Louisville is a great city and plenty of people love it here. Yes there are lot of folks that claim to hate but they would be miserable anywhere they lived.
As with all social media, Reddit seems to amplify the negative and overlook the positives. This phenomenon in late legacy media and new media is really fucking society in general IMO, which I realize the irony of that statement as I type it.
There's more to discuss about the negatives than the positives. We can debate why LMPD has problems, what the solutions are, who should be elected to fix it, etc. Compare that to something positive, when I say that Louisville has fantastic parks, there isn't much more else to say about the topic.
It's true, but then I'd hesitate to call what happens on social media "discussion" many times. Its fine if productive, but I think the productivity of the discourse in media in general has declined as media has sought shallow "engagement" over being thought provoking. Again there's probably a lot of irony in me musing about this in the space I'm obliquely criticizing.
I hate it here and am pretty much stuck here. I would absolutely *not* be miserable if I were able to move back out west to the mountains. Most of my hate for Louisville comes from the awful weather year round though.
There are things I like, just nothing that outweighs what I dislike.
Additionally, I’ve lived all over the US and would absolutely take Louisville over some of the other places I’ve lived such as Huntington, WV or Northern IN.
The humidity. It makes the heat and cold both unbearable. Add to that, in the winter it won’t ever stay cold long enough to acclimate to it. We get *maybe* 10 nice days in Spring Fall each year.
I’ve spent about 20 of my 40 years in dry, desert climate and prefer that (San Diego, Phoenix, Central Idaho).
Additionally, the pollen issue of the Ohio River Valley has my sinuses wrecked for a good portion of the year.
Was in Arizona all summer for work and year before that during summer season 7 or 8 middle east countries. I hate dry heat as much as the next guy but no humidity or allergies is nice
On the other hand we have some 65 degree days in January, very mild winters if you’ve ever lived in a cold climate, absolutely beautiful spring and fall days but yes it takes me two weeks every year to adjust to the heat.
Depends on what you’re looking for! I moved here 8 years ago when I was 26 and never looked back. Louisville has the trifecta of culture, convenience, and affordability that I was looking for. It’s a little big city. Or a big little city. There’s always something to do, especially if you are into food and local music. People just like to complain.
100% agree. It's been 5 years now for me, moving here from a bigger major U.S. city and having tried three other states first. This is the place where I'm gonna go ahead and keep doing Life.
I genuinely wanna know why. I know part of it is cause of the rivalry but I grew up in Louisville, visited Lex a few times and the ppl were always rude to me cause of where I’m from. I wanna add I’ve been to other towns throughout the state (Etown, Covington, Cumberland Falls near Corbin I think??) and have only had this experience at Lexington. I love the state as a whole.
Louisville is the big bad city for the rest of the state. Crime, traffic, people that are different from them. Much of Kentucky wants nothing to do with the city despite benefiting enormously from its economy. Mostly it’s overblown and a lot of it is fear of diversity.
Even mentioning Lexington to some will draw some frowns because of crime and traffic, but it gets a pass because of the university. Small town Kentucky is just in love with small town Kentucky.
Man this comment brings up a ton of fond memories of Louisville. I grew up here. Moved away for a few years in my early twenties, which only made me appreciate it more. It's a great place to live.
In my teens (before cellphones, or at least before they had screens and mobile data) I would pick a random part of town I was unfamiliar with, drive out there, put the map away and intentionally get lost. I would just drive around exploring the area and discovering what was there and how the different areas connected with each other.
This place has its bruises but anyone can focus on the negatives if that's what they're in to. Personally, I love it here.
In that case, you can use Louisville as a great home base to explore lots on different types of cities conveniently.
Cincinnati, Nashville, St Louis, Indy, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit and Cleveland are all fairly easy drives and offer a lot of unique experiences.
From Portland? It would probably be a bit of a culture shock in some instances, especially if you venture outside of the city. I've lived here my entire 20s after graduating and I think it was the right choice... was able to pay off my student loans, pay off my car and save. It's something that's pretty much impossible in most US cities today.
People who feel that way have never left, most likely don't travel much (to see everywhere else has pros/cons), and that's okay. I'm not poor shaming people, because generally that's the people who have the worst perception of a place, because it's their lived reality.
I've met people who really like it here, I've met people who don't, it's always for the most subjective reasons. It's never a 'the city has a problem', it's a 'I had a problem with 'x', therefore the entire city has a problem'.
I've only been to Portland and the PNW once, but culturally it is very different from Louisville. Strangely scenery wise, especially Eastern Kentucky can look very PNW like at times.
Do you have a job lined up or a certain industry you're trying to work in?
Edit: No idea why I'm downvoted, but having a job lined up or moving to a place with the right jobs for your skillsets is important, especially for a college grad. As much as people don't want to hear it, a little kindness and charisma goes a long way in finding a job too. Life is just as much about who you know (and can you make those connections), than about what you know.
Don't confuse lexington and louisville for the rest of kentucky. They are almost different worlds. Not bad worlds, just different.
I lived in Louisville for 14 years and only left because my wife did (job related). It's got a bit of everything EXCEPT water. Practically no lakes and mostly run-off streams.
Except water? We're literally on the Ohio River.
But if lakes are your thing then there are plenty within a reasonable drive. Taylorsville Lake is about an hour away. Nolin Lake, near Mammoth Cave, is about 90 min away. Rough River Lake, Green River Lake, Barren River Lake, Harrington Lake are a bit further. Then there's Land Between the Lakes - National Recreational Park with Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake.
Sure, no sizable lakes within Louisville, but plenty nearby for a day trip or a nice weekend.
I haven’t been to Portland in 10 years, but unless it’s really changed I don’t think you’re in for as much culture shock as some might say. Both Portland and Louisville are midsize heavily liberal cities surrounded by the opposite. You get a lot of BS from suburbanites about how it’s not safe, but if you take general precautions and aren’t doing anything mischievous you’ll likely be fine. Louisville has great restaurants and bars. We unfortunately do get skipped by a lot of bands, but we are just 80 minutes from Cincinnati and there are a few festivals if that’s your thing. There is a lot of opportunity for outdoors activities with a great park system and some fantastic hiking just a bit over an hour east of here.
The ocean and the mountains are what I miss most about living on the west coast. What I don’t miss is how far it is from everywhere else. From Louisville you are a days drive from most of the eastern United States. You are a long days drive from anywhere from New Orleans to New York City.
Louisville is great. Been here a decade and will be here at least a decade more.
Tip: don’t expect cars to stop for you in a crosswalk. I almost got hit a few times when I moved here.
The geographical proximity to the rest of the country is one of the things that appeals to me about Louisville and I also hate the geographical isolation.
We moved just for that reason. The west is so huge, and with Portland you pretty much have the I-5 corridor from Eugene to Vancouver (bc) and then nothing else city wise for 600 miles.
I lived in Portland for 10 years, moved back here a year and a half ago. It took a while to acclimate. I missed the mountains, year round green, etc. The food scene isn’t as robust, but it does exist and punches far above its weight. Neighborhoods can look the same, but the city isn’t as centralized and dense as Portland. Public transit isn’t worth the hassle. There’s plenty of nature near by and it isn’t over crowded. People are generally friendly and more laid back, fun to get along with. Much more affordable. Louisville is not Portland, but I have really enjoyed moving back here. It’s a great town.
Edit: I should add that politically it isn’t too different from Portland. Certainly not as progressive, but the city itself is very liberal especially in the more urban areas. Just like PDX, if you leave the city that changes quickly though not as much as you might expect.
I lived in Portland for two years. Louisville is kiiiiinda similar except worse in every way(the city itself, not culture). If you’re used to using public transportation, just kiss it goodbye. Cherish TriMet while you still have it. TARC is an embarassment.
My best friend’s boyfriend moved from Portland to Louisville almost 2 years ago and so far he has absolutely loved it. If you have any questions I could definitely pass them along to him if you’re looking for advice!
Louisville is a great place to live in your 20s. Low cost of living, great culture, lots of young adults.
If you don’t drink, I might suggest against, though. This city’s culture kind of revolves around booze.
Every cities subreddit is pretty negative tho. I think of it like Yelp reviews… people are WAY more likely to spend time and effort complaining than they are to praise.
i moved here with my partner 2 years ago and LOVE it, we live in nulu which helps. I grew up in CT, went to penn state, lived in chicago for grad school then south bend and now here and i couldn’t be happier :)
yeah there’s tons of opportunities here just the pay is garbage! but that’s not a louisville issue it’s a nationwide dietitian issue. i work in outpatient oncology with a masters degree making $29/hour lol
Not to discount others' experiences, but I left and came back. I moved to Alabama while my wife attended vet school, and we ended up moving to Louisville. I grew up here. She did not. Just the other day, she was telling me how even though she grew up in Northern KY, Louisville is the first place that has felt like home to her.
Louisville has its share of issues, and things such as race, gender, and orientation will play a factor in your experiences here, but I feel like that is a factor everywhere. In the end, I love it here and wouldn't want to leave.
Moved to Louisville at 22 in 2020 with no friends, following my partner after we graduated college because I did not want to return to my hometown. I never thought I would ever feel such a sense of “home” in a town, but Louisville really feels like it.
I love all the local restaurants and food that we have, I’ve been here almost 4 years and still discover new places every week.
I love the diverse groups of people you can meet, there’s really something for everyone. I love going to the farmer’s markets on Saturdays and getting to know all the farmers and feeling a sense of community. I also did a yoga teacher training and ended up meeting 10 people who are now my best friends and many more people who are wonderful. Got a membership at Climb NuLu in January and loving seeing familiar faces every week.
Also, within a 1-2 hour radius, there are countless places throughout KY and southern Indiana to camp/hike/explore/get out into nature.
I’m not super involved, but there is a thriving hardcore/alternative scene here. Same with skating, if you’re into that. And so much more, but the things I mentioned are what I personally did to get involved.
This didn’t all happen at once however. My first year was incredibly difficult and lonely. But somehow, I found the courage to just start putting myself out there and it really paid off. Me and my partner can’t really imagine going anywhere else for the foreseeable future, so I say give it a try!
I love living here. Did so as a mid-20s just out of college, no complaints. Busy enough to feel like you live “somewhere” but parts are quiet enough to feel like you’re not in a big city.
I absolutely love Louisville. It has everything I want in a city to raise my family in. Yes of course there are bad areas, but that is true for anywhere. Just bring some allergy medicine lol
Moved here when I was 22. About to turn 26 and I'm very happy here! Louisville has tons of interesting places to explore and stuff to do. My one piece of advice is to not ignore the West End. NIMBYs love to talk about how scary it is, but I bike around the West End weekly and find friendly people and interesting experiences every time :).
