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Old 02-01-2021, 11:33 PM
 
11 posts, read 24,119 times
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Greetings, all.

I'll be taking early retirement soon and am very keen on Kentucky. I'm a native Kansan, but the extremely cold winters and hot summers here are driving me away as I contemplate retirement.

What would be the best towns to explore for retirement in Kentucky? I prefer a smaller town (under 40,000 people if possible) where I can drive to a bigger city in 1-2 hours if I need "big city" stuff. Everyone I talk to says that overall, Kentuckians are a friendly, laidback bunch, which sounds great. I've lived in big cities, including Los Angeles, and I am NOT a big city person. Big cities stress me out, especially as I get older.

Some towns I was thinking of exploring: Madisonville, Murray, Henderson, Owensboro. But I'm open to any and all recommendations. I don't have my heart set on any one place yet.

One thing I like about Kentucky also concerns me: the rain. We don't have enough rain on the Great Plains (Kansas is getting drier and drier, noticeably so since I was a kid many years ago), but Kentucky seems to have an exceptional amount of rain. Is this more of a good thing than a bad thing?

Thanks in advance for any helpful recommendations, comments, questions.
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Old 02-02-2021, 08:03 AM
 
17,340 posts, read 11,268,717 times
Reputation: 40945
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansaswanderer View Post
Greetings, all.

I'll be taking early retirement soon and am very keen on Kentucky. I'm a native Kansan, but the extremely cold winters and hot summers here are driving me away as I contemplate retirement.

What would be the best towns to explore for retirement in Kentucky? I prefer a smaller town (under 40,000 people if possible) where I can drive to a bigger city in 1-2 hours if I need "big city" stuff. Everyone I talk to says that overall, Kentuckians are a friendly, laidback bunch, which sounds great. I've lived in big cities, including Los Angeles, and I am NOT a big city person. Big cities stress me out, especially as I get older.

Some towns I was thinking of exploring: Madisonville, Murray, Henderson, Owensboro. But I'm open to any and all recommendations. I don't have my heart set on any one place yet.

One thing I like about Kentucky also concerns me: the rain. We don't have enough rain on the Great Plains (Kansas is getting drier and drier, noticeably so since I was a kid many years ago), but Kentucky seems to have an exceptional amount of rain. Is this more of a good thing than a bad thing?

Thanks in advance for any helpful recommendations, comments, questions.
It's always good to keep an open mind. There are also nice towns around Lexington in every direction. I bought in Maysville. It's a lovely town of just under 9000. The town has two historic districts and has won several awards. It's about an hours drive to both Lexington and Cincinnati. It was also the home town of Rosemary Clooney.
KY can also have cold winters and hot summers, probably not like Kansas though. Personally, I like having hills around me. I lived in FL as a kid for a few years and the constant flat drove me batty.

Here's some additional information regarding Maysville and Mason County in case you are interested.


http://www.maysvillekentucky.com/fil...on%20Guide.pdf



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCrHS2rw5so


Maysville was #10 on most charming Southern towns on this list just a few months ago
https://bigseventravel.com/most-char...n-small-towns/

Last edited by marino760; 02-02-2021 at 08:15 AM..
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Old 02-03-2021, 12:01 AM
 
11 posts, read 24,119 times
Reputation: 44
Thank you, I will investigate Maysville.
I'm from eastern Kansas, which actually is hilly (the Smoky Hills) and not a flat prairie. It also has a microclimate where you can grow pecan trees, believe it or not. Winters are getting warmer and drier in Kansas, part of the great drying out of the Plains and the West in general.
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Old 02-03-2021, 01:10 PM
 
Location: The Bluegrass State
409 posts, read 871,896 times
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Danville is a town to look at it. I know it figures on a lot of lists of good places to retire in Kentucky.
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Old 02-03-2021, 08:58 PM
 
7,070 posts, read 16,737,144 times
Reputation: 3559
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansaswanderer View Post
Greetings, all.

I'll be taking early retirement soon and am very keen on Kentucky. I'm a native Kansan, but the extremely cold winters and hot summers here are driving me away as I contemplate retirement.

What would be the best towns to explore for retirement in Kentucky? I prefer a smaller town (under 40,000 people if possible) where I can drive to a bigger city in 1-2 hours if I need "big city" stuff. Everyone I talk to says that overall, Kentuckians are a friendly, laidback bunch, which sounds great. I've lived in big cities, including Los Angeles, and I am NOT a big city person. Big cities stress me out, especially as I get older.

