17 years here
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10/10/2006
Whether or not you like Lexington depends a lot on who you are and what you are looking for in a city. I think Lexington is a nice, affordable place to live and (what is constantly advertised) a nice place to raise a family.
The economy does boast a low unemployment rate but there should be a * by that stat. There really seems to be a lack of high paying jobs. The high earners in Lexington seem to be from the health care sector, self-employed professionals and Phd's from UK. If you fit into that category then this is a great place to earn a living b/c the cost of living is fairly low and it comes with easy commutes.
If you are out of school looking for a nice job, there really isn't much. All of the other jobs are low paying, crappy retail jobs. Lexmark and Toyota are the two real corporate players in the area and both have scaled back their operations considerably. Most people looking to build careers either stick around and flood a small, saturated job market or take off to a bigger city (probably the smart thing to do).
The city parks are pretty lame. I have seen much better. The outdoors scene is lame unless you get 45 minutes or so out of the city and go to the Red River Gorge or to a lake. KY has some nice lakes and the Gorge is nice too. I wish we had more in our own backyard. There are no bodies of water in the city limits that are nice and open to the public. We seem to pay a lot in city taxes but get relatively little in return in this category.
The seasons are fairly moderate. It does get hot and humid in the summer but it's not nearly as bad as the rest of the South. Spring and Fall are incredible and the area stays very green from the rainfall.
The people are not too bad. Most are friendly but there are always some that are not no matter where you go. I don't think Lexington is all that diverse, maybe diverse compared to a small Eastern KY town (a lot move here in search of a better life & a lot of gays in search of a more liberal environment). Lexington is mostly white, some 80-85%.
Housing is still affordable.
Things I wish for:
1) smart growth - stop building out and rebuild the existing properties - like downtown area.
2) job creation - attracting new employers and jobs does not have to threaten what you have and does not promote more sprawl. This category never seems to be addressed and never seems to be a concern. Fact is, Lexington is losing a lot of bright and competent people.
3) more th
Abhd | Lexington-Fayette, KY