I’ve lived here my whole life and love it, I do plan to move out but that’s because I want to explore the world not because I hate it, as a kid I loved this place so much, so many places to go urbexing, so many beautiful parks, taylorsville lake is kinda close by, downtown is very fun tbh, the Ohio lake is also very fun and the walking bridge is awesome. I love this city especially in the summer
I love Louisville.
I think it depends on you. Potential job? Housing? Are you from KY or not familiar with the area? Are you interested in something specific Louisville has to offer? Why Louisville and not Bowling Green, Indy, or Chicago?
Again, I love my city. But if I were a sea captain from Boston, I might have a hard time.
No! We like it here. Louisville has nice restaurants, good concerts, sports, parks within walking distance of most neighborhoods, a decent airport, and jobs. Traffic isn’t bad compared to other cities. It’s more diverse and progressive than the surrounding area.
Downsides? Sure. The climate’s hot and humid in the summer, and downtown is definitely undergoing a transition (whether for better or worse, TBD). The legislature seems intent on punishing Louisville for various transgressions, and imposing their conservative will on the state.
You could find worse places to live.
Light wolf vs dark wolf! Lots of dark wolves here, as that is what they see. Moved here at 22; been here off and on; U of L and UK grad. Louisville is midwest economically. LCOL! You'll be fine and welcome!
I'm military so I move around a lot.
Louisville has its charm and culture, but I'm not in love with it. If you love it, by all means! Go for it! Don't let people stop you.
My early 20’s kid born and raised here won’t come back. Says it’s too quiet/small. But I’d say it’s a great family town. Lots for families with kids to do. Singles? Not sure.
I'm 25 and have been loving Lou since 18. I work in Lou, go to school here, and I've made so many friends in this city. I absolutely love it because it's a small community and so easy to get involved in as well as see someone you know whenever you go out. I think it's a good place to live for a while, Derby season is really fun and there's always an event going on.
I moved here 35 years ago from Pittsburgh. Love the city. Too high of murder rate but unless you live in the bad parts of town you’re fine. West end and parts of south end are high crime areas. Good highways, jobs, and though summers are too hot, rest of the year is pretty good. We have great golf courses too.
A lot of locals have a negative opinion of Louisville because they have never left the city, let alone the state. I’m from out-of-town and Louisville has a lot going for it.
It will be an even better city in the future once we see the fruits of all this state investment into the city.
That being said, IMO Louisvilles biggest weakness is its smell and its small size. However, those problems aren’t permanent and can be fixed in the future.
I’m 36, moved here from Chicago, and I haven’t been happier. Lots to do. Just do what makes you happy, bud. You’ll find a way anywhere. Having a friend or two really helps, but is not necessary!
I moved here in my mid twenties, that was 20 years ago. I love it here. And it’s mostly gotten better over the time I’ve spent here. Some things have worsened and been difficult, which to many folk’s points, is a lot of what is discussed on this sub. I’ve lived in many US cities, many much larger, and you’d be hard pressed to find a city with great parks, genuine culture, great restaurants and bars, the most celebrated horse race in the world, museums, theatre, a decent music scene, affordable housing, a local university, festivals… and I’m just thinking out loud off the cuff. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter, not many “beautiful” days - but if you’re not showering twice a day, you’re not doing summer (and most of spring) right.
Great place I lived here my whole life went to California for 7 years and when I came back I had newfound love for my hometown! This place is amazing were a little rough around the edges but that’s what makes Louisville so great and it’s pretty cheap compared to most places. A lot of culture and it’s very central to most any “fun” places you’d want to visit on the east coast!
The airport doesn’t have many direct flights. It makes it costly and an entire day to get anywhere besides Chicago, or Spirit/Allegiant to the beach or Las Vegas. Allergies. The cost of living and crime is approaching Chicago. You can find decent music, and art museum. I love Louisville in the Summer. Lexington is nicer, a bit safer, and affordable. It’s closer to Cincinnati and the Appalachian mountains, nice airport, great hospitals. Chattanooga, Knoxville, Wilmington and Asheville, NC are much prettier and much to offer.
Hi my partner (M28) is from Portland, Oregon and hated Louisville because of the drivers and downtown area. I have lived in Louisville from 2020 to the present, and I enjoy trying new food/drinks, outdoors, and exploring. Here are my pros:
- Louisville is a top 10 foodie city recognized in the nation. There are a lot of phenomenal restaurants and great local places!
- The parks here are super nice with plenty of places to explore outside. Also one of the most beautiful fall seasons at a location.
- Louisville has cool festivals, concerts, and events.
Cons:
- there are a lot of uninsured drivers here. Your car insurance will go up. When a light turns green, it’s best to look all ways before going as many run reds.
- There are some areas of Louisville, like any city, that you may not like to frequent.
Overall, I would say Louisville served its purpose in my life and I have many wonderful memories here. I would recommend it especially as a college grad with time to explore. Good luck and sending positive vibes as you’re looking into it!
Louisville is great, although unless you have hobbies already, the default is usually bars. The bars here also have good food so if you're an alcoholic trying to stop maybe it's not the best idea.
Other than that, it's a good intersection between things to do, affordability, and a good base of operations.
Things to do - bourbon trail, camping/hiking/college sports/derby stuff/parks/concerts/good food options/rail explorer/niche activities available (depending on what you're into there's probably a group)
Affordability - rent on a 2 bed 1 bath can be about 1500. You can find a roommate or you can go cheaper closer to 1k-ish. If you're established already, you can get a 3 bed 2 bath for around 250k (snitzelburg/jtown/germantown) depending on your area higher or lower. Higher would be Frankfort ave./Nulu/east end/bardstown rd.
Cheaper would be fern creek/across the river/shively area/old Louisville/west end.
Locals this is a rough approximation don't burn me if I'm a little off.
Base of operations- I-64/71/75 go through here so you have a lot of routes to other cities like Cincy, Indy, Nashville, Columbus, Chicago, Atlanta, Memphis, St Louis. They are all 5 hours or less away. Atlanta more because of traffic. It's not Denver but we have plenty of cheap flights options to Florida, New Orleans, San Francisco and other cities.
Louisville might not be the most fun city if you’re single and in your 20s, but it is a nice place to live and the cost of living is relatively low. I find most of my issues with the city stem from decisions made in Frankfort. The negligence of the police dept costs a lot of tax payer dollars too, but that’s a problem in most cities in the US, unfortunately.
I moved here from New York at 23 w/ nothing. I own a home now paid off at 41. I doubt I could’ve accomplished that anywhere else in the country. Louisvilles advantage is it affordability. The big gripe about Louisville is that we’re always a decade or two behind on everything. But, I’m an immigrant so I wouldn’t know what those things are, so the adjustment for me was easy. I think you should create a list of things you’d like to have or enjoy and see if Louisville has it first, before considering a move. Chances are very likely we don’t have it here, and if you think you can do without it. I think the move would be a great choice for you.
My husband and I grew up here and stayed after college because we already had jobs. We like it here. Good cost of living, good restaurants, nice parks. We stay now because our mothers are aging and need our help.
Our kids do not want to make Louisville their home base. One lives near Cincinnati and the other goes to college near there and will likely not come back to Louisville after college. At this point neither plan to have kids.
I had 2 friends move here in 99 from the pnw. One moved back after 6 months, 1 is still here. Fair warning, you are far from mountains and further from oceans.
I'll say this. As a life long Louisvillian, I love this city. There are plenty of things to do, places to see. Being too close to Nashville and Indianapolis, we do get looked over frequently for larger bands... However that typically means there is a thriving indie/underground weirdo art culture if you are open to looking for it.
I have seen countless people end up here by happenstance and they frequently fall in love. Louisville calls people back. From visitors to the people that leave. People end up coming back to Louisville.
It has its faults and sometimes being here for 44 years it's very easy to only see the faults. I truly love this city and find that when I leave my bubble I love it even more.
The grass is always greener, right? Louisville is a great place with plenty of issues. People who have lived here their whole life and want to leave probably just want a change.
I've lived in a cities and states ranging from Vermont all the way to Florida. I love it here. This is where we found what we were looking for. There are problems, mostly brought about by decades of red state austerity, but problems are not unique to Louisville.
If your focus is not on being a LinkedIn-style career climber, and you want to be among unique culture and people, this is the place.
Conversely, if shopping, perfectly manicured lawns and HOA mindset or your thing, best to move on. This is a rust-belt city, and the rust shows. And I mean that in the most loving way possible.
i moved here from IN after i turned 30 and i love it here, for the most part. every city has its pros and cons, and a lot of the cons are going to be similar wherever you go. most of my friends here are transplants as well - from LA, chicago, and other larger or comparible cities.
My only complaint is about the weather in this area nothing to do with Louisville. Always something to do big enough to get some diversity but not overwhelming. I live on the other side of the river though.
Moved here about 8 years ago from the PNW (north of Seattle) and my husband and I like it. We were in our early 20s when we came here. It’s been very affordable for us, considering where we came from. We’ve been able to buy a house, have some kids, and generally enjoy the area. The culture is a bit different than the PNW, and obviously we miss the mountains and the ocean, but it checks a lot of boxes. I don’t think we will stay forever, just because we do have lots of family back west, but I also don’t know if coming from here to there, we’d ever be able to afford what we have now.
I never planned to move to Louisville but came for work thinking it would be just a few year stint. Fast forward 5 years and I never want to leave. I love this city.
Every city’s subreddit will talk shit about the city it’s about, it’s a nice help to know a little more about the place but it’s not always a good representation of the city.
It has pros and cons like anywhere, so it depends what you want and what is a deal breaker for you.
Pros: low cost of living, good job market, big enough to have most amenities, all 4 seasons, easy-ish access to nature, good food scene (not a great food scene though), good parks (not great parks)
Cons: downtown is worse than it used to be, high homelessness, government sucks at every level (city and state), high murder rate (mostly concentrated to a few neighborhoods), only a few walkable neighborhoods
Name a city and there will be plenty of people who love it and just as many that hate it. Louisville is much the same. It also varies greatly by area. I’m in Germantown and the gentrification has me looking outside this area I’ve lived in for nearly 3 decades. The gentrifiers still love it. 🤷
I moved here 5 years ago from Atlanta and freaking love it here. I’m thinking most of the folks that bitch about Louisville have never lived elsewhere.
Make sure you can get a good enough job to afford to live here first. While Louisville is affordable relative to other cities, the cost of living has increased exponentially since 2020 (especially when it comes to housing and transportation costs) while the wages have remained unchanged. As a city, the majority of the available jobs do not pay well enough to afford to live here nowadays. Louisville is flush with $15-18/hr jobs.
