I'm here in Eastern KY for 2 days- anywhere specific I should looknat houses? (Somerset: water heater, schools)

[hogsrus]

I hear Florida and Texas are really nice...

[phoenix02]

Hogsrus- I'm sure they are, but I am escaping the desert, not to go to another desert or a tropical environment.

Kinda surprising to me, in other posts I've read of yours you do much to defend and honor the EKY region which is often put down for reasons out of the control of the locals. I expected more of a response from you to my experience along the lines of, "yes. We have some bad apples here, like everywhere, but don't let it get you down on the whole region. Most of us aren't like that." Instead, you encourage me to look elsewhere, in a way supprting my supposition of the character of the region- ie, if I don't like the idea of thievery, I should stay out of where the thieves are.

Do please forgive me if I am reading far too deeply into your reply, it's been a rather difficult couple weeks getting here. I would indeed appreciate any constructive advice you could provide. Tomorrow I'm heading up NE of Lexington to look at some properties.

[hogsrus]

Originally Posted by phoenix02

Hogsrus- I'm sure they are, but I am escaping the desert, not to go to another desert or a tropical environment.

Kinda surprising to me, in other posts I've read of yours you do much to defend and honor the EKY region which is often put down for reasons out of the control of the locals. I expected more of a response from you to my experience along the lines of, "yes. We have some bad apples here, like everywhere, but don't let it get you down on the whole region. Most of us aren't like that." Instead, you encourage me to look elsewhere, in a way supprting my supposition of the character of the region- ie, if I don't like the idea of thievery, I should stay out of where the thieves are.

Do please forgive me if I am reading far too deeply into your reply, it's been a rather difficult couple weeks getting here. I would indeed appreciate any constructive advice you could provide. Tomorrow I'm heading up NE of Lexington to look at some properties.

I've had some rather difficult experiences myself of late. At this point in time it's best that I keep them to myself, all I can say is good luck, and as you indicated earlier, you are a religious man, God bless you.


hogs

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Well, even though I am from the Lexington area, I will tell you that most people that I have met from Eastern Kentucky are some of the nicest, most honest people that I have ever met. Don't let finding one bad apple spoil you on the whole area.

But that being said welcome to the Central part of Kentucky should you decide to move here, the people are really nice here too.

I left my wallet at a walmart supercenter once here in Lexington, realized it went back over an hour later and they had it, a customer had turned it in, and nothing at all was stolen from it. But I know that I was lucky, not everyone in a city will be honest.

I use to work as a cashier in a store and people would find wallets all the time, and 9 times out of 10 they still had the money, credit cards etc still in the wallet. So there are honest people and dishonest people everywhere....I don't think one region or place has a monopoly over another.

My husband use use to be a police officer in Baltimore, and for awhile worked the inner harbor area of the city.
Lots of tourist would visit there. He said every night they would check the garbage cans there because they would find at 4 or 5 wallets every night. (One day a lady came in to claim her wallet, she was all happy that they had found it, but when opening it and her money was gone, try to blame the police for stealing her money!!! And no it was not the police who stole her money!!! And just because someone in the city might lift or steal wallets, I am sure there a million more people there who wouldn't.

But there are some inspiring stories out there too....one day a lady came to the register at the store that I worked at, and realized she didn't have her wallet, she wasn't sure if she left it at home or lost it. The man behind her pulled out cash and insisted on paying her total. He was a member of Southland Christian Church...the lady was a regular customer of ours later she came in and was saying how kind he was....she sent him the money he gave her plus a whole lot more (her husband was a local Doctor and they were well off...)

You can't judge the heart of a community or it's citizen's by the bad actions and misdeeds of one of the citizens, because often there are a treasure trove of other goodhearted people who would give you the shirt off of their backs if you needed it.

I can understand why this was so disheartening for you though. It can really hurt when people do unkind things to you, that they wouldn't like someone else doing to them. (And I consider seventy dollars a lot of money also!)

Sorry I went off rambling so much!

But smile, don't be discouraged, I am sure you will find the home that you are looking for.
Stay safe, and don't be discouraged.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Originally Posted by recycled

If you dropped your wallet getting out of the car before entering into the grocery store, how did you pay for the groceries at the check out counter?

