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Hello,
Im looking to possibly make a move to Kentucky with my husband. I love the bluegrass region of central kentucky. We currently live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, very rural. Bigger cities make us itchy. so living away from lexington in a small rural town would be wonderful.
I was hoping for some help as far as good schools. My husband is in the automotive business/ mechanic, i am in animal science/ working in the horse industry. We want as much land as possible, that may provide hunting, fishing, and room for horses. we both grew up in a very small county and really missed it when we moved away for a time. We are a young couple who are looking to start a family. What are the people like? And also somewhere that isnt to far from nightlife even though we are not big partiers (just dinner, movie,culture, once in a while) Any ideas if it would be hard to break into the communty? So basically, any input on affordable areas around lexington/ bluegrass region, that can encompass everything im looking for?
What is your possible budget? You can get the most land for the lowest price if you go 2 counties out from Lexington.....but that may be a little far. Berea is a pretty cool little town in Madison County just 45 minutes from Lexington by I-75. I also like Mt. Sterling, which is in Montgomery County and is about 40 minutes from Lexington via I-64.
Around $250,000....I am looking to take a week next year to explore Kentucky, mostly Central (where I want to live) but I have a old family friend who lives in Louisville, so we would like to visit there. Any thought on where would be good spots to visit to get a good idea of Kentucky living? A time that might be best? Fall, spring, summer? Any ideas might be helpful. I was so looking forward to a reply from you LEXpert because you seem very knowledgable about the area!
There are other towns, some may be too big for your purposes (Richmond and Frankfort) but these are the ones that come to mind right off the top of my head.
You might want to consider Garrard County too. The northern end is less than 30 minutes to Lexington. The county is a bit more reasonable than the other areas...you'll get more bang for your buck!
For starters, I think you can get a decent house with a few acres for your budget. You should have lots of choices. I imagine you'll end up with a nice house with 1-5 acres for that price or less of a house with more land.
I think I would pick somewhere that is easy to get to from Lexington. That will give you more of a regional employment base and will also give you a regional pool of buyers when you need to sell it. The last thing you want in these uncertain times is to not be able to take a job because it would take so long to get to it. Same thing with your buyer pool when you go to sell. The small towns that seem to have been hit the hardest are the ones whose buyer pool is just within the small town/county.
Danville and Harrodsburg are wonderful towns with beautiful rural parts, but I think they are too far away from Lexington to be a wise choice for you. (BTW, I have only had one buyer ever ask me about Harrodsburg, but many wanting to see rural properties in Scott/Georgetown, Jessamine/Nicholasville, Clark/Winchester.)
Garrard Co/Lancaster is nice too, and cheap.....but for a reason. And that reason is that few Lexington buyers will go that far south. About the only people from outside Garrard Co buying there come from Nicholasville.
I think I would stick to towns/counties up and down Interstates 64 and 75, and maybe the Bluesgrass Parkway. That is pretty much Scott, Clark, Franklin, Montgomery and Anderson Counties.
I always have people looking for rural properties in Scott Co. There are tons of places to live. The further north you go the cheaper they get. Check out Sadieville and Stampling Ground. Georgetown is a big enough town that you won't be running to Lexington for anything you can't get at Wal-Mart.
For your budget, I'd stay on the east side of Clark Co. That is where my parents live. It is very easy to get to Lexington. Winchester offers less retail/dining than Georgetown, but I think you'd be running into Hamburg for most of your retail/dining outings. I just sold a small house on 3 acres there for $163k.
Franklin is unique because you could work in Lexington or Louisville pretty easily and pull buyers from both cities. Frankfort is a little bigger. There is enough there that you really would only come to Lexington when you got bored with the same ol' thing. I lived in Frankfort as a kid an have always enjoyed the town. I sold 3 acres with a really nice house in Franklin Co in the best school district last year for $260k if that will help you any.
I like Montgomery for you if you want a really small town. I have found the people there to be friendly. My wife works in Mt. Sterling and it takes her about 35 minutes to get from our home near Hamburg to get to work. Land is pretty cheap there.....this is probably my top pick based on your criteria.
Anderson is probably the furthest from Lexington. You have to go through Versailles or Frankfort to get to it. I have friends that have lived there for years and love it. It is pretty small.
