Just had to contribute as I love KY. I born and bred there as was my family. (currently live in Jacksonville, FL though). I grew up in smalltown western KY,but lived in Louisville and believe me we have family traditions. My mom went to school at the University of Louisville as did I. My dad and sister chose the "other one" (they both went to UK in Lexington) and man do we have our in family basketball rivalries TEE HEE!

At any rate I love Lexington it is beautiful and has some rolling hills and KY bluegrass. However I don't consider it a city. Lexington is much like Gainesville FL in that the entire town revolves around the University and without the student population it would be little more than a small town. (A beautiful one but still a small town). Of course if you wanted a small town atmosphere it would be perfect. On the other hand Louisville is a city in an of its self. Yes it is a bit dirty and a bit more crime ridden but that comes with living in a city. As for the conservative/liberal thing, I am liberal but would have to say KY leans more toward conservative values as it is deep in the bible belt but that as far as soci economic programs has a democratic spending attitude on taking care of less fortunate etc. Yes they vote democrat for state politicians but a good "southern democrat" is conservative on religion and war thus voting for Bush in national races. I would say however Louisville would be more liberal and open to ideas than Lexington just because there is more diversity in a city.

I currently live in Jacksonville, FL and while it has a larger population Louisville has more of a city feel. Jax is extremely suburban and spread out. The downtown are is much larger and more vibrant and the concentration of people in certain areas is greater.

I have lived all over
Louisville from student housing downtown in Old Louisville, to Bardstown Rd area, to Hurstbourne to Anchorage in the far east. I would suggest for a "mixed atmosphere" the area of St. Matthews. It is on the outskirts of the city and still has a city feel but are old houses in a good neighborhood with good schools. Anything further east may be too suburban and anything closer in may be too "downtown" Just my thoughts!

I was born and raised in Louisville, KY and lived there until I needed to move to Frankfort, KY for a job. I love Louisville. It is a wonderful city and a wonderful place to live with so much to do. Being in Frankfort, I am midway between Louisville and Lexington and can tell you from an outsider's point of view, that Lexington doesn't have nearly what Louisville has.

In response to sunlover's comment about Louisville being dirty...that can't be further from the truth...Louisville has often been commended on how clean the city itself is. Yes, we do have the west end where crime often runs rampant...but what city doesn't? What about East LA or East St. Louis? But overall, I think Louisville is one of the most wonderful cities to live in with so much to do for all ages. Although I am now in my twenties and enjoy doing things that many twentysomethings find fun, I know that as I enter my thirties and forties, that I will continue finding wonderful things to occupy my time in Louisville.

I hope you picked Louisville! I'm a native Kentuckian, and in my opinion, there are three types of Kentuckians:

1) the 'Louisville people'
2) the 'Lexington people'
3) the 'Cincinnati people'

Of course, each group is composed of people who are biased towards one city or another. Personally, I'm a 'Louisville person' through and through. It's a severely underrated city which continues to progress forward. I love Louisville, and even though I live in Washington DC now, I always look forward to returning. The atmosphere is so casual and friendly, there are no pretensions, and life is very affordable in Louisville. I don't think Lexington is as affordable a city as Louisville, and Lexington (in my opinion) has no individual character. Lexington strikes me as a large small-town. It has a minimal independent business sector, so everything there is a national chain of some sort. Louisville, on the other hand, is home to many fine independent businesses (look on Bardstown Rd. or Frankfort Ave.) and I think Louisville also has more of a sense of civic pride than Lexington. I think Louisville is definitely the most liberal area of KY. I'm so proud to call it my hometown, and look forward to seeing it shine in the years to come.

Although I would not classify Louisville as a city that I would want to take a trip to, except maybe at Derby time, it is a very comfortable city to live in. As far as an area of the city to live in, the more liberal areas of the city would be in the Highlands (which is a very popular area to live in) and east of there in Crescent Hill. Both neighborhoods are older very desirable neighborhoods but a bit pricier because of that. As far as the suburbs go your best bet would be toward the on the eastern side of the city. Lexinton is a nice city but to me has more the feel of a large town (a more rural feeling) than a city. Good Luck on your city searching!