[nurselily3]

I'm a northwest transplant too...been in KY for 15 years though, always will think of WA as my home.

[Benedikta]

Originally Posted by Astoria

: Could anyone please tell me the main differences, attributes between these two wonderful places. My family wants to relocate to Kentucky and both of these areas look great. I work in psych. and would welcome any comments re: employment in either of these places. Our main concerns are education and a good place for our children. We have seen the beautiful homes in both cities and can't believe the value. We are currently in the 'Great Northwest' but Kentucky looks like just what we are looking for. Thanks!

Oh man, I had to reply to this one. I've lived in Louisville for three and one half years and I can't wait to leave. I came here from Mississippi and compared to there, the people here are quite rude and closed in on themselves. The weather is damp, cold, and cloudy for about half the year, and the city itself has no type of special character or spirit. I've actually heard it called "Blahville" recently. I suppose if you are coming to Louisville from somewhere like Gary, IN this may seem a heaven on earth but otherwise don't expect much.---OK, now all y'all native Louisvillians go ahead and kill me--I know I'd hate someone if they spoke of my home like this, I just couldn't resist!!!

[Astoria]

Thank you for sharing your experience while in Louisville. It's good to hear all points of view. I am also checking out the lovely states neighboring Ky.

[brudjazz]

Originally Posted by Benedikta

Oh man, I had to reply to this one. I've lived in Louisville for three and one half years and I can't wait to leave. I came here from Mississippi and compared to there, the people here are quite rude and closed in on themselves. The weather is damp, cold, and cloudy for about half the year, and the city itself has no type of special character or spirit. I've actually heard it called "Blahville" recently. I suppose if you are coming to Louisville from somewhere like Gary, IN this may seem a heaven on earth but otherwise don't expect much.---OK, now all y'all native Louisvillians go ahead and kill me--I know I'd hate someone if they spoke of my home like this, I just couldn't resist!!!

I can understand how the weather in Kentucky would be "colder" than it is in Mississippi. No argument there. However, please allow me to ask you this. Do you have ANY IDEA what cold weather is really like? If you want to see some decent snow, then go to Massachusetts. If you really don't know what 'cold' is, take a trip to South Dakota. If you've not gotten freezer-burn there, then head on up to North Dakota. Again, I can see where you think that anywhere other than Mississippi has colder weather, but you really do need to get in your car and do some traveling.

[RealNurseWitch]

Originally Posted by Benedikta

Oh man, I had to reply to this one. I've lived in Louisville for three and one half years and I can't wait to leave. I came here from Mississippi and compared to there, the people here are quite rude and closed in on themselves. The weather is damp, cold, and cloudy for about half the year, and the city itself has no type of special character or spirit. I've actually heard it called "Blahville" recently. I suppose if you are coming to Louisville from somewhere like Gary, IN this may seem a heaven on earth but otherwise don't expect much.---OK, now all y'all native Louisvillians go ahead and kill me--I know I'd hate someone if they spoke of my home like this, I just couldn't resist!!!

You came here from WHERE? Mississippi? Ohhhh yeah, that's the entertainment and fun capital of the world, lemme tell ya. Okay, Biloxi's got a pretty good reputation, and you do have the gulf coast down there, but otherwise.... I mean, I actually can honestly see someone from Chicago or New York or Boston or even Austin saying that Louisville is boring and blah and all that. But.... MISSISSIPPI? The only thing I can see you complaining about is the weather. And our weather isn't even THAT BAD.

Sorry, but if you're gonna attack my home town, I'm gonna attack back. :hatparty:

Okay, now... that being said, lemme point out the good stuff. Louisville has lots of great city parks. Great college sports town. Downtown is booming and there's lots to do. Churchill Downs, which has just gone through a FABULOUS renovation. Slugger Field is a COOL place to watch a ballgame in the summertime, with the view of the Ohio River and the downtown skyline.
Main Street and all of it's art galleries, and there's a "Gallery Hop" on the first Friday of every month. Bardstown Road and all of it's funky-cool shops, ethnic restaurants, music shops, and general bohemian, laid back atmosphere. On a warm evening, it's fun to just walk up and down Bardstown Road and walk in all the shops, eat at one of the restaurants, stop in one of the coffee shops for an iced mocha, and just look at all the people (including the many groups of teenagers all "gothed up").

And I'll concur, it does have it's bad points. Traffic can be horrific. The weather, like I said, isn't THAT bad I don't think, but during certain times of the year (this one for instance) it can CHANGE without warning. But really, that's the case all throughout Kentucky, not just Louisville. The crime rate isn't good, but usually if you avoid the West End (all areas due west of Downtown, and due south of New Albany IN), you'll be fine. And, Louisville could use another mall or two, especially in the south end.

