Vanity: Considering a move to Kentucky. Weigh in ?

Self | 8/20/16 | Celerity

[Celerity]

My wife and I are considering a move. Here's why:

We were both raised in CT. We've lived in other places, but in our 20s. During that time we chose our spot because of things like skiing and close proximity to race tracks and stuff. You know... young people stuff.

We met in CT and got married there. We left CT to move "Back to America". We're both heavy republican and we're becoming somewhat isolationist.

We moved to PA to be close to family, and still (officially) out of the NE. We really, really really do not like government telling us what to do.

Our move to PA has been great. Nice people. Good economics. Our area of PA is like 90% republican and filled with good people that we call neighbors.

The state itself has a few things going against it: 1. Mandatory Vaccinations. I don't want to start an argument, I just don't want to live somewhere that requires my kids be injected with something that I don't agree with. 2. Homeschooling. I won't get any argument here but PA supplies the curriculum and requires that we teach it. It's the same liberal garbage that is found in Philly. 3. Some place where the laws aren't setup to keep the poor down. DMV laws go a long way to this. CT has no actual DMV laws. It's like Mad Max out there. And I'm talking Beyond Thunderdome Mad Max. Cowcatchers on trucks and stuff (And YES there are quite a few cars and trucks in CT with cowcatchers and spikes and stuff. It's comical). But in PA it costs about $1200-$1500 just to register a car. And if you lapse the insurance they pull your reg for 90 days. That means no licence plates. No driving. (I lapsed 3 months ago and bought insurance again. And now that I have insurance they are suspending my licence and my registrations for 90 days because of the lapse... in the past.)

I also don't want anything to do with public transportation. I want businesses and employment, not programs and services.

So my wife and I are basically walking around Google, Wikipedia and the internet in general and we found Berea, KY.

Anyone here living in Kentucky wanna weigh in on this ? I want to be free again, be surrounded by like-minded people and in the midst of my countrymen should the SHTF.

[bpete123]

One more asset for Kentucky — the governor. Matt Bevin is our new Republican governor and he means business. He’s cleaning house everywhere and making sweeping changes that are pleasing to Republicans. He’s also a homeschooling father of nine children.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

You from C-ville? My mom still lives on the City Lake!

It is a nice little town! And there are several FReepers there. One FReeper is in Black Gnat and has a band that practices at the big music store over by Big Johns.

[BlueCat]

A note of caution: in all of those small Kentucky towns there is an epidemic of crack and heroin the likes of which we have never seen. Many of the towns, including the nicer ones, are now poor. With idle time, the meanness comes out.

My point is that you should go in with both eyes open. These are rough times, no matter where you go.

[ETL]

Central Kentucky is beautiful. Country roads are lined with horse farms.

Would those be mostly thoroughbred racehorse farms? If so, I would absolutely find paradise there, being a huge fan of horse racing, plus having worked at various racetracks as a teen back in the 70s.

[JenB]

Not that moving is a bad thing but you’re wrong about the PA homeschooling thing. I was homeschooled in PA and graduated there and my relatives still homeschool there (thankfully I relocated to a notify-only HS law state). You are not required to use their curriculum, just to jump through a million hoops every year to get things done. I’d suggest checking out local homeschool organizations and HSLDA to check on the laws, just in case moving takes you longer than you think.

[Amntn]

I’ve lived in Knoxville for 30 years and agree with you. It is a great place to live and the people are wonderful.

We bought Jeep last year and having been taking road trips almost every weekend. We’ve driven through Cades Cove 4 times in the last two months.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Bryson City and rode the train (pulled by a steam engine) through Natahala Gorge.

We drove through the Smoky Mnts to get to Bryson City and had to stop every couple of miles to take pictures and enjoy the scenery.

My husband was born in White Plains NY and grew up in Florida and I am from Indiana (but have lived all over the south) and we both love it here and have no desire to live anywhere else.

[VTenigma]

No, that’s Vermont.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I read some posts here about the weather in Central Kentucky. Some mentioned humidity/storms etc. but overall, I would say it it great!

Your grass will be green and daffodils will be blooming by Valentine’s Day. I would say three weeks earlier than average in Cincinnati. About five weeks earlier than Detroit - which is what I would think is similar to CT.

And during the deepest of winter days, the average temps will be 5-7 degrees warmer than Cincinnati. Plus noticeably more sunlight in winter due to latitude.

I agree on the drug problems in the area. The younger sister of a KY friend of mine recently died of a drug overdose. Daughter of a retired Kentucky State Policeman no less.

But, based on the things you have outlined that you want in a community and the things you can do without, the area would be a good fit!