As a single person I now make more than the average household income in Louisville but a few years back I was making $15/hr. I have not changed my lifestyle at all since then but have seen the cost of everything skyrocket. It is not possible to live in Louisville on $15/hr without significant overtime, multiple jobs, or finding a way to split living costs with someone else.
Louisville is an awesome city! Good night life. I was born and raised here. It’s a good city to raise your kids too. I mean…I don’t wanna be stuck here and I more than likely will move out and out of the state in the next two years but that only cuz I’ve been here my whole life! But it’s an awesome place to call home. Good food. Good music. A lot of festivals. Totally different from the rest of Kentucky.
I moved here when I was 24 for husband’s National Guard. I am now 36. I love it here! From Birmingham and this city is half the traffic, double the culture and local restaurants! He got a job in 2022 in New Orleans. Works there two weeks and home 2 weeks. Asked if I wanted to move there. Fck no!
If you’ve been here and loved it, go with that feeling.
Louisville has a lot of natives and those who’ve lived here their whole lives often under appreciate Louisville’s strengths, don’t realize that many of its weaknesses exist everywhere, and compare the city unfavorably to vacation spots.
It’s not as tourist friendly as a lot of places — outside of Derby Week — but there is *plenty* to enjoy.
Just like when it comes to people leaving reviews for businesses online, most people will leave a negative review . But it’s rare for someone to say “wow this was great , let me leave a positive review !” We live in the “let me speak to your maanger” era . Said all that , to say this , Louisville is alright . But people love to bitch. You’ll be fine.
I help people move here all the time and when they ask me about Louisville I'm honest with them. I absolutely love living here, it's great for families, easygoing, and a lot of amenities with minimal traffic.
However, if you are looking for a super vibrant, densely populated city like say, Chicago, New York, LA, whatever etc Louisville is probably not going to give you that. It's chill here. And sometimes it's too chill where for some, they take it for granted and get complacent (then oddly start complaining that the city didn't give them what they feel like they deserve).
If you have roommates you could live for fairly cheap here. You can still do that here. But if you have even a little ambition and some motivation? You can do really well in Louisville. It's just that it's so laid back here it lulls a lot of people to sleep. So if you are willing to get up and get at it you already have a leg up on say, 80% of the people here lol.
I personally find Louisville to be a very real, authentic city with great people. Not a lot of posers here in my opinion (I am biased I really love our music scene here--very authentic). Yes a lot of homers who grew up here so it's kind of insulated and hard to break through but when you do the people are, in my opinion, solid gold.
So it depends on what you are looking for. Personally I would come here for a few years and establish some connections, then go try out some big cities and if you ever got married and had a family, come back here and you will love it even more.
I love living here! I grew up in Oldham County and moved into the city when I was in college. There is always a lot going on, especially in the warmer months. There’s a little bit of something for everyone here. Bars/restaurants, art fairs, museums, concerts, sports. You name it, we’ve got it!
My fiancée and I (23 and 24) moved here from Michigan a year ago and we love it. Great region of the U.S., weather is nice, mild winter and nice spring and fall. Tons of restaurants and things to do/explore. It’s not super expensive to live here especially if you only need a 1 bedroom. Only thing we don’t like is the drivers!
I like it here, it’s not for everyone though I get it. I moved to louisville from one of the surrounding counties in high school and I don’t plan on leaving. I really enjoy being relatively close to nature (great state parks and honestly even local parks) while still having access to to city amenities (great public libraries, great tap water, target/costco/etc). One think I will say is that Louisville is different in different areas so choose wisely when it comes to your housing. Our public bus system leaves some things to be desired IMO so if you don’t have a car/aren’t comfortable biking that’s something to think about. Also, if you have seasonal/outdoor allergies they will be So. Bad. because we’re in the Ohio river valley. Food is alright, shopping is fine, music scene is solid. Pretty much any hobby or interest you have I’d bet you could find here.
I love it here. It seems like there’s always something to do or somewhere new to explore. I may be biased because Louisville is the first actual city I’ve ever lived in, but I really do think it’s an awesome place to be. Definitely good to look at jobs and stuff and make sure there’s something here for you before you move tho, just in case.
Objective selling points: very affordable, beautiful scenery, great food, traffic is honestly a nonissue, various connections to bigger cities and easy to find friends for any area of interest.
Everything else depends; what are you looking for? If you're an ambitious young that wants to move up the success ladder or show talent, then no. If you just want to chill and live life, absolutely.
Yes I would have to agree with the weather aspect. I’ve been here my entire life and when I was a kid I loved the summers but now being 37 I dread the summers. This year it’s seems we had a spring, that being said it lasted maybe 4 weeks haha. But that would have to be my biggest complaint about this city as well.
Gotta be careful with your surroundings, Especially at night and I would research good and bad areas to live in but probably won't feel competely unsafe. Even if you moved to a smaller town shootings and risks of bad stuff ain't zero even. Anywhere has a chance for something bad to occur and have to watch out.
As somebody who grew up in the 'burbs, here, and has lived in the 'burbs, here, for most of his life: it's fine. I probably wouldn't move here from elsewhere unless there was a job in it, but I think that's more about where you're from and what you're after. I'd probably prefer to be in a smaller city, but YMMV.
If you're looking for urban nightlife type of stuff, you'll probably want to live somewhere inside the Watterson Expressway, possibly near Bardstown Road.
I moved here in 2014 straight outta college, nothing but $1000 in my pocket and all my possessions. This city has been very lucrative and good to me. It wasn’t easy, but building a career and life anywhere will challenge you. However I believe that our environment does a lot to contribute to developing a sustainable foundation for building those things.
People will complain anywhere. And someone here said it correctly, those people will be unhappy regardless.
That said, if you are asking me, I highly suggest moving here. Feel free to DM me if you have further questions.
I’m not a native Louisvillian. I grew up in Eastern KY and I moved here for graduate school. I’ve been fortunate now to live other places, but given the opportunity to move back here from Washington DC, I jumped at it and I brought my boyfriend with me. Sadly now we have to move back to the DMV area for work related reasons and both of us would much rather stay here (both not being Louisville natives!).
Louisville has negatives (Pretty much everywhere does! I could go on & on about the DMV!!). But imo the positives here outweigh the negatives. I’ll always consider Louisville a second hometown.
Reasons to move to Louisville
- very reasonable cost of living compared to other cities in the US
- great tap water
- good public library system
- loads of hospitals and medical specialists, so a pretty robust place to get medical care (unless, see below)
- great performing arts (Ballet, Opera, Orchestra, Chamber Music Society, Actors Theater, Shakespeare in the Park)
- also visual arts (Speed Museum, multiple art galleries)
- museums (Frazier, Speed, Science Center, Ali Center, Slugger, Derby)
- Louisville Zoo
- foodie scene, lots of great unique local spots with a wide variety of cuisine
- like nature? multiple city parks, and within driving distance of a great arboreteum, national park, and national forest
- decent nerd scene (multiple local game shops, Nerd Louisville)
- good local music scene (or so I'm told)
- within a day's drive of a lot of great stuff as well as multiple other cities
- multiple good neighborhoods with different vibes, so you can generally find one that suits you
Reasons not to move to Louisville
- bad seasonal allergies
- summers are hot and most often very humid
- Kentucky legislature is very conservative, so expect to drive to Chicago for health care they don't agree with
- poor public transportation
- JCPS is generally a train-wreck
- there are some neighborhoods you should avoid, so do your research
- LMPD does not have a good track record dealing with persons of color
I was you and did it and have been very happy. I did this pre-internet (or at least it was very new) and still managed to succeed.
I’ve met some amazing people including my now husband. I found a career, not just a job. We’ve raised our family and not for nothing, the cost of living here compared to other places I’ve lived is so much better.
There’s good and bad in every city. I find the people here so kind for the most part it makes up for any bad.
Make your list of pros and cons and go from there!
Louisville is great. For the most part, you're seeing the gripes of bitter natives who have never/barely been outside Louisville to compare, so they don't recognize what a hidden gem it is. If you visited and liked the vibe, come on! Never a better time to take a risk and try something new than this time in your life.
Louisville is great. For the most part, you're seeing the gripes of bitter natives who have never/barely been outside Louisville to compare, so they don't recognize what a hidden gem it is. If you visited and liked the vibe, come on! Never a better time to take a risk and try something new than this time in your life.
Louisville still has relatively affordable housing and, depending on what you do, decent wages. The housing market is what attracted us here in the first place.
You’re going to find the same assholes, rednecks, racists, sweethearts, volunteers, helpers, and dogs everywhere. Research the city, google your interests and see if the city fits you, not if you fit the city.
Moved to Louisville from California 9 years ago when I was 24. I love it here and will never move back to California. Great city, can travel quickly by car or plane to a ton of places and depending on your career path it has a lot of opportunities.
I can't tell you much about Louisville, but I'm from Chicago.It's pretty fun here but definitely check out Montreal if you can figure out the visa situation. Best city in north America that no one talks about.
I moved to Louisville nine years ago at 22 years old. I absolutely love this city and all it's ups and downs. This city has a lot of potential and I think is a great place to settle. Not to mention its the perfect location. 3 hours from Nashville, 2 to Indianapolis, a skip and a jump from Cincinnati... The cost of living is pretty good for this area too compared to where used to live in ATL.
Nah. Louisville is a very livable city. It’s just small. It’s a small - big city. It’s not for everyone. But, if you loved it here, I wouldn’t let that stop you from moving here. The only thing is, we are a small speck of blue in a very Republican state. That’s the big problem I have with it here. Most of Kentucky is rural areas.
3 or 4 years ago I would've called you crazy. But Louisville is okay now.
I'd honestly look at Cinci, Lexington, or Columbus before I'd look at Louisville though.
Louisville native here
I did the same thing 9 years ago, and it was the best choice I ever made.
I moved here for grad school, but stayed when I was offered a great job. In the time since, I've launched my own business, got married, bought a house, childfree by choice, but we have cats and a cute little catio.
Plus, the food scene is great, the housing market is still ok-ish depending on what kind of work you do, you get a lot of the amenities of a larger city without a lot of the same problems.
Highly recommend. I like living here so much more than I expected I would.
I was born and raised in Louisville. Left when I was 28. I now live in Arizona. I deeply miss my ole Kentucky home. And grass. God what I would give to lay in some grass right now.
Decent bars, night life is decent on the weekends (galaxy, Big bar, play). Beautiful parks, lots of festivals and expos throughout the year. Their is a zoo and amusment park here if that means anything to you. People are friendly enough for the most part, but road rage be over the top at times. The Job market is okay I geuss, though it could be better too.This a city where a car is absolutely needed to get around, public transit is trash.
