Here's a state you never hear anything about: Kentucky

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Why is that?

Granted, I’ve only driven through, but it seems like a pretty cool state. It borders Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee; all states that I hear about often and (with the exception of West Virginia) have large, world-class cities.

The weather should be just about ideal. It’s far enough north to avoid the sweltering summers of the more southern states, yet far enough south to enjoy a milder winter than, say, Chicago or even Indianapolis.

From my drive-throughs and pictures I’ve seen, the geography is beautiful. Lots of green trees and grass, rolling hills, wide open spaces as well as large wooded areas.

Mysteriously though, I never meet anyone from Kentucky. Even when I’ve lived relatively close (both NC and Indiana), I never saw Kentucky license plates.

So, natives and former inhabitants, tell me about Kentucky. What are the pros and cons of the state? Do I never hear about it because it’s a dump, or is it just so good that no one leaves to spread the word?

I’d also like to hear from dopers in similarly seldom heard-about states like: Idaho, Vermont, Maine, Montana (I know Chronos lives there), the Dakotas, Wyoming, possibly New Mexico, or any state that you feel is not often heard of outside of its borders.

Why do you think your state gets little attention? Why do you think so few people live there (if that’s the case)? What would you change about your state?

2

I would change the name of my state to “California.”

Adam

3

Kentucky is a strange and confusing place, at times.

I think about half of it is because of the Civil War. Being a border state, we were pretty much split on everything. My home county (one of 120 in the Commonwealth) was the center of secession talk (the Jackson Purchase was going to secede from both the state and the Union and join Tennessee, until the Union took Paducah) while the central and eastern portions were pro-Union.

Kentucky has one obsession: basketball. Sure, we love horses, and some of us love bourbon (although something like 2/3 of the state is still dry), but basketball is our unifier. 95% of us (i.e. the sane ones) are members of Big Blue Nation and pull for the University of Kentucky Wildcats (of the 7 NCAA titles) while the other 5% are deluded saps who support Louisville Community College… I mean the University of Louisville.

Weather is strange here, too. Storm systems do wacky things, like the day that a thunderstorm blew northwest across Lexington. Also, snow will shut half the state down. Not a huge amount of snow, mind you, just an inch or so.

We have incredibly varied geography, as well. Mountains in the east, highland plains in the central region and river plains in the west, as well as two huge manmade lakes (Kentucky Lake, also known as the Tennessee River, and Lake Barkley, or the Cumberland River.) The lakes were formed when Kentucky and Barkley Dams were built in the 40s to control flooding (Google “1937 flood”+Paducah).

The west end of the state is more Southern than the rest of the state, mainly because the only large land border it shared for quite a while was with TN. Largest cities there are Owensboro, Paducah and Mayfield. Lexington and Louisville are the big cities in the central region, while the mountains have Pikeville.

Nice place to visit, especially if you like horses, barbecue, bourbon and basketball. I’ve lived here my whole life, and it’s really a beautiful state. I hope to stay in Lexington once I graduate, just because it’s fairly progressive for the state, and it’s a larger city with a small-town feel.

4

For North Dakota, you could start here. proceed to here, and maybe finish up with a warm bed.

And just so you don’t think we’re puritan, have a drink at any of these fine places

5

Well, I know one guy from Kentucky… and the basketball thing brianjedi mentioned is definately true if I take him to be a good sample of a Kentuckian. The state did look beautiful when I drove through it a while back. I suspect the reason we don’t hear to much about it is because they try to keep their blue people a secret from the rest of the world (number 3 in that list).

6

I’ve known some Kentuckians, and they were all friendly, honest people. A few Kentuckians make some of the planet’s finest whiskeys. Some folks say “hillbilly” like it’s a bad thing. I’m a flatlander, but if I was from the mountains, I’d be proud of it.

7

I don’t know much about Kentucky, except I owe a very hot guy from Lexington a phone call.

8

Blue grass, horses, Daniel Boone, and sippin’ whiskey. That’s all I know,

9

One of the coolest people I ever met was from Kentucky. Her name was Roberta VanWinkle, and she was in my flight in AF basic. Other than that, I have no knowledge of Kentucky.

10

I like Kentucky far better than Ohio. And I love Ohio. No, really, I do. First of all, they have no dirt roads in Ohio. They are all paved. Georgia scares me and I have no firm opinion of Tennessee except that Dolly Parton was born in Butcher Hollow, so that’s ok by me.

It’s Michigan that is rarely in the news except for mentioning Madonna’s home state, Enimen, Cars, Murder, or Sport teams.

Hey, we are more than that, ok?

You just gots to come here to find out for yourself. & Spend lots of money at our Fabulous Outlet Malls and eat chicken at Frankenmuth You know you want too. It’s obligatory. Oh, and the vista on the THREE FABULOUS GREAT LAKES not one. Not two, BUT THREE. Is excellent.
But you know what state worries me? New Mexico. ::::gives the map a shift eye towards NM:::::::

Never hear anything about it except for Los Alamos Facility and Roswell. It’s all so suspicious.

11

I used to live close to Wyoming.

