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Long post warning. Yes, this is the third or fourth post I’ve made on CD like this as we’ve considered Northwest Arkansas, North Carolina, and “where in the country should we move to?”
My partner and I want to retire somewhere in the next year or two. Sell our house and buy a cheaper home somewhere quieter and less hot and crowded than central Austin TX where we’ve been for decades. We’ve lived in the Northeast and in Alaska, and been in Texas long enough to be familiar with weather and cultures different from Austin. Been reading posts here and doing other research about Louisville and Lexington, now I’m ready to make my own post.
I’ve been researching Louisville and Lexington, and a friend mentioned Berea as well. Have never been to KY but we’ll have the opportunity to stop and visit for a bit this March on a road trip back from Asheville NC (another place on our list but maybe too pricey now). Suggestions on where to look? Here’s what we are looking for -- I figure more info is better than not enough so here ya go!
HOUSE WANTS:
- Under $450k (maybe $500k, depends on Austin market when we sell)
- Quiet, smallish single family, one to five acres of land, half acre OK if the lot is private/treed. Dream house is 1000-1200 sq ft on 3-5 acres, fence-able for dog, wooded, stream, place to garden, garage/shop ... but I don't expect to find that unicorn, with our other criteria.
- Within a 20-25 minute drive of classes/activities (college continuing ed, makerspace/friendly hackerspace, fitness, yoga…) and hardware stores, good grocery stores with healthy food.
- 20-25 minute drive to small local specialty stores for possible PT work
- Reasonably accessible in the winter if it gets icy regularly: not on unmaintained rural winding mountain roads, or with a long steep driveway
- Not by stinky air, like from nearby industrial chicken/livestock farms or manufacturing
AREA LANDSCAPE/OUTDOORS:
- Greenery, formal and informal open space (i.e., parks and empty lots), close to un-crowded, low traffic places to walk and hike
- Hills and trees rather than rolling expanses of green or prairie (Yes, I know KY isn’t the prairie, and there is a lot of pastureland)
- Space between homes, or at least privacy where everyone doesn’t always see/hear their neighbors from their yard/house
- Mountains, wilderness, forests, rivers and lakes within 30-60 minute drive for longer trips
COMMUNITY:
- Tolerant. We are lefty and gay but we don't need to live in a blue bubble, I'm fine with live-and-let-live political differences. Not fine with aggressive or mean spirited in-your-face politics.
- A college is great, for classes/events, community education, and maybe a few other liberals. Free classes for seniors would be a plus.
- Cultural events (convenient access to shows, music, a few local restaurants/bars etc.) We don’t go out much but want to be able to without driving 30 minutes each way.
- Low-ish population density (not the 3833 people/square mile in Austin)
- Some racial diversity (preferably not >90% white).
- An active senior community would be nice but not essential, we do good with all ages but now that we are old I realize old people are “my people” and more interesting than I thought when I was a young person.
- Prefer not to be in a major tourist destination. Of course people want to visit anywhere nice but unavoidable throngs of tourists gets tiring.
- Don’t really care about overall crime. We are city savvy and know how to avoid it as long as we don’t live in the middle of a high crime neighborhood
WEATHER:
- Some sun during most seasons. (i.e., no long dreary Pacific Northwest or Pittsburgh winters)
- No lengthy extreme seasons. Hot and humid in the summer for a couple of months is fine, just not the hellish humid six months of 95-100+ degrees that Austin has now, where it is still 85 degrees at midnight. Winter snow/ice is okay, in moderate amounts/duration, if houses are built for it!
HEALTHCARE:
- I know we should care more but we really don’t. I guess some local basic health services, practitioners, and urgent care, and within an hour of more complete medical services. Acupuncture in the area would be a big plus!
Thanks to anyone who read all this; looking forward to suggestions.
