Frankfort/Lexington, KY area?

[lindrusso]

Okay, so apparently we don't have too many people here from the Williamsport, PA (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=87515) area (although I have a PM in to SueK), but what about the Frankfort/Lexington area?

Anything you can tell me? Schools, housing, shopping, anything at all?

Thanks much.

[kcmo727]

Hi Lindrusso,

I have been to Lexington twice to visit family and so my impressions are limited and I don't know anything at all regarding schools or housing prices, but it seems like a nice place ...scenic, with rolling hills, beautiful horse farms with big mansions and fancy stables. The older part of the city, near the university, has gorgeous antebellum homes, although I don't know how safe that area is. I remember the downtown as being small and quaint -- it has a children's museum that looked interesting but my dd was very young at the time so we didn't go in.

The newer part of Lexington is very nice and clean with a good shopping center (not indoors) that has all your typical suburban stores, restaurants, movie theaters etc. I think there is a large indoor mall as well somewhere nearby. My favorite store in Lexington was The Liquor Barn, which combines a fancy gourmet grocery store with a huge liquor store. I wish we had one of those in Kansas City! There is also a HomeGoods (love that store!) and either a Sam's Club or Costco not too far away.

I am assuming you are thinking of moving there -- seems like it would be a good move. A family on our street moved just this week to Louisville KY, and found housing prices to be higher than here in Kansas, but not sky high as they are on the coasts.

One last thing: there is an adorable town nearby called Paris with antique stores and cafes. We drove thru there on a Sunday pm and everything was clsoed but I would like to visit there next time we go back. It looked darling.

Hopefully an actual Lexington resident will be able to give you more details. Good luck! :)

[kcmo727]

ooops, forgot to add that my DH (who loves bourbon) loved going on tours of the nearby distilleries -- Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey etc. I will never forget how terrible that stuff smells as it is being made, but even at that, the tours were still cool and worth checking out. :D

[lindrusso]

Thanks Michelle.

Funny thing is, when we moved here, I got friendly with one of the wives of a guy my husband worked with. They came here from KY and she was as unhappy to be here as I was. Well, her husband was laid off along with mine and now they're going back to KY. My DH just got an offer from the place where her husband used to work. Kind of weird!

Anyway, she's able to tell me quite a bit about the area, but she's been gone 8 years now and it's changed quite a bit. Just thought I'd see if anyone out there had more to share.

[cchhbb]

I have family that lives outside of Lexington in a town named Wilmore. They love it. She communtes to University of Kentucky daily. I think it's about a 1/2 hour drive. She does have fairly flexible hours so is able to miss the big traffic hang-ups. I think they have been there about 10 years now. The area has grown up quite a bit in that time.

I know my cousin has commented about how great the schools are where they live. Wilmore is a small college town. As a result, they have some great facilities that most towns their size wouldn't have.

[Jazzmatazz49]

My stepkids both graduated from Asbury at Wilmore. It's a sleepy little town in very pretty country. Lexington has a cosmopolitan feel to it while being surrounded by horse farms. Unless you are addicted to big city living, I would think it is the best of both worlds. But don't go by my description, I'm a small town girl who grew up in a very rural area. It's not too far to Cincinnatti (which I'm sure I just mis-spelled).

[dreamer]

DH has driven through Lexington a lot on business and his favorite part of any of his driving trips is when his radio can pick up the public radio station in Lexington KY. He says it's the best anywhere.
I've driven through it some- it does seem like an attractive area- and overall a fairly cosmopolitan small southern city. Speaking as someone who's only stayed overnight there!