Relocating to Louisville (St. Matthews, Shively, Bardstown: apartments, rentals, condos)

[carebear3030]

We are going for our first visit to look for houses this weekend. We need some guidance!

I have read the threads telling me all the neat things about Louisville, and the statistics, etc. But now I'd like to hear your opinions about where to start looking to live. We are in our early thirties, have three children, 13, 10, 2. Schools are certainly a concern as well as crime, traffic, etc. We are looking to rent a descent house at a descent price. I have found a few places online with rental properties, but if you know of more I'd appreciate the links! Also, I have read to stay away from the west side...but I've seen what appear to be some very nice houses that appear to be part of descent neighborhoods...that are on the western side. More specifics would be great!

Thanks!

[rppipa01]

We are looking to rent a descent house at a descent price

Old Louisville (try along 1st - 4th street, especially around Central Park)

Pros:

LOT of rentals at a fair price (mostly apartments though)
Historic neighborhood
Tree-lined streets
Close to parks/Universities/Downtown
Traffics not bad for so close to downtown

Cons:

LOT of college kids (especially closer to campus)
Higher crime (spill over from West End)
Can have really nice properties mixed in with dumpy ones (it is hit or miss so you have to browse).
Private schools are farther out (except Presentation Academy I think).


Highlands Area

This is kinda the 20/30 something urban professional type area in my opinion (especially Bardstown Road).

Pros:

Lot of Rentals here too and also fair priced (usually).
VERY nice parks (Cherokee and Seneca are great and right in the neighborhood).
Lot of trendy/wierd/unique shops that you won't find anywhere else (but also some chain stores.
Crimes lower than Old Louisville
Closer to private schools.

Cons:

Bardstown road can have horrible traffic (though this is only one street through the highlands).
Farther from downtown than Old Louisville.
Layout can be somewhat confusing for new residents (Old Louisville is grid style streets, Highlands is more natural flow though once you learn it it is pretty easy).
Certain sections may have a lot of partying/bars though these are easily avoidable.

Those are two big rentals areas that I know of personally in the Louisville Area. St. Matthews also has some apartments/rental units as does Middletown (these areas are the ones I know personally...other areas probably have rentals toos). Might look along Eastern Parkway, though the condos/rentals along there can get expensive. If you'd like to know more about them (they are further out), I'd be happy to fill you in.

Traffic for the most part is not bad. Occasionally you'll get stuck for an accident or (lately it seems) road construction. I was deadlocked 35 minutes going 5 miles yesterday but that was due to a wreck on top of construction. Usually congestion is 10-15 minute type. Worst area for traffic is the Junction downtown (I-65, I-64, I-71 all intersect). Once you drive through it, you'll understand why.

Also, I have read to stay away from the west side...but I've seen what appear to be some very nice houses that appear to be part of descent neighborhoods...that are on the western side.

The area I and others have mentioned is part of the West side, not all of it. The area of most crime in the city occurs from 9th street west to the river and roughly Algonquin Parkway north to the river. This is the area I'd stay away from (it is essentially Louisville's ghetto/blighted area). Most of the drugs/murders/robberies/etc. occur in this part of town. S/SW of I-264 (this is the inner circle interstate), you should be fine with crime. The city of Shively (which is in Louisville and somewhat straddles the SW bend of I-264...it is technically part of Louisville but also technically not) isn't too bad either though there are nicer parts of the city in my opinion. Far SW I really don't know so I can't comment.

Hope it helps. If there is anywhere in particular you'd like to know about, let me know and I can try to fill you in (I know the most about Old Louisville/Highlands/and the East End).

[rppipa01]

Oh, one other tip....it really won't matter how you say it (locals can't even agree...you'll probably hear Loo-a-ville or loo-uh-vul or Looy-ville) so long as you don't say Louis-ville. The "s" is always silent (drop an S and you'll stand out as an out of towner). Oh yeah, and try Wick's Pizza if you visit the highlands.

[carebear3030]

Thanks for the help! That is funny you say that about how to pronounce Looy-ville (thats how we say it here in Cinci)...but a guy at my husbands work said if we are moving there we have to pronouce it right....Loo-uh-vul....LoL!! I guess thats sorta like the older generation of my grandmothers age call Cinci..."Sin-sa-nat-ah"...Lol!!

Just for the record....how do you say it??? LoL!!

[rppipa01]

For the record, I say Loo-uh-vul (i.e. a combo of 1 and 2).