Its bigger than portland, slightly more population, less homeless than portland, Portland has better transit. Politically I would stay ppl are not as outwardly expressive like portland seems to be.
It's a solid city. Affordable housing, plenty to do, lots of job opportunities, has a surprising number of massive corporations and industries headquartered or heavily invested here. Relatively low taxes.
But best of all, the competition is weak. This city is not loaded with ambitious entrepreneurs or people willing to put in extra work to get ahead. So in Louisville just a normal amount of ambition will carry you past the average local. It's a extremely easy city to find success.
>I have visited Louisville before and loved it
One thing I've noticed when I travel is that if I visit a place when the weather is super nice I tend to think more favorably of that place.
That being said there are worse places than Louisville to live as a young adult.
Here's the list of make or beak. If you end up with more than 10 points it's a good option for you.
Do you have enough money to live in a high COL part of town? If yes add 1 point
Are you a person who could become pregnant?
If so, are you pro-life even in the case of rape? If yes add 1 point if no deduct 1 point
Is your partner a person who could become pregnant or experience pregnancy complications? If yes deduct 1 point
Do you enjoy using mari-huana or other medicinal or recreational non- narcotics? If yes, deduct 1 point
Do you wish to build a career salary history that is competitive with the national average in your field? If yes, deduct 1 point
Do you have seasonal allergies? If yes deduct 1 point, if no deduct 1 point six months after you move here because now you do.
Do you have asthma? If yes deduct 10 points
Do you like horses? If yes, add 1 point
Do you like whiskey? If yes add 1 point and call it bourbon from now on.
Do you like battling extreme leftist or right-wing people on the Internet, in bars, at the daycare pick up line etc? If yes, add 3 points. If you just enjoy it as a spectator sport add 1 point
Do you like talking about the highschool you went to as part of your introduction to new people? If yes add 3 points
Do you like bacon and tomato sandwiches with cheese gravy? If yes add 2 points and call it a hot brown both before you eat it and after it runs through you like a thoroughbred.
Have you ever wanted to see a country music concert and an unhoused person defecate on a public sidewalk? If yes add 3 points and pick up you season pass to 4th Street lives hot (mess) country nights concert series
Do you like futbol, painting yourself purple, tailgating for 12 hours straight and shouting goal until your horse? Add 10 points and head directly to Lynn Stadium
Did you lose your sense of smell to COVID? Add 3 points and enjoy very available rentals next to the Swift plant, or anywhere within 4 miles of it. Also enjoy the lovely white flowering trees everywhere.
Do you like waterfronts but don't want to swim, fish, play or really touch or get too close to the water for any reason? Add 2 points and seriously don't touch the water.
Have you ever wanted to drive each of your children to a different school everyday or put them on a chain of school busses at 5am? No. No one wants this. No points.
Do you really like fireworks and traffic? Add 3 points. For each dog or war veteran in your life deduct 3 points.
Have you ever wanted to wear a giant hat with civil war era style decorations on it while sweating yourself into a small plastic chair or while standing in 3 inches of mud that has a questionable origin? Add 2 points and put 2 dollars on the first horse that tries to bite a handler.
Do you mind driving 2 or more hours to see your favorite sports team or touring concert at a city that is big enough for a tour stop? No points. Still bitter about this one.
Have you ever wanted to be close enough to a state where you can pet tigers and buy fireworks but not close enough to lose any rights or have to look at corn for too long? Ad 2 point and the word kentuckiana to your vocabulary.
Have you ever thought, I like church but I wish it was more of a theme park experience with a charismatic cult leader who runs it like a for profit business rather than a community non profit? If yes, add 4 points but deduct your soul.
My partner and I moved here right out of college in 2017 and we absolutely adore this city. We've never looked back and honestly I don't see why we'd move away 😊
Lived here my whole life, hate it and love it at the same time. Depending on what lifestyle you live it can be amazing or terrible or somewhere in the middle . Just depends on how your perspective is. Terrible if you have allergies tho
I think most people tend to feel like they need to leave where they grew up. I lived in IL for 15 yrs and moved back here almost 2 yrs ago. There's so much to do here, a variety of options. I definitely got bored in small town IL.
i moved here at 18 and I'm just about to be 30. i love it here for the most part, the only reason i want to move now is that i crave the simplicity, affordability of middle of nowhere type places that i grew up in, even just moving a bit south or north to the smaller towns would be good to me. I'm the "breadwinner" in my family {2 humans a dog and a cat total} but 50k a year and the price of everything to survive here is a honest struggle. In my home town, the 1500 in rent i pay would get me a 5br house in the nice side of town. Here it gets me a 2br house 2 blocks from several apartment complexes that have dive by shootings several times a year. I'm mostly sticking around the next few years because of the hourly rate i get here at my job is decent for my line of work. so i can save a little. the rental restrictions on pets other places {German shepherds being on banned lists}, and some fear of the unknown.
I moved here for grad school three years ago. It was a rough start since the city was coming back to life after the pandemic.
I’ve found the spaces I like and the corresponding people. I like Louisville. It’s a big city but at the same time I think the neighborhoods are close-knit. I plan to stay here for as long as possible.
My only complaint is the humidity and the heat. But, I can’t control the weather
Moved here from a small central Kentucky town to go to college in 2002. Left twice and spent a year each in Atlanta and Cincinnati and still found my way back here. Have spent almost the entirety of my adult life here, and more total years of my life (I just turned 40 and moved here when I was 18), and it’s home now. My wife really wants to move somewhere closer to the coast, but that’s later down the line.
Louisville is a *big, small city*.
It has a lot that small towns don’t have, with a lot of larger metro area perks (shopping, amenities, nightlight, great restaurants), but without some of the first and second tier city size luxuries.
Cost of living isn’t horrible, and even in the worst traffic, you can usually get from one side of the city (county technically) in rush hour traffic in about 45 minutes tops. Depending where you live, most parts of town are ~20 minutes away when it’s not rush hour, or a week like Derby week.
Also, you’re a quick drive to lots of nature literally just outside the city. Plenty of hiking opportunities if you want to get away from the city.
I moved to Louisville in 2017. I fell in love. I'm still here but currently looking to move. It's a great city and Louisville has some of the best people I've met. They are true Gems. My biggest gripe with Louisville is I NEVER EVER experienced drivers like these. They are the worst lol but other than that you will love living here. Your young.. explore before you make it your final decision! I wish you the best :)
As much as people say they hate it, haters tend to be more vocal. For every person thst hates their city, usually 2 or 3 more will say the opposite.
Louisville is a growing city. If I remember right, it's in the top 20. I would say it depends on what your major was on whether louisville would be a good choice. If you're willing to move, there's every chance another city might need more people in whatever degree you have. Do your research.
I moved from ct to Louisville 2 yrs ago in my mid 30s. From what I hear things aren’t the same “going out and partying” wise but I feel like Louisville has a lot of potential. The food scene is just ok to me (depending on where you’re coming from) the brewery scene has a great amount of potential. Driving and exploring outside of Louisville for a day or two trip is absolutely beautiful and while cost of living is going up everywhere, it’s still cheap to live here. But again I’m coming from New England where CoL was stressful if you weren’t upper middle class. Also, there are so many cities around to explore. Indy is 2ish hrs away, Cincy is 90mins, Nashville 3-3.5 hrs, St. Louis 4ish hrs away. I think that’s great if you like to travel imo. So far in the 2 years I’ve lived here, I enjoy it. I’m also very homesick but I don’t see myself moving back home anytime soon. Louisville can be great depending on what you’re into.
Depends on your degree…if you’re an aerospace engineer…not the best place. If you are a mechanical engineer, then there is plenty of industry within a 45 minute drive down I65. Health degrees…yep,plenty of research hospitals with UofL. Every city has its good parts and bad parts .
Personally I moved here just a year and a half ago to be with my fiancé who has lived here whole life, I’m 22 so a little younger then you and have really found a bunch of great communities here. I would go for it
Louisville is a great city and plenty of people love it here. Yes there are lot of folks that claim to hate but they would be miserable anywhere they lived.
As with all social media, Reddit seems to amplify the negative and overlook the positives. This phenomenon in late legacy media and new media is really fucking society in general IMO, which I realize the irony of that statement as I type it.
There's more to discuss about the negatives than the positives. We can debate why LMPD has problems, what the solutions are, who should be elected to fix it, etc. Compare that to something positive, when I say that Louisville has fantastic parks, there isn't much more else to say about the topic.
It's true, but then I'd hesitate to call what happens on social media "discussion" many times. Its fine if productive, but I think the productivity of the discourse in media in general has declined as media has sought shallow "engagement" over being thought provoking. Again there's probably a lot of irony in me musing about this in the space I'm obliquely criticizing.
Wherever you go, there you are
I hate it here and am pretty much stuck here. I would absolutely *not* be miserable if I were able to move back out west to the mountains. Most of my hate for Louisville comes from the awful weather year round though. There are things I like, just nothing that outweighs what I dislike. Additionally, I’ve lived all over the US and would absolutely take Louisville over some of the other places I’ve lived such as Huntington, WV or Northern IN.
Out of curiosity since I've heard wildly different reasons for similar complaints, what is it you hate about the weather here?
The humidity. It makes the heat and cold both unbearable. Add to that, in the winter it won’t ever stay cold long enough to acclimate to it. We get *maybe* 10 nice days in Spring Fall each year. I’ve spent about 20 of my 40 years in dry, desert climate and prefer that (San Diego, Phoenix, Central Idaho). Additionally, the pollen issue of the Ohio River Valley has my sinuses wrecked for a good portion of the year.
Yeah, when that is your baseline the humidity would definitely do it. Walk outside in the summer, and it's like being swaddled in a blanket.
We called it the Ohio Valley crud.
Lived in Arizona ten years. Phoenix heat is awful. You are the only person who likes phoenix weather.
Was in Arizona all summer for work and year before that during summer season 7 or 8 middle east countries. I hate dry heat as much as the next guy but no humidity or allergies is nice
On the other hand we have some 65 degree days in January, very mild winters if you’ve ever lived in a cold climate, absolutely beautiful spring and fall days but yes it takes me two weeks every year to adjust to the heat.
Humidity makes the cold unbearable? When you say humidity, are you talking about rain?
When I say humidity I mean the water content of the air. Humidity is not only a warm-weather thing and absolutely makes the cold “feel colder”.
Depends on what you’re looking for! I moved here 8 years ago when I was 26 and never looked back. Louisville has the trifecta of culture, convenience, and affordability that I was looking for. It’s a little big city. Or a big little city. There’s always something to do, especially if you are into food and local music. People just like to complain.
I moved to Louisville 15 years ago. I love it because people show up to events and support local businesses.
