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Good afternoon people of City Data. First. I'd like to extend my condolences for the tornado you guys just went through. We're writing to you from the Garden State. A little about us. I'm 43f and he's 55m, no kids, one disabled cat, car people with classics, I love to garden and he loves working on cars.
We were planning on taking a road trip this spring to get the lay of the land and see if we can find a new place to call home in Kentucky or Tennesse, but with the way things are these days, its looking more like it's going to be a road trip to one location to see homes and go on job interviews. We've been researching all the major cities, and the Louisville area keeps drawing us in. There are a few things that I'm finding that are really contradictory and I'm hoping that you guys can answer some of my questions.
The crime rate. I'm seeing articles that would lead one to believe that Louisville is heading to full Detroit, but I'm also seeing a bunch of progress that says otherwise. The bad neighborhoods in Detroit don't have homes with flower gardens and speed bumps in the road. You guys do. We watched all the videos that guy Chris uploaded and even in what he was claiming to be the worst neighborhoods, I saw just that. And even more so when I take a drive around a neighborhood on Google earth. It seems like you're going through a revival and we're excited to get in early. Am I reading this correctly?
Employment. Do any of you work at one of those warehouses or factories there? What's it like? How have the recent hires been? Is there a place for a hard working 55 year old or is that too old to be starting out as a newbie there? What about small business? His specialty is Corian countertops, but he can do just about anything. He's certified to drive a forklift and can drive commercial vehicles. All the jobs on indeed and the like seem to match his skill set, but I'm hoping to get some inside info about where to avoid or if you like your job and want him there. It's tough to get a read on everything with the national employment situation. I'll be looking for a small part time job once we're settled. He's the primary bread winner, so finding him a job has to happen before we move.
Socially. We're not your typical New Jersey people. We live in what's lovingly called the Pennsyltucky region of the Northeast. It's the area within a 75 mile or so radius of where NY/NJ/PA meet. We do our grocery shopping at Walmart, listen to country, proudly fly an American flag on our home, respect the constitution and the bill of rights, keep a clean yard, drive the speed limit in the neighborhood, and are friendly and outgoing (I've been known to get involved in long conversations with strangers in the milk aisle). We always thought we were Jersey conservatives, but over the last two years, Rand Paul and Tom Masse have shown us that we're Kentucky conservative libertarians. We're looking forward to being surrounded by people that voted for them and are looking forward to assimilating. I know you can't speak for everyone, but, in general, is everyone ok with taking a new neighbor under their wing and showing them the ropes as far as how the neighborhood operates? I'm not talking about when to put the garbage out, I'm taking about the unwritten rules, like stuff regarding parking and quiet time. And if we start going to car shows, are people generally welcoming?
Keeping Kentucky as it is. You guys seem to have done an excellent job so far in keeping Kentucky what it is that made it great to live in to begin with. It seems like you've kept the government small, taxes low and neighborhoods small and local. But I'm worried that with all the people moving in there from places like mine, it'll change for the worst. See, here in Pennsyltucky, it's always been bucolic mountain landscapes and small vacation homes on nice clean lakes, but over the last 15 years or so, it's become an overdeveloped nightmare. All kinds of giant condos have gone up, people are converting basements and garages into apartments and adding floors to thier homes, blocking the sunlight from their neighbors homes, putting all kinds of stress and strain on the infrastructure. Some of the neighborhoods around here, you can barely drive down the road because of the amount of cars parked on it due to the fact that there are 3, sometimes 4 families living in a raised ranch that was built as a single family home and it only has parking for such. Our roads in general have never been worse and the power goes out when a squirrel farts near a power line. We've tried to fight back here and vote the right people in office, but to no avail. If that kind of development starts happening, will there be significant enough pushback to stop it in it's tracks. We're hoping to rent a small home in Shivley for a year and look for a place to buy while we get to know the area better. We'd hate to start establishing ourselves and find a construction crew nextdoor and the next thing we know, we're right back where we started. We do believe that people have the right to do what they want on their own property, but we know that there has to be some limits.
