Need info on Louisville neighborhoods (house, transfer, to buy)

[St. Louis Girl]

My husband's company might soon be transferred him to Louisville. I am starting the process of investigating neighborhoods, but it's a bit confusing...

My info:
- My husband will be working downtown. I don't know where I will wind up working, so that's not really a factor.
- We anticipate being in Louisville for at least a few years, and would like to buy a house. We would prefer to spend around $250K, but could go as high as $300K for the right house.
- My husband is accoustomed to a commute of about 15 - 20 minutes, and wouldn't tolerate much more than that.
- We have an elementary-school aged son. We'd like to find an area with a really good public school.
- We currently live in St. Louis, in an inner-ring suburb. We like being close to the city, but a bit outside it.
- We like to go out quite a bit, and would love to be near restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. as well as close to recreation for our son, such as parks, children's museums, zoo, etc.
- Definitely cake.

Also, we are not religious people, and do not attend church. We would like to move to a place where our neighbors would welcome heathens like us with open arms without trying to 'save' us. St. Louis is a pretty conservative city, but I fear Louisville will be even more conservative...

[tomocox]

You have two distinct choices: southern Indiana, or western Oldham County. I live in Briar Hill, we are 5 minutes plus 14 interstate miles to down town. Lots of nice homes, some with an acre or more with 2500-3000 sq ft modern homes.

Oldham County Schools are best choice as your good S. Indiana schools will be in the more rural areas of Floyd & Clark County.

[kytoaz]

your family belongs in the highlands, plain and simple. walkable, full of restaurants, bars and shops. full of educated, cool and open minded people. the commute to downtown is a breeze and for 250-300k you will have no problem finding a beautiful home. there are a lot of churches in the highlands, but don't let that throw you. my wife and i are non-believers and have had zero incidents regarding that. other areas of town people might look at you as satan incarnate, i say this from experience!
while your concerns about louisville being conservative are based in reality, the highlands is a pocket of modern, live and let live kind of people. cherokee park is a huge part of living there and is just a short walk or bike ride away from most areas of the highlands. and what a park it is! i still get lost there from time to time!

crescent hill is another fine option. a little pricier and a little further from downtown, but still fits perfectly with your criteria.

hope this helps, good luck!

[St. Louis Girl]

I was thinking the Highlands area might be a good fit...my only concern is the schools. Do you have any school-age children or know if the schools are decent? We would consider a private school, but I'm not sure if there would be many (any?) secular private schools in the area.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by St. Louis Girl

I was thinking the Highlands area might be a good fit...my only concern is the schools. Do you have any school-age children or know if the schools are decent? We would consider a private school, but I'm not sure if there would be many (any?) secular private schools in the area.

For private secular schools, you can choose between Colliegiate (actually within the Highlands), Walden, or Kentucky Country Day. I know I will catch some blowback, but I am so happy with Oldham County Schools because I know they return a value that can not be matched when the absurd tuitions of private/parochial schools are considered. If I owned a home in Jefferson or any other area county (with an exception to particular Indiana school corporations), my children would attend private/parochial.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by St. Louis Girl

My husband's company might soon be transferred him to Louisville. I am starting the process of investigating neighborhoods, but it's a bit confusing...

My info:
- My husband will be working downtown. I don't know where I will wind up working, so that's not really a factor.
- We anticipate being in Louisville for at least a few years, and would like to buy a house. We would prefer to spend around $250K, but could go as high as $300K for the right house.
- My husband is accoustomed to a commute of about 15 - 20 minutes, and wouldn't tolerate much more than that.
- We have an elementary-school aged son. We'd like to find an area with a really good public school.
- We currently live in St. Louis, in an inner-ring suburb. We like being close to the city, but a bit outside it.
- We like to go out quite a bit, and would love to be near restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. as well as close to recreation for our son, such as parks, children's museums, zoo, etc.
- Definitely cake.

Also, we are not religious people, and do not attend church. We would like to move to a place where our neighbors would welcome heathens like us with open arms without trying to 'save' us. St. Louis is a pretty conservative city, but I fear Louisville will be even more conservative...

Louisville is definitely NOT more conservative than STL. If anything, more normal middle and upper class people still live in the city limits of Louisville. And although STL has a metro area twice the size of Louisville, the two cities are not too drastically different with the exception of pro sports and super upscale shopping.

To be honest, the Catholic schools are probably the best in the region and are pretty secularized. Religion is a minimal part of the education these days, and there are several in the Highlands alone. My guess is at least half the children are not Catholic or practicing.

The Independent Schools of Louisville, Kentucky | louisvilleindependentschools.org

If you can afford it, anchorage is probaly the best metro school district, then Oldham County. JCPS has great schools but the problem is the bussing. I would contact JCPS after you find a house to see what your resides school would be.

[girlinlou]

I live in the east end by the Summit area and we got several invites to local churches from neighbors! They mean well but it's a bit much...I've heard good things about Oldham Cnty and Floyds Knobs IN re schools.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by girlinlou

I live in the east end by the Summit area and we got several invites to local churches from neighbors! They mean well but it's a bit much...I've heard good things about Oldham Cnty and Floyds Knobs IN re schools.

Not a place for religion, so I will tread lightly, but everytime I see where someone is offended by an invitation to church, I wonder what the potential guest is thinking.

I care not what faith or denomination, with one exception, at least at the local level, people are expressing peace. It is that peace that allows Louisville Kentucky to be one of the most friendly areas of this nation, maybe world. Example, it is routine for people in our area to use phantom stop lights. That is we graciously allow people to make turns, to safely pull out into traffic rather than greedly jamming our foot down on the accelerators.

[kytoaz]

Originally Posted by tomocox

Not a place for religion, so I will tread lightly, but everytime I see where someone is offended by an invitation to church, I wonder what the potential guest is thinking.

I care not what faith or denomination, with one exception, at least at the local level, people are expressing peace. It is that peace that allows Louisville Kentucky to be one of the most friendly areas of this nation, maybe world. Example, it is routine for people in our area to use phantom stop lights. That is we graciously allow people to make turns, to safely pull out into traffic rather than greedly jamming our foot down on the accelerators.

this may be true. people are friendly and cordial to your face. i have lived many places and have noticed a culture of talking badly about people when they are not around. i have never lived in a place as bad about this as louisville. i prefer honesty to my face, not everyone gets along, over false smiles and knives in back.

this is in no way a "bash louisville" post, just an observation by someone who has traveled a lot.

[kytoaz]

Originally Posted by girlinlou

I live in the east end by the Summit area and we got several invites to local churches from neighbors! They mean well but it's a bit much...I've heard good things about Oldham Cnty and Floyds Knobs IN re schools.

how would we be greeted if we knocked on doors with brochures saying "god is not real"? i would imagine after not so many doors that violence would ensue.lol.