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Old 01-08-2014, 12:08 PM
 
25 posts, read 32,879 times
Reputation: 16

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We are considering a move from the Chicago area to Lexington . My husband would be working in Winchester and we would prefer a commute under 25 min. We have 5 kids, 3 would be in high school
next year. We will have a junior, Sophnore and freshman.
We also will have one in elementary and middle school. All our kids are into sports so that is important, more specifically running for our high schoolers and they are great runners. Any local high schools that have a solid running program? Academics are important as well.
We would be looking to buy a home and prefer to stay under $200,000 and would like 4 bedrooms. We love to be outdoors, running and biking so need an area safe to do that in. Diversity would be nice too, we have two adopted kids from Ethiopia so we are a multi-racial/cultural family. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
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Old 01-09-2014, 12:44 PM
 
12,003 posts, read 11,801,873 times
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I can't help you with the track question, but all of the local public high schools have track teams, as does Lexington Catholic High School - not sure about the other private schools.

Your budget is a bit low for a four-bedroom house, but you can stretch it if you look at the Southland neighborhood. While most houses here have three bedrooms, there are some which are larger, and it's very conveniently located, with good schools, shopping, churches, and parks close by. Your children's ethnicity should not be a major concern in Lexington.

Lafayette High School serves Southland, with Jessie Clark Middle School and Clays Mill and Picadome being the elementary private schools for this area. Lexington Catholic High School, Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary (K-8), and several other private schools also serve this area.

Houses along Southview Drive are mostly modest brick or fieldstone ranches and Cape Cods, built in the early 1950s. Many have been updated and enlarged, and this neighborhood is popular with families with children , as well as with retired people. Hardwood floors and wood-burning fireplaces are commonplace - there are some with basements and the ranch houses have attics. Garages are usually separate. Yards are on the large side compared with new construction, and most have mature trees. There are sidewalks and street lights. The Southland Shopping Center is close at hand, along with Fayette Mall and lots of shopping along nearby Nicholasville Road. Parks include Southland Park, just behind Clays Mill and Mary, Queen schools (which have adjacent campuses), and the larger Shillito Park is just a few minutes' drive away.

The Beaumont Branch Library serves Southland, and is just a few minutes' drive away off Harrodsburg Road.

The Stonewall neighborhood, farther out Clays Mill Road, includes the excellent Stonewall Elementary School and is quite close to Shillito Park and Fayette Mall, but while the houses and yards are large, they are more costly.

You might also check out Garden Springs and the older, non-apartment area of Gardenside. Garden Springs Elementary School serves this area, along with a middle school whose name eludes me right now, and the newest high school, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, which has a large campus along Man o" War Boulevard. The nearby Beaumont neighborhood (home of the library branch previously mentioned, along with shopping and a large new Y) has larger houses and is much newer, but most houses here would exceed your price range considerably.

Good luck finding your new home in Lexington.
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Old 01-09-2014, 12:53 PM
 
12,003 posts, read 11,801,873 times
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Oops, just saw that your husband will be commuting to Winchester. Unfortunately, Winchester is on the far side of Lexington from the neighborhoods I just suggested, and the commute time, while not impossible, would be considerably more than 25 minutes during rush hour in Lexington. The fastest way from the neighborhoods I cited would be to take the outer loop of New Circle Road to Winchester Road, then access
I-64 to Winchester. The alternate would be to take the inner loop of New Circle to Newtown Pike and get on I-75, then turn onto I-64 - this route would require a little more time, I think (could be mistaken). Your husband could also go through downtown Lexington to I-75, etc., but he'd encounter considerable traffic both during the morning and afternoon.

So - take a look at the much newer Hamburg area, along with the many newer developments along Liberty Road. I think Henry Clay and Bryan Station High Schools currently serve this area - my preference would be for Henry Clay, which is academically much stronger. A new high school for this part of town has just been proposed, but it's several years away right now. I'm not as familiar with these newer areas as I am with the Southland/Twin Oaks/ Stonewall/Garden Springs side of town, but others may be able to answer some of your questions.
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Old 01-09-2014, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Todds Rd. area
969 posts, read 2,806,345 times
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If you want to stay 25 minutes from Winchester.....like 25 minutes from your driveway to your husband's office, you will need to be in the 40509 zip code to get the good mix of schools you want. In that area, Athens-Chilesburg Elementary (A.C.E.) is the best performing elementary school. I have seen plenty of 4 bedroom houses in a neighborhood called Brighton Woods sell for under $200k. In fact, my listing at 3909 Barnard is in this neighborhood and school district and the asking price is $200k. I just sold it today.

Most of the 40509 area between Richmond Road and the interstate are in the Henry Clay High and Hays Middle school district. Both are good. If you cross the interstate, those houses between the interstate and Winchester Road are in Crawford Middle and Bryan Station High. Neither perform as well as Henry Clay and Hays.

I don't know anything about running programs though.

If you buy on the south or southwest side of Lexington, you will be looking at a minimum commute of 45 minutes. I don't see Southland, Garden Springs or Gardenside working for you due to how far away they are from Winchester, even though they are nice older areas. I live about as close to Winchester as you can and still be in Fayette County. It takes me 25 minutes just to get to this side of town in moderate traffic. Most are going to be 1000-1500 square feet too. Maybe more if you get a finished basement. Might be too small for a family of 7.

I'd look in Brighton Woods or Walnut Ridge to get into A.C.E. Check out Liberty Elementary too. If you like that school, that opens up neighborhoods like Autumn Ridge and Brighton East. Both of those have Hays and Henry Clay too.

If you do go with the South end of town, I think you can find a 4 bedroom, 2000+ square foot house in a good performing school distict without a problem......I have never had a client with that criteria not be able to find one!

Many of my friends have adopted children from other countries and none of them have had any issues here with acceptance. I think most Lexingtonians would think your family was cool for adopting :-)
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Old 01-09-2014, 01:19 PM
 
Location: Todds Rd. area
969 posts, read 2,806,345 times
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LOL CraigCreek....I was wondering why you were on the other side of town? I've done that before too :-)
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Old 01-09-2014, 01:45 PM
 
25 posts, read 32,879 times
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Thanks for the info! My husband would be open to commuting farther if we found the right house. I actually saw the house you sold, I had it saved to check out, too bad it sold! We can pay more but would like to pay less since we will soon have kids in college. We could also make a 3 bedroom work as long as it had either a basement or an office or bonus room we could make a bedroom. We are somewhat flexible. We would definitely want the best high school option, public school that is so won't be looking at any in the Bryan Station school district. Our girls currently attend a private Catholic school but we don't want to pay private tuition any longer, again since we have college on the horizons. What is the best way to find a realtor to work with when the time comes? This job could be potentially happening in the next month or so and want to be prepared. Once he goes for his interview we will check out the area and houses at that time.
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Old 01-09-2014, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Todds Rd. area
969 posts, read 2,806,345 times
Reputation: 292
I'd be happy to work with you if you wanted. I'm in the top 5% of all the realtors in the area. More than half my work is with buyers, many are from out of town like you. I usually offer to preview houses, make videos, and do anything that makes it easier to pull the trigger on a house in a town you don't know much about. I had one family that had to pick a house one weekend. I previewed all of the ones they liked and sent them videos. They were able to eliminate most of the houses from the video. By the time their weekend came, we only had 6 houses to see.

I find that many realtors just tell out of town buyers to let them know when they will be in town. I try to use the time before the trip here to get you all the info you need to make a good choice. I know this because a lot of my clients had been working with another agent before finding me and said that!

Hit my blog if you want or look up my John Rice Youtube channel: Real estate from the LEXpert's perspective
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