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/9/9b/200px-Louisville_pronunciationguide.jpg (broken link)

Yeah, I always refer to Cinci as either the 'Nati or Cinci, but I do know several older people that refer to it as "Sin-sa-nat-ah" (which always made me scratch my head since there is no sa-or ah pronounciation in the word). I am not orginally from L-ville though...I was born/raised down the AA in Maysville. I do know a bit about cinci area (since we went shopping there a lot) and if there is an area in Cinci that you like, I may be able to find you a L-ville equivalent.

[carebear3030]

Well we are in the Colerain area...so basic suburbia. We dont necessarily want to find an "equivalent" since part of the reason for relocation is for a change. We would love to have a little land...or at least a nice sized yard...if only an acre or even less. Where we are now we do have a bit of a back yard, but we could reach out and shake hands with the neighbors through the side windows. We DO NOT want to be that close. On the other hand, I do want my kids to be able to play with the neighbors without walking 4 miles...besides my 13 year old enjoys riding his bike up to the store to get pop, or snacks, or to just get away from us adults...LoL!! We are not really "city" people, but dont wanna live in the holler either. So somewhere between a side by side suburb, and the countryside would be nice. Is that asking too much? LoL! Honestly we are not as picky as it sounds...just looking for something a bit better!

[rppipa01]

Yeah, I am somewhat familiar with the Colerain area....though I know NKY and downtown areas of the Cinci metro best.

We would love to have a little land...or at least a nice sized yard...if only an acre or even less.

For the neighborhoods I covered...

Old Louisville is your typical old southern style city neighborhood. The houses are Victorian style and the streets are tree lined. Since you are adjacent to downtown though, your lot size will be somewhat small. I'd recommend this if you'd prefer downtown style life (i.e. close to a lot of stuff) at the expense of space (if you live next to central park, may that would relieve this issue).

http://www.davidyeiser.com/images/blog-posts/2006/03/old-louisville.jpg (broken link)

http://www.library.njit.edu/archlib/aasl/meetings/2003/AASL/TourofOldLouisvillehomeswi/images/oldlv.jpg (broken link)

The Highlands area also has a lot to do (lot of shops/parks/etc.) but is a city neighborhood (i.e. you are going to be lacking of space). Homes here can either have a good sized yard (good size for being in the middle of a city..no where near an acre, but decent sized) to very small yards. Again, if you don't mind parks taking the place of yards (Tyler and Cherokee are both great...Cherokee is huge...I mowed it as part of a summer job once), then you should be fine. Lots to do, but you sacrifice space.

http://www.homesinthehighlands.com/images/map.gif (broken link)







Larger lot sizes tend to fall farther out away from downtown. No real suprise there though. You want a larger lot, you have to move farther out. But by the same token, the farther out you go, the less there is.

Now if you'd like a larger lot, there are a few options. Louisville doesn't really have nearly the extent of cookie cutter style suburbia neighborhoods of Cincy or other larger metro area (though there are some...namely the south side...even here they aren't quite the same).

For an area with more land, you may want to look at Crestwood in Oldham County (i.e. part of Louisville that juts out of Jefferson county). You are farther out, but lots are bigger and much lower crime. Crestwood was ranked 52nd overall on a CNNMoney.com survey for "The Best Places to Live, 2005" (highest ranking given to any city in the state of Kentucky). Only downside is that you are very far away from downtown.

Hope this helps. One good note, Louisville is trying to encourage biking around the city and has painted several bike paths on city streets (they recently put one on Third near where I live. If you don't want your kid riding down the street, Cherokee park has a huge bike path and several mountain bike trails in it. There is also the Louisville Skate Park if he likes X-game style biking (they have half/full pipes, bowls, etc..).

Hope all this helps. Louisville is a great city, though you have to keep in mind that it is only roughly half the size of Cincinnati. Pace is slower here and there is less to do than Cinci (I am a big Bengals/Reds fan), but it has its own unique charms. Having lived in Louisville and been in Cinci quite a bit, I can honestly say that they are two different cities (even though they are only 90-100 miles apart). Not to mean that they are like day and night different, but enough so to distinguish between them culturally and identity wise. And honestly, I can say that I love both of them.

Let me know if you need any more help or if you have any questions about the areas I mentioned. And good luck in your search.

[carebear3030]

Thanks for the pictures. Those neighborhoods are beautiful, but not quite what we want. You have been a great help! We are heading to Louisville tonight and looking forward to a nice weekend learning the area! Thanks for helping me have an idea where to start!

Thanks again!