Relocating to Kentucky

I've only driven through the Blue Grass State. I would call a realtor in that area and start asking questions.

Ohh wow!! that's a change! I don't live in Kentucky. I know people that do. I've visited but never lived.

https://www.greatschools.org/

Real Estate sites can help as well
https://www.trulia.com/KY/Louisville/
https://www.homes.com/for-sale/louisville-ky/

Here's a list of churches
https://www.yellowpages.com/louisville-ky/churches

This might help you as well

https://www.kychamber.com/

GreatSchools.org can help you research schools.

www.realtor.com can help you research homes

I lived in Louisville for 13 years, but I moved away 20 years ago. I was in graduate school, so I wasn't worried about school districts back then! I still have many friends in Lousiville and the surrounding areas, so I'm still familiar with things, even though I haven't lived there in a long while.

I lived in Old Louisville, which was perfect for me being in grad school. I could walk to school and the library, and there were cool restaurants, pubs, and places to hang out, but I probably would not have wanted to be living in that area with small children.

Family friendly neighborhoods were Cherokee Triangle, Cherokee Gardens, and St. Matthews areas of town and neighborhoods east of Bardstown Rd. Also neighborhoods off of Brownsboro Road and Gardiner Lane were nice. Further east from downtown are Anchorage and Middletown; northeast is Prospect. These are other nice areas.

If you want to live just outside of Louisville (Jefferson County), check out the various small towns in Oldham County. Many of my friends like Goshen, LaGrange, Crestwood, and Pewee Valley. Much more of a small town feel (but still only 25 min from Louisville), and the schools have traditionally been quite good. If you come from a small area in PA and you want a place with a more small town feel, do check out these areas.

Just across the many bridges that span the Ohio River, you will find some nice areas in Southern Indiana. New Albany is my favorite, but there are also Jeffersonville and Clarksville. The are literally just minutes from downtown Lousiville, and the cost of living is usually less than in KY.

There are so many things to do in Louisville. There are always food and music festivals going on. If you like sports, U of L basketball and football are fun. The month before Derby (first Saturday in May) is crazy! There are events all over town in preparation for the big race. In the fall, usually the first weekend in October, be sure to visit the St. James Art Fair. Artists from all over the country descend upon Old Louisville and set up a magnificent display among the old Victorians in St. James Court.

There is the JB Speed Art Museum, the Debry Museum, KY Science Center, Frazier History Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum, and Muhammad Ali Center (he grew up in West Louisville), and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. The Louisville Orchestra is fantastic; I'm a little biased as a couple of my dear friends are musicians in the orchestra.
Kentucky Shakespeare produces Shakespeare in the Park every spring and summer with free performances in Central Park. The Louisville Zoo is also great fun for kids and adults.

Kentucky is a fun state to explore because the various regions are SO different. Lexington is really nice and a quick drive from Louisville. Bardstown is also a fun day trip.

Another nice thing about Louisville is that it is situated nicely for easy drives to other fun cities. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, and even Chicago (I drove this route more times than I can count).

The weather covers the whole spectrum. It does rain quite a lot, but everything is always lush and green. It's hot and very humid in late spring and all summer. The fall is beautiful. Mostly mild winters, compared to PA, but it does get quite cold, and it does snow there! One year, the interstates were actually shut down because of so much snow and ice, and the February that I moved away from the area, we had over 20 inches of snow in just a few days. But since you're from PA, winters in Louisville will be an easy adjustment for you.

I really enjoyed the time that I lived there and have many happy memories from that time.
If I can answer any other questions, please send me a message. Best of luck with your move and finding the perfect place for your family!

I would recommend looking on social media for groups from the area you are looking at, often times cities, and even specific neighborhoods, have chat groups and the like.

I've only been thru on vacation, a few times. Mammoth Caves is a MUST do!!!

It's kind of hard to know what the right neighborhood or school district is when you don't know the area. A real estate agent could be a good resource. You could also ask the people your husband would be working with. My coworkers and I would be more than happy to talk to a potential coworker and family about good schools and neighborhoods.

The one thing to keep in mind about Kentucky winters vs. Pennsylvania winters is that you get a lot of freezing rain. Sometimes it does snow, but it usually melts quickly and often freezes overnight. I remember when I moved from Northern Illinois to Dayton, OH, what surprised me the most was that under that layer of snow was always a layer of ice. I was used to winter driving, so it wasn't a problem. I was just bummed because there was snow, it just wasn't fluffy. It was icy.

I did look on great schools.com when we just moved to get an idea but honestly it's all a bit overwhelming!

Is the company moving you? If so then I bet they have a real estate agent that they will hook you up with as well. There's some funny laws about real estate agents and them not being able to tell you exactly about school districts, etc. but ours was able to basically tell us what we needed without telling us. Also, ask the people at the company, they will be sure to know the best areas.