Louisville, Kentucky

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!

• The Highlands
• Germantown
• Clifton

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!

• Clifton
• The Highlands
• Crescent Hill
• Downtown

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.

• Crescent Hill
• Nulu
• The Highlands

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!

• Old Louisville
• Germantown
• Clifton

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.

• St. Matthews
• Seneca Gardens
• Shively