Louisville, KY/Indiana Line (Ashland, Albany: sales, apartments, rent)

[MOBee]

I am considering a job in Louisville, KY and have noticed that the rents on the other side of the river are just a tad lower. Since I don't have kids in the house anymore, school districts and the like are not a concern. What are the disadvantages and advantages to working in Louisville and living in IN? What are the sales taxes in both, what does it cost to tag a pickup truck and a civic and what are the income taxes in both states?

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by MOBee

I am considering a job in Louisville, KY and have noticed that the rents on the other side of the river are just a tad lower. Since I don't have kids in the house anymore, school districts and the like are not a concern. What are the disadvantages and advantages to working in Louisville and living in IN? What are the sales taxes in both, what does it cost to tag a pickup truck and a civic and what are the income taxes in both states?

One major disadvantage with living in Indiana is crossing the bridge every morning on the commute. That right there would keep me out of Indiana.

To be honest, there is really nothing that IN offers that I would say is better than Louisville. Even with the rents you can find decent places in town for the same price as in Indiana.

There is a usage tax on cars in KY once you register them here. Usually you will get credit for that if you paid sales tax in another state. There is also a personal property tax on cars here.

[tomocox]

Based upon the great work of Mitch Daniels, Indiana has soared above Kentucky in quality of living. Daniels has put Indiana into the ranks of the best managed states while Fletcher and Beshear have both been outstanding at destroying Kentucky government to the point of being one of the bottom three.

[censusdata]

S Indiana has never done much for me. While NKY is arguably the best part of Metro Cincinnati (great suburbs, vibrant urban river towns, Fortune 500 company headquarters, a large airport) and is the place for Downtown Cincy workers to live, S IN just has more of an industrial feel to it, the suburbs are so so and there is really no nice urban neighborhoods I can think of. Bass Pro Shops and views of the skyline from Ashland Park are the only reasons Kentuckians ever cross the river.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by tomocox

Based upon the great work of Mitch Daniels, Indiana has soared above Kentucky in quality of living. Daniels has put Indiana into the ranks of the best managed states while Fletcher and Beshear have both been outstanding at destroying Kentucky government to the point of being one of the bottom three.

What need was there to bring politics into this? On a whole state basis Indiana probably outdoes Kentucky but that ain't the issue. The issue is does Southern IN outdo Louisville? Based on my observation Southern IN does not outdo Louisville. The only argument you could make is the school situation but otherwise no reason to make a bad commute moving into Indiana.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by censusdata

S Indiana has never done much for me. While NKY is arguably the best part of Metro Cincinnati (great suburbs, vibrant urban river towns, Fortune 500 company headquarters, a large airport) and is the place for Downtown Cincy workers to live, S IN just has more of an industrial feel to it, the suburbs are so so and there is really no nice urban neighborhoods I can think of. Bass Pro Shops and views of the skyline from Ashland Park are the only reasons Kentuckians ever cross the river.

You are actually quite off here. Downtown New Albany and also Jeffersonville are now thriving, viable "urban" neighborhoods. I would rank the vibrancy of downtown New Albany right with possibly Germantown or Beechmont. They are not primary urban nabes but they definitely serve a roll. Personally, Louisville offers too much to live across the bridge, but it is worth taking a look at. If you work in KY, you pay income taxes in KY regardless of where you live. But I do agree overall, the taxes and also financial shape of IN is SLIGHTLY better. Not really a reason to move there over Louisville IMO...maybe you save a few hundred dollars.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

What need was there to bring politics into this? On a whole state basis Indiana probably outdoes Kentucky but that ain't the issue. The issue is does Southern IN outdo Louisville? Based on my observation Southern IN does not outdo Louisville. The only argument you could make is the school situation but otherwise no reason to make a bad commute moving into Indiana.

I brought politics into the thread because Kentucky has done a horrific job and therefore is prone to add new taxes to cover the damage. Please note, I was bi-partisan in putting blame on both the red and the blue.

I believe that with the exception of Oldham County, all of S.Indiana blows KY schools away. (Politics) I believe that Louisville downtown is about to cost huge tax increases for Jefferson County folks and likely could include an increase in the occupational taxes to cover the huge costs of the infrastructure and even the fast food joint. (Politics) I believe the issue of the commute is affected by the delays in building the new bridges. (Politics)...

So, yes, you are correct, the question was whether to live where based on current liveability, but to not include politics is just a failure to consider all the aspects.

[MissingIndiana]

When my fiancee and I moved back down this way we looked at places on the Indiana side and honestly just couldn't find a ton of places that were in decent shape. If you were buying it would be a different story. I'd say the advantages to the Indiana side would be that one could be in a decent school district in a decent neighborhood close to downtown. New Albany and Jeffersonville do have a lot of improvements and interesting places popping up and you have all the essentials for shopping in the Clarksville area. Crossing a bridge on a weekend or later in the evening would usually not be an issue if you wanted to head into the city for an event or dinner at one of Louisville's cool restaurants or shopping at some specialty shop. The main problem would be crossing the bridges during rush hour.

I don't think the politics of the two states will have that great of an effect on your quality of life. If you do decide to look in Indiana, don't even bother with Knobs Pointe apartments in New Albany. Big places for a low price and they make it look awesome with the really cool clubhouse and the awesome views of downtown, but the actual apartments are really run down.

[MOBee]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

One major disadvantage with living in Indiana is crossing the bridge every morning on the commute. That right there would keep me out of Indiana.

To be honest, there is really nothing that IN offers that I would say is better than Louisville. Even with the rents you can find decent places in town for the same price as in Indiana.

There is a usage tax on cars in KY once you register them here. Usually you will get credit for that if you paid sales tax in another state. There is also a personal property tax on cars here.

Yes, there is a property tax on vehicles here in MO as well. (How many times do they need to tax me on the same vehicle! Grrr.)

What is the sales tax on either side of the river?

Thank you all for your assistance.

[psulions2007]

Living in S Indiana is great. Now, while I-65 and the Second Street Bridges would be a pain to cross in the mornings (unless you lived decently close), I-64 is a breeze.... but all three are a lot better than dealing with I-71, I-64 (from the east end), or I-264 in the morning... especially since you'd be traveling a longer distance.

You don't have to pay income tax in both states, and IN income tax is lower. Rent is lower, insurance is much lower, and car taxes are lower. The sales tax is 1% higher in Indiana, but it really isn't that big of a deal to do more shopping in KY.