Louisville, Nashville or St. Louis (Lexington, Shelbyville: for sale, low crime, mortgage)

[muddy boots]

I know that last one is totally different than the first two cities, but we have family in St. Louis so it is in the running.
Our house outside of Seattle is for sale, when it sells we plan to move to one of the three listed areas. We are looking for:

1. Racial diversity (we have 5 boys, 3 are Ethiopian, 2 are white).
2. An older home on at least 1/2 an acre priced under 140K, ok if it needs work.
3. Low crime.
4. Close to recreation such as hiking, fishing, camping.
5. Decent schools, don't have to be super as I do lots of homeschooling.
6. I haven't been to a mall in seven years and I hate Walmart so could care less how close our home is to those two things. We could be 30 minutes out of the city and that would be fine.

My husband does custom woodworking, but can do many construction type things. I am an English teacher by trade.

We won't have a mortgage so income needs won't be as large as they are in our current situation.

Our greatest concern is for the welfare of our kids.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

[johnsonkk]

Hands down, Louisville. Louisville, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by muddy boots

I know that last one is totally different than the first two cities, but we have family in St. Louis so it is in the running.
Our house outside of Seattle is for sale, when it sells we plan to move to one of the three listed areas. We are looking for:

1. Racial diversity (we have 5 boys, 3 are Ethiopian, 2 are white).
2. An older home on at least 1/2 an acre priced under 140K, ok if it needs work.
3. Low crime.
4. Close to recreation such as hiking, fishing, camping.
5. Decent schools, don't have to be super as I do lots of homeschooling.
6. I haven't been to a mall in seven years and I hate Walmart so could care less how close our home is to those two things. We could be 30 minutes out of the city and that would be fine.

My husband does custom woodworking, but can do many construction type things. I am an English teacher by trade.

We won't have a mortgage so income needs won't be as large as they are in our current situation.

Our greatest concern is for the welfare of our kids.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

Louisville is more like St Louis than you think, only half the metro size. Louisville and nashville are similar in size but little else. Nashville is growing much faster and suffers from twice as much traffic and sprawl. Climate wise they are all similar with Nashville being 5 degrees warmer on almost any given day and with milder winters.

Louisville hands down. I'd pick STL if you want a bit bigger city with more of a metro feel.

[mdawg]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Louisville is more like St Louis than you think, only half the metro size. Louisville and nashville are similar in size but little else. Nashville is growing much faster and suffers from twice as much traffic and sprawl. Climate wise they are all similar with Nashville being 5 degrees warmer on almost any given day and with milder winters.

Louisville hands down. I'd pick STL if you want a bit bigger city with more of a metro feel.

I usually agree with you stx, but in my travels I have found Nashville and Louisville are very similar. Nashville has more of a country vibe, but both share similar cultural attitudes and values. Both are mid-south cities, with Nashville having a little more connection with the lower south. Both have vibrant downtown areas and a pretty low cost of living. Thats just my 2 cents though.

BTW I would choose Louisville.

[rxpwas]

Louisville would do you nice, I think. By the way, some of the best friends I ever had in school (or anywhere) were Ethiopians I befriended and stayed all night in my house back in the 1980's at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky., and later at U.K. in Lexington. I lost contact over the years with most of them, unfortunately, my fault for not staying in touch with them. Some of most intellegent students, whether American or international, I've ever seen. Anyway, the Ethiopians I knew adjusted VERY WELL to Kentucky in general, and I include rural as well as urban Ky. The other aspects of racial diversity I am no expert on, but Louisville will be diverse enough. Plus, Louisville is, for a metropolitan area, a pretty friendly place, and I, as a rural Kentuckian, say this. I also like Nashville, not as much St. Louis, but then again, just me.

[missymomof3]

I like all three but I have to say Louisville cause I'm from here

[Austin8868]

Louisville would be the best choice, St louis is nice but the crime is really bad there.

[DerbyCityDiva]

Muddy Boots,
IMHO, you should look closely at Shelbyville. You should find just about everything you're looking for there, and it would be a great place for your husband to network for business.

[stlcitygirl]

Originally Posted by Austin8868

Louisville would be the best choice, St louis is nice but the crime is really bad there.

Only in certain areas, the vast majority of the city is safe. Its simple, if you want a smaller city, go with Louisville or Nashville. If you want the bigger city feel, go with St Louis.