But, there are several nice communities you might want to at least look into. Campbellsville, Danville, Bardstown, Harrodsburg, Winchester, Bowling Green could all fill the bill!

And a few you could do without - Paintsville, Corbin, London, Glasgow.

Will be interesting to see others’ thoughts!

[WKUHilltopper]

Berea—hippie little liberal arts college there.

[organicchemist]

You might take a look at the Kentucky side of the river opposite Cincinnati. Back in the day, It used to be the ‘sin city’ of Cincinnati, but the lower taxes have caused a lot of business to relocate there and have access to the Cincinnati hub. the airport is in Kentucky (Covington). Right across the river has gotten pretty urban, but you don’t have to go too far to be in the country.

[Flag_This]

What do you do for a living? What do you like to do when you're not working?

I've lived in Lexington (about 40 minutes north of Berea) for 22 years. Prior to that, I've lived in Murray and Paducah, in the far west of the state and Owensboro, Elizabethtown and Louisville in the central portion of the state. I haven't spent any time in the eastern portion of the state.

I like Lexington quite a bit, which is why I've stayed here so long. Louisville and Cincinnati are only about an hour away, if I want to visit a larger city, but I prefer a town the size of Lexington. Having said that, I wouldn't mind moving back to the Paducah area, it's a beautiful part of the state, with two large lakes, but the employment opportunities are more limited.

There is room here for you to make your own life.

[80skid]

Hazard.

Ole joke my grandfather pulled on me when I was 6 or so...

How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky? Luisville or Louieville.

Neither, It’s Frankfurt.

[JamesP81]

I am Kentucky born and raised, moved to Missouri about 2 years ago after I got married.

I am originally from the western end of the state. Kentucky has some things going for it and against it.

It is one of the very best states in the union for gun ownership. The only real restrictions are on magazine capacity in hunting firearms and it's not lawful to use buckshot when hunting deer with a shotgun.

Economically it's fairly stagnant, especially in coal country out east and the western end of the state as well. The population of the most populous county in Western Kentucky has risen by less than one percentage point in the past 25 years. The young people don't stay because there is simply nothing for them to stay for. The economic opportunities for a young person are minimal.

There is still some manufacturing including GM, Ford, and Toyota plants. There's also the Corvette plant in Bowling Green. There is some chemical industry and light manufacturing outside of automobiles as well. It's a pretty good state for retirees in general, and the people are pretty nice.

The central part of the state is a little more economically vibrant, but still not great.

On the economic upside, if you do find yourself in a reasonably good paying job, the cost of living is pretty low. A lower middle class salary by Connecticut or New York standards is upper middle class in Kentucky.

By my standards the state has a long laundry list of little, stupid taxes, but it's probably got far less of that than what you're accustomed to from Connecticut.

It is the prettiest state of the union in terms of natural beauty that I've been too yet. We have access to a lot of inland water ways including Kentucky Lake / Tennessee River, Barkley Lake / Cumberland River, the Mississippi River in the west, and the Ohio River in the north. Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake are great areas for fishing and recreational boating.

Oh, and Berea appears, on paper, to be a liberal stronghold. But the voting shows otherwise. Can anyone offer an explanation ?

It has been common practice for many years (it's been changing recently) for practically everyone to register democrat whether they're democrat or not. This was to facilitate voting in primaries during a time period in which a great many offices had only democrats running for them. Kentucky democrats also tend to be not as liberal as DC democrats, though that doesn't make me like them all that much. Some are very conservative, but some of them are still quite liberal, especially in the Louisville area and, to a lesser degree, Henderson.

During McConnell's last election campaign, his opponent was Allison Lundergren Grimes, who is a Class A Obama boot licker. So those types are around too, but there are a lot of blue dog dems in the state.

McConnell himself is the epitome of an establishment GOP politician. It is practically impossible to unseat him because 1) no viable contender ever challenges him in the primary and 2) the state dem party has a tendency to pick the biggest leftard they can find to run against him, and the people of KY won't accept doctrinaire leftists over even an establishment type like McConnell.

The politicians in Frankfort are barely aware of the existence of anyone east of Lexington or west of Dawson Springs. Corruption is a way of life for Kentucky politicians, though it's usually not the sort of corruption that comes down and directly affects the individual. Usually.

Basically it's a beautiful state full of freedom loving conservatives, but with a middling to poor economy. If you like the culture of Kentucky but need something with a better economic engine, look into Northwest or Middle Tennessee. Culturally almost the same, not quite as pretty (but close) and much more opportunity. And no income tax.

