Husband Intv. w/ U of Louisville (Lexington, Frankfort: to rent, how much, houses)

[Maisy Jacob]

Greetings All:

My husband is interviewing with a job at the U of Louisville. We've never been to KY and have lots of questions as we are very serious about this opportunity. Most important will be figuring out where to live. Here is some info. about us. Any information you can offer will be most appreciated.

We are 30s/40s with a 2 year-old child. We both have J.D.s and my husband has a Ph.D.

We will be looking for a home in the $400,00s--we might be able to go to the low $500,000. We would love to have a 4 bedroom/2 bath. Initially we would be likely to rent. Currently we pay $1600/month for a 3 bedroom/1.5 bath.

We are politically liberal and are not religious, though we certainly are not hostile to religion and have a variety of religious influences in our lives.

Currently we live in a home built in the 1920s--we love older homes with charm.

We would love to be able to send our child to public school if we can find a quality public school.

Currently we live a block from a fabulous park with a duck pond, rose garden, great library, basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball field, and lots of additional space. We would love to be near a nice park.

Our current neighborhood is somewhat walkable (can walk to a few nice restaurants and to shopping), which we really like.

We don't like to have much of a commute. Currently we are 10 minutes from our work.

So the big question is: what neighborhoods would be best for us? If possible, please include zip codes.

A few other questions/concerns:

Being from California (I've lived in Washington, D.C. too, but that's my only other reference point), I'm concerned about the weather. How humid does it get and for how long? If possible, please compare humidity to WDC.

How much does the snow impact your life--driving? shoveling? etc.

I've heard that some consider you part of Tornado Alley. This terrifies me. How does this impact your life?

Finally, on kid stuff:

What types of things are there for small children to do? Here we have the park, a great zoo, several very clean indoor play centers, Gymboree, etc.

Would you say this is a nice place to raise a family? If we make the move we hope that it will be our last.

Flights: I can't seem to find any direct flights to Los Angeles, Burbank or Salt Lake City. Does anyone know of an airline that does direct flights to any of these?

Thanks sooooooooooooooooooo much for any help you can offer!!

[censusdata]

That part of Kentucky doesn't really get that much snow (maybe 13 inches a year, mostly from 3-4 small snow storms a year) and damaging tornadoes are very rare, although very small tornadoes (F1 or smaller) usually hit some part of the metro area once a year, rarely doing much damage.

For the criteria you listed The Highlands or Frankfort Ave/ St Matthews area would be best - photos of both are on the Louisville photo sticky.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by Maisy Jacob

Greetings All:

My husband is interviewing with a job at the U of Louisville. We've never been to KY and have lots of questions as we are very serious about this opportunity. Most important will be figuring out where to live. Here is some info. about us. Any information you can offer will be most appreciated.

We are 30s/40s with a 2 year-old child. We both have J.D.s and my husband has a Ph.D.

We will be looking for a home in the $400,00s--we might be able to go to the low $500,000. We would love to have a 4 bedroom/2 bath. Initially we would be likely to rent. Currently we pay $1600/month for a 3 bedroom/1.5 bath.

We are politically liberal and are not religious, though we certainly are not hostile to religion and have a variety of religious influences in our lives.

Currently we live in a home built in the 1920s--we love older homes with charm. My first inclination is for you to look in Cresent Hill (just east of downtown Louisville, especially along Lexington Road and not too far from Southern Baptist Seminary. (SBTS) You might find a gem or two along Eastern Parkway in the Highlands. Shelbyville would be the next location. There is a wonderful old home which was converted to an office located along W. Jefferson in LaGrange, too. Will need to be retro-fitted.

We would love to be able to send our child to public school if we can find a quality public school. With your connections to U of L and your home's academic success, you might have enough pull to get your children into one of Jefferson County's (JCPS) traditional or advanced schools. Oldham County is the absolute best public system in the area although JCPS has Male & Manual High which are about equal to Oldham County's three high schools.

Currently we live a block from a fabulous park with a duck pond, rose garden, great library, basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball field, and lots of additional space. We would love to be near a nice park. Cherokee and Seneca Parks are wonderful in Louisville and not too far from the older Victorian homes mentioned above.

Our current neighborhood is somewhat walkable (can walk to a few nice restaurants and to shopping), which we really like. Excellent Restaurants in both the Highlands and Crescent Hill. If you are looking for 4-5 star places, you'll have to stay in the older parts of Louisville.

We don't like to have much of a commute. Currently we are 10 minutes from our work. Again, Eastern Parkway/Highlands

So the big question is: what neighborhoods would be best for us? If possible, please include zip codes. 40205, 40206, 40207 Do not, I repeat do not go into Old Louisville. Declining fast.

A few other questions/concerns:

Being from California (I've lived in Washington, D.C. too, but that's my only other reference point), I'm concerned about the weather. How humid does it get and for how long? If possible, please compare humidity to WDC. DC and Louisville are similar. DC may be a bit more uncomfortable in August, Louisville can have several days of below zero, but most winters will not see below 5 more than 3 or 4 mornings. Typically January 10-15 degrees low with 30's & 40's day time highs.

How much does the snow impact your life--driving? shoveling? etc. Louisville will get an occasional 10-15 incher... but UPS chose Louisville Airport as its Worldport due to the historical data showing the airport open more than any other mid-American.

I've heard that some consider you part of Tornado Alley. This terrifies me. How does this impact your life? Be certain to buy a home with a basement. Yes, tornadoes do happen in the Louisville area. We'll see 3-6 confirmed low grade tornadoes per year in a 50 mile radius of downtown Louisville. Mid-to-catastrophic tornadoes are extremely rare. Did I say extremely. Last major Louisville area tornado was 1996 about 5 miles south of I-265. Most catastrophic storm I can remember was April 1974.

Finally, on kid stuff:

What types of things are there for small children to do? Here we have the park, a great zoo, several very clean indoor play centers, Gymboree, etc.
Best nature parks in America! Zoo isn't San Diego's but great for kids. Cincinnati and St. Louis zoos are easy day trips.
Excellent children's museum, water park

Would you say this is a nice place to raise a family? If we make the move we hope that it will be our last. Hard to genuinely ask this question if religion isn't a part of your lives in my opinion. Jew, Gentile, or otherwise, faith raised children just have a better chance. Not to say some don't succeed without faith, just that more do. So yes, Louisville being a very faithful community is a great place to raise a kid. Some places are pretty tough, i.e. Old Louisville, but I raised three in Louisville.

Flights: I can't seem to find any direct flights to Los Angeles, Burbank or Salt Lake City. Does anyone know of an airline that does direct flights to any of these? Southwest gets pretty close. You can also pick up directs from Cincinnati, Indianapolis or Nashville.

Thanks sooooooooooooooooooo much for any help you can offer!!

Good luck

[mdawg]

I would look in the Cherokee Triangle area, there are some really nice, unique, older homes there that are near one of the largest parks in the metro, and also are close to the shops and restaurants of Bardstown Rd. This area would also be an easy 15 minute drive to U of L, at the most. Cherokee Triangle, Louisville - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 40204/40205 ZIP codes?? Here is a sample of what you can get around there for that price, http://www.louisvillerealtors.com/glar/RES:1211362/@IOqjLwuzSffYMPYdc,4 (broken link)Also, drive along River Rd. starting downtown heading east, there are some beautiful houses near the river.

[Off Topic]

Hard to go wrong with the Highlands.