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Except for those of us that like nightlife and entertainment.
If you're raising a family and don't mind living a stressful yet sheltered life hidden away from the ills of society like that evil beer stuff and that gosh dern rap music, you'll be fine here. If you still like to have a little fun, aim for Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky, Nashville, hell, even Birmingham.
Well, we will be young-ish empty nesters (me, 48, him, 53) if and when we move, so nightlife won't be an issue for us. We are actually looking for a quiet, slower paced lifestyle, so that sounds good to us. However, I'm wondering what you mean about having a stressful life? Are you talking about traffic, lack of employment opportunities, or what?
Well, we will be young-ish empty nesters (me, 48, him, 53) if and when we move, so nightlife won't be an issue for us. We are actually looking for a quiet, slower paced lifestyle, so that sounds good to us. However, I'm wondering what you mean about having a stressful life? Are you talking about traffic, lack of employment opportunities, or what?
Well let's put it this way... Unless you are looking to spend $250,000 on a home of moderate size and questionable condition, you likely won't end up anywhere in Lexington where you can just "go for a stroll". Most neighborhoods in Lexington are 100% car dependent and even those that are close to the urban core often lack basic amenities such as sidewalks and nearby stores/restaurants. You'll be confined to your glass and metal box weaving through the lanes of Nicholasville, Tates Creek, Harrodsburgh, or Richmond Rd. likely, as traffic in Lexington is simply unacceptable for a city of its size. Even cities in larger metros of similar populations that have large influxes of commuters during the day like St. Paul, MN and Cincinnati, OH have more fluid traffic (excluding 75/71 during peak hours, of course).
I've found that in terms of employment, Lexington is an overgrown town rather than a mid-sized city. There won't be much for you outside of the usual service sector necessities such as medicine and law, things of that sort.
Well let's put it this way... Unless you are looking to spend $250,000 on a home of moderate size and questionable condition, you likely won't end up anywhere in Lexington where you can just "go for a stroll". Most neighborhoods in Lexington are 100% car dependent and even those that are close to the urban core often lack basic amenities such as sidewalks and nearby stores/restaurants. You'll be confined to your glass and metal box weaving through the lanes of Nicholasville, Tates Creek, Harrodsburgh, or Richmond Rd. likely, as traffic in Lexington is simply unacceptable for a city of its size. Even cities in larger metros of similar populations that have large influxes of commuters during the day like St. Paul, MN and Cincinnati, OH have more fluid traffic (excluding 75/71 during peak hours, of course).
I've found that in terms of employment, Lexington is an overgrown town rather than a mid-sized city. There won't be much for you outside of the usual service sector necessities such as medicine and law, things of that sort.
If you get out of that little bubble you live in, you'd see that all American cities
similar in size to Lexington are very car dependant.
Atlanta is 500 times worse with its suburbs stretching out for miles and miles in all directions.
I have found that the only southern vibe in Lexington is in the architecture of the older homes and buildings found downtown in the historic district and with some of the backwater hick thinking still found in pockets around the area. Lexington is not very southern, not very northern either.
I disagree with much of UKUKUK's last post in this thread. Quite acceptable, well-cared for three and four bedroom brick houses on treed lots, priced at around $150,000- $175,000 in stable middle-class neighborhoods, complete with parks, schools, sidewalks, shopping, restaurants, churches, etc. in walking distance can be found in Southland/Twin Oaks, Meadowthorpe, and Idlehour, to name three pleasant, safe, established neighborhoods. Other established walkable and convenient neighborhoods include Hollywood/Chatauqua Park (around Woodland Park), and of course Chevy Chase/Montclair.
Obviously, downtown Lexington also has sidewalks, though some brief stretches may be temporarily blocked for construction.
UKUKUK, you sound as if you've never explored Lexington's older neighborhoods other than by driving past on the busier streets. Park your car, get out, and walk!
Aeros71, your equating a "southern vibe" with "backwater hick thinking" is unlikely to endear you to many Old Lexingtonians, most of whom are personally conservative in their manner of living, but very progressive in most other ways. How many "Old Lexingtonians" do you know? How well? ("Old" does not refer to age here). Most of them are clearly Southern in background, manner, and way of living. Old Lexingtonians are a very influential minority in this city, with much of their (mostly benign) influence quietly occuring behind the scenes in areas including philanthropy, education, charity, historic preservation, performing arts, etc. Their influence should not be taken for granted or underestimated.
Lexington is far more Southern in its heritage and traditions than it is Northern. Southern folkways are everywhere: traditional Southern dishes in locally owned restaurants and on long-time Lexingtonians' tables, "dressy" fashions, local accoustic traditional musicians and bands, certainly architecturally, as you note, the agrarian heritage of the Bluegrass,the horse and tobacco heritage, accents and language patterns ("you all" is still more frequently heard than the grating "you guys"), proximity to the northwesternmost edge of the Southern Appalachians, valuing "gracious" manners and traditions...all Southern.
Lexington's not Deep South, certainly - but certainly Southern.
Last edited by CraigCreek; 05-16-2011 at 08:42 PM..
