Lexington (Louisville, Richmond, Georgetown: crime rate, house, job market)

[macdebbie]

We just returned from a trip to Louisville/Madison.

We took a drive one day on 60 East toward Lexington, but didn't quite make it out to Lexington.

I am curious, having been to Louisville now, about Lexington.

For a number of reasons, we did not care for Louisville. We stayed in Old Louisville, which was beautiful - especially the St. James and Belgravia neighborhoods and 3rd and 4th streets.

However, we found it to be a sprawling city, a little sketchy in alot of areas and we are aware the crime rate is very high.

We've read the posts about Lexington, and are wondering if that might be more our style. We are older - early/late 50s, conservative, and like a quiet, safe place. We're not into nightlife other than going to dinner now and then, or a movie.

We'd like an area that is vibrant but not "zooy" with constant sirens going all the time, which we found in Louisville. We're a bit confused by the population numbers, as Lexington shows higher numbers on City Data than does Louisville, but everyone talks about Lexington being "small". What is the true population of both?

One thing we also wonder - is Lexington walkable? That is something we really do want - a "real" downtown that is walkable, with bookstores, shops, restaurants, etc.

Based on our criteria, is Lexington something we should look at? (We're looking for a place to retire and escape the cold, snowy 6 mos winters that we have and the exhorbitant cost of living here - we live North of Boston where an 1,100 sq ft. house runs 400K with 5K a year in taxes).

Any smaller communities we should look at? We live right now in a 20K community, and that is about as small as we'd like to go.

[blossom4792]

I moved to Lexington from an equally expensive place so I definitely understand what you mean!

I'm not a good expert on the numbers, but Lexington is smaller than Louisville and typically doesn't have that over-the-top big city feel (as long as you stay out of some areas like Richmond Road near Man O'War, etc.).

So, yes, I think Lexington sounds like what you might like. If you lived in an area like Chevy Chase (near the university and downtown), you would have the walkability and the cozy, charming feel. There is quite a vibrant downtown and you would find yourself surrounded by very interesting, educated neighbors (in my experience).

However, we really do have relatively bad winters. I've lived in Boston and they aren't quite as bad, but we do get four full seasons punctuated by cold winters and very hot summers.

Other lovely cities, smaller than Lexington, include Berea and Danville. There are others, but those are the cities I would recommend since they have university populations, etc.

[macdebbie]

How's the job market in Lexington?

[macdebbie]

I just looked at Danville, and it looks like it might be just the kind of place we are looking for.

Lexington is too big for us, now that I look at it more, but nice to have nearby for more to do.

Berea is too small. We wouldn't want anything under 15K pop.

Any other similar towns near to Lexington we should check out? I am still going to be working, so would need something commuting distance to Lexington.

I know there are winters in Lexington, but last year we got 100 inches of snow here. I would guess the winters there are not quite that bad, albeit they are cold. Many days in winter below zero here.

[LEXpert]

Georgetown is a pretty nice little town without feeling too little or too rural. To answer your Lou/Lex question from your first post in this thread, the populations for Lou only was for Louisville itself and didn't include all the suburbs. Lexington does not have any true suburbs. That is why on paper Lex may appear bigger.

[macdebbie]

Very nice little town. I like it.

This may be hard to answer, but is it "vibrant"? We have seen alot of cute towns, but they have row after row of stores that seems no one ever goes in. I don't know how to explain it, but just sort of tired - cute but tired.

We definitely want something where there's stuff going on, and people use and shop in the downtown - farmers markets, festivals, parades, etc.

I like the proximity to Lexington.

[macdebbie]

p.s. Can you tell me how Danville compares to Georgetown?