In article ,
says...
Keith Williams wrote:

In article ,
says...
The houses are cheap because no one in their right mind would want to
live here. :-)

Maybe we can trade. You can pay the taxes, I'm tired of it. Seriously,
we are going through there (Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville) this
weekend. We're looking to retire somewhere cheaper. I should be able to
get some work (I assume the Internet has made it that far .

The lease on my apartment for the deed to your house? I reluctantly accept
your offer. =-)

You wouldn't like the taxes, cold, taxes, electricity rates. Oh,
did I mention taxes? ;-)

Seriously, Louisville has advantages and disadvantages. You might like it
here. Houses are very reasonable compared to most other locations.
Property tax is nine tenths of one percent, unless you are within a small
city within the county where it may be higher.

That's a little less than I figured. We're a little over 3%. Plus
income tax equal to 1/4 of the federal tax due, plus 5% sales tax
(6% in some towns) and 9% or 10% on meals.

You can browse the multiple listing service he
http://www.homes-louisville.com/

We've gone through realtor.com to look.

The site has a fairly good advanced search.

You have to "register", but all you need is a throwaway name and email
address. The site seems to set a cookie, no password is involved. But he
will email the address you supply with offers of his service (it is a real
estate agent's site).

Sales tax is 6 %, and there is a city tax on wages that is about half as
much as the State takes, it is $2.14 per hundred earned.

Other than the sales tax (normal) that's pretty low. I also noted
in the tax law there is an exemption for pensions. :-)

Traffic tends to flow fairly well. If you like basketball, you'll have
lots of company. If you like horses, we have the Derby. Casinos are right
across the river, if you like that kind of thing.

College BB is alright (I went to U of Illinois). Horses are ok,
but I plan on being *far* from CD on derby day.

Jobs are available, but if it will be one you like for wages you like is
less certain.

Internet. I'm an engineer and am thinking about doing a little
consulting, or maybe step up to my dream job of greeter at
WallyWorld. ;-)

For the bad:

Kentucky leads the nation or is near the top in obesity, smoking, lung
cancer, and heart disease.

Ok.

The weather can be unpleasant. Winters are very cold, sometimes sub zero.
Often subzero, when you factor in the wind chill. We do get less snow than
many nearby areas.

Rubbish! That's warm. ;-) We currently live in Vermont, the four
season state; cold, winter, colder, and mud.

Q: Do you know what Vermonters do in the summer?
A: If it falls on Sunday, they have a picnic.


Summers can be very hot, August is often beastly. High humidity in the
upper 90's, and air inversions with ozone alerts.

I grew up in the middle of Illinois. I don't much like heat, but
six months of winter isn't much fun either.

I've heard that only Florida has more thunderstorm days per year than
Kentucky. The thunderstorms are sometimes severe, knocking down tree
limbs, whole trees and power lines. You can also count on a few tornadoes
being spotted in the city each year. Fortunately, most do little damage.

Like I said, we grew up in Texas and Illinois. A little "weather"
doesn't much scare us. ;-)

Anyway, Kentucky or southern IN are sort of a compromise of cost,
location, and weather. Illinois and Ohio are too pricey. I hate
Florida and the gulf is pretty much out. TN is a bit too far
south. The north is too cold, though some places are cheap. My
family is in the midwest, mostly, so Kentucky is an idea we're
going to explore.

--
Keith