Some towns I was thinking of exploring: Madisonville, Murray, Henderson, Owensboro. But I'm open to any and all recommendations. I don't have my heart set on any one place yet.

One thing I like about Kentucky also concerns me: the rain. We don't have enough rain on the Great Plains (Kansas is getting drier and drier, noticeably so since I was a kid many years ago), but Kentucky seems to have an exceptional amount of rain. Is this more of a good thing than a bad thing?

Thanks in advance for any helpful recommendations, comments, questions.
Oldham County is consistently ranked best in the state for schools and transplants. It's nice because its a Louisville suburb but feels rural. My problem with rural KY is roads and lack of medical access. Despite what people say, I work in high level travel healthcare. I can tell you the hospitals in these small towns are downright dangerous. They cannot even stent your heart or scope your stomach if bleeding. That's why looking to a small town near Louisville would be my first option, for the hospitals. You could also consider Woodford County near Lexington, but Louisville is three times the size with three times the amenities, which are nice to have near.
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Old 02-04-2021, 05:20 AM
 
11 posts, read 24,119 times
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Quality medical care access is an important point. Doctors saved my life because I happened to live a few miles from one of the country's best hospitals. Danville and Oldham County are on my "to investigate" list now. Thanks for the recommendations.
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Old 02-04-2021, 10:02 AM
 
Location: In the Pearl of the Purchase, Ky
11,085 posts, read 17,532,479 times
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I'll put in a plug for Murray and western Ky. Quite a few years ago the Murray/Kentucky Lake area was the top retirement place in the country. You'll be about 20 miles from Kentucky Lake, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and Lake Barkley. Plenty of places to enjoy being outside. My wife has back problems and can't get around much but we enjoy going to the lake and just feel the breeze and watch all the boats. The bridges across both lakes have a walking "lane" where you can walk across the lakes. I've pushed her up there with her camera for some great pictures.
As far as hospitals, there are 4 very good hospitals west of the lakes, including the Murray Calloway County Hospital. We live in Mayfield, about 25 miles north. My wife went to a neurologist for her migraines at MCC Hospital. Jackson Purchase Hospital here in Mayfield is also a very good hospital. Wife's cardiologist just moved his practice from one of the Paducah hospitals to JP. Western Baptist and Mercy Health (formerly Lourdes) in Paducah are top notch hospitals. Between the two of us, mainly my wife, we've been in both of them.
For wanting to be near cities for things to do, if you like concerts, Murray State University has good concerts every year. Well, I imagine they're all on hold with the pandemic. I grew up in the early 70s seeing the top groups there. Paducah has a concert series at the Carson Center right beside the Ohio River. If you like old quilts the National Quilt Museum is also in Paducah. Before the pandemic, Quilt Week would bring tens of thousands of quilters from around the world. And Murray is a little under 2 hours from Nashville, Tn.
Some years we get our fair share of rain, in others, the rain misses us. As far as the heat and humidity, we have plenty of both here in Ky. in the summer. You just get used to it and go on.
Wherever you decide to settle in Kentucky, I hope you find what you're looking for.

City of Murray, Kentucky
https://www.kentuckylake.com/
https://quiltmuseum.org/
https://www.murrayhospital.org/
https://www.jacksonpurchase.com/
https://www.baptisthealth.com/paducah/
https://www.mercy.com/locations/hosp...urdes-hospital
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Old 02-05-2021, 04:56 AM
 
11 posts, read 24,119 times
Reputation: 44
Wow, kygman, thanks for the detailed information. I was already interested in Murray and W. Kentucky but now even moreso. Good to know there are good hospitals nearby. Living near the lakes and a university town are both very appealing. Having a major city within driving distance (Nashville) is very convenient, too. I didn't know about the walking lanes in the bridges--that kind of reminds me of walking (actually bicycling) across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
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Old 02-05-2021, 10:24 AM
 
11 posts, read 24,119 times
Reputation: 44
Does anyone have any thoughts/opinions on Madisonville? Wondering if I should add it to be "to investigate" list as it's not that far from the LIBL area.
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Old 02-05-2021, 01:13 PM
 
Location: In the Pearl of the Purchase, Ky
11,085 posts, read 17,532,479 times
Reputation: 44409
My son lives in Madisonville and likes it there. It's a good town to raise my grand youngsters. Plenty for them to do. It's not really that close to the LBL, about an hour's drive. And Evansville, Indiana is the closest city for "big city" things, and it's about an hour north. One thing helping Madisonville is Interstate 69. 69 is being built up through Kentucky and other states. When finished it will run from near Galveston, Tx. to Michigan. It also runs by here at Mayfield.
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