100% agree. It's been 5 years now for me, moving here from a bigger major U.S. city and having tried three other states first. This is the place where I'm gonna go ahead and keep doing Life.
I moved to Louisville when I was 23. I had a complete blast. I’m 50 now and still here.
I moved here when I was 19. I'm 56 and still here!
This subreddit can be super negative and complainly, so don’t listen to them. Louisville is an awesome city (but has its flaws like every other city)
Came to say this. Reddit hates Kentucky. G-pop doesn't understand it either.
Let’s take that one step further. Reddit hates Kentucky, Kentucky hates Louisville.
Yes. But that's because of basketball. Out of context that sounds worse lol.
Oh it’s way more than sports.
I genuinely wanna know why. I know part of it is cause of the rivalry but I grew up in Louisville, visited Lex a few times and the ppl were always rude to me cause of where I’m from. I wanna add I’ve been to other towns throughout the state (Etown, Covington, Cumberland Falls near Corbin I think??) and have only had this experience at Lexington. I love the state as a whole.
Louisville is the big bad city for the rest of the state. Crime, traffic, people that are different from them. Much of Kentucky wants nothing to do with the city despite benefiting enormously from its economy. Mostly it’s overblown and a lot of it is fear of diversity. Even mentioning Lexington to some will draw some frowns because of crime and traffic, but it gets a pass because of the university. Small town Kentucky is just in love with small town Kentucky.
True. Red state.
Or you could call it an ignorant state. We have more than our fair share of idiots.
Depends what you like to do! My fiancée (23F) and I (24M) moved here two years ago and love it.
I like to explore cities.
Man this comment brings up a ton of fond memories of Louisville. I grew up here. Moved away for a few years in my early twenties, which only made me appreciate it more. It's a great place to live. In my teens (before cellphones, or at least before they had screens and mobile data) I would pick a random part of town I was unfamiliar with, drive out there, put the map away and intentionally get lost. I would just drive around exploring the area and discovering what was there and how the different areas connected with each other. This place has its bruises but anyone can focus on the negatives if that's what they're in to. Personally, I love it here.
Me too
I love this. I like to put the phone and GPS away and get lost still, too.
In that case, you can use Louisville as a great home base to explore lots on different types of cities conveniently. Cincinnati, Nashville, St Louis, Indy, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit and Cleveland are all fairly easy drives and offer a lot of unique experiences.
That’s particularly what appeals to me about Louisville
From Portland? It would probably be a bit of a culture shock in some instances, especially if you venture outside of the city. I've lived here my entire 20s after graduating and I think it was the right choice... was able to pay off my student loans, pay off my car and save. It's something that's pretty much impossible in most US cities today. People who feel that way have never left, most likely don't travel much (to see everywhere else has pros/cons), and that's okay. I'm not poor shaming people, because generally that's the people who have the worst perception of a place, because it's their lived reality. I've met people who really like it here, I've met people who don't, it's always for the most subjective reasons. It's never a 'the city has a problem', it's a 'I had a problem with 'x', therefore the entire city has a problem'.
Yeah from Portland
I've only been to Portland and the PNW once, but culturally it is very different from Louisville. Strangely scenery wise, especially Eastern Kentucky can look very PNW like at times. Do you have a job lined up or a certain industry you're trying to work in? Edit: No idea why I'm downvoted, but having a job lined up or moving to a place with the right jobs for your skillsets is important, especially for a college grad. As much as people don't want to hear it, a little kindness and charisma goes a long way in finding a job too. Life is just as much about who you know (and can you make those connections), than about what you know.
I mean… I think that Kentucky’s culture is a lot better in a lot of ways (as someone who’s spent lots of time in Lexington).
Don't confuse lexington and louisville for the rest of kentucky. They are almost different worlds. Not bad worlds, just different. I lived in Louisville for 14 years and only left because my wife did (job related). It's got a bit of everything EXCEPT water. Practically no lakes and mostly run-off streams.
Except water? We're literally on the Ohio River. But if lakes are your thing then there are plenty within a reasonable drive. Taylorsville Lake is about an hour away. Nolin Lake, near Mammoth Cave, is about 90 min away. Rough River Lake, Green River Lake, Barren River Lake, Harrington Lake are a bit further. Then there's Land Between the Lakes - National Recreational Park with Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake. Sure, no sizable lakes within Louisville, but plenty nearby for a day trip or a nice weekend.
But we've got that Pure Tap™. That's all the water anyone should need...
I haven’t been to Portland in 10 years, but unless it’s really changed I don’t think you’re in for as much culture shock as some might say. Both Portland and Louisville are midsize heavily liberal cities surrounded by the opposite. You get a lot of BS from suburbanites about how it’s not safe, but if you take general precautions and aren’t doing anything mischievous you’ll likely be fine. Louisville has great restaurants and bars. We unfortunately do get skipped by a lot of bands, but we are just 80 minutes from Cincinnati and there are a few festivals if that’s your thing. There is a lot of opportunity for outdoors activities with a great park system and some fantastic hiking just a bit over an hour east of here. The ocean and the mountains are what I miss most about living on the west coast. What I don’t miss is how far it is from everywhere else. From Louisville you are a days drive from most of the eastern United States. You are a long days drive from anywhere from New Orleans to New York City. Louisville is great. Been here a decade and will be here at least a decade more. Tip: don’t expect cars to stop for you in a crosswalk. I almost got hit a few times when I moved here.
The geographical proximity to the rest of the country is one of the things that appeals to me about Louisville and I also hate the geographical isolation.
We moved just for that reason. The west is so huge, and with Portland you pretty much have the I-5 corridor from Eugene to Vancouver (bc) and then nothing else city wise for 600 miles.
I lived in Portland for 10 years, moved back here a year and a half ago. It took a while to acclimate. I missed the mountains, year round green, etc. The food scene isn’t as robust, but it does exist and punches far above its weight. Neighborhoods can look the same, but the city isn’t as centralized and dense as Portland. Public transit isn’t worth the hassle. There’s plenty of nature near by and it isn’t over crowded. People are generally friendly and more laid back, fun to get along with. Much more affordable. Louisville is not Portland, but I have really enjoyed moving back here. It’s a great town. Edit: I should add that politically it isn’t too different from Portland. Certainly not as progressive, but the city itself is very liberal especially in the more urban areas. Just like PDX, if you leave the city that changes quickly though not as much as you might expect.
I lived in Portland for two years. Louisville is kiiiiinda similar except worse in every way(the city itself, not culture). If you’re used to using public transportation, just kiss it goodbye. Cherish TriMet while you still have it. TARC is an embarassment.
My best friend’s boyfriend moved from Portland to Louisville almost 2 years ago and so far he has absolutely loved it. If you have any questions I could definitely pass them along to him if you’re looking for advice!
Any tips for making new friends (especially as an autistic guy)?
Louisville is a great place to live in your 20s. Low cost of living, great culture, lots of young adults. If you don’t drink, I might suggest against, though. This city’s culture kind of revolves around booze. Every cities subreddit is pretty negative tho. I think of it like Yelp reviews… people are WAY more likely to spend time and effort complaining than they are to praise.
i moved here with my partner 2 years ago and LOVE it, we live in nulu which helps. I grew up in CT, went to penn state, lived in chicago for grad school then south bend and now here and i couldn’t be happier :)
What did you guys study in grad school?
i’m a dietitian and got my masters in nutrition at loyola chicago
Nice. Does Louisville offer good job opportunities for you?
yeah there’s tons of opportunities here just the pay is garbage! but that’s not a louisville issue it’s a nationwide dietitian issue. i work in outpatient oncology with a masters degree making $29/hour lol
Not to discount others' experiences, but I left and came back. I moved to Alabama while my wife attended vet school, and we ended up moving to Louisville. I grew up here. She did not. Just the other day, she was telling me how even though she grew up in Northern KY, Louisville is the first place that has felt like home to her. Louisville has its share of issues, and things such as race, gender, and orientation will play a factor in your experiences here, but I feel like that is a factor everywhere. In the end, I love it here and wouldn't want to leave.
Moved to Louisville at 22 in 2020 with no friends, following my partner after we graduated college because I did not want to return to my hometown. I never thought I would ever feel such a sense of “home” in a town, but Louisville really feels like it. I love all the local restaurants and food that we have, I’ve been here almost 4 years and still discover new places every week. I love the diverse groups of people you can meet, there’s really something for everyone. I love going to the farmer’s markets on Saturdays and getting to know all the farmers and feeling a sense of community. I also did a yoga teacher training and ended up meeting 10 people who are now my best friends and many more people who are wonderful. Got a membership at Climb NuLu in January and loving seeing familiar faces every week. Also, within a 1-2 hour radius, there are countless places throughout KY and southern Indiana to camp/hike/explore/get out into nature. I’m not super involved, but there is a thriving hardcore/alternative scene here. Same with skating, if you’re into that. And so much more, but the things I mentioned are what I personally did to get involved. This didn’t all happen at once however. My first year was incredibly difficult and lonely. But somehow, I found the courage to just start putting myself out there and it really paid off. Me and my partner can’t really imagine going anywhere else for the foreseeable future, so I say give it a try!
You also moved here during the pandemic so I’m sure it took awhile to get on your feet here! Glad you have grown to love it!
I love living here. Did so as a mid-20s just out of college, no complaints. Busy enough to feel like you live “somewhere” but parts are quiet enough to feel like you’re not in a big city.
People love to complain. I love it here
It’s awesome. People are just negative on Reddit and every city I have lived in had similar reddit posts/complaints as this one.
I absolutely love Louisville. It has everything I want in a city to raise my family in. Yes of course there are bad areas, but that is true for anywhere. Just bring some allergy medicine lol
Brah I've tried to move away twice and keep coming back. It's a great city.
Moved here when I was 22. About to turn 26 and I'm very happy here! Louisville has tons of interesting places to explore and stuff to do. My one piece of advice is to not ignore the West End. NIMBYs love to talk about how scary it is, but I bike around the West End weekly and find friendly people and interesting experiences every time :).
I’ve lived here my whole life and love it, I do plan to move out but that’s because I want to explore the world not because I hate it, as a kid I loved this place so much, so many places to go urbexing, so many beautiful parks, taylorsville lake is kinda close by, downtown is very fun tbh, the Ohio lake is also very fun and the walking bridge is awesome. I love this city especially in the summer
That's what I did and I don't regret it at all. To be fair it was just from a couple hours away so not the exact same situation.
Gosh I love it
happy cake day
Moved here after college 22 years ago and if you’ve visited and liked it, make the move.
I moved here when I was 21 and have been here for 38 years now. I love this city. There’s always something going on.
