Moving to Louisville soon..lots of questions (St. Matthews, La Grange: lawyers, house)

[ohio35]

My husbands job in transferring to Louisville, in January. We just found this out yesterday. So I have lots of questions and I am hoping you all can help me out. We are both 35 married couple with 3 kids 12, 6 and 3. So I am concerned about schools and neighborhoods. My husband is going to be working on Algonquin Pky. From researching the area I am learning that Oldham county seem to have good schools?

Which are better Flyod Knobs or Oldham county schools?

Where are property taxes cheaper IN or Oldham county?

Where are we more likely to find a house 4 BR for around 170-200k?

What is there to do for families? Sports do they have summer sport leagues ect?

Church is important to me, plenty of churches with good youth groups?

Easy to meet people? Kids accept the new kids in the school?

Public pools water parks? Parks?

Would also like to live close to shopping, grocery wal-mart ect.

I have lived in a small town in Ohio most of my life and am very anxious about this move any help would be much appreciated!!!

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by ohio35

My husbands job in transferring to Louisville, in January. We just found this out yesterday. So I have lots of questions and I am hoping you all can help me out. We are both 35 married couple with 3 kids 12, 6 and 3. So I am concerned about schools and neighborhoods. My husband is going to be working on Algonquin Pky. From researching the area I am learning that Oldham county seem to have good schools?

Which are better Flyod Knobs or Oldham county schools? not enough difference to matter

Where are property taxes cheaper IN or Oldham county? not enough difference to matter

Where are we more likely to find a house 4 BR for around 170-200k? not enough difference to matter

What is there to do for families? Sports do they have summer sport leagues ect? OC is superior on this count, the Oldham County Youth Soccer League one of the overall best anywhere. North Oldham Little League played in the LL world series this past year.

Church is important to me, plenty of churches with good youth groups? I can recommend several, but the very best that I know of is St. Matthews Baptist in St. Matthews. A bit of a drive, but well worth it.

Easy to meet people? Kids accept the new kids in the school? not enough difference to matter


Public pools water parks? Parks? Oldham has a great public pool, Y with indoor, and many great parks.
Would also like to live close to shopping, grocery wal-mart ect. OC has Kroger, Wal-Mart, a great little IGA, and is close to Meijer, Costco, Sam's Club. Every level of shopping from snobby snob to flea markets in OC.

I have lived in a small town in Ohio most of my life and am very anxious about this move any help would be much appreciated!!!

I moved from Crescent Hill to Oldham County in 2002. Absolutely wonderful place to raise a kid. Floyds Knobs is the best alternative and very competitive compared to Oldham County.

[DodgeGirl78]

Is Floyds Knobs a wise choice with the current bridge fiasco though? Yet OC seems a bit of a commute to Algonquin Pkwy.

[ohio35]

Thanks so much for he info...think I am going to have to come down and check out both areas. As far as OC goes which city offers most? Seems like Lagrange?? Just from reading. How long of a commute you think from OC to Algonquin Pkwy?

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by DodgeGirl78

Is Floyds Knobs a wise choice with the current bridge fiasco though? Yet OC seems a bit of a commute to Algonquin Pkwy.

The bridge will be fixed by March...so that should not factor into a decision too much since in the long run, it will save the OP's husband lots of travel time and gas should they live in Floyds Knobs if the commute will be to West Louisville. I find it quite sad that so many people move to metro Louisville without looking at the actual city. Highlands, St. Matthews, Crescent Hill, even Germantown, Audubon Park, and Beechmont are all wonderful urban areas in which to raise a kid and much more convenient to everything, while reducing sprawl and exposing one to more diversity of a city.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ohio35

Thanks so much for he info...think I am going to have to come down and check out both areas. As far as OC goes which city offers most? Seems like Lagrange?? Just from reading. How long of a commute you think from OC to Algonquin Pkwy?

From La Grange....40 minutes on a good day. Could be an hour or more with traffic.