OK, so maybe somebody turned the wallet into the store counter while you were shopping? That would be a small miracle to be very thankful for in any place, with or without the cash left inside. $70 is peanuts compared to the massive hassle of having to cancel all your credit and debit cards, replace lost drivers license and insurance cards, etc, etc. Especially being far from home. For this peanuts amount, you cast aside all the people of an entire region? Wow, just wow.

I do understand what you are saying. A family member lost their wallet once, and getting drivers licenses, credit cards, debit card, insurance cards replaced was a total nightmare. And I do concur that someone shouldn't cast aside an entire region because of the actions of one person. Every region has at least one person like that, usually many more....doesn't mean everyone is like that. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole batch.

[phoenix02]

Hogs- again, sorry for being so forward, I didn't mean to be combatant with you. I hope your times will get better and things work out, whatever you're going through. I know you don't know me, but if you'd like to PM me any specifics, I'm happy to pray for whatever you're dealing with directly. God hears our prayers regardless if we know exactly what we're praying for, but sometimes it helps to know people are praying exactly for what you're going through. :-) Take heart.

Cat lady, thank you for the encouragement. We've been dealing with a lot to get to where we are now. East/ Central KY has been the "promised land" for us for a while now, to get out of California, so it just struck me hard, on top of the difficulties I've faced getting here, to "meet my hero" as it were and find out its not quite as good as all my hopes and dreams. A little deflating. That said, it is such a blessing to be here! I drove around all day, a good 150 miles or so, all back country roads looking around and it was so amazingly beautiful! I had a little dash cam set up to record my trip so I can show my wife and daughters when I get back to California what we're working towards.

On a lighter note, I was looking at a house online I was going to go check out tomorrow- its perfect, good land, big shop space, spacious house... then I realized it's an Amish home without electricity or running water. A real shame- they are asking $249k, which is the absolute tip top of my budget, so I wouldn't have anything left over to run the electrical and plumbing, unfortunately. Kinda funny the "little details" you miss looking at houses online.

Our home is out there, I just have to keep looking. :-)

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Oh yeah in some of the smaller towns especially you see a lot of Amish people.
I can see where you might want electricity and running water though, lol!


Hoping that you and Hogs see better days and things get better for you both.
Good Luck in your house hunting. I am sure you are going to find the perfect home.
Maybe when you least expect it.

[wrightflyer]

If you don't find anything on this visit, I suggest looking further afield from Lexington. Not sure how far NE you are looking today, but Montgomery County (Mt. Sterling area), Rowan County (Morehead area) and Fleming County (Flemingsburg area) are nice. Lots of cattle farms (I have a cousin who owns two). Nice people and friendly, though I hear some smaller towns may be insular when it comes to newcomers.

Mt. Sterling may be the best bet for newer residents, as this puts you within an hour of Lexington (which has a major teaching hospital at UK). Or Morehead with its state university in town. Lots of scenic areas, especially around Cave Run Lake in the southern portions of Rowan County. If you need to be closer to a major city or airport, the areas west of Lexington between Shelbyville and Frankfort may be a good choice too.

[marino760]

As long as we're looking at possibly NE of Lexington, Maysville in Mason County is worth a mention. Population of the town is less than 9000, but is the county seat, has a 100 bed hospital and is the medical center for the surrounding counties, has a few big box stores including Lowes, sits on the beautiful Ohio River and is surrounded by rolling hills, farmland and old farm houses on acreage. The town is nicely located at the edge of the Blue Grass area and Appalachia and is very historic. The distance to both Lexington and Cincinnati is about an hours drive. It's very nice to have an option of using both airports. I moved here from out of state just less than a year ago and couldn't be happier with my choice.

[rlw366]

Originally Posted by marino760

As long as we're looking at possibly NE of Lexington, Maysville in Mason County is worth a mention. Population of the town is less than 9000, but is the county seat, has a 100 bed hospital and is the medical center for the surrounding counties, has a few big box stores including Lowes, sits on the beautiful Ohio River and is surrounded by rolling hills, farmland and old farm houses on acreage. The town is nicely located at the edge of the Blue Grass area and Appalachia and is very historic. The distance to both Lexington and Cincinnati is about an hours drive. It's very nice to have an option of using both airports. I moved here from out of state just less than a year ago and couldn't be happier with my choice.

I second Maysville in Mason County. I also like Bracken County (I own property there) which is the next county going west. Both are along the Ohio River and easy drive to Cincinnati and Lexington. Both are "comfortable" places. Bracken county has Augusta which is my favorite KY small town....