California family thinking about coming to Lexington area! (Richmond, Danville: for sale, to rent)

[K. Dunn]

Originally Posted by gotide4

move to northern kentucky...the schools there a by far the best in the state as far as public and private grade schools and high schools. There are 22 high schools there and 19 of them are tremendous. The private schools are among the best in the nation particularly covington catholic. If public is what you want move to fort mitchell or fort thomas...the schools are the best as far as public goes. I recommend fort mitchell; fort thomas people come off as arrogant for no reasons...its a middle class town and compred to fort mitchell the homes are small and the town doesn't have the charm fort mitchell does. Nky is the best place to live in the state....people from different regions will say otherwise but they don't have the opportunity, the culture, the resteraunts, the white collar majority and the schools that nky does....you can live in a small town with a lot of land and have that country feel and only be 15 minutes from cincinnati and all it offers. Lexington is beautiful but no place has all that matches nky

Just wanted to say to directly thanks for the info. We have now put the Fort Mitchell and Independance area on our list to check out in person when we come out for our "wow" check out. Your right, the schools are more in-line score wise like we are use to, plus being close to the "big" city is probably more what were used to from where we live now being only 40 minutes out of L.A., or a 1/2 hr from Ventura, 45 minutes from Santa Barbara, ect. Sounds like your area could be the ticket.

How are the winters. I have heard of people complaining of seriously cold long winters in the past regarding Cincinnati, and since your so close, is it the same, or different. Were looking for mild winters with a smacklin' of snow occasionally and can put up with some rain to get the green. Just don't want Seattle, Wa type dreary rain day after day for months. Hoping for more of a on and off type scenario. Let me know on that if you get the chance.

Is the traffic into Cincinnati horrendous like we have out here, or not bad? Thanks again for your info.

Kev.

[cobolt]

I don't live in KY but I grew up in the midwest area (I am now in the soggy Pac NW so I totally KNOW what you mean by dreary, winters---which is why I am on this KY site, planning to move away from WA). Anyway, winters are not as bad as they used to be 20-30 years ago. I remember snow on the ground pretty much from Thanksgiving into March. Now, you get a few snow storm dumps and some bone-chiling days, but then you can have warmer days too. The main thing is that even with winter, you can still have the sun or sunny days with no precip which is NOT something we are privy to here in the Pac. NW. And like anything, once you are there, you will get used to it. I say go for it and move. Weather will be the least of your worries.

[easydoesit]

Originally Posted by K. Dunn

Hi;

I also posted on a different thread with someone else who also was thinking of coming to moving to Kentucky.

Bottom line we love what we see, looking to get back into the seasons again and see some GREEN! I am married with two wonderful girls ages 5 and 9, so I am looking for any advise regarding area's to live that would of course have good schools and low crime. Obviously the home prices and the beautiful country are what is attracting us.

Our concerns are:

1] Tornadoes?I know after researching the area tornadoes are not previlent, but obviously they do happen. Are smaller ones common?
A] How much does a home owner pay for extra Tornado insurance?
B] Do homes have those under-ground shelters for this contingency?
C] I noticed that some homes advertise "Storm Windows" is this a good thing?

2] List most people not really use to high humidity [average here where we are] we worry that it may be too extreme? Is the super high humidity times just in mid summer mornings or a all-day affair?

3.] When it rains, is it like Florida, with quick short heavy burst, or are we talking all day rains?

4.] Lexington shows a higher than the national average crime rate. Is this more of a downtown issue or does it effect the outer area's too?

5.] If any of you are off or on-road motorcycle/atv enthusiast, let me know if there is a decent dealer network in the area, as well as how is the riding area's. Are there a lot to choose from, or are they being legislated out of existence? I ask this question because I am currently the sales manager of a large multi-line dealership where I live, plus I am a enthuiast too! So this is important to me too.

6.] I noticed after looking at lots of beautiful homes in the area, that a lot don't have garages. Why is that? I would think that would be a must.

