Moving to Paducah...HELP!!! (Lexington, Louisville: for sale, apartments, rentals)
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Hello all!!! My husband and I are a couple of months away from moving to Paducah for work. What is the area like? Any bad areas? We are wanting to find a fairly nice apartment to live in temporarily so we have time to look for a decent house to buy without feeling rushed. Do they have any decent apartments? What things do they have to do for social fun? I have had so little time to research this and the move is coming fast! Thank you for all the help.
Notwhatitseems, I've lived in western Kentucky all my life (so far!). I grew up in Mayfield, but Paducah was always the "hub" of the area. I have moved about 60 miles up U.S. 60 from Paducah now but still get down there from time to time. Don't know about apartments, unless you can check the Paducah Sun newspaper. Bad thing with that paper is you have to have a paid online subscription to read anything but the headlines and obituaries. As far as checking on houses, go to www.realtor.com . You can check what is for sale and prices anywhere in the country. Just put in the zip code (42001).
There's a lot to see in this part of western Kentucky. Wish you could see Noble Park during Christmas. It is nothing but a big drive through Christmas display. Noble Park is nice during warmer weather too. It's a nice park not just for the community but the whole Purchase area. Also drive downtown to check out the murals on the floodwall along the Ohio river.
You know anybody that's a big Superman fan? You will be right across the river from Metropolis, Ill. It has been declared the home of Superman, after some checking to find out this is the only "Metropolis" in the United States.
If you're into the Civil War, this part of the state has some sites for that too. Columbus-Belmont State Park is the site of a big war battle. The confederates stretched a huge chain and anchor across the Mississippi River to rip the bottoms out of the Union supply boats.
Don't forget the lakes area. You can stay busy seeing everything down there for several days.
I could keep going on and on, but I'll leave that for someone else to tell about. I know the Carson Center, where they have concerts adn the Market House Theater for plays draws crowds to Paducah, but I haven't been to anything there yet. I have been to the National Quilting Museum downtown though.
As a native Paducahan, I have always heard this, particularly from people who have moved here from other places, "It's a great place to raise children." It is a safe community where people know you.
You will not have trouble finding housing in Paducah, either rental or to buy. As far as good and bad areas, those exist everywhere. Generally the bigger the community, the more disparity there is; the nice gets "really nice" like Beverly Hills in L.A., and the bad gets "really bad" like Watts in L.A. Bad is often just a matter of perspective in smaller towns; often, an outsider won't even notice the difference. You may be referring to something that is more related to home prices and sizes. There are neighborhoods (very few) that have homes above $500,000. There are many safe neighborhoods with well-kept 30-40-year-old homes that will run $80,000 to $120,000 for a 3 bedroom, 1.5-2 bath home. There are also a number of neighborhoods that will be in the $150,000 to $300,000 price range also. Most of these are newer homes and also larger, with 3-4+ bedrooms, 2+ baths and garages. You don't mention children, but all of the local schools are excellent and you would not go wrong with any of them so that is just personal preference. There is every type of option from historic renovated homes to city-type neighborhoods to suburban subdivisions to rural properties with land.
If you know a Realtor in your community who you trust, they often can set you up with one in the new community who will help you find what you want.
I understand that you want to wait until you know which area will "fit" your desires, which is a really smart thing to do. A Realtor can also help you with finding rental property and will probably try to maintain a helpful relationship with you for your future business. OK, that is the end of my suggestion about the best way to find housing from afar--classifieds are ok, but they are not really great here, most of the better rentals simply don't need to advertise.
I have no idea where you are from, so social activities are also a matter of perspective. If you are from a tiny community, we are going to seem like a wonderland. If you are from NYC, then you are going to think it is hard to find an activity. I have lived here my whole life (40+ yrs) and find that the main problem with activities is that even if there were thousands of things to do, you still have to have the money and time to do them. Paducah can certainly use up my wallet and time, but it is nothing like a major city. We have all or most of the first-run movies in a 10-screen theater that is well-maintained, as well as a small theater with more offbeat fare. We have a local community theater that puts on very professional productions. We have a bona-fide symphony orchestra. The National Quilt Museum is here and puts on a major quilt show each April. We have a local art guild museum. The Carson Center is a world-class (really!!) state-of-the-art performance center, and we have had everything from Broadway shows to Loretta Lynn to the Smothers Brothers to David Copperfield. Jerry Seinfield will do two performances here in January. All of the big names who have been here have commented on what a wonderful facility it is.
There are a lot of opportunities to watch sporting events with all of the local schools, from baseball, tennis and soccer to basketball and football. There have been several teams from the area who have gone to the state tournament, and several have won or come close to it.
