Between recent investments in development and Metro government initiatives, the city of Louisville is attracting nationwide attention for young people and young businesses to resettle their roots in River City. Advantages for living in Louisville are numerous, but here are a few highlights as to why you should consider the move (if you aren’t already lucky enough to live here):
More Green Space
Louisville ranks first on a nationwide scale for public greenspace. Perhaps this is due to the legacy left by Frederick Law Olmsted, the Father of American Landscape Architecture. Among Olmsted’s other accomplishments are the US Capitol Grounds, New York City’s Central Park, and the Biltmore Estate landscaping. The park system that Olmsted and his firm established has led to Louisville’s high ranks in public recreation, biking, walking, and running paths. While these green spaces may sound simple, investments of this type in local parks has a huge impact on transportation efficiency as well as the value of property in the neighborhood. Between all of the city parks, Louisville boasts upwards of 15,000 acres of space, some of which–like the waterfront park along the Ohio River–have been recently finished.
Code Louisville and Tech Investment
Despite being labeled as a midwestern city, Louisville has garnered a national reputation for being an especially tech-focused city. A recent initiative funded by a $2.9 million federal grant, Code Louisville, prepares rising software coders for an increasingly technology-driven field of employers. The initiative garnered enough attention for President Obama to make an April visit to Indatus, a prominent technology company, and show his support for Louisville’s focus on innovation and job training.
Affordability
Louisville is the largest city in the state of Kentucky and the 28th most populous metropolitan area in the nation, but in regards to overall cost of living, Louisville is still 8 percent less than the national average. Home values are overall on the rise, especially in areas of Louisville that have seen larger restoration efforts, like the Highlands and NuLu neighborhoods. Yet, the trend for rental prices remains very affordable, with median rent prices almost 50 percent less than the national average.
Research Hub
Thanks to Louisville’s variety of universities and hospitals, the city has become Kentucky’s hub for innovation and research. University of Louisville’s ‘Nucleus’ Science and Innovation Center was established in 2008 and has since devoted a vast amount of resources to improving the physical health of the region. Their main facility makes up the city’s healthcare/university/riverfront corridor that cuts through downtown’s growing business district. Thanks to hospitals such as Kosair Children’s and Norton Healthcare, a number of medical centers have partnered with academic institutions like University of Louisville and Bellarmine University. Undergraduate and graduate research in biology, chemistry, and physical therapy mean Louisville is attracting a wider array of national talent while also receiving national recognition for leading the way on cutting edge discoveries in medicine.
Louisville ranked second best digital city
The Lane Report recently publicized Louisville’s rank as the nation’s second ‘best digital city.’ Digital Cities Survey by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government conducted the search for the best digital city in the US, and Louisville managed to tie for second with Los Angeles. Louisville Metro Government has been hard at work in modernizing their offices for the 21st century, especially Metro’s website and how citizens interact with digital content. A recent overhaul of the main website has resulted in easier access for tablets and smartphones. Greater transparency in the transfer of government data has made a performance-tracking initiative succeed. Perhaps these accomplishments are an incentive for Google to continue exploring the implementation of Google Fiber–the company’s super fast broadband network–in the city of Louisville.