Go west! Western Kentucky, that is! lol I'm in Mayfield, about 30 miles from the Mississippi River, 20-25 miles from the Ohio and the Tennessee rivers, and maybe 15-20 from the Tennessee state line. My step daughter and her family lived near Cadiz, close to Lake Barkley. When they moved there in 2010, they bought a 3 BR, 2 bath house, with a full basement on 12 acres for $140K. They sold it in 2020 for $195K. Cadiz is fairly centrally located. It's about an hour to an hour and a half from Nashville, Tn. and about an hour or a little less from Paducah. Every October, Cadiz is packed for everybody coming to the Country Ham Festival. https://hamfestival.com/https://hamfestival.com/
As far as the outdoors part, the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, is 170,000 acres between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, with over 100 miles of hiking and biking trails. you won't find any stores, towns, gas stations, anything in those 170,000 acres. The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) forced landowners off their land when they constructed Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River and Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River. https://landbetweenthelakes.us/ https://www.explorekentuckylake.com/
On the other side of the lakes is Murray, Ky., home of Murray State University. https://www.murraystate.edu/
You can take classes any time at any age. Plenty of good concerts and shows on campus. Wish I was there tonight to watch the Harlem Globetrotters. Only seen them 25 or 30 times in my 67 years. lol https://www.tourmurray.com/
If you're interested in quilts, Paducah is home to the National Quilting Museum. https://quiltmuseum.org/
Quilt week is held twice a year bringing thousands of quilters from around the world to Paducah and western Ky. Paducah has an awesome arts area near down town, which is something to check out itself. Murals on the floodwall along the Ohio River show how the town was settled and how it grew through the years. https://paducahky.gov/departments/th...and-lower-town https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti..._Kentucky.html
For the medical care, It wouldn't bother me to go to any of the bigger hospitals in the area. Jackson Purchase in Mayfield, Lourdes and Western Baptist in Paducah, Murray-Calloway County, Jenny Stuart in Hopkinsville, anywhere. Some of the best care you will find. I know because I'm visiting Mayfield and Paducah after lymph node cancer surgery 2 weeks ago and recovery going on now. Being old and sick sucks! lol
I have a little trivia for this area. Across the river from Paducah is Metropolis, Illinois. Metropolis lays claim to being the home of Superman. The reason for this is there is no other town of Superman in the US. There is a huge Superman statue downtown and a bronze statue of Lois Lane a few blocks away and a Superman museum. The Superman Festival is held every spring I think. https://supermuseum.com/ https://www.enjoyillinois.com/explor...perman-statue/
I'm with you on the "live and let live" on politics. I have quite a few friends I have unfollowed on Facebook because that's all they ever talk about. I know how I feel and know you're not going to change my mind, and I'm pretty sure I know how the other person feels and I'm not going to try to change their minds.
Kentucky has 120 different counties and I feel there's something for somebody in at least one of them. Hope you check out more than just the Louisville/Lexington area. This is an awesome state.
What western KY lacks and which the OP desires is to have hills and a reasonable distance to mountains. It's flat, still lovely but flat.
I get it. After living in Florida as a kid, I never again want to live where it's flat. Topography was important to me when choosing where to find a new home in KY.
Last edited by marino760; 01-24-2024 at 05:49 AM..
I ended up in a small town pretty much on the border of the Blue Grass region and Appalachia on the Ohio River. Both Cincinnati and Lexington are a little over 60 miles from where I live.
I think the Berea area would be a good place for you to start looking. It checks off a lot of what's on your list.
Spend 2+ plus days in Berea. And at least a day around Richmond. And if you like them well enough, look for property outside Richmond. To split difference between Lexington, Berea and hill country access. Berea is too far from Lexington if you want frequent, fairly short trips to Lexington. I don't know if you'd find Berea touristy but living within easy range would be different than real close. Prices around Richmond might be pretty good relatively speaking to Lexington or maybe Berea. Check real estate sites in advance.
Maybe look east of Richmond if you want more rural, closer to hill country.
Long post warning. Yes, this is the third or fourth post I’ve made on CD like this as we’ve considered Northwest Arkansas, North Carolina, and “where in the country should we move to?”
My partner and I want to retire somewhere in the next year or two. Sell our house and buy a cheaper home somewhere quieter and less hot and crowded than central Austin TX where we’ve been for decades. We’ve lived in the Northeast and in Alaska, and been in Texas long enough to be familiar with weather and cultures different from Austin. Been reading posts here and doing other research about Louisville and Lexington, now I’m ready to make my own post.
I’ve been researching Louisville and Lexington, and a friend mentioned Berea as well. Have never been to KY but we’ll have the opportunity to stop and visit for a bit this March on a road trip back from Asheville NC (another place on our list but maybe too pricey now). Suggestions on where to look? Here’s what we are looking for -- I figure more info is better than not enough so here ya go!
HOUSE WANTS:
- Under $450k (maybe $500k, depends on Austin market when we sell)
- Quiet, smallish single family, one to five acres of land, half acre OK if the lot is private/treed. Dream house is 1000-1200 sq ft on 3-5 acres, fence-able for dog, wooded, stream, place to garden, garage/shop ... but I don't expect to find that unicorn, with our other criteria.
- Within a 20-25 minute drive of classes/activities (college continuing ed, makerspace/friendly hackerspace, fitness, yoga…) and hardware stores, good grocery stores with healthy food.
