# southern Kentucky



## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Can anyone share their thoughts about life in southern central Kentucky ? Met a woman online w/a 70 acre farm just to north of Cumberland River - looks pretty good on google earth, but looking for any comments on Kentucky - taxes ? unemployment ?, laws ?, freedoms ? - gun laws ?
Guess I can 'Wiki' it .


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I don't live there but it is a very nice area. I did look to buy a farm there myself a few years back.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

if you like maine weather, you will suffocate in kentucky. lots of horses, very ******* in a lot of places.


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## Stonybrook (Sep 22, 2007)

I don't know about taxes and jobs, but I know summers in Ky, TN, AL, GA, etc. are stifling, hot, and humid. They also have ticks, chiggars, and poisonous snakes. Having said that, if dressed appropriately and you use off, the bugs are not too bad. Wear good boots and stay on the beaten path in the spring, summer, and fall and snakes are really not much of a problem either. I just don't wander around in tall grass and I watch where my feet/hands go. You really don't even have to think about it after awhile. And, yeah, there are ********. 

That is all the bad stuff. The good stuff is that there is not near as much snow as there is up north so you can get out and do things most of the year, your garden season is longer, produce stands are open a lot longer (I suspect), etc. Air conditioning takes care of the sweltering summers. Generally, hay is easy to get if you are raising cattle. The weather here, for the most part is easy on livestock.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> if you like maine weather, you will suffocate in kentucky. lots of horses, very ******* in a lot of places.


I want to build a cool underground house & I'd have to get out early in the morning to work the farm, but also do as much as possible in spring & fall (& winter). You are right I can't take heat & humidity very well, but I am on the other end of the Appalachians, so know (& like) many reddish-neck people, ha, ha. One of my best friends says he can't read (?) and that he hasn't been to a doctor in 45 yrs. - he is pretty darned smart & has made several rather nice piles of money.
If it worked out, I might come back to ME for summers - stay in travel trailer & rent out my houses here ?
Yep, I'm dreamin !!?


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

If you can't take humidity, you would be foolish to move to Kentucky for any reason. You don't realize how much longer the warm months are the further south you go.

When I lived in southern Indiana, we planted corn on the 15th of April, and wore t-shirts to trick or treat. In eastern wisconsin, you MIGHT be planting peas on the 15th of april and by halloween, hard killing frost has long since come and gone. For you in kentucky, tshirt weather would be march, and by the first of june, you will be miserable. 

Not to run your life or anything, but is she worth it? I moved to wisconsin because I got married. Yeah, he was worth it, but the 1st 3 years were weather miserable for me. I have for the most part acclimated, but I still really miss my long summers and the humidity. When it hits 70 and sunny, DH is sweating and crying. He would die in Indiana's 95 and humid.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Yeah, if society held out for awhile might be able to come back to ME for early summer through early fall, still get work here where I know everybody, garden here, can food - then go south & save myself moving tons & tons of snow. 
Don't know, it would be very different to be in the middle of everything instead of a semi-remote edge like this w/the Quebec border at my back instead of a lot of meth-crazed hillbilly criminals ?!
I can say this because technically I am at least a bit of a hillbilly here at northern extremes of the Appalachians. Wanna hear my duelling banjo ??
man, oh man, I'll tell ya, I wish I COULD play one of those bad boys - or better yet - a fiddle - oh Lord !!



lonelyfarmgirl said:


> If you can't take humidity, you would be foolish to move to Kentucky for any reason. You don't realize how much longer the warm months are the further south you go.
> 
> When I lived in southern Indiana, we planted corn on the 15th of April, and wore t-shirts to trick or treat. In eastern wisconsin, you MIGHT be planting peas on the 15th of april and by halloween, hard killing frost has long since come and gone. For you in kentucky, tshirt weather would be march, and by the first of june, you will be miserable.
> 
> Not to run your life or anything, but is she worth it? I moved to wisconsin because I got married. Yeah, he was worth it, but the 1st 3 years were weather miserable for me. I have for the most part acclimated, but I still really miss my long summers and the humidity. When it hits 70 and sunny, DH is sweating and crying. He would die in Indiana's 95 and humid.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

why don't you go get her and take her home with you? you could lure her with your banjo music like pied piper.


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## oz in SC V2.0 (Dec 19, 2008)

I didn't find Kentucky particularly humid,but then we lived in the lowcountry of SC....


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## SpaceCadet12364 (Apr 27, 2003)

It can get humid here, but I don't think the humidity is as bad as further south closer to the gulf of Mexico, like in MS, AL, & LA. We get plenty of nice warm but not drippingly humid weather too. If a house is set up right to take advantage of airflow, you might find you don't feel the need to run an A/C system as much as you'd think.

Ticks and other bugs, if your potential ladyfriend isn't free-running any guinea fowl, you could get her some as a present. Guineas LOVE to eat ticks! Chickens and such I think will eat them too, but I love my free-ranging guinea birds.