And I think Louisville DOES have a spirit. Having grown up there, I believe Louisville actually has a very ethnic spirit to it. The place is about 70% Catholic, and 80% of those are German-Catholics. Go to a fall festival at one of Louisville's **MANY** Catholic schools. I guarantee that you will not only have a HECK of a good time, but you will leave there believing that Louisville HAS a spirit!

(Note: I was not even raised Catholic, heheheh. I am German though.)

[Benedikta]

[quote=RealNurseWitch]You came here from WHERE? Mississippi? Ohhhh yeah, that's the entertainment and fun capital of the world, lemme tell ya. Okay, Biloxi's got a pretty good reputation, and you do have the gulf coast down there, but otherwise.... I mean, I actually can honestly see someone from Chicago or New York or Boston or even Austin saying that Louisville is boring and blah and all that. But.... MISSISSIPPI? The only thing I can see you complaining about is the weather. And our weather isn't even THAT BAD.

Did I say that Mississippi is the fun capital of the world? I dont think so. When I said that Louisville was blah and boring I meant the people first of all. In Mississippi the people are for the most part colorful, friendly, and fairly interesting. I dont expect you to understand being from this place. I run into folks quite often who came here from elsewhere and they all pretty much say they could leave it today and never look back. People from here, however, think it is the best and that they are somehow a little slice of high culture in the heartland of America. If you are not form here, no explanation is necessary; if you are from here, no explanation is possible. As my DON who is from Vermont said recently to me "This place is weird, isn't it"? By the way, In addition to Jackson, MS I have also lived in Biloxi, MS, New Orleans , LA, Birmingham, AL, Youngstown, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, Philadelphia, PA, Vienna, Austria, Prague, Czech Republic, and Plzen, Czech Republic. I have a few more places to compare Louisville to than Jackson, Mississippi. As for telling me to love it or leave it, only eleven more months here and I am off to El Paso, TX. Thanks

[RealNurseWitch]

Well, I just feel it was a little rude of you to just start blatantly slamming the place like you did. And you pretty much asked native Louisvillians on here to start slamming you for it, so I did. Sorry.

Do you have a place that you call your hometown, or are you someone who has ALWAYS moved around? Like an army brat, maybe? I personally think it is perfectly fine and natural for someone to have a lot of pride in the place that they grew up. Now granted, some people actually DON'T, and I think that's sad.
I have a lot of pride in my hometown and I really, really didn't appreciate you slamming it like you did. And I do apologize for slamming Mississippi; I actually do think it is an okay place. But you aren't from there, so it doesn't matter to you anyway.

And so what if Louisville is "weird"? Nothing at all wrong with that, in my opinion. Have fun in El Paso. I have a friend who lived there for quite some time, and she hated it there. She said the people were so unfriendly, that people passing each other in the street did not even dare to make eye contact.

[Melody1968]

Originally Posted by unbridled

I was born and raised in KY and have lived in both Lexington and Louisville. I enjoyed both of them. However, I feel that Louisville is the more laidback town. Lexington has more service-related business. Louisville has much more manufacturing. Lexington has more of a small-town feel and seems cleaner and prettier than Louisville. Louisville feels more like a big city. Lexington is more snobbish. Each has rush-hour problems. It’s usually cheaper to fly out of Louisville than Lexington, but Louisville’s airport is only 70 miles away from Lexington (and Cincinnati is not cheap to fly out of either).

Another thing to consider is to live somewhere between the two - such as Midway, Frankfort, or Shelbyville. The cost of living can be even cheaper in those communities.

If you’re used to doing a lot of outdoor activities, you may find that it’s too hot and humid 3-5 months out of the year. I lived in Colorado for 6 years and spent a great deal of time outdoors year-round. But in Kentucky in the summer you go from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned workplace.

One of the biggest adjustments I had to make when I came back from Colorado was to get used to all of the cigarette smoke again. Kentucky is number one out of all the states for the percentage of the population that smokes – I think around 40-50 percent. I just started nursing school this fall (not in Lexington or Louisville) and close to 75 percent of the class smokes. I kid you not.

Our state is very pretty and has beautiful state parks. There’s a lot of places to hike, fish, and boat. It’s much less expensive to live here and you can find property and homes that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Another hospital to consider in either Lexington or Louisville is the VA hospital. My sister-in-law is a nurse practitioner at the Louisville one and loves it.

That is because most nurses smoke...kind of ironic, isn't it! I can't stand them myself.

[Chad_KY_SRNA]

I absolutely adore Kentucky, being from the Eastern end of the state I have seen more of Lexington than Louisville. First of all Kentucky is home to many natural wonders such as Mammoth Cave and the Natural Bridge. There are miles and miles of lakes and rivers to play on. Fishing, Hunting, Hiking, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville is awesome. The weather goes from below zero to over 100 degrees in the summer.