- 20-25 minute drive to small local specialty stores for possible PT work
- Reasonably accessible in the winter if it gets icy regularly: not on unmaintained rural winding mountain roads, or with a long steep driveway
- Not by stinky air, like from nearby industrial chicken/livestock farms or manufacturing
AREA LANDSCAPE/OUTDOORS:
- Greenery, formal and informal open space (i.e., parks and empty lots), close to un-crowded, low traffic places to walk and hike
- Hills and trees rather than rolling expanses of green or prairie (Yes, I know KY isn’t the prairie, and there is a lot of pastureland)
- Space between homes, or at least privacy where everyone doesn’t always see/hear their neighbors from their yard/house
- Mountains, wilderness, forests, rivers and lakes within 30-60 minute drive for longer trips
COMMUNITY:
- Tolerant. We are lefty and gay but we don't need to live in a blue bubble, I'm fine with live-and-let-live political differences. Not fine with aggressive or mean spirited in-your-face politics.
- A college is great, for classes/events, community education, and maybe a few other liberals. Free classes for seniors would be a plus.
- Cultural events (convenient access to shows, music, a few local restaurants/bars etc.) We don’t go out much but want to be able to without driving 30 minutes each way.
- Low-ish population density (not the 3833 people/square mile in Austin)
- Some racial diversity (preferably not >90% white).
- An active senior community would be nice but not essential, we do good with all ages but now that we are old I realize old people are “my people” and more interesting than I thought when I was a young person.
- Prefer not to be in a major tourist destination. Of course people want to visit anywhere nice but unavoidable throngs of tourists gets tiring.
- Don’t really care about overall crime. We are city savvy and know how to avoid it as long as we don’t live in the middle of a high crime neighborhood
WEATHER:
- Some sun during most seasons. (i.e., no long dreary Pacific Northwest or Pittsburgh winters)
- No lengthy extreme seasons. Hot and humid in the summer for a couple of months is fine, just not the hellish humid six months of 95-100+ degrees that Austin has now, where it is still 85 degrees at midnight. Winter snow/ice is okay, in moderate amounts/duration, if houses are built for it!
HEALTHCARE:
- I know we should care more but we really don’t. I guess some local basic health services, practitioners, and urgent care, and within an hour of more complete medical services. Acupuncture in the area would be a big plus!
Thanks to anyone who read all this; looking forward to suggestions.
Hi! to the Kentucky forum here at City Data.
Quote:
- A college is great, for classes/events, community education, and maybe a few other liberals. Free classes for seniors would be a plus.
Kentucky offers free college classes for Seniors.
Quote:
The state of Kentucky offers a unique opportunity for students who are 65 years or older to take a select number of classes for free at any state-supported institution within the Commonwealth. https://louisville.edu/admissions/ap...itizen-student
Quote:
- Cultural events (convenient access to shows, music, a few local restaurants/bars etc.) We don’t go out much but want to be able to without driving 30 minutes each way.
Both Louisville and Lexington have a lot to offer in this venue. I am sure other cities in Kentucky probably do too.
Quote:
AREA LANDSCAPE/OUTDOORS:
- Greenery, formal and informal open space (i.e., parks and empty lots), close to un-crowded, low traffic places to walk and hike
- Hills and trees rather than rolling expanses of green or prairie (Yes, I know KY isn’t the prairie, and there is a lot of pastureland)
- Space between homes, or at least privacy where everyone doesn’t always see/hear their neighbors from their yard/house
- Mountains, wilderness, forests, rivers and lakes within 30-60 minute drive for longer trips
Kentucky really excels in this area. There is so much natural beauty.
Louisville has some gorgeous parks, plus is close to Bernheim Forest, Taylorsville Lake and many others.
Lexington has Raven Run, the Arboretum, nice city parks and walking/biking trails. And its not that far to head out to Red River Gorge, Daniel Boone forest, Natural Bridge, etc.
Taylorsville Lake
Oh, yeah there is always something going on in Louisville or Lexington.
Lots of concerts, shows, festivals.
^Rupp Arena
Louisville has Freedom Hall, Actors Theatre, Kentucky Center for the Arts, Thunder over Louisville and others.
I haven't lived in Louisville since the 80's, but they always seem to have a festival every week, plus Derby events (and it's not all about horses!), Thunder over Louisville, Shakespeare in Central Park,
I remember watching free movies in Iroquois Park, under the stars, etc.
Last edited by Crazee Cat Lady; 01-26-2024 at 08:45 PM..
In addition to Berea, I would suggest you look at Danville and Richmond. They are both close to Lexington and Louisville and thus have acces to a lot of things you wouldn't see in a small town/city. Both are college towns and have cultural attractions that go with that. They check off a lot of the boxes who have.
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