Mount Sterling (Lexington, Louisville, Richmond: low crime, motel, house)

[jdfoster]

We want to move from Orlando to a place with less crime, better housing and decent job/business opportunities (doesn't everyone!). I have 3 teenage kids and one that is not very happy about moving and starting over (my teenage girl). We have really researched different areas of the United States and want something not too cold and more of a small town atmosphere and a little bit of land. We came upon the Mount Sterling area and at the first glance, seemed to fit our needs, but I haven't seem to much in this forum about it. Most everyone is commenting on the south side of Lexington. One concern we have is that all of our kids have grown up on a lake and love water sports. I see that Cave Run lake is not too far away and wondered if anyone on this lake wakeboards and what the temp of the water is. Then the kids thought they would be interested in the move if they could substitute snowboarding for wakeboarding. How far away is the closest ski area? Can anyone give us more information about this area or any surrounding areas within a good commute to Lexington. Thanks so much!

[cynthia007]

I will be interested to read replies to this! We too are planning a move from a warm climate, and I too have a teenage daughter. She is innocently excited about moving. She says she will miss her friends of course, but wants to see what it is like to be teenager in a city on the mainland. She is also looking at colleges in the area. Time will tell!

We have visited the area twice, including surrounding towns, and decided on Lexington. The more urban lifestyle is appealing to us. The variety of activities for kids (and adults,) the college town atmosphere, the restaurants and shopping, etc.

Well wishes to you on your search!

[nlschr0]

There are quite a few popular lakes in KY where they have powerboating, skiing, etc. I'm not that familiar with them, but I have a good friend who has a boat and is out almost every weekend in the summer...tubing, skiing, and wakeboarding.

As far as Mt. Sterling information, you might also want to try posting in the general KY forum. I live in the Lexington area and I've only been to Mt. Sterling once, and that was to get gas so I'm not much help. It is close to Lexington as far as amenities go, but the farthest that the "Lexington metro" seems to go is Winchester.

You could also consider the Berea area, south of Lexington, which would put you closer to some of the big lakes but still not a bad drive via I-75. It seems like a great small town atmosphere, with a local college and an arts community. Versailles, Georgetown, and Richmond are all larger towns but they still have a smaller-town feel. There are also some areas along I-64 towards Louisville that you might consider, like Midway, that would put you at an easy drive to Lexington but also to Louisville for weekend activities.

As far as wintersports, there are at least a couple of ski areas in southern Indiana and Ohio, like Paoli Peaks. I think that Teebird just posted one in another thread, too. They are a decent drive away, but an easy day trip.

[teebird1012]

Well I'm 17 so I'll give you an idea from a teen's perspective of life in the bluegrass. I know people who go wakeboarding on Cave Run Lake and really enjoy it. Lake Cumberland is also a popular summer weekend getaway. There is not much in the way of skiing. Snowshoe is located about 6 hours east of Lexington in West Virginia. There are two beginner "mountains"- one outside of Cincinnati (Perfect North) and the other a bit west of Louisville (Paoli Peaks). I recommed P.N over P.P because it's larger. There's not a huge variety of things for people my age to do really. In Lexington, we have Fayette Mall, numerous movie theaters, and various little coffeeshops and internet cafes. It's not quite the same as, say, Miami, but we still manage to find lots of things to do. Mt. Sterling is lovely little town. Generally low crime rate and affordable housing.

Depending on where in Montgomery County you are going to live, your commute will range anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours (traffic and distance), but traffic is nothing like it is in a larger city like Orlando (yes cartomanlex I'm not comparing LEX to Houston this time). I knew a few people (all in college now) who drove from Mt. Sterling to downtown Lexington everyday for school (private school). Montgonery County schools as I understand are quite good. Are you planning on sending your kids there or to private schools in Lexington? Either way I think they will be fine and generally people in Kentucky are very welcoming (at least that is my experience in Lexington). A few people have asked me about southern accents and if you don't have one it's not big deal. People will really only notice those with a Boston or New York accent, but everyone here is usually quite welcoming.

Winters here are pretty mild- we maybe get two or three inches of snow if we're lucky (I love cold weather and snow), it's mostly a nasty combination of ice and sleet. Oh and we've started on a trend of having a large ice storm every February (5 years running now) so be prepared for that. In 2002 a storm basically put the city on pause for about 2 weeks. Our average temperatures for January range from about 25- 35 degrees, but tomorrow our high is supposed to be 72 so we see a huge fluctuation in temperature. That is very normal in this area. Humidity won't be a problem for you seeing as you're from central Florida.

Let me know if you have any more questions and welcome to the bluegrass.

[goldenmom7500]

We once stayed in a motel in Mt. Sterling while we were closing on our house in Lexington. I hate to say this, and I hope others will chime in if they disagree, but it didn't seem that nice - not like a Danville or Berea. It could have just been that I was driving down the wrong streets, but I just didn't get that cute feeling - I kept seeing Drive-in Liquor Marts. I apologize if my impression was off-base.

[jdfoster]

Thanks so much for the information. Our heads hurt from all the thought process and looking up info on the internet, so...we decided to go on a fact finding trip the first of March. It just seemed from the job postings that there were a lot of opportunities near Mt. Sterling and also Berea that fit our needs, so that is why we chose to look in that area first. I appreciate everyone's honest, although not excited about the ice storms!

It is also good to hear that there are good places to enjoy water activities. Out of curiosity, does anyone know anything about the Morehead area or am I getting too far away from a nice metropolitan area (Lexington).

[rocksinthehead]

I received my bachelors degree from Morehead State University and really enjoyed my time there. As I understand, the public school system is really good and outdoor recreation is just right around the corner. Kind of rural but the university brings alot of culture to the town. Some of the best mountain biking trails in Kentucky surround cave run lake as well as muskie fishing. Property is cheap and the people are friendly. I miss it there.

[teebird1012]

Morehead is about 45 min.- 1 hour without traffic from Lexington so if you don't mind the distance then I think you would like the area. The area is full of gorgeous scenery and I do believe that is around the Natural Bridges Park and Cave Run Lake.