7.] I know that the area only get's a light smackling of snow each season, but does a home owner need a snowblower if they have a long driveway?

Thanks from this knaive California and his family in advance. Any suggestions or answers will be a help. Ciao.

1) I wouldn't worry about tornadoes if I survived the land of earthquakes. I think you are overboard on that one.

2) It is humid. Most places that are east of the Rockies are humid and KY is not exception. Lexington has a far more mild climate -- heat/humidity wise -- than other surrounding states. For example, Missouri seemed much more hot to me than Lexington and it was probably due to the Texas Gulf of Mex air that moved north into the state. KY doesn't get it nearly as bad despite being a border state. KY also seems to get more cool snaps that come down from the Great Lakes region whereas the Deep South stays hot.

It is a great 4 season climate. IMHO if you go further in north or south, you get too much of a season. Not many places are perfect. I like to travel during the seasons I dislike the most.

3) Both. I can assure you at times it is very comforting to have an all day rain. It is what gives you the beautiful green surroundings. I love the occasional day long showers in the fall when the leaves are turning. In the summers, I loved to wathc T-storms row in, especially at night.

4) Crime is not bad and I doubt you would ever witness it. It is not widespread. I am surprised it is listed as higher than avg.

5) Can't help you there.

6) Never heard of that or seen that around Lexington other than some of the very old homes where it used to be common to separate the two.

7) Snow blower No way. We have only had a very few big snows and in recent years the winter has become even more mild or so it seems. I worry more about the occasional ice storms -- those can be bad. When it does either, the city shuts down so don't worry about the kids going to school in unsafe driving conditions.

For good public schools, focus on the districts that will dump into Dunbar or Henry Clay. For private, live where you want.

Hope that helps.

[K. Dunn]

Just wanted to say thanks again. I re-posted a couple more questions, but this forum has been of tremendous help to our home area searching!

[K. Dunn]

Originally Posted by gotide4

move to northern kentucky...the schools there a by far the best in the state as far as public and private grade schools and high schools. There are 22 high schools there and 19 of them are tremendous. The private schools are among the best in the nation particularly covington catholic. If public is what you want move to fort mitchell or fort thomas...the schools are the best as far as public goes. I recommend fort mitchell; fort thomas people come off as arrogant for no reasons...its a middle class town and compred to fort mitchell the homes are small and the town doesn't have the charm fort mitchell does. Nky is the best place to live in the state....people from different regions will say otherwise but they don't have the opportunity, the culture, the resteraunts, the white collar majority and the schools that nky does....you can live in a small town with a lot of land and have that country feel and only be 15 minutes from cincinnati and all it offers. Lexington is beautiful but no place has all that matches nky

Hi! Just wanted to say thanks, because of this comment you put for us a while back, we have narrowed down our search to that exact area you mentioned. Our research of the area back up everything you said. The schools scores for that district are fabulous and home values are still very good. We have also put Union and Independence on our list too for similar reasons. Any comments on those area's would be appreciated. Ciao and thanks again.

[rlbbfo]