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

rickfrosty said:


> Can anyone share their thoughts about life in southern central Kentucky ? Met a woman online w/a 70 acre farm just to north of Cumberland River - looks pretty good on google earth, but looking for any comments on Kentucky - taxes ? unemployment ?, laws ?, freedoms ? - gun laws ?
> Guess I can 'Wiki' it .


I can't tell you about south central, we live just outside Lexington. Of course all local taxes and laws are going to be different, but the state sales tax is 6%. Kentucky also has a state income tax, not sure of the rate though. I think overall the unemployment rate has been falling. There are jobs available around here, but I think people like drawing their unemployment insurance better. But I guess that is a total different discussion. Not sure what you want to know about laws and freedoms. Yes, we have them. lol I don't feel that the guns laws are really strict. Here is a link to the gun statutes. 

Having been born and raised in Kentucky I am used to the weather. Yes, it does get hot and humid in the summer. But you get the longer growing season. I usually have my garden in the ground in early May and should be able to hold out through October with a little protection. There have been years that Halloween has been t-shirt temperature, but most of the time it had cooled into fall temperatures. This year has been so weird that snow wouldn't surprise me.

Living outside of Lexington there are a lot of horses around. I personally know more people with cattle though. Just like Stonybrook said there is plenty of hay available. 

Have you thought about a visit before you make your decision?


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## 54metalman (Jul 12, 2011)

This helps me out alot. I am thinking about the place listed here in Summer Shade, KY. Any insite to this area? Rick what area are you looking at? This place is near Bolwing green. Coming from the NW near Mt. Hood. I have a problem with the KS heat this year. Is KY about the same? Cooler? Just looking for a place to go as soon as possible.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I am in TN about 30 minutes south of Bowling Green, KY, real close to the TN/KY border. It does get humid in the summer, but you learn to work around it. Early morning, later in the evening is meant for outside work. We have a very long growing season, hay is readily available (most years), and taxes are much cheaper then northern states. As for the ********, I love the people. I am not from the south but moved here about 12 years ago. The people are great. Friendly, helpful, and willing to help. I've learned a lot from my ******* neighbors and enjoy their company. In TN our unemployment has been lower then the national average, sales tax is high but we do not pay income tax, and you can get a carry permit for handguns. I love it.


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## 54metalman (Jul 12, 2011)

Well I am a ******* from Oregon so I would fit in I guess. LOL


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

I'm a MT native that relocated to south/central KY 12 years ago. The temperatures here in the summer are no higher than MT summer temperatures but I have been totally unable to adjust to the humidity. Some people do, some don't ... and I'm one that can't ... and the summer is much longer here than MT summers as well. I've had to cut back on much of my summer outdoor work because of that ... by 9:30 or 10 most of the summer, I have to be through with the outside work. After that, it's 15 minutes outside ... an hour inside in the A/C. With horses, a lot of the work has to be done in the summer so I've simply had to pretty much concentrate there and drop everything else. No garden to speak of, etc. I pushed when I first got here, thinking I could adjust but found I couldn't ... I push past the uncomfortable/ slightly queasy stage and go to the headache/stomach cramps/muscle spasm stage with several days of recovery time.

The other problem with the summers here for me, compared to summers in MT is that the nights don't cool off either. In MT you end up with cool evenings ... in the worst of the summer heat there, I could be back outside by 4 or 5 PM and work in relative comfort until dark ... here 4 PM is often the hottest part of the day and it doesn't really cool off. 

If you can tolerate the heat and humidity, or adjust, there are a lot of advantages over northern/colder climates. Much longer growing season, longer grazing season, hay is plentiful and on the average, cheaper. The rural areas have a lot of people that are pretty much like rural area people anywhere although there are also a lot more people that are basically 'city people' on small acreages that work in town. With 70 acres, that's not as likely ... our place is smaller and we've had that as an issue with one or two of the neighbors.

Depending on your area, jobs are not easy to come by ... a lot of manufacturing jobs have been lost over the last 5 to 10 years in many places and in the smaller cities/ small towns there's a lot of 'who you know or are related to' that goes on. Not different from what I was used to in MT but I was in the system there. Here it would have been a different story.