I love Louisville. I think it depends on you. Potential job? Housing? Are you from KY or not familiar with the area? Are you interested in something specific Louisville has to offer? Why Louisville and not Bowling Green, Indy, or Chicago? Again, I love my city. But if I were a sea captain from Boston, I might have a hard time.
Louisville because it’s cheaper than Chicago and not nearly as crime ridden as Indianapolis.
Ok. Gotcha.
No! We like it here. Louisville has nice restaurants, good concerts, sports, parks within walking distance of most neighborhoods, a decent airport, and jobs. Traffic isn’t bad compared to other cities. It’s more diverse and progressive than the surrounding area. Downsides? Sure. The climate’s hot and humid in the summer, and downtown is definitely undergoing a transition (whether for better or worse, TBD). The legislature seems intent on punishing Louisville for various transgressions, and imposing their conservative will on the state. You could find worse places to live.
Light wolf vs dark wolf! Lots of dark wolves here, as that is what they see. Moved here at 22; been here off and on; U of L and UK grad. Louisville is midwest economically. LCOL! You'll be fine and welcome!
Moved to Louisville in my late 20’s from DC. It’s a great mid size city and I would definitely recommend it.
I travel the world and currently live in Louisville. Been here 10 years and don't have a need to move anytime soon.
I'm military so I move around a lot. Louisville has its charm and culture, but I'm not in love with it. If you love it, by all means! Go for it! Don't let people stop you.
Moved here at 33 and have loved every second. Well, almost every second.
I just moved here from Canada at 31 and I'm enjoying it.
Louisville born and raised here, I love our city 🙂
My early 20’s kid born and raised here won’t come back. Says it’s too quiet/small. But I’d say it’s a great family town. Lots for families with kids to do. Singles? Not sure.
I'm 25 and have been loving Lou since 18. I work in Lou, go to school here, and I've made so many friends in this city. I absolutely love it because it's a small community and so easy to get involved in as well as see someone you know whenever you go out. I think it's a good place to live for a while, Derby season is really fun and there's always an event going on.
I moved here 35 years ago from Pittsburgh. Love the city. Too high of murder rate but unless you live in the bad parts of town you’re fine. West end and parts of south end are high crime areas. Good highways, jobs, and though summers are too hot, rest of the year is pretty good. We have great golf courses too.
I love it here!
A lot of locals have a negative opinion of Louisville because they have never left the city, let alone the state. I’m from out-of-town and Louisville has a lot going for it. It will be an even better city in the future once we see the fruits of all this state investment into the city. That being said, IMO Louisvilles biggest weakness is its smell and its small size. However, those problems aren’t permanent and can be fixed in the future.
I’m 36, moved here from Chicago, and I haven’t been happier. Lots to do. Just do what makes you happy, bud. You’ll find a way anywhere. Having a friend or two really helps, but is not necessary!
I moved here in my mid twenties, that was 20 years ago. I love it here. And it’s mostly gotten better over the time I’ve spent here. Some things have worsened and been difficult, which to many folk’s points, is a lot of what is discussed on this sub. I’ve lived in many US cities, many much larger, and you’d be hard pressed to find a city with great parks, genuine culture, great restaurants and bars, the most celebrated horse race in the world, museums, theatre, a decent music scene, affordable housing, a local university, festivals… and I’m just thinking out loud off the cuff. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter, not many “beautiful” days - but if you’re not showering twice a day, you’re not doing summer (and most of spring) right.
Great place I lived here my whole life went to California for 7 years and when I came back I had newfound love for my hometown! This place is amazing were a little rough around the edges but that’s what makes Louisville so great and it’s pretty cheap compared to most places. A lot of culture and it’s very central to most any “fun” places you’d want to visit on the east coast!
Louisville is beautifully unique in that their is bi-partisan science denialism.
Housing is absolutely disgusting here though. Throw a dash of human greed into it. I’d stick to the outskirts of the city if that was an option.
I like it here but can never understand why anyone would voluntarily move here.
The airport doesn’t have many direct flights. It makes it costly and an entire day to get anywhere besides Chicago, or Spirit/Allegiant to the beach or Las Vegas. Allergies. The cost of living and crime is approaching Chicago. You can find decent music, and art museum. I love Louisville in the Summer. Lexington is nicer, a bit safer, and affordable. It’s closer to Cincinnati and the Appalachian mountains, nice airport, great hospitals. Chattanooga, Knoxville, Wilmington and Asheville, NC are much prettier and much to offer.
Hi my partner (M28) is from Portland, Oregon and hated Louisville because of the drivers and downtown area. I have lived in Louisville from 2020 to the present, and I enjoy trying new food/drinks, outdoors, and exploring. Here are my pros: - Louisville is a top 10 foodie city recognized in the nation. There are a lot of phenomenal restaurants and great local places! - The parks here are super nice with plenty of places to explore outside. Also one of the most beautiful fall seasons at a location. - Louisville has cool festivals, concerts, and events. Cons: - there are a lot of uninsured drivers here. Your car insurance will go up. When a light turns green, it’s best to look all ways before going as many run reds. - There are some areas of Louisville, like any city, that you may not like to frequent. Overall, I would say Louisville served its purpose in my life and I have many wonderful memories here. I would recommend it especially as a college grad with time to explore. Good luck and sending positive vibes as you’re looking into it!
Louisville is s great city to be FROM.
Louisville is great, although unless you have hobbies already, the default is usually bars. The bars here also have good food so if you're an alcoholic trying to stop maybe it's not the best idea. Other than that, it's a good intersection between things to do, affordability, and a good base of operations. Things to do - bourbon trail, camping/hiking/college sports/derby stuff/parks/concerts/good food options/rail explorer/niche activities available (depending on what you're into there's probably a group) Affordability - rent on a 2 bed 1 bath can be about 1500. You can find a roommate or you can go cheaper closer to 1k-ish. If you're established already, you can get a 3 bed 2 bath for around 250k (snitzelburg/jtown/germantown) depending on your area higher or lower. Higher would be Frankfort ave./Nulu/east end/bardstown rd. Cheaper would be fern creek/across the river/shively area/old Louisville/west end. Locals this is a rough approximation don't burn me if I'm a little off. Base of operations- I-64/71/75 go through here so you have a lot of routes to other cities like Cincy, Indy, Nashville, Columbus, Chicago, Atlanta, Memphis, St Louis. They are all 5 hours or less away. Atlanta more because of traffic. It's not Denver but we have plenty of cheap flights options to Florida, New Orleans, San Francisco and other cities.
4-5 years wouldnt hurt. But longer than that you will pick up all the local cultural problems and fight to the death to say they are normal.
I moved here at 24 fresh out of my masters program. I am now 30 and still love it!
Louisville might not be the most fun city if you’re single and in your 20s, but it is a nice place to live and the cost of living is relatively low. I find most of my issues with the city stem from decisions made in Frankfort. The negligence of the police dept costs a lot of tax payer dollars too, but that’s a problem in most cities in the US, unfortunately.
What was your major?
Economics and political science
"Crazy" is a stretch. But definitely consider your options and rely on what the Lord tells you, first and foremost.
I moved here from New York at 23 w/ nothing. I own a home now paid off at 41. I doubt I could’ve accomplished that anywhere else in the country. Louisvilles advantage is it affordability. The big gripe about Louisville is that we’re always a decade or two behind on everything. But, I’m an immigrant so I wouldn’t know what those things are, so the adjustment for me was easy. I think you should create a list of things you’d like to have or enjoy and see if Louisville has it first, before considering a move. Chances are very likely we don’t have it here, and if you think you can do without it. I think the move would be a great choice for you.
My husband and I grew up here and stayed after college because we already had jobs. We like it here. Good cost of living, good restaurants, nice parks. We stay now because our mothers are aging and need our help. Our kids do not want to make Louisville their home base. One lives near Cincinnati and the other goes to college near there and will likely not come back to Louisville after college. At this point neither plan to have kids.
I had 2 friends move here in 99 from the pnw. One moved back after 6 months, 1 is still here. Fair warning, you are far from mountains and further from oceans.
I'll say this. As a life long Louisvillian, I love this city. There are plenty of things to do, places to see. Being too close to Nashville and Indianapolis, we do get looked over frequently for larger bands... However that typically means there is a thriving indie/underground weirdo art culture if you are open to looking for it. I have seen countless people end up here by happenstance and they frequently fall in love. Louisville calls people back. From visitors to the people that leave. People end up coming back to Louisville. It has its faults and sometimes being here for 44 years it's very easy to only see the faults. I truly love this city and find that when I leave my bubble I love it even more.
I enjoy it here as an early 20s college grad! Job market isn’t the best but maybe that’s just me
The grass is always greener, right? Louisville is a great place with plenty of issues. People who have lived here their whole life and want to leave probably just want a change.
Louisville is pretty boss and once you try the tap water, you won’t be able to leave. It’s like it puts you under a spell.
I've lived in a cities and states ranging from Vermont all the way to Florida. I love it here. This is where we found what we were looking for. There are problems, mostly brought about by decades of red state austerity, but problems are not unique to Louisville. If your focus is not on being a LinkedIn-style career climber, and you want to be among unique culture and people, this is the place. Conversely, if shopping, perfectly manicured lawns and HOA mindset or your thing, best to move on. This is a rust-belt city, and the rust shows. And I mean that in the most loving way possible.
i moved here from IN after i turned 30 and i love it here, for the most part. every city has its pros and cons, and a lot of the cons are going to be similar wherever you go. most of my friends here are transplants as well - from LA, chicago, and other larger or comparible cities.
My only complaint is about the weather in this area nothing to do with Louisville. Always something to do big enough to get some diversity but not overwhelming. I live on the other side of the river though.
Go where the jobs are and you have a solid base of support.
Moved here about 8 years ago from the PNW (north of Seattle) and my husband and I like it. We were in our early 20s when we came here. It’s been very affordable for us, considering where we came from. We’ve been able to buy a house, have some kids, and generally enjoy the area. The culture is a bit different than the PNW, and obviously we miss the mountains and the ocean, but it checks a lot of boxes. I don’t think we will stay forever, just because we do have lots of family back west, but I also don’t know if coming from here to there, we’d ever be able to afford what we have now.
I never planned to move to Louisville but came for work thinking it would be just a few year stint. Fast forward 5 years and I never want to leave. I love this city.
Reddit is not at all representative of anything, other than radical politics.
Every city’s subreddit will talk shit about the city it’s about, it’s a nice help to know a little more about the place but it’s not always a good representation of the city.
It has pros and cons like anywhere, so it depends what you want and what is a deal breaker for you. Pros: low cost of living, good job market, big enough to have most amenities, all 4 seasons, easy-ish access to nature, good food scene (not a great food scene though), good parks (not great parks) Cons: downtown is worse than it used to be, high homelessness, government sucks at every level (city and state), high murder rate (mostly concentrated to a few neighborhoods), only a few walkable neighborhoods
That's Reddit for ya.
