Small towns near Lexington, why I point people to Manchester

Somebody will call me from Lexington and say, "I love it there, but I'm tired of the traffic. Where can I get a little space?"

That's usually how the "small towns near Lexington" conversation starts. They want the breathing room and the quiet, but they don't want to feel stranded.

Manchester is where I end up pointing a lot of people. It's the county seat of Clay County. You've got the basics right here, and you're still close enough to run to a bigger town when you need to.

What people are really asking

When folks say "small towns near Lexington," they're usually not looking for a specific place on a map. They're trying to solve a problem.

Most of the time it comes down to four things.

• less traffic and less running all over the place
• a house and yard that doesn't cost what Lexington costs
• room for a garden, a shop, or just a little privacy
• a town that still feels like a town, not just a highway exit

If that sounds like you, Manchester belongs on your list even though it's not a suburb.

Where Manchester sits and why it matters

Manchester is on US-421 and KY-80 (Hal Rogers Parkway). That matters because you can get to London in about 25 minutes, and London is where you go for the Walmart Supercenter, Lowe's, and I-75.

Lexington is more like 1.5 to 2 hours depending on where you're coming from and what the roads are doing. Knoxville is roughly 2 hours. A lot of people don't need Lexington every day. They just want to be able to get there for a weekend, a medical appointment, a ballgame, shopping, or visiting family.

If you want the Lexington lifestyle all week long, Clay County is going to feel far. If you want to visit Lexington without living in its traffic pattern, Manchester starts making sense.

Day to day life in town

Manchester is small, roughly 1,500 people in the city, and the whole county is around 19,000 to 20,000. You notice that right away.

Errands are simple. We've got Food City and Save-A-Lot, plus the Dollar General type stops that are all over this part of Kentucky. There's a Walgreens in town, and you'll find local hardware and farm supply places too. Most of the restaurants and fast food are right along US-421.

For healthcare, AdventHealth Manchester is here, and Grace Community Health Center is here, along with clinics and pharmacies. For bigger hospital systems and specialists, people drive to London or Lexington.

If you want a better feel for the everyday runs people actually make, I'd read shopping and groceries in Manchester.

The kind of housing you'll see

People are surprised by the variety once they stop thinking of Clay County as "all rural." Manchester has in town houses close to schools and stores, and then you can be out in the country in just a few minutes.

You'll see:

• older in town homes
• brick ranches (a lot from the 1960s to the 1990s)
• manufactured homes on acreage
• farms and hollow properties, sometimes on gravel roads

Prices are well below the national average. Lately, a well kept three bedroom home commonly sells in the low to mid $100,000s, but there's wide variation based on condition and land.

Where people get tripped up is thinking two houses priced the same will live the same. One may be city water and an easy driveway. Another may be a well, septic, propane, and a steep pull off a county road. It depends on the house.

If you like the land side of things, this one helps: rural properties with acreage in Clay County.

Space and scenery are the point

Clay County looks like what most folks picture when they think "Appalachian Kentucky." Hills, woods, ridges, hollers, and creeks.

Goose Creek runs through Manchester. Near Oneida, Goose Creek meets the Red Bird River and Bullskin Creek, and that's where the South Fork of the Kentucky River forms. We've also got creeks like Beech Creek, Horse Creek, Sexton Creek, and Laurel Creek.

If you're an outdoors person, the Daniel Boone National Forest borders much of the county. Redbird Wildlife Management Area is to the east. People hike, hunt, fish, ride ATVs, and spend a lot of time outside because it's right there.

One practical piece with all that water and terrain is flooding. Creek bottoms can flood, and spring can be wet with flash flooding. If a property sits low, you want to pay attention to how water moves there.

Communities outside town

Manchester is the hub, but plenty of people prefer being a little out. Some want more privacy. Some just like a certain drive.

Oneida comes up a lot. It's quieter, more rural, and still connected to Manchester. If you're shopping wider than town limits, start here: buying a home in Manchester is a good place to begin, and moving to Manchester helps you think through timing.

A quick way to get a feel

You can learn more in two hours of driving around than you can in a week online.

Start in town and do normal errands. Drive US-421 through the main strip. Go by the Goose Creek Swinging Bridge downtown. If it's in season, the farmers market on Main Street is a good stop. Then take a loop out toward Oneida or another community you're curious about.

Pay attention to how the roads feel, where the creek runs, and how steep the driveways are. If cell signal and internet matter to you, watch that too.

Questions I get asked

Is Manchester really "near" Lexington?

It depends on how often you need to be in Lexington. If you want a place you can drive to for a day trip now and then, Manchester works fine. If you need a daily commute into Lexington, most folks decide they want to be closer than Clay County, especially in winter weather.

What kinds of homes do you actually see around Manchester?

A little bit of everything. In town you'll see older houses and brick ranch homes from the 1960s to 1990s. Outside town you'll find manufactured homes on acreage, farms, and hollow properties on gravel roads. Condition and setting vary a lot, so it depends on the house.

What do I need to pay attention to on rural properties?

Start with the unglamorous stuff. Find out if it's city water or a well, whether it's septic, what the heat source is, and how the road and driveway are laid out. Internet and cell service can change from one hollow to the next, so check early if you work from home.

Call me at (606) 599-5774 or send a message if you want to talk through areas and what kind of place would fit you best.