more specifically, Elizabethtown.

[InLondon]

I like Prospect (Oldham County), it is suburban. Which I know will cause an uproar among some.

[missymomof3]

How much can you afford will be the first thing

[rnc76]

Anchorage is probably the wealthiest, most expensive area of KY. Prospect is probably too expensive as well. I would start a search in the parts of Oldham Co furthest from Louisville to find cheaper real estate in a nice area with good schools. Elizabethtown/North Hardin Co, northern part of Nelson Co or Frankfort may also be places to consider. Elizabethtown, Bardstown or Frankfort are big enough to perhaps give your wife some options for jobs locally without having to commute to Louisville.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by rnc76

Anchorage is probably the wealthiest, most expensive area of KY. Prospect is probably too expensive as well. I would start a search in the parts of Oldham Co furthest from Louisville to find cheaper real estate in a nice area with good schools. Elizabethtown/North Hardin Co, northern part of Nelson Co or Frankfort may also be places to consider. Elizabethtown, Bardstown or Frankfort are big enough to perhaps give your wife some options for jobs locally without having to commute to Louisville.

I agree with Anchorage, Oldham County and Elizabethtown.

Bardstown/Nelson County sucks! Might easily be Kentucky's most overrated small community. I've been to NYC, LA and Dallas (and Louisville!) and know what rude people in mass can be like and, well, I can honestly say that Bardstown just ain't friendly at all (pardon my bad grammar).

Frankfort is an odd blend of black, redneck, Jerry Springer white trash, government retirees, upper-class businessmen and lobbyists, and everyday government worker folk. Throw in some Thai, Japanese and Chinese people and you have a mix. Frankfort has several Japanese restaurants and a pretty darn good Thai restaurant. Now that I think about it, it has a surprisingly cosmopolitan flair, but I wouldn't call the town cosmopolitan overall. Still, it has an expansive, modern park system (with some beautiful parks) and historic, safe, walkable, charming neighborhoods that are just aesthetically pleasing come spring and summer. BUT...and I mean BUT...the school systems (Frankfort AND Franklin County) are bad even BY KENTUCKY STANDARDS, and the surrounding counties' systems aren't much better.