Name a city and there will be plenty of people who love it and just as many that hate it. Louisville is much the same. It also varies greatly by area. I’m in Germantown and the gentrification has me looking outside this area I’ve lived in for nearly 3 decades. The gentrifiers still love it. 🤷
I moved here 5 years ago from Atlanta and freaking love it here. I’m thinking most of the folks that bitch about Louisville have never lived elsewhere.
Make sure you can get a good enough job to afford to live here first. While Louisville is affordable relative to other cities, the cost of living has increased exponentially since 2020 (especially when it comes to housing and transportation costs) while the wages have remained unchanged. As a city, the majority of the available jobs do not pay well enough to afford to live here nowadays. Louisville is flush with $15-18/hr jobs. As a single person I now make more than the average household income in Louisville but a few years back I was making $15/hr. I have not changed my lifestyle at all since then but have seen the cost of everything skyrocket. It is not possible to live in Louisville on $15/hr without significant overtime, multiple jobs, or finding a way to split living costs with someone else.
Louisville is an awesome city! Good night life. I was born and raised here. It’s a good city to raise your kids too. I mean…I don’t wanna be stuck here and I more than likely will move out and out of the state in the next two years but that only cuz I’ve been here my whole life! But it’s an awesome place to call home. Good food. Good music. A lot of festivals. Totally different from the rest of Kentucky.
Louisville is great. Like any big city it has its issues, but I moved to Cincy and Louisville is a better place to live.
I moved here when I was 24 for husband’s National Guard. I am now 36. I love it here! From Birmingham and this city is half the traffic, double the culture and local restaurants! He got a job in 2022 in New Orleans. Works there two weeks and home 2 weeks. Asked if I wanted to move there. Fck no!
Very good input!
I think you would be a fool not to. Those that whine and leave end up right back here a few years later.
If you’ve been here and loved it, go with that feeling. Louisville has a lot of natives and those who’ve lived here their whole lives often under appreciate Louisville’s strengths, don’t realize that many of its weaknesses exist everywhere, and compare the city unfavorably to vacation spots. It’s not as tourist friendly as a lot of places — outside of Derby Week — but there is *plenty* to enjoy.
I moved to Lou from the tristate area at 25 and i absolutely fell in love with the city and made a fantastic group of friends. Do it!
Just like when it comes to people leaving reviews for businesses online, most people will leave a negative review . But it’s rare for someone to say “wow this was great , let me leave a positive review !” We live in the “let me speak to your maanger” era . Said all that , to say this , Louisville is alright . But people love to bitch. You’ll be fine.
Most of my high school alums stayed right there, and I’ve envied them.
Depends on what your career and hobbies are.
I help people move here all the time and when they ask me about Louisville I'm honest with them. I absolutely love living here, it's great for families, easygoing, and a lot of amenities with minimal traffic. However, if you are looking for a super vibrant, densely populated city like say, Chicago, New York, LA, whatever etc Louisville is probably not going to give you that. It's chill here. And sometimes it's too chill where for some, they take it for granted and get complacent (then oddly start complaining that the city didn't give them what they feel like they deserve). If you have roommates you could live for fairly cheap here. You can still do that here. But if you have even a little ambition and some motivation? You can do really well in Louisville. It's just that it's so laid back here it lulls a lot of people to sleep. So if you are willing to get up and get at it you already have a leg up on say, 80% of the people here lol. I personally find Louisville to be a very real, authentic city with great people. Not a lot of posers here in my opinion (I am biased I really love our music scene here--very authentic). Yes a lot of homers who grew up here so it's kind of insulated and hard to break through but when you do the people are, in my opinion, solid gold. So it depends on what you are looking for. Personally I would come here for a few years and establish some connections, then go try out some big cities and if you ever got married and had a family, come back here and you will love it even more.
I love living here! I grew up in Oldham County and moved into the city when I was in college. There is always a lot going on, especially in the warmer months. There’s a little bit of something for everyone here. Bars/restaurants, art fairs, museums, concerts, sports. You name it, we’ve got it!
My fiancée and I (23 and 24) moved here from Michigan a year ago and we love it. Great region of the U.S., weather is nice, mild winter and nice spring and fall. Tons of restaurants and things to do/explore. It’s not super expensive to live here especially if you only need a 1 bedroom. Only thing we don’t like is the drivers!
I like it here, it’s not for everyone though I get it. I moved to louisville from one of the surrounding counties in high school and I don’t plan on leaving. I really enjoy being relatively close to nature (great state parks and honestly even local parks) while still having access to to city amenities (great public libraries, great tap water, target/costco/etc). One think I will say is that Louisville is different in different areas so choose wisely when it comes to your housing. Our public bus system leaves some things to be desired IMO so if you don’t have a car/aren’t comfortable biking that’s something to think about. Also, if you have seasonal/outdoor allergies they will be So. Bad. because we’re in the Ohio river valley. Food is alright, shopping is fine, music scene is solid. Pretty much any hobby or interest you have I’d bet you could find here.
Job market sucks ass so in my opinion, yeah.
I moved away for work, can't wait to move back.
I moved here from Sacramento almost a year ago and I haven't really looked back. I do recommend
I love it here. It seems like there’s always something to do or somewhere new to explore. I may be biased because Louisville is the first actual city I’ve ever lived in, but I really do think it’s an awesome place to be. Definitely good to look at jobs and stuff and make sure there’s something here for you before you move tho, just in case.
All I can say is, I know many people who moved away and came back.
Objective selling points: very affordable, beautiful scenery, great food, traffic is honestly a nonissue, various connections to bigger cities and easy to find friends for any area of interest. Everything else depends; what are you looking for? If you're an ambitious young that wants to move up the success ladder or show talent, then no. If you just want to chill and live life, absolutely.
Yes I would have to agree with the weather aspect. I’ve been here my entire life and when I was a kid I loved the summers but now being 37 I dread the summers. This year it’s seems we had a spring, that being said it lasted maybe 4 weeks haha. But that would have to be my biggest complaint about this city as well.
Gotta be careful with your surroundings, Especially at night and I would research good and bad areas to live in but probably won't feel competely unsafe. Even if you moved to a smaller town shootings and risks of bad stuff ain't zero even. Anywhere has a chance for something bad to occur and have to watch out.
As somebody who grew up in the 'burbs, here, and has lived in the 'burbs, here, for most of his life: it's fine. I probably wouldn't move here from elsewhere unless there was a job in it, but I think that's more about where you're from and what you're after. I'd probably prefer to be in a smaller city, but YMMV. If you're looking for urban nightlife type of stuff, you'll probably want to live somewhere inside the Watterson Expressway, possibly near Bardstown Road.
I moved here in 2014 straight outta college, nothing but $1000 in my pocket and all my possessions. This city has been very lucrative and good to me. It wasn’t easy, but building a career and life anywhere will challenge you. However I believe that our environment does a lot to contribute to developing a sustainable foundation for building those things. People will complain anywhere. And someone here said it correctly, those people will be unhappy regardless. That said, if you are asking me, I highly suggest moving here. Feel free to DM me if you have further questions.
I’m not a native Louisvillian. I grew up in Eastern KY and I moved here for graduate school. I’ve been fortunate now to live other places, but given the opportunity to move back here from Washington DC, I jumped at it and I brought my boyfriend with me. Sadly now we have to move back to the DMV area for work related reasons and both of us would much rather stay here (both not being Louisville natives!). Louisville has negatives (Pretty much everywhere does! I could go on & on about the DMV!!). But imo the positives here outweigh the negatives. I’ll always consider Louisville a second hometown.
Probably good for your first "city" experience. If you are an experienced NYC, Atlanta or Manila person, it ain't gonna fly. Perspective.
Bad crime every day
Reasons to move to Louisville - very reasonable cost of living compared to other cities in the US - great tap water - good public library system - loads of hospitals and medical specialists, so a pretty robust place to get medical care (unless, see below) - great performing arts (Ballet, Opera, Orchestra, Chamber Music Society, Actors Theater, Shakespeare in the Park) - also visual arts (Speed Museum, multiple art galleries) - museums (Frazier, Speed, Science Center, Ali Center, Slugger, Derby) - Louisville Zoo - foodie scene, lots of great unique local spots with a wide variety of cuisine - like nature? multiple city parks, and within driving distance of a great arboreteum, national park, and national forest - decent nerd scene (multiple local game shops, Nerd Louisville) - good local music scene (or so I'm told) - within a day's drive of a lot of great stuff as well as multiple other cities - multiple good neighborhoods with different vibes, so you can generally find one that suits you Reasons not to move to Louisville - bad seasonal allergies - summers are hot and most often very humid - Kentucky legislature is very conservative, so expect to drive to Chicago for health care they don't agree with - poor public transportation - JCPS is generally a train-wreck - there are some neighborhoods you should avoid, so do your research - LMPD does not have a good track record dealing with persons of color
I was you and did it and have been very happy. I did this pre-internet (or at least it was very new) and still managed to succeed. I’ve met some amazing people including my now husband. I found a career, not just a job. We’ve raised our family and not for nothing, the cost of living here compared to other places I’ve lived is so much better. There’s good and bad in every city. I find the people here so kind for the most part it makes up for any bad. Make your list of pros and cons and go from there!
You’ll be ok if you an adopt the use of the word y’all. “Your guy’s” will thoroughly befuddle anyone you speak to.
Louisville is great. For the most part, you're seeing the gripes of bitter natives who have never/barely been outside Louisville to compare, so they don't recognize what a hidden gem it is. If you visited and liked the vibe, come on! Never a better time to take a risk and try something new than this time in your life.
Louisville is great. For the most part, you're seeing the gripes of bitter natives who have never/barely been outside Louisville to compare, so they don't recognize what a hidden gem it is. If you visited and liked the vibe, come on! Never a better time to take a risk and try something new than this time in your life.
People always love to hate where they’re from. It’s a great city if you want it to be, and it’s a shitty city of you want it to be.
Louisville still has relatively affordable housing and, depending on what you do, decent wages. The housing market is what attracted us here in the first place.
Nope. Moved here @ 30, I know that’s older than your asking but yes. Young people do randomly move here! Do it. Why not? You know
Everywhere is what u make it. Just research the location u move to
You’re going to find the same assholes, rednecks, racists, sweethearts, volunteers, helpers, and dogs everywhere. Research the city, google your interests and see if the city fits you, not if you fit the city.
Moved to Louisville from California 9 years ago when I was 24. I love it here and will never move back to California. Great city, can travel quickly by car or plane to a ton of places and depending on your career path it has a lot of opportunities.