I'm really looking forward to your responses. And I apologize if I'm coming off as cranky or whiny. The last few years here have been rough and it's changing us. We've generally happy and kind people. We're looking forward to getting outta here and finding that person again.
Shivley is a rough part of Louisville… as in I avoid driving in that part. The west side of Louisville is not really a desirable place to live and to my knowledge there is no revival or gentrification going on over there.
Louisville is the only part of Kentucky that reliably votes Democrat and if you are looking for Paul or Masse’s Kentucky, Louisville is not it. The Metro government and school system are as urban big city run as the state will allow them to get away with. The state legislature literally had to pass law to make them open the schools back up in person last year months after most of the state was already back. There have been riots there and while they haven’t been as destructive as most cities that had them there is still a reason they have happened.
Is there a particular reason why you are focused on Louisville? Don’t get me wrong, Louisville is a fine home for most people looking to mover there so I only ask this because what you write about yourself does not seem to mesh less with the city’s vibe. I would think any place else in Kentucky would appear more along the lines of what you are looking for culture wise.
And, dear God, why Shivley?
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Shivley is a rough part of Louisville… as in I avoid driving in that part. The west side of Louisville is not really a desirable place to live and to my knowledge there is no revival or gentrification going on over there.
Louisville is the only part of Kentucky that reliably votes Democrat and if you are looking for Paul or Masse’s Kentucky, Louisville is not it. The Metro government and school system are as urban big city run as the state will allow them to get away with. The state legislature literally had to pass law to make them open the schools back up in person last year months after most of the state was already back. There have been riots there and while they haven’t been as destructive as most cities that had them there is still a reason they have happened.
Is there a particular reason why you are focused on Louisville? Don’t get me wrong, Louisville is a fine home for most people looking to mover there so I only ask this because what you write about yourself does not seem to mesh less with the city’s vibe. I would think any place else in Kentucky would appear more along the lines of what you are looking for culture wise.
And, dear God, why Shivley?
When I read the original post, that was my thoughts exactly.
I didn't comment, because I haven't lived in Louisville since the 1980's.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,462,489 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady
OP have you ever thought about relocating to Bowling Green, Paducah,Covington, Owensboro?
Just in terms of car culture stereotypically I think of Bowling Green (NHRA race track) and Owensboro (hometown of several NASCAR drivers in past). Around Louisville the Indiana side has way more classic cars than the KY side. Louisville does have the massive street rod car show in late summer.
In order to answer your questions, I have to start by explaining some things without turning this into a therapy session. I'm basically a medical refugee at this point. I had a small issue that would have been fine had I been able to get an outpatient procedure when it first started 3 years ago but it's gotten slowly worse over time and the way things are here, it'll be years before I'm able to get in. It's not in life threatening, but it's destroying my quality of life.
The whole Northeast is a sinking ship right now. It's taken our hopes and dreams for the future with it. We're desperate for a life raft. Louisville is the closest one that's the easiest to swim to.
We're trying to be pragmatic about this move and what everything come down to is the money we'll be saving. I'm seeing nice rental houses with a garage, front and back yards and a small porch or deck to sit on for around $8-900 a month and jobs paying more per hour than we're making here. Our COL could be reduced by up to 75⁵%. We aren't necessarily seeing this as our forever home either, more of a place to get our bearings and find a new future. Since it'll be so inexpensive to live there, we can put money away and go exploring around the deep south to find our new forever home. Stuff like car shows and going out to eat are secondary to getting my health back and putting some breathing room back in the bank.