If, God willing, I am ever actually able to retire, I will return to my old Kentucky home, and spend the last years of my life there.

[80skid]

Them Kentucky Hills, beautiful state.

[TianaHighrider]

I am not from Campbellsville myself. But I have several family members that moved there from different states. I am not far away. Originally from the outskirts of Louisville, but kept migrating further south. If I move again, it might be to Campbellsville. But I am pretty planted right now. Same job for nearly 20 years - but that is in question due to major downsizing.

[JamesP81]

My job often takes me to KY, and I agree with your assessment. Eastern KY (especially SE KY) is another world. To say it is “unusual” is being tactful, and generous.

That's no joke. And I should append some additional info to my info dump post about this.

Kentucky really is three states. Western Kentucky is very southern. Western Kentucky may as well be part of Tennessee. There's no real difference.

Central Kentucky's culture is the old school, bluegrass, horses, and bourbon part of Kentucky. When people from other parts of the country think of Kentucky, this is what they are thinking of.

Eastern Kentucky ain't quite right. It was settled by Scots-Irish immigrants initially and those settlers were so isolated from everyone else, they didn't really culturally advance past the tribal stage of the Scottish Highlanders. The effects of that are still felt to this day in that area. The eastern KY hillbillies are not nearly so mean as Hollywood would have you believe, but they are very insular and like to keep to themselves. If they decide you are one of "their" people, it would be hard to find more loyal friends. If they decide you aren't, it would be hard to find more implacable enemies.

Heard a story from a friend of mine who does some business in Eastern KY that illustrates the culture very well. A gentlemen who has a cousin in Eastern KY goes for a visit. He thinks he's in the right tiny little town but isn't sure. He pulls up to this place's only intersection and sees an old guy in a rocking chair outside the general store who looks like he's been in that rocking chair since the 1840s. He asks the guy, "I'm looking for John. Do you know him?" Old man thinks a second and says, "Can't say as I do. Why do you want to know?" Traveler says, "I'm his cousin, just wanted to stop for a visit." "Oh!" the old man perks up. "Well, in that case, he's three doors down mowing his yard. Just go on down thata-way."

True story. Describes the easterners pretty well.

Some Eastern KY churches do, in fact, still do the snake handling thing. They're a minority, but they're still around. And don't give those people the idea that you might be some kind of bill collector or a "revenuer." You won't be popular if you do.

[T-Bird45]

My goal with the area is to be involved in the republican party there. I want to run for office and work with the town to build it properly. I want to make a town for my daughter to grow up in. I am having wild success here in PA with that. My area now I lunch with the mayor, commissioners, department heads and economic leaders. I love it. I had planned on running for office at some point as well.

OK, we're nearly 100 posts into this thread so by now you should realize that this notion is not becoming reality for you in KY in this half of this century. It might be a small possibility for your child. You don't have right accent, your motives will be suspect, and you'll never be anymore than just another damn Yankee trying to bring your damn Yankee ways to the genteel South.

Saying you want to build a place "properly" brings the notion that everybody else up until now was doing things the wrong way. Not exactly an auspicious start...

[JamesP81]

Them Kentucky Hills, beautiful state.

The place is God's country and it will always be home for me.

I often joke that the only reason God gave the Israelites Caanan and called it the promised land was because they didn't have enough seaworthy ships. If they had, God would've taken them to Kentucky. Probably right around the area near the Green River or Land Between The Lakes.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Definitely look out west. Idaho is a great fit. It is three states, too. Southern farming belt? Mid mountainous section. Panhandle that has more of a NW feel. Only one democrat county in the entire state. Best people ever.

[Celerity]

“What do you do for a living? What do you like to do when you’re not working? “

I run a start-up software company and I’m a business-class Systems Analyst, and I run that company too. When I move into an area I find about 4 hand-picked clients and get about 10 hours a week.

My wife is an independent fashion buyer and wholesaler. We both work from home and need an internet connection and a spare room or two to run our operations. And a little classroom / library for our daughter. Maybe a garage and workshop for metalwork.

I do outdoor stuff as a hobby. Hiking, fishing, mostly survivalist-level but my wife considers a pop-up camper “roughing it”. I crave vast expanses. But we would move into town and get a house where the people are, and then get a weekend place out in the deep woods. That’s the plan anyway.

Oh and I want to start riding a motorcycle again. The weather up has been pretty harsh on that hobby. The roads are a mess and the weather and fellow motorists are just terrible.

So the only reason employment is important to me is that in areas with low employment, crime goes up. My intent is to move into a town that I would raise my daughter in and that means stepping up to the plate and helping around - specifically helping out around town hall.