When driving north on I-25, the point at which you’ve crossed the Wyoming border is very clear. Billboards and extremely tall high-rise signs are everywhere, unlike Colorado; the built environment along the interstate tends to resemble something you would find in the Texas panhandle. Big fireworks stands, too.

You’ll also notice that the luxury cars and SUVs you seeon the Colorado side of I-25 transform into big pickup trucks. Cowboy culture is huge, and in Cheyenne and Laramie, the sight of people decked out in western wear is very common.

Laramie and Cheyenne seem like tired, depressed, dull cities. The downtowns of both cities are dead.

Head east on I-80, and you’ll find truckstops every 20 miles or so until the Nebraska border. Cross into Nebraska, and the billboards end.

To me, Wyoming seems like a discontiguous island of Texas, only with more varied and scenic topography.

12

Let us never forget that without Kentucky, and by extension Drew Curtis, the world would be lacking this web site.

It’s not news, it’s Fark.com.

13

I live about twenty minutes from the Tennessee-Kentucky border, so I find myself up that way a bit. I was there Saturday evening, actually. Here’s what I know:

  1. Their sales tax is low low low compared to what I’m used to. Tennessee’s is nearly 10%, which is pretty painful on big purchases. I believe Kentucky’s is around 6%. (My best friend went to KY to buy her wedding dress, and the bf bought his laptop there as well). Annnnnd, best of all, there is NO sales tax on groceries!

  2. The riverfront in Paducah is lovely, almost a small-scale version of Nashville’s. They’ve rennovated the downtown area and it’s simply adorable. However, it seems that they’re pretty fascinated with antiques and quilts.

  3. Their road system is confusing. But perhaps that’s because I’m from Tennessee, which has the least elaborate, wholly numerical system of naming roads. In any case, on the way to Indiana once, even the map ceased to be of any help. I also got stuck in downtown Paducah once, because you can only get there via one-way streets.

  4. They do love their basketball. When Low Key mentioned blue people, I thought he was referring to UK basketball fans :stuck_out_tongue:

Basically, Western (not “West”) Kentucky just seems to be a lot like West (not “Western”) Tennessee. Can’t say the same for the remainder of the two states, though.

14

Western Kentucky is great if you’re looking for a safe place to live, decent public schools, a climate with all 4 seasons and small towns.

In western KY it’s not about what city you’re from, it’s about what COUNTY you’re from. Each county has its own little vibe and the people that “fit” just seem to find their way there. For example, if you’re Catholic you’re going to want to live in one of two places: Fancy Farm or Paducah (which, yes, has good antiques and quilting). Not because the other places have anti-catholic sentiment, it’s because most other places have maybe 1 Catholic church per county, and not very active ones at that.

Some counties don’t do well with “outsiders,” though. It’s not that they’re mean to them, it’s just very hard to establish yourself. You’re new and your next-door neighbor is 5th generation _______________ Countian. Guess whose kid is going get first dibs when scholarship time rolls around? Oh, and secrets? Forget it. If you do/say/are anything remotely “off,” everyone will know about it.

Two counties in particular have a bad reputation for racism: Graves and Marshall. I don’t know if these reputations are deserved today, but apparently they were in the past and labels like that stick for a long time. Not many black people in those two counties, though.

I like going back home for a visit. It’s nice to walk into the local grocery store and know most of the people I see and get caught up on news. I don’t get worried if my daughter is out of my sight for more than 30 seconds. I get sad when I see my old neighborhood, though. A lot of the people whose backyards I played in as a child have either moved away or died.

It’s not where I belong, though, and after a few days I’m always ready to go back to my mountains.

15

I will never understand why the Two Scoops of Raisins character got on Kentucky’s license plate.

Seems like a desperate plea for attention.

16

My family and I used to live in Paducah, for approximately 3 years.

I was told after we left that there had been significant gang activity in the area. I don’t know how true that is; I’ve never returned.

Maybe someone from that region can elaborate.

17

Yeah, Marshall County is pretty thick with the Klan and just a general anti-AA sentiment. Graves County less so, at least close to Mayfield.

Paducah’s downtown is all one-way streets pointing towards the floodwall, I think. It’s ridiculous. And yes, they do love their antiques.

Do other places have a sales tax on groceries? Are we strange that way?

18

My dad and his dad were both born in Harlan KY.
Grandfather was mayor there years ago.
Old-timers there know my surmane and, even though I’ve only visited there a few times in my life, whenever I give my name, I’m treated with extra courtesy.

19

I love Seattle, really I do. But the property taxes, relentless rain, horrible job market and traffic are driving the 'addi family to pack up the china, the kid and the dog and git. We seriously considered Lexington, for some the reasons brianjedi mentioned, but I think we may end up in Athens, Ga. Shirley, don’t worry, okay? We can handle it. We’ve also lived in Cody and Cheyenne, Wyoming and really. really liked both places.*

*Shameless self-promotion

20

If you want to get away from relentless rain and traffic, I don’t know that Lexington is your best bet. It rains from September to December, and from March until May. Also, Lexington traffic is kind of interesting. We all run yellow lights, and if you want to get anywhere in the afternoons you have to stay off of Nicholasville Road or you’ll be in traffic for 2 hours.