So tell me how bad can it really be? It can't be worse that what we've already lived though. He was raised in Jersey City in the 70s and I was raised on the lower east side of Manhattan in the 80s. It doesn't matter how affluent or not the neighborhood here in Jersey is. It's the same thing with cops carrying Naloxone and crime all over. I mean, at least you guys are able to carry. That old man with a gun at the restaurant seemed to cam down the riots there almost instantly. Here, I kid you not, if someone breaks into my house, rapes and beats me and leaves me for dead and winds up tripping over the coffee table and breaks his arm on the way out I can get sued by him. Yes. You read that right. The intruder can sue a homeowner or renter if they get hurt after braking into you home. And people here illegally get a pass if they're pulled over. There are so many hit and runs and accidents with fatilties and all kinds of insanity on the road that we haven't felt safe taking our classic out for 3 years. At least Louisville, as Old Hag said, is reined in by the state so the more extreme craziness is kept to a minimum. And your roads. My god. All smooth and flat. No giant potholes. I have to wear a Reliefband just to go get some milk at the convenience store cause the potholes make me motion sick!
I don't know. Maybe I have rose tinted glasses here. Maybe the money saved won't be worth it. Maybe we'll move and our car will be stolen the first night and everything will be worse than it is here. Or. Maybe we'll move and the neighbor on the other side of the alley will see our car and invite us over for a beer the first night and the next thing we know. We have all kinds of friends and we'll joke that we shouldn't have over because we never have time to ourselves cause we're always out with friends.
In order to answer your questions, I have to start by explaining some things without turning this into a therapy session. I'm basically a medical refugee at this point. I had a small issue that would have been fine had I been able to get an outpatient procedure when it first started 3 years ago but it's gotten slowly worse over time and the way things are here, it'll be years before I'm able to get in. It's not in life threatening, but it's destroying my quality of life.
The whole Northeast is a sinking ship right now. It's taken our hopes and dreams for the future with it. We're desperate for a life raft. Louisville is the closest one that's the easiest to swim to.
We're trying to be pragmatic about this move and what everything come down to is the money we'll be saving. I'm seeing nice rental houses with a garage, front and back yards and a small porch or deck to sit on for around $8-900 a month and jobs paying more per hour than we're making here. Our COL could be reduced by up to 75⁵%. We aren't necessarily seeing this as our forever home either, more of a place to get our bearings and find a new future. Since it'll be so inexpensive to live there, we can put money away and go exploring around the deep south to find our new forever home. Stuff like car shows and going out to eat are secondary to getting my health back and putting some breathing room back in the bank.
So tell me how bad can it really be? It can't be worse that what we've already lived though. He was raised in Jersey City in the 70s and I was raised on the lower east side of Manhattan in the 80s. It doesn't matter how affluent or not the neighborhood here in Jersey is. It's the same thing with cops carrying Naloxone and crime all over. I mean, at least you guys are able to carry. That old man with a gun at the restaurant seemed to cam down the riots there almost instantly. Here, I kid you not, if someone breaks into my house, rapes and beats me and leaves me for dead and winds up tripping over the coffee table and breaks his arm on the way out I can get sued by him. Yes. You read that right. The intruder can sue a homeowner or renter if they get hurt after braking into you home. And people here illegally get a pass if they're pulled over. There are so many hit and runs and accidents with fatilties and all kinds of insanity on the road that we haven't felt safe taking our classic out for 3 years. At least Louisville, as Old Hag said, is reined in by the state so the more extreme craziness is kept to a minimum. And your roads. My god. All smooth and flat. No giant potholes. I have to wear a Reliefband just to go get some milk at the convenience store cause the potholes make me motion sick!
I don't know. Maybe I have rose tinted glasses here. Maybe the money saved won't be worth it. Maybe we'll move and our car will be stolen the first night and everything will be worse than it is here. Or. Maybe we'll move and the neighbor on the other side of the alley will see our car and invite us over for a beer the first night and the next thing we know. We have all kinds of friends and we'll joke that we shouldn't have over because we never have time to ourselves cause we're always out with friends.
Why Shively though? You can lower your COL in many areas of the city. Indiana has similar leanings and the city of New Albany is up and coming and isn't as liberal leaning within super close proximity to Louisville if you need the hospitals.
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