Louisville vs Lexington

nikonos · Aug 13, 2004

: 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!

I live in Louisville so maybe I can answer some of your questions. The hospitals downtown are absolutely state-of-the-art and almost all of them are expanding in some capactiy at this point in time. I would look into a house in one of the outlying 'suburbs' of the city if this is where you choose to come because the downtown area has its fair share of crime and traffic is horrible during rush hours. The east end has a reputaion of better schools and safer neighborhoods. Kentucky public schools in general leave much to be desired with all the recent budget cuts but I would have to give the edge to Lexington in that area though Louisville has some absolutely fabulous private schools. For continuing education you have the University of Louisville here or UK in Lexington so either way you're set in that arena. The cultural scene here has made big strides in the last 5 years or so so there is no longer an extreme shortage of places to go or activities to take part in. I hope some of this helped you.

ER-RN2 · Aug 13, 2004

Louisville is a great place to live, but the nursing jobs and pay are much better in Lexington....just my experience!

Astoria · Aug 15, 2004

Thank you.

nikonos · Aug 16, 2004

You're welcome. If you have a specific question in mind just give me a shout and I will give you a no-nonsense answer.

crb613, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2004

: 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!

No attacks please! In my opinion Lexington is a much cleaner city and the people are more friendly. They both have excellent hospitals.

nikonos · Aug 19, 2004

No attacks please! In my opinion Lexington is a much cleaner city and the people are more friendly. They both have excellent hospitals.

No attacks, no flames...Lexington has more of a laid-back atmosphere than Louisville and there is more of a community feel to the city. Louisville is slowly but surely getting its act together but it isn't quite where it needs to be yet for me to spend the rest of my life here.

cadillac05 · Aug 27, 2004

Whoa! Came here from the great state of Washington (east side) so am familiar with Astoria's area. Kentucky is quite a different place. Not that I don't find some really nice folks (married one last year--that's why I'm here) or that the differences are bad, but you will find some basic cultural, geographic and weather differences. I miss the mountains, generally cooler & dryer weather and my friends, so anything I add might be skewed by those feelings.

Good luck in your search. You are welcome to contact me for anything more specific.

unbridled · Aug 28, 2004

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.

Astoria · Aug 28, 2004

Thanks for all the responses. Very much appreciated. I do have one question, are both places fairly, equally good for children. best of luck in nursing school.:)

nurselily3 · Mar 3, 2005

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

Benedikta · Mar 15, 2005

: 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 :crying2: 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!!! :)