I moved to Kentucky from California so here are some things you may want to consider before moving. First are the many many overcast days. If you are not expecting this, it can get you feeling very depressed. This was true for me in Lexington. Western KY may be different - but the Lexington Cinci area is typically overcast. Weather goes from very hot summers to a couple nice weeks of fall, then really cold (grey) winters, with no snow to compensate for the cold and grey. The dry air in the winter is nearly as bad as the humidity in the summer - skin like sandpaper! Winter is very long, stretching into April, then a couple weeks of spring then bam it's hot (and extremely humid) again. I gained ten pounds when I moved to Ky within one year because the weather (hot or cold) kept me inside so much. Also, good medium priced restaurants are hard to find. There are many basic chain restaurants, some great expensive restaurants, but if you're used to family owned ethic type restaurants with good cheap food, you might miss those in KY. Lots of mall type shopping. If you like going to church and being involved in church things, this is definately the place for you and your family. If not, you are probably going to be pretty lonely for awhile, and it could be difficult for your kids to make friends (I don't know about the suburbs as we chose to live in the city). Lexington is a place where there aren't many transplants, and everyone seems to have known everyone for generations (but this is true for many places, and you'd have to deal with that whereever you go). I felt like there was a lot of superficiality there - like you had to get dressed up to go out to dinner or you'd feel out of place. We lived close to the Arboretum, which is really a sanctuary in the middle of the city. - very pretty and a nice place for walks and runs. The neighborhoods are kind of plain - every lawn is the same square of green with very little interesting landscaping. Even though I'd advocate living in the city itself, I had a hard time finding a house I liked. Some of the nicer neighborhoods are quite settled, so there are few kids there as people moved in and stayed forty years ago (nice for that, but be careful if you're looking for a place with lots of kids). The suburbs are all very bland and like suburbs everywhere. If that's your thing though, you have hundreds of choices. I didn't like the public elementary school method of disciplining kids - very strict, and the school my kids went to, perfectly acceptable to yell at and berate kids. The middle schools and high schools were really good though - good teachers, great school spirit, fantastic music departments (one of the few things I found head and shoulders above anything in CA). Things may be changing for the better overall in the schools, as one of the country's best superintendents (Stu Silberman) has been in Lexington the last couple years and is a fantastic visionary leader who recently had the whole community pitch in to re-create the vision for the school district. I do like western KY - it has a much more wide open feel than central or eastern KY, so if you're flexible, you might try there. If you like cultural events, etc, I think you'd like Lexington -a lot of music going on downtown and Louisville and Cinci are each only a little more than an hour away (nice ballpark on the river in cinci - so you can catch a Giants game once or twice a year). Good luck with your decision. I don't want to bring you down on KY, but want to give a realistic view on some mundane things that can make a big difference. I for one wish I had never moved there, but everybody is different and it could be just the place for you.

[Peggy McNaabb]

It looks like everyone has pretty well answered your questions. You may want to consider the Cynthiana, Ky. area. We are about 40 miles north of Lexington and a great place to live. You can reach me at peggy.mcnabb@era.com or at 859-588-0130.

[K. Dunn]

Well I just noticed that this old thread that I posted many moons ago got moved up with some recent activity. Thanks again! Good to know that people actually go back through the old threads too! Thanks ribbfo for all that honest info. If you check some of my other threads since that original post, you will find that "we came, we saw, we conquered" [Veni, Vidi, Vici] and many other's since then, that we have moved on from the N. KY area, and have re-focused on the southern and eastern area's around Louisville. Seems to have all that we wanted and liked about N. KY, also with what N. KY was missing for us. Did that one trip back in August, now coming back atcha' in 10 days again to do it all over again. Think were narrowing it down. Still haven't completely ruled out surrounding Lexington areas either. Ciao.

[UK Wildcat]

I have just recently read this thread. I have lived in Kentucky most of my life other than the years spent in Cincinnati for college. I currently live in Richmond which is a town just south of lexington on 75. N. Kentucky is a nice place, but in my opinion Lexington is the place to live in Kentucky. Lexington has charm and character. It has Keeneland and Rupp. The four seasons are spectacular. Not one time while being in Lexington has crime crossed my mind, it has a very safe feeling. You have mentioned that public school is important, I venture to guess that what you would save on the cost of living would probably more than pay for private school. Healthcare is solid. Many wonderful state parks and lakes are only a short drive away. I don't think you can go wrond in Lex. Good luck

[K. Dunn]

Thanks UKWildcat fan!

I do plan on checking out Lexington more thoroughly on my visit next week. My point regarding the quality of the public school system refers to our great luck where we live currently with our girls in a blue ribbon national public school which is excellent. Your right the cost of living is much lower in KY than here in CA, but if we can get that lower cost and higher quality of living in KY PLUS get a good public school to save us that $1000 -$2000 per mth for our two girls that would be ideal. Would rather put that $$ toward there college fund and quality of life! Ciao.

K