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Hello All!
My husband accepted a faculty position at the University of Kentucky. GO BIG BLUE! We are very excited about our relocation.
We are looking for a house in the $150,000-$250,000 price range. We do not need to live right by the university we are open to other areas. traffic and long commutes are not a big concern.
We are looking at the top public elemenary schools for our children. I am a high school teacher and on our campus visit to Lexington was informed About the proposed Fayetteville county elementary school attendance zone changes. This is a HUGE concern of ours. We do not want to loured into a house purchase with the intent our child will attend a certain elementary school and then all of a sudden the house is no longer in that specific school zone. Not to mention lowered property value of the home.
When will the final school zones be voted on and enforced?
Also want to know where the flood pain areas are located in Lexington? We were informed many basements have flooding issues.
The type of neighborhood we are looking for is safe for our kids to play, we like small city excitement and suburbia. Close to parks, grocery stores, resturants, etc. we want to stay in the city limits and suburbs.
We are also looking into Montessori schools for our child and any recommendations would be helpful.
Chevy Chase would work for you, but the houses are too costly for your budget. So I'll make my usual recommendation: look at Southland, which contains well-maintained 1950s brick or stone Cape Cods and ranches, is close to shopping, parks, churches, good schools, and more. Back yards are roomy and often fenced, garages are separate, trees are mature, the neighborhood is walkable and on the bus lines. UK is about 15-20 minutes away during rush hour.
Southland houses usually have hardwood floors, fireplaces, attics, occasionally basements, and two to four bedrooms. Many have been updated; some have had family rooms added. Most have one and a half to two baths. It's a popular neighborhood for both families and older residents.
Lexington does not have a major river in the metro area, but does have numerous smaller streams and creeks. The basement flooding issues resulted from a badly under-maintained sewer system. The sewers have been revamped and rebuilt in many flood-prone areas now, and flooding is not the problem it once was. Lexington is built on limestone karst topography, so water rises and falls rather quickly here. However, if you select a house which is at or near the top of one of the gentle hills in our rolling landscape, you should be fine. If your house is at or near the bottom of the hill in a flood-prone area, it may be a different story, but many houses in such places (mine included) now have sump pumps and backflow guards in the basement drains. What flooding there is usually occurs in the early spring, when we receive the heaviest rainfall.
In the past, only my basement has flooded - the house itself remained dry. My basement has not flooded since the sewer line which serves my house was rebuilt, and I am sure the backflow preventer valve (provided by the city several years ago) has also helped.
I am not sure about the rezoning....this backs to Stonewall Elementary (it was a good elementary school, at least for us) and is a nice neighborhood (Older houses, but larger yards).
If you are wanting a newer home, this would probably be in the Stonewall school district or the newer Wellington Elementary.(Which seems to be getting top marks so far.)
If you are wanting a newer home, (but you will have a smaller yardage) there is Wellington, which is a few houses away from the new Wellington Elementary.
(I am thinking if you live really, really close, like down the street from an elementary school, you will most certainly still end up in that district, so you could try looking up homes close to schools that you would like.)
A poster here at City Data has some Youtube videos of various neighborhoods in Lexington, so if you find an area you are interested in, check out and see if he has a video of that neighborhood, so you can get a better feel for it.
To be kind of close to campus for your husband's job and to get a good performing elementary school, I think you will be either on the south end (Between Nicholasville and Harrodsburg Roads) or out Todds Road by Hamburg. You'll have the most options on the south end. All of the elementary schools on the south end are pretty good, while the Hamburg area just has Athens-Chilesburg Elementary and Liberty Road Elementary that are pretty good. Also, most of the boundary changes will be in the Hamburg area since that is one of the parts of town getting a new school.
Craig Creek is right about the basements. I usually tell clients any basement can leak even if it does not have a history of such. A sump pump can generally keep a leaking basement dry-I always recommend installing one because it is cheaper than replacing your stuff. Just get one that has a battery backup or runs on water pressure so it will still work if the power goes out. I go in hundreds of houses every year. I only have run across a few that have a major problem. Most basements never leak, some might do it once in extreme conditions. It is something to keep an eye out for, but I just don't want you thinking all basements here leak.
A flood plain is where FEMA has determined the house has a chance of flooding from a body of water. All of the houses for sale require the seller to disclosure if the house is in a flood plain. If one were to be in a flood plain, the owner is required to buy flood insurance through FEMA. I usually do not recommend buying a house in a flood plain since they are harder to sell and you have the additional cost. The house would have to be something super special or a bargain for this realtor to give it a thumbs up!
Crestwood Montessori would be a convenient spot to get to if you lived in South Lexington. It is just off Nicholasville Road close to Southland Drive.
For neighborhoods....let us know if you want newer or older or does it matter? Is yard size important? If so, that usually means an older house since most newer developments have tiny lots. Is there a minimum bathroom or bedroom count? How much square footage were you hoping to get? All this will help me to narrow it down to neighborhoods that I know you should consider.
Thanks for thinking of me Ponypulr and Crazee Cat Lady!!
Well, to hijack this thread, what do you think about the new in town developments for a retired couple who want to be able to walk most places and enjoy condo living or townhouse living? We are starting to consider this town. How about flooding here? And other things.........
Wow! Thank you all so much. I have made notes and we will be checking out those various areas. I always appreciate word of mouth from those who live or have lived in the area.
There are a lot of UK faculty members in the Glendover district, just south of campus. That puts you in the Glendover-Morton-Lafayette district (proposed change to henry Clay high school), which is a very good district. The homes are mostly older but well maintained.
We have a basement and you definitely need a good sump and drain system in most areas. There are a lot of newer developments that just use slab foundations.
PS. Where in MS? We moved back here last summer after living in NEMS for several years!
For elementary, your main choices of established schools are Providence, Community, and Lexington Montessori. Ardor is a new, smaller program.
Providence is one of the most popular (and the most expensive), and I've heard good and bad things about it. A lot of people really like this school, but it is in a weird location and has a slight reputation for elitism. It's also often on a waiting list by now.
Community apparently used to be very good but I've heard that there were some recent issues with teacher turnover and administration issues.
Lexington Montessori is smaller and more laid back than Providence, and slightly more affordable. It seems to have a less rigid emphasis on strictly following the Montessori principles.
Versailles Montessori is a pretty cool school, way out in the horse farms of Woodford County, but it's quite a drive from most parts of Lexington.
If you're only looking for preschool montessori, there are a few more options that stop at K.
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