Who here lives in Kentucky?

[2HighSpeed]

I ask, Because we are planning on moving there once he is out of the army. My twin sister is there with her husband, He is a CW3 in the army and they just received orders to go to Ohio. But they plan on moving back and making KY their permanent home. My parents are also selling their home in NY and moving to KY. Ive looked at Murray, Cadiz and Guthrie KY for homes and they all seem like nice areas but I dont want to limit my options. What are ya'lls favorite areas in Western Ky? I am looking for just a few things....

Good schools above all else.
A good houseing market preferably with some victorian homes.
Near water (A river or lake).
Not too populated, we enjoy that small town everyone knows everyone feel.
Access to jobs, preferably state jobs as that is what my field is in and I worked for the state of NY for a good many years before I married.
A low crime rate, We dont like ghettofabolous!!
Not all of these need to be met, But schools and jobs are pretty much a must have.

[Boz330]

I like KY. I have been here since 71'. The taxes are somewhat onerous but the state population is only 4.25 Million, so not many folks to split it amongst. You might have trouble getting a state job since the state has been in the red for several years and they are revamping the retirement system since it has been underfunded and is a mess.
The areas you mentioned are very close to big lakes although there are plenty of lakes throughout the state. Also very good deer hunting in those areas. People are also very friendly there. I'm not sure what the schools are like though. Bardstown (Nelson county) has a good school system as does Oldham County (best in the state). Oldham is also the richest county in the state but it is very close to Louisville.
If you are retired military the areas you mention will put you close to Ft Campbell, the areas I mentioned are close to Ft Knox.
Hope this is somewhat helpful. I love KY but it does have it's down sides. There is a tremendous diversity in outdoor activities though.

Bob

[joec]

I've lived here for going on 11 years now. I moved here from Miami Florida and took over a self storage facility in Lexington. I've fallen in love with Kentucky though as Bob pointed out above jobs are somewhat iffy and taxes higher that say Florida it still is a great place.

[KYShooter73]

+1 Im over in central kentucky, on Lake Cumberland. Land Between the Lakes is nice over on the west side. Ive spent some time in Hopkinsville (Fort Campbell), but cant say I care for it much.

[gew98]

You have Grayson , Breckinridge , Meade and Hardin counties in my area. Brandenburg/Ekron/Guston share very good schools ( meade county ) . Breckinridge is fair to poor ( highschool not so good ) on schools. Alot of locals disparage Hardin County ( they hate radcliff mostly ). Some nice out of the way area - rural and all within 30-45 min from Fort Knox. E-town is OK if you like suburban/city like dwelling. Then there is Flaherty , Vine Grove , Rineyville..... some real good hunting in Rineyville too ( Meade and Hardin Counties ). Crime is low in all areas except Radcliff and parts of E-town. Now I could take you to some "wild" places like battletown or the "backside" of Hardinsburg where thieving and meth are on up there. There is also some high quality private schools in E-town and Breckinriudge ( mostly catholic I think off hand ) . I have a retired Army friend whom he and his wife homechool their three daughters.

[Taylor]

I grew up in eastern Kentucky,I live outside of Ft Campbell now.All the areas you mentioned are rural,but close enough to anything you need.Walmarts,VA hospital etc.When you get "here",give me a shout.

[B R Shooter]

No, wish I could talk my wife into it......

[beagle]

You also might take a look at the Danville area. They're prosperous jobwise and the hunting is good. KY's gun friendly and it's a great place to live./beagle

[xs11jack]

One thing to check is the state income tax. Compare it with Tenn. In most states, property taxes are lower in more rural counties and you might want to keep that in mind. I have been in both states and prefer Tenn. but I am financially tied to MO.
Ole Jack

[43PU]

I live in Ashland which is the Tristate of OH and WV so kinda out of the way, but beautiful!

[94Doug]

I don't live there, but visited for quite a few years, we had relatives that owned a nice eating place in the Benton area....they sold it, and I miss that whole scene. All in the LBL area. Great place.

Doug

[2HighSpeed]

I personally cant wait to get out of this area and to a new area. I think we are going to put our HH goods in storage in KY and go up north for a few months where my parents live. They have been working on their home to be able to list it for sale but my dad is older and having some trouble getting some stuff done. So we decided it might be best we go up there for a little while and help them so they too can get moved to a warmer climate. The constant shoveling of snow has worn my dad down and my mom hurts all day every day from arthritis from the cold.
I think it would be good for Cory too, He worked construction for 8 years before he joined the Army, So it will give him something to do while he adjusts to civilian life again.

[Elkins45]

I've lived here my whole life. Very gun friendly and there's a fairly large number of lakes scattered across the state. I'm told we have more miles of navigable waterways than any other state except AK. I grew up in the east and moved to the north to work about 25 years ago.

The northern tip of the state is prosperous and fairly Republican leaning. Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties generally have good schools, but there are several small independent systems that range from great to terrible. The more rural counties south of there generally also have good schools but they are sparsely populated and might be a bit of a shock for someone who isn't used to country living. The area is teeming with deer and turkeys....unlimited antlerless deer during the hunting season in most of the area.

The farther east of I75 you go the more mountainous it becomes, the more sparse the deer are and (broadly speaking) the lower performing the schools are. You also start getting into the welfare culture more, although that's also a bit of a broad stereotypical brush as well.

The two largest cities, Lexington and Louisville are cities like any others. We fortunately have a state law prohibiting local gun laws, otherwise Lexington would have banned them like they banned the sale of arrows and BB guns in the 70's. Lexington is a lot like San Francisco. I live about an hour away and am happy to visit, but I am glad I don't live there. Bud's retail shop is in Lexington.

Politically we are heavily Democratic and almost all statewide offices are held by Democrats. Funny thing, though, our Democrats don't seem to like sending Democrats to DC because both of our Senators and all but one of our Representatives (Yarmouth from Louisville) are Republicans.

Work opportunities vary greatly depending on your skill set and geography.