[kytoaz]

Originally Posted by stx12499

the bridge will be fixed by march...so that should not factor into a decision too much since in the long run, it will save the op's husband lots of travel time and gas should they live in floyds knobs if the commute will be to west louisville. I find it quite sad that so many people move to metro louisville without looking at the actual city. Highlands, st. Matthews, crescent hill, even germantown, audubon park, and beechmont are all wonderful urban areas in which to raise a kid and much more convenient to everything, while reducing sprawl and exposing one to more diversity of a city.

+100

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by stx12499

The bridge will be fixed by March...so that should not factor into a decision too much since in the long run, it will save the OP's husband lots of travel time and gas should they live in Floyds Knobs if the commute will be to West Louisville. I find it quite sad that so many people move to metro Louisville without looking at the actual city. Highlands, St. Matthews, Crescent Hill, even Germantown, Audubon Park, and Beechmont are all wonderful urban areas in which to raise a kid and much more convenient to everything, while reducing sprawl and exposing one to more diversity of a city.

STX, you just don't get it. If 1000 people come to your house with a baseball bat and hit you over the head, do you think you might finally understand that NO incoming family can risk putting their children into the 2/3 of Louisville schools that are failures with the hope they can get their child into one of the schools you continue to say are so good. My surgeon said that he felt my back surgery would have a 70% chance of success, but the 30% chance of failure was too great because of the damage such a failure might cause so I didn't have the surgery as much as it hurts not.

If you had children and you were moving to Louisville, you probably would love them enough to know the risks are just too great for the once in a lifetime opportunity to be educated correctly. I have absolutely no qualms about directing no-children households to your favorite parts of Louisville, but unless they have the money or religious fervor to send a child to a private/parochial school, they must know the odds of a politically directed school assignment rather than a child's needs based assignment.

Regarding diversity, Oldham County Schools are extremely diverse. Even more so than the typical Jefferson County School. In OC, you will find children of nearly every region of the world. You will find children of every socio-economic level from super-rich to super-poor. There is no political assignment in OC, but rather distinct geographical areas.

[DodgeGirl78]

For Louisvilles sake, I hope the bridge will be done by March..but...

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by tomocox

STX, you just don't get it. If 1000 people come to your house with a baseball bat and hit you over the head, do you think you might finally understand that NO incoming family can risk putting their children into the 2/3 of Louisville schools that are failures with the hope they can get their child into one of the schools you continue to say are so good. My surgeon said that he felt my back surgery would have a 70% chance of success, but the 30% chance of failure was too great because of the damage such a failure might cause so I didn't have the surgery as much as it hurts not.

If you had children and you were moving to Louisville, you probably would love them enough to know the risks are just too great for the once in a lifetime opportunity to be educated correctly. I have absolutely no qualms about directing no-children households to your favorite parts of Louisville, but unless they have the money or religious fervor to send a child to a private/parochial school, they must know the odds of a politically directed school assignment rather than a child's needs based assignment.

Regarding diversity, Oldham County Schools are extremely diverse. Even more so than the typical Jefferson County School. In OC, you will find children of nearly every region of the world. You will find children of every socio-economic level from super-rich to super-poor. There is no political assignment in OC, but rather distinct geographical areas.

This is strictly your opinion. The facts show JCPS has some great schools and they are not as hard to get into as you say. There are many top local businessmen, doctors' and lawyers' children, and many more who attend JCPS. Many graduate JCPS and go on to all sorts of successful careers. Most all the well know famous people from the metro Louisville area attended one of the "big 4" Catholic Highs or JCPS. JCPS is growing fast, and now has over 110,000 students. The parents of all those students cannot be crazy. Should the doctors, businessmen/women and lawyers who enroll their children in JCPS be beat with a baseball bat 1000 times as well?

So, while I respect your anecdotal stories and your personal experience with your children, I believe telling someone not to look at Louisville because of schools is just plain wrong. Sure, JCPS has some major problems, and a few of its schools are among the worst performing in the state and even nation, but there are also some that are among the very best. Such is the nature of one of the TOP 25 largest school districts in the US. Comparing it to Oldham is really apples and oranges.