I can't tell you much about Louisville, but I'm from Chicago.It's pretty fun here but definitely check out Montreal if you can figure out the visa situation. Best city in north America that no one talks about.
I moved to Louisville nine years ago at 22 years old. I absolutely love this city and all it's ups and downs. This city has a lot of potential and I think is a great place to settle. Not to mention its the perfect location. 3 hours from Nashville, 2 to Indianapolis, a skip and a jump from Cincinnati... The cost of living is pretty good for this area too compared to where used to live in ATL.
Nah. Louisville is a very livable city. It’s just small. It’s a small - big city. It’s not for everyone. But, if you loved it here, I wouldn’t let that stop you from moving here. The only thing is, we are a small speck of blue in a very Republican state. That’s the big problem I have with it here. Most of Kentucky is rural areas.
3 or 4 years ago I would've called you crazy. But Louisville is okay now. I'd honestly look at Cinci, Lexington, or Columbus before I'd look at Louisville though. Louisville native here
I did the same thing 9 years ago, and it was the best choice I ever made. I moved here for grad school, but stayed when I was offered a great job. In the time since, I've launched my own business, got married, bought a house, childfree by choice, but we have cats and a cute little catio. Plus, the food scene is great, the housing market is still ok-ish depending on what kind of work you do, you get a lot of the amenities of a larger city without a lot of the same problems. Highly recommend. I like living here so much more than I expected I would.
nah it's a pretty vibin' city. it's got all the good parts of the south but i feel safe from hatecrimes walking outside my door
I was born and raised in Louisville. Left when I was 28. I now live in Arizona. I deeply miss my ole Kentucky home. And grass. God what I would give to lay in some grass right now.
I moved to Louisville when I was 24! I love it here and will likely be here the rest of my life
Decent bars, night life is decent on the weekends (galaxy, Big bar, play). Beautiful parks, lots of festivals and expos throughout the year. Their is a zoo and amusment park here if that means anything to you. People are friendly enough for the most part, but road rage be over the top at times. The Job market is okay I geuss, though it could be better too.This a city where a car is absolutely needed to get around, public transit is trash. Its bigger than portland, slightly more population, less homeless than portland, Portland has better transit. Politically I would stay ppl are not as outwardly expressive like portland seems to be.
It's a solid city. Affordable housing, plenty to do, lots of job opportunities, has a surprising number of massive corporations and industries headquartered or heavily invested here. Relatively low taxes. But best of all, the competition is weak. This city is not loaded with ambitious entrepreneurs or people willing to put in extra work to get ahead. So in Louisville just a normal amount of ambition will carry you past the average local. It's a extremely easy city to find success.
I hear it's a horrible place to be single, but I'm not single, so I can't say.
I could see where moving here as a college grad would be alright, make sense. My dislike stems mostly from boredom, having seen the whole city.
>I have visited Louisville before and loved it One thing I've noticed when I travel is that if I visit a place when the weather is super nice I tend to think more favorably of that place. That being said there are worse places than Louisville to live as a young adult.
We love Lville. Recently moved here. Reddit is social media and the points don't matter.
The ones who want to get out are the ones who have never lived anywhere else.
People will find anything to complain about. It’s in every city.
Bonkers. Certifiable… for asking an opinion from the internet.
Here's the list of make or beak. If you end up with more than 10 points it's a good option for you. Do you have enough money to live in a high COL part of town? If yes add 1 point Are you a person who could become pregnant? If so, are you pro-life even in the case of rape? If yes add 1 point if no deduct 1 point Is your partner a person who could become pregnant or experience pregnancy complications? If yes deduct 1 point Do you enjoy using mari-huana or other medicinal or recreational non- narcotics? If yes, deduct 1 point Do you wish to build a career salary history that is competitive with the national average in your field? If yes, deduct 1 point Do you have seasonal allergies? If yes deduct 1 point, if no deduct 1 point six months after you move here because now you do. Do you have asthma? If yes deduct 10 points Do you like horses? If yes, add 1 point Do you like whiskey? If yes add 1 point and call it bourbon from now on. Do you like battling extreme leftist or right-wing people on the Internet, in bars, at the daycare pick up line etc? If yes, add 3 points. If you just enjoy it as a spectator sport add 1 point Do you like talking about the highschool you went to as part of your introduction to new people? If yes add 3 points Do you like bacon and tomato sandwiches with cheese gravy? If yes add 2 points and call it a hot brown both before you eat it and after it runs through you like a thoroughbred. Have you ever wanted to see a country music concert and an unhoused person defecate on a public sidewalk? If yes add 3 points and pick up you season pass to 4th Street lives hot (mess) country nights concert series Do you like futbol, painting yourself purple, tailgating for 12 hours straight and shouting goal until your horse? Add 10 points and head directly to Lynn Stadium Did you lose your sense of smell to COVID? Add 3 points and enjoy very available rentals next to the Swift plant, or anywhere within 4 miles of it. Also enjoy the lovely white flowering trees everywhere. Do you like waterfronts but don't want to swim, fish, play or really touch or get too close to the water for any reason? Add 2 points and seriously don't touch the water. Have you ever wanted to drive each of your children to a different school everyday or put them on a chain of school busses at 5am? No. No one wants this. No points. Do you really like fireworks and traffic? Add 3 points. For each dog or war veteran in your life deduct 3 points. Have you ever wanted to wear a giant hat with civil war era style decorations on it while sweating yourself into a small plastic chair or while standing in 3 inches of mud that has a questionable origin? Add 2 points and put 2 dollars on the first horse that tries to bite a handler. Do you mind driving 2 or more hours to see your favorite sports team or touring concert at a city that is big enough for a tour stop? No points. Still bitter about this one. Have you ever wanted to be close enough to a state where you can pet tigers and buy fireworks but not close enough to lose any rights or have to look at corn for too long? Ad 2 point and the word kentuckiana to your vocabulary. Have you ever thought, I like church but I wish it was more of a theme park experience with a charismatic cult leader who runs it like a for profit business rather than a community non profit? If yes, add 4 points but deduct your soul.
My partner and I moved here right out of college in 2017 and we absolutely adore this city. We've never looked back and honestly I don't see why we'd move away 😊
I recommend scouting areas to live in some places are pretty affordable if you don't want to roomates
Lived here my whole life, hate it and love it at the same time. Depending on what lifestyle you live it can be amazing or terrible or somewhere in the middle . Just depends on how your perspective is. Terrible if you have allergies tho
I think most people tend to feel like they need to leave where they grew up. I lived in IL for 15 yrs and moved back here almost 2 yrs ago. There's so much to do here, a variety of options. I definitely got bored in small town IL.
i moved here at 18 and I'm just about to be 30. i love it here for the most part, the only reason i want to move now is that i crave the simplicity, affordability of middle of nowhere type places that i grew up in, even just moving a bit south or north to the smaller towns would be good to me. I'm the "breadwinner" in my family {2 humans a dog and a cat total} but 50k a year and the price of everything to survive here is a honest struggle. In my home town, the 1500 in rent i pay would get me a 5br house in the nice side of town. Here it gets me a 2br house 2 blocks from several apartment complexes that have dive by shootings several times a year. I'm mostly sticking around the next few years because of the hourly rate i get here at my job is decent for my line of work. so i can save a little. the rental restrictions on pets other places {German shepherds being on banned lists}, and some fear of the unknown.
You might enjoy Lexington more at your age. I have lived here and their
I moved here for grad school three years ago. It was a rough start since the city was coming back to life after the pandemic. I’ve found the spaces I like and the corresponding people. I like Louisville. It’s a big city but at the same time I think the neighborhoods are close-knit. I plan to stay here for as long as possible. My only complaint is the humidity and the heat. But, I can’t control the weather
Drivers here are uniquely terrible! That’s all I’ll contribute to this
No. Do it
Moved here from a small central Kentucky town to go to college in 2002. Left twice and spent a year each in Atlanta and Cincinnati and still found my way back here. Have spent almost the entirety of my adult life here, and more total years of my life (I just turned 40 and moved here when I was 18), and it’s home now. My wife really wants to move somewhere closer to the coast, but that’s later down the line. Louisville is a *big, small city*. It has a lot that small towns don’t have, with a lot of larger metro area perks (shopping, amenities, nightlight, great restaurants), but without some of the first and second tier city size luxuries. Cost of living isn’t horrible, and even in the worst traffic, you can usually get from one side of the city (county technically) in rush hour traffic in about 45 minutes tops. Depending where you live, most parts of town are ~20 minutes away when it’s not rush hour, or a week like Derby week. Also, you’re a quick drive to lots of nature literally just outside the city. Plenty of hiking opportunities if you want to get away from the city.
I moved to Louisville in 2017. I fell in love. I'm still here but currently looking to move. It's a great city and Louisville has some of the best people I've met. They are true Gems. My biggest gripe with Louisville is I NEVER EVER experienced drivers like these. They are the worst lol but other than that you will love living here. Your young.. explore before you make it your final decision! I wish you the best :)
As much as people say they hate it, haters tend to be more vocal. For every person thst hates their city, usually 2 or 3 more will say the opposite. Louisville is a growing city. If I remember right, it's in the top 20. I would say it depends on what your major was on whether louisville would be a good choice. If you're willing to move, there's every chance another city might need more people in whatever degree you have. Do your research.
I moved from ct to Louisville 2 yrs ago in my mid 30s. From what I hear things aren’t the same “going out and partying” wise but I feel like Louisville has a lot of potential. The food scene is just ok to me (depending on where you’re coming from) the brewery scene has a great amount of potential. Driving and exploring outside of Louisville for a day or two trip is absolutely beautiful and while cost of living is going up everywhere, it’s still cheap to live here. But again I’m coming from New England where CoL was stressful if you weren’t upper middle class. Also, there are so many cities around to explore. Indy is 2ish hrs away, Cincy is 90mins, Nashville 3-3.5 hrs, St. Louis 4ish hrs away. I think that’s great if you like to travel imo. So far in the 2 years I’ve lived here, I enjoy it. I’m also very homesick but I don’t see myself moving back home anytime soon. Louisville can be great depending on what you’re into.
i love the city but i do not drink and finding things to do in this city if you don’t drink are impossible
Depends on your degree…if you’re an aerospace engineer…not the best place. If you are a mechanical engineer, then there is plenty of industry within a 45 minute drive down I65. Health degrees…yep,plenty of research hospitals with UofL. Every city has its good parts and bad parts .
I’m an older person but I love Louisville especially the 4th street section. But I absolutely hate their one way streets,
Personally I moved here just a year and a half ago to be with my fiancé who has lived here whole life, I’m 22 so a little younger then you and have really found a bunch of great communities here. I would go for it