Woodford/Versailles is nice, but I think getting a decent house and some land for $250k might be hard. Bourbon/Paris is also nice, but that is the only town around Lexington that does not seem to attract Lexington buyers. Plus, if you were to end up working in any other town than Lexington/Georgetown or Winchester, I think it would be a miserable drive since you'd have to go all the way through Lexington.
I forgot to mention Jessamine Co. There are lots of nice places in southern Jessamine Co that could work for you. Had a client this year that got 5 of the most breathtaking acres with a little house for $115k! Only problem is that you it takes awhile to get in & out of that area due to narrow little twisty roads.
Since I am sure you would love Kentucky in the Spring/Summer/Fall, I would suggest coming in the Winter to see if it is for you. Seeing a place at it's worst is more telling to me than seeing it at it's best. We don't keep the roads clear like you may be use to in New England. Though our winters aren't usually too bad, being deep in a rural area with icy roads can really ruin your day.
Thank you on all the ideas as for location, It really is a big help when deciding where to establish a search area for homes. Roads are pretty good in my county (it help to have a dad that owns snow plows). But that is only main roads, the back roads can get pretty bad. We really live directly East of Lexington, not far from the coast of the Atlantic. Last year we had three major snow storms that resulted in snow 3+ feet deep (that is really unusual for us). Kentucky sounds so similar to Eastern MD.
Any hints as to the best school districts as we do plan to raise a family. Ideally we would like to have a 4-5 bedroom house (althought additions are no problem) even slight fixer-upers.
This would be a huge jump from all family, so any ideas as to some of the best ways to meet new people/friends? Im methodist technically, but going into church every sunday is not something we do besides Christmas and Easter but I would like my children to attend Sunday school. (I have read on many forums that church is a big social event?) Other ways?
The public libraries in all of central Ky's counties offer lots of programs for children and some for families and a few for adults. If you're planning a family, check it out. Obviously school activities - PTA, programs, sports, etc. - offer other connections. The Fayette County Parks and Recreation Department also offer a wide variety of activities. Lexington includes churches of all kinds, many of them Methodist or Methodist in background. All will welcome you; all offer opportunities for fellowship beyond Sunday morning for both adults and children.
Most of the museums and museum houses in central Kentucky have "friends" groups which welcome new members, and there are adult education classes of all kinds in many places. Book discussion groups are sponsored by the public libraries and several local bookstores. The Lexington Children's Museum and the Living Arts and Science Center both offer many creative arts opportunities for children, as does the Lexington Children's Theater.
Following your hobbies and interests can lead you to other congenial people who share your interests.
Schools......I guess it depends on how much emphasis you place on test scores. IMHO, I think most people place too much emphasis on them. However, if they are important to a client I make it a priorty because it is their opinion that matters when it is their money.
Those scores are really an average of all the kids. They really tell you more about the socioeconomic range of the school. For example, the schools with the best test scores in Lexington tend to serve only middle/upper-middle class neighborhoods. The ones that have the poorest population tend to have the lowest scores. Schools that serve both populations tend to be middle of the road in scores. In a nutshell, I think any kid can meet their potential at an school, especially with parental involvement. My kids go to a magnet school that has a lot of parents involved. The test scores are among the best in town. The parents involvement is what I attribute to it's success. Several teachers have come from or gone to lower scoring schools in the 8 years I have had experience at this school.....so we can't really say that the teachers were any better or any worse than anywhere else.
The schools in surrounding counties won't have as high of test scores as those in Lexington. They never have. The thing that I think the surrounding counties have on Lexington is class size and community feel.
If I were to move outside of Lexington, I think I might take a good look at Scott County. I have a friend who teaches in that system and speaks really highly of it. I had a client this year who moved from Lexington to Georgetown. She did a lot of research and went to the schools in person. Her choice was Western Elemenary. Hope that helps you some :-)
If you're looking outside of Lexington, don't forget private schools. There's a very good Montessori school in Woodford County that might work well for you - it's just off of US 1964, outside of Versailles (the county seat), so would be closer to the rural area you're hoping to find. Houses nearby range from traditional farm houses with land to newly built McMansions to smaller cottages to modest Kentucky River cabins with a few acres.
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Thank you so much everyone