We have lots and lots of restaurants, both chain and boutique-type locals, along with a bunch of fast food as well. We even have dives haha. Barbecue is delicious here. There are bowling alleys with lots of leagues. There is an active tennis community, and there are very nice public tennis courts, and public golf courses, as well as a couple of private club facilities for golf and tennis. Shopping is really pretty good for a community this size--our mall is well-maintained and has good shopping from Best Buy to Limited to Victoria's Secret to Hollister to Dillards, Sears and Penneys. We have two Super Wal-marts, TJMaxx, Kohl's, Books-a-Million, Gander Mountain, Michael's and Hobby Lobby. Linens n Things, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Pier 1 are also here. (Please note this list is nowhere near complete.) We also have a lot of very nice local stores with everything from hunting and hiking gear to upscale gifts.
There are lots of churches of many denominations, so you will probably have no problem finding one if you want one. That is a great way to make friends quickly because it is kind of an "instant community."
We have a local community and technical college where you can get an associate's degree, and we have a 4-year engineering school affiliated with the University of Kentucky where you can get an engineering degree. Murray State University maintains a local campus where you can get most, if not all, of the requirements for a bachelor's degree in specific fields without leaving town. Murray State is only 45 minutes to an hour away if you do need to travel for school. Other universities are within easy driving distance (less than 2 hours).
We have an airport with connections to major cities, but are within 2 hours of Nashville (easy drive) for an alternative air connection. We are within 3 or so hours of St. Louis and 3 hours from Louisville and 3.5 from Lexington. I mention this in case you REALLY want the facilities of a big city. It is kind of nice to be that close to them without having to drive in them every day or pay the higher housing costs.
All of the above are in the city of Paducah and surrounding McCracken County.
If you want to leave the city, we are within 30 minutes of Kentucky Lake, the world's largest (really!!) man-made lake, Barkley Lake and the Land Between the Lakes. This enormous recreation area provides opportunities for all kinds of water sports, as well as camping, hiking, fishing and hunting activities. We all take it for granted, but a lot of people come from a long way to go there.
I hope this has helped you. I really feel like you will have to be here for a while in order to even discover all the things I've mentioned. It is a very friendly community, and people will be very helpful to you with things if you will only ask. It is a pretty big town, but it is not a place where you will feel like a stranger for long. You will find that people will remember you, even if it is just the clerk at the grocery store where you shop every week. Good luck and welcome to Paducah!! Hope you love it!
I have the name of a realtor team (husband/wife) who were WONDERFUL to show me several homes when I was in town this October. I would be happy to share their names if you want to email me.
I grew up in VA, moved to OH, then Paducah KY, and currently live in MO. I mean no offense to any Paducah residents, but it is far from desirable. I lived there for two years and worked in the mall which by the way is at the top of their list of local attractions. For the most part people are not friendly, and their education is limited. I also attended school at West Kentucky Community and Technical College where I managed to make friends with a total of three people all from different states who share my opinion. Downtown is beautiful the first few times you see it, but a wall of paintings can only be interesting once. I am young so I found that there wasn't much to do. Apartments are over priced and there are not many places that would be suitable for Oscar the Grouch! I rented a duplex for $650 that was 2 bedrooms 1 bath off of old hwy 60 about 5 mins away from the heart of Paducah. The property managers were extremely difficult to work with and I left to move to MO after only a few months. I hate to be so negative, but I want you to get an honest opinion even if it isn't the one you want. Paducah is tolerable, but I would not plan on making it my home.
I grew up in VA, moved to OH, then Paducah KY, and currently live in MO. I mean no offense to any Paducah residents, but it is far from desirable. I lived there for two years and worked in the mall which by the way is at the top of their list of local attractions. For the most part people are not friendly, and their education is limited. I also attended school at West Kentucky Community and Technical College where I managed to make friends with a total of three people all from different states who share my opinion. Downtown is beautiful the first few times you see it, but a wall of paintings can only be interesting once. I am young so I found that there wasn't much to do. Apartments are over priced and there are not many places that would be suitable for Oscar the Grouch! I rented a duplex for $650 that was 2 bedrooms 1 bath off of old hwy 60 about 5 mins away from the heart of Paducah. The property managers were extremely difficult to work with and I left to move to MO after only a few months. I hate to be so negative, but I want you to get an honest opinion even if it isn't the one you want. Paducah is tolerable, but I would not plan on making it my home.
This has not been my experience in Paducah, I've found many very well educated people and very friendly people to boot. Plenty to do if you just look around and I wouldn't call the Mall the major attraction, there are many other attractions in the area.
OMGosh, I thought L-ville was the livin' end until I get a load of Paducah! What a cool place! And don't be hard on WolfX, this poster is very young, and they tend to like a more happenin' place!!! I'm old and wore out and the idea of just sitting around staring at the KY beauty is very exciting to me!
Is there a farmers' market in Paducah? Anyone know?
Yes there is one in nearly every Western KY town.
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Re:HELP!!!!