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## 54metalman (Jul 12, 2011)

SFM. I have not really been able to adjust to the humidity here in KS for the last 2yrs. Coming from OR I am in the system there as you said. I am self employed and as long as I have an address that UPS can find I am good to go. I ship world wide and my customers (most of them) dont care where I am located. I do have to be able to get materials and supplies easy but I can always find a way around that. Sounds like even though it is beautiful in KY its still sticky. Just have to play it by ear I guess and see what happens.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

There are or can be advantages. In my case I definitely needed to be closer to the market for the kind of horses/ponies I breed so that is, for me, the biggest plus and offsets a lot of smaller disadvantages.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

I pushed when I first got here, thinking I could adjust but found I couldn't ... I push past the uncomfortable/ slightly queasy stage and go to the headache/stomach cramps/muscle spasm stage with several days of recovery time. Quote

I'll have to see - I am NOT good w/humidity, but on the other hand, have stayed in southern FLA & worked in non-AC unfinished houses all summer a couple times ? Pretty humid there !
Had a big ol box fan set up blowing on my back at my work station, fan in my travel trailer home & no AC anywhere - not in my ME vehicle.
Have to rig a shoulder-mounted solar powered fan ?? A panel on my staw hat ?
By the way over 80 deg. at ME's 'Common Ground Fair' yesterday + a nice little breeze. 60 to 70 k people go to this over 3 days !!
My 1st time - awesome !! Walked in sun all day, got face all red, stopped at yahd sales coming & going - bought a sythe for $10 ? Aluminum handle is $75 new !


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

rickfrosty said:


> Had a big ol box fan set up blowing on my back at my work station, fan in my travel trailer home & no AC anywhere - not in my ME vehicle.
> Have to rig a shoulder-mounted solar powered fan ?? A panel on my staw hat ?


you can go through all that or....... you can do what the locals do here.... get up early, get done what has to be done before lunch, and go fishin during the heat of the afternoon. It works fer me. after all, its only bad during end of july through first of september. basically yer looking at a month or so out of the year of heat and humidity. todays high is 65 here in Metcalfe county, and this summer we only had a couple weeks of the brutal stuff.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Thank you all - I sure would/will go down for a visit 1st - maybe late Oct. or Nov. ?
By the way, any Gravely owners here ? Just bought a 'Professional 5665' w/brush hog.


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## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

I really do love tn. I am about 10 minutes from the central ky border.
I came from Northern Mn...30 miles from the Canadian border and moved in July to tn. Our air went out the first night and we lived with no a/c the first 2 summers we were here. If we made it anyone can.
that was 17 yrs ago..and although i miss mN..I will never go back


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

54metalman said:


> This helps me out alot. I am thinking about the place listed here in Summer Shade, KY. Any insite to this area? Rick what area are you looking at? This place is near Bolwing green. Coming from the NW near Mt. Hood. I have a problem with the KS heat this year. Is KY about the same? Cooler? Just looking for a place to go as soon as possible.


Summer Shade Ky is a wide spot on hwy 90 about 15 miles from us. Its a pleasant sort of little village with a post office, restaurant and funeral home. They have an elementary school there too for grades 1 thru 6 if I remember correctly. We had a couple weeks of hot weather here this year... during august which was pretty normal. temps got into the high nineties, and hit a hundred a few days there. Its cooled down nicely again now though. Had our first frost in the hollers two nights ago.


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## Rita (May 13, 2002)

Our granddaughter has a job in Kentucky and says it is much hotter and more humid than it was here in TN. We have very few ticks, no chiggers unless you go into deep grassy area, no mosquitoes. Now I will say the heat of the past summer was really awful. Clear nights we do cool off quite a bit and no a.c. needed even though it was very hot during the day.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

rickfrosty said:


> I want to build a cool underground house & I'd have to get out early in the morning to work the farm, but also do as much as possible in spring & fall (& winter). You are right I can't take heat & humidity very well, but I am on the other end of the Appalachians, so know (& like) many reddish-neck people, ha, ha. One of my best friends says he can't read (?) and that he hasn't been to a doctor in 45 yrs. - he is pretty darned smart & has made several rather nice piles of money.
> If it worked out, I might come back to ME for summers - stay in travel trailer & rent out my houses here ?
> Yep, I'm dreamin !!?


Lived 18 years in TN, and had family in KY in that area. The only way to know if you can build underground there is to go there, or call the county and see if there are caves near there. TN and KY are built on a system of limestone caves, and it is illegal to blast through them, even for a septic tank in a lot of places. So, if you have pics from the place, an easy way to tell is to look at the trees and the ground. If the trees are deciduous, and there are not any small rock outcroppings on the ground, you are probably OK, but if you see Juniper trees (look like cedars, or christmas trees) and rocks, then you might have a problem building into the ground there. For this reason, a lot of houses in the area don't have basements. Also, for this reason, a good deal of the land is great for goats or livestock, but not so great for farming. Not enough topsoil. Also, if you have an areal view (like google maps), look for anything that looks like a sink hole. If you have sink holes opening up on the property, you are probably on a cave. That's OK. You can build there, just not in the ground.

FWIW,

Cindyc.


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## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

I am about 40 miles from Bowling green. KY. I LOVe BG and if I was to move I would move to make BG my closest town. As for mosquitos here in this area of TN..we have em (worse this year then I ever recall)along with chiggers and ticks. and snakes
We also have low crime and gorgeous weather. Don't care for the hottest part of summer but well worth the trade to seldom see much snow.


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