UKUKUK, you sound as if you've never explored Lexington's older neighborhoods other than by driving past on the busier streets. Park your car, get out, and walk!
My car IS parked at the moment but if I step out of my yard I land in a busy road. Some neighborhoods have sidewalks but even so they're built in the manner than it takes you 1.5 miles walking to get ANYWHERE. The town is simply too spread out to live a car-free lifestyle comfortably as many people would like and DO live in such towns as Lansing, MI and Champaign, IL.
All I'm wondering is where is the downtown residential population? The amenities for younger professionals? What is there to do for any of us here?
Lexington may have been southern at one time but its not now. Im sorry you can't accept a reality that isn't the one you want it to be. I agree with censusdata that Lexington feels more midwest than anything else.
In my post I did link southern vibe to backwater hick thinking because I have seen the same behaviors, actions and thinking in some of the people I have encountered in the Lexington area with deep south "rednecks" I have encountered as well.
I expect our very different views re. Lexington's "Southernness", or lack thereof, depend on how we live, our personal choices of activities, friends, occupations, etc., and perhaps our knowledge of the history of Lexington and the length of our residence here.
I've been here a long time, have many long-term friends and acquaintances who've also been here for many years, and my family background is certain more Southern than that of many, as each of my parents was indesputably Southern, though not Kentuckians. I am not of the Deep South, but I am Southern. So is my hometown.
As Lexington has grown, its Southern flavor may have become diluted and its character more generic. Lexington is more cosmopolitan than was once the case, and that's a good thing, imho.
But look more closely: it's still an Upper South city. Not just geographically, but in the way of living of not only those residents who are "been heres" but those who commit to settling here. For the "come heres" who are just passing through and plan to move on after a few years, probably not so much so, as these people understandably reflect the ways of wherever they may have come from.
For those current residents who spend a few years in one place, then move on for a few years more, then move yet again, never spending more than five years in one place - yes, I can see how they would be more comfortable with the familiar (if bland) generics: TV announcer speech, cookie-cutter housing, chain restaurants, big box stores...minus the perhaps problematic quirks and individualisms which can still be found in any American community more than 50 years old.
In Lexington's case, as with many other cities of similar size and growth patterns, all those generics can certainly be found, and I know some "come heres" who find them preferable, as they are familiar and require little effort or adjustment. But the individual characteristics which make Lexington Lexington - and yes, primarily Southern in heritage, way of life, and culture - are still very much present.
Perhaps we need to further define "Southern". When I use that term in regard to Lexington's roots, I do not mean the stereotypes of rednecked racism, glorification of the Confederate battle flag, dueling banjos, marrying your cousin, illiteracy, etc., which seem to be many non-Southerners' most unfortunate impression of the South and things Southern. Instead, examine Lexington's rich heritage as the "Athens of the West" (i.e., the oldest Old West, the rolling Bluegrass just beyond the Appalachian Mountains which formed the barrier beyond the east coast former colonies), the place where the Scots-Irish who dominated the frontier and the Virginia-rooted aristocracy met and created a thriving town back in the 1780s. Despite that time being over 230 years ago, the influence of these founders and early citizens remains, enriched by those who came later.
The agrarian heritage of the Bluegrass is not midwestern, but Southern in history, background, and past and present character. Despite developers' best efforts to homogenize Lexington, its character persists, perhaps slightly obscured by popular culture and generics of the kind outlined above, but still very much present.
For the record, I've lived in both Nashville and Cincinnati, indesputably respectively Southern and Midwestern cities. Guess which one is more like Lexington (hint: it's not the closest one...).
Lexington may have been southern at one time but its not now. Im sorry you can't accept a reality that isn't the one you want it to be. I agree with censusdata that Lexington feels more midwest than anything else.
In my post I did link southern vibe to backwater hick thinking because I have seen the same behaviors, actions and thinking in some of the people I have encountered in the Lexington area with deep south "rednecks" I have encountered as well.
I've lived in both Tennessee and Northwestern Ohio. Without a doubt Lexington is more similar to Tennessee than Ohio. It's not even close. From a religion perspective, ethnicity perspective, sports perspective, dialect perspective, and economic perspective, Lexington is much more closely aligned with the South.
Just a few examples: How many people in Lexington have a name that ends in "-ski?" I don't know if I've met someone of Polish descent in Lexington yet. In Ohio probably a quarter of my friends were polish. In the Midwest Catholicism is much, much more prominent. Toledo is a similarly sized city to Lexington and has two all-girl catholic schools, two all-male catholic schools, one large coed Catholic school, and one small coed catholic school. Lexington has one moderately sized coed catholic school. Driving around the city does Lexington remind you more of Cleveland and Dayton or Nashville and Huntsville? Clearly, Nashville and Huntsville are much more reminiscent of Lexington than Dayton or Cleveland. Does the average Lexingtonian watch the Alabama/Tennessee football game or the Michigan/Michigan St game? Outside of Toyota employees, how many people do you know here that work in the industrial sector? Walking around UK's campus will you hear more Midwestern accents or more Southern drawls? I would be willing to bet that for every one midwestern accent I hear, I hear 10 drawls.
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