Sunset over Louisville Skyline, Credit: Miles Manwaring
Downtown Louisville
Sunrise Runner, Downtown Louisville, Credit: Go To Louisville
Clifton Neighborhood, Credit: Go To Louisville
Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of New York or LA. It has some Southern romanticism to it, but also a Northern progressivism.
-Jim James
While Louisville may best be known by outsiders as March Madness heaven, Louisville is low key a foodie town. While the tourists are 100% going to be downtown on the main drag, you’ll find a ton of amazing restaurants and drink spots even just off the downtown scene. Nulu, or “New Louisville” is best known for its growing number of local restaurants. Or if Farmer’s Markets are your thing, hit up Douglass Loop on a Saturday with friends!
Summary review of Louisville from a local:
We have many things to do from free to some cost. Great parks (all free) to walk, jog, ride a bike, play ball (basketball, soccer, baseball, etc.) A walking bridge (free) with great views of the Ohio River.) Great museums (at a “reasonable” cost.) Fabulous restaurants (varied in type of food and cost.) One can get almost anywhere in the city in short time (unless it is a busy street during “rush hour” and even then it is not awful. Louisville is fascinating, friendly and reasonably cost wise. It is a great place to visit with children (so much to see and do,) loved ones or alone.
For more reviews of what living in Louisville is like from locals check out: The Reviews.
Unless you live in “walker’s paradise,” AKA the central business district, you’ll need a car. Almost all residents in Louisville rely on their own transportation, and parking downtown for a night out can be expensive and a headache to find on a busy night.
Local's pov on public transportation in Louisville:
Public transportation in louisville is terrible, often late, and difficult to make connections. Poorly planned and pretty poorly implemented, use only as last resort.
For more reviews of what living in Louisville is like from locals check out: The Reviews.
Louisville is often described as a dense suburb and for valid reasons in regards to both the good and the bad. A plethora of parks, the aforementioned emphasis on local restaurants and bars as centers of social life, and moderate politics are also representative of that suburban atmosphere. Sprawl is a downside, and so is the fact that there’s not too much to do socially in addition to those restaurants and bars. While the weather is notorious for oscillating between 90 and humid and 36 and rainy, people in Louisville are generally regarded as friendly and hospitable.
In addition to these staples of suburbia, Louisville has a number of amenities that living in a normal suburb does not afford. Louisville is the home of iconic world sports sites like the famous Kentucky Derby, the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, and is where March Madness has been historically held. Louisville is also known for its live music, and, of course, it's bourbon. Be sure to hit up a festival and try some of Kentucky’s favorite whiskey if you do ever move in or are simply passing through.
If you're interested in seeing what locals get up to in Louisville check out the calendar of events.
The Louisville area is home to a surprising number of large companies that you probably didn’t know were located there if you aren’t from Louisville. Texas Roadhouse and Yum! Brands (which operates brands such as KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) are both headquartered in the area, and Papa Johns is just a quick hop over the Ohio River in Jefferson, Indiana. If you can’t see yourself working in big food, that’s alright, because large healthcare companies like Humana and Kindred Healthcare, as well as a wide variety of new companies popping up downtown provide a diverse range of options for Louisvillians. Most people in the Louisville area work in person and commute via car. Housing prices are well under the national average, so families and young professionals alike tend to live in larger and more comfortable situations than they would be able to in larger metropolitan areas.
Louisville, besides being underrated as a foodie town, is just underrated in general. It has a lower cost of living and a quaint college-town feel. Settle in, grab a Hot Brown and let’s do this!
Louisville sits on the northern central border of Kentucky and Indiana, with Indianapolis directly north, Cincinnati north east, Lexington east, and Nashville a decent drive south. Because Louisville sits on the Ohio River, the city layout is going to be similar to other cities that lay on a large lake or river (like Detroit), in that the downtown area is on the water, one side of the city stretches along that same body of water, and the neighborhoods and highways fan out from there (south and south east in Louisville’s case). From a map, it looks like Louisville covers a lot of area, but there are multiple small cities inside Louisville city limits that…aren’t actually Louisville. Take St. Matthews for instance. A lot of locals will recommend St. Matthews for people who have kids because the area has really great schools and, even though you’re only about a 15 minute drive to downtown, St. Matthews not Louisville.
Louisville is huge for colleges and universities, the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University being the largest in the area. There are great restaurants, bars, and a ton of student discounts to support the city’s love for the college students who live there. If you’re looking for amazing nightlife and even better restaurants, look no further than The Highlands. Known as “Restaurant Row", it’s a popular spot for late-night eats, but it also has amazing shops and plenty of parks for weekends enjoying the nice weather!
Young professionals relocating to Louisville are going to love the city’s perfect combination of city life and low cost of living. A great neighborhood to start your search in is Clifton. It’s affordable, walkable (to an extent), and has a ton of locally owned restaurants and thrift shops. It’s also close to other great neighborhoods like The Highlands and Nulu, so you can switch up late-night spots!
If you’re looking to relocate to Louisville and you’re without kids, you have to check out Crescent Hill. There are a ton of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and bars to hang out at. The area is also super dog friendly, so if your family leans furry, you’ve got no problems here. You’ll have plenty of amazing days going out to Eggs for brunch, browsing new titles at Carmichael’s Bookstore, and grabbing takeout at Simply Mediterranean.
The city of Louisville leans liberal/progressive and has a ton of neighborhoods that are LGBTQ+ friendly. It was even the first and only city in the state to earn a perfect score on the MEI (the Human Rights Campaign 2017 Municipal Equality Index). This means that the city was evaluated on how inclusive the laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people who live in the city. There are plenty of great neighborhoods, minutes from downtown, where you can find a great place. Besides our personal favorite, Old Louisville, there’s Smoketown, Germantown, and Clifton, to name a few. If you start your search in Old Louisville, you’ll be just a couple minutes from downtown and close to Central Park– perfect for enjoying summer picnics and concerts. Be sure to check out the gorgeous historic homes and you won’t be disappointed!
Louisville is a great intermediate city to raise a family in. It’s not too big, but it’s not a small town. The thing to know if you plan on having kids in the city is that the schools do run on the lottery system, even public ones. For public schools in the city, you’ve given a list of schools that are in your approximate area, you rank them from most interested to least, and then you’re assigned a school. Locals say you often get your school of choice, but it is something to keep in mind! Start your search in the St Matthews, where you can find amazing shopping, movie theaters, and gorgeous single-family homes.
