Affordable Ashland Storage Units

Moving and storage go hand in hand. Whether you are traveling across town or across the country, moving is an exciting and fresh start. While Storage Rentals of America is here to help you with all your storage needs, we also want to help you get familiar with the area. That's why we put together this resource guide for Ashland, Kentucky.

About Ashland Kentucky

From Appalachian country music to American steel to chemical engineering, Ashland shares a robust heritage for the bluegrass state. From its pioneering days in the late 18th century, Ashland has matured into the fifth largest city in Kentucky. Its important location next to the Ohio River has joined it along with Ironton, Ohio and Huntington, West Virginia to form the Huntington-Ashland metro area. Its population alone has over 21,000 people according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Ashland Kentucky began its humble beginnings as a frontier settlement in the Appalachians by the Poage family. These farms were renamed "Ashland" after the nearby Lexington estates owned by Henry Clay and quickly grew into an industrial center for several companies. Many of these businesses grew into the national and international markets by the 20th century. Hardworking and proud of its heritage, Ashland continues to serve its residents in the prospering medical industry and provides a strategic port for the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Great Lakes areas.

What to do in Ashland

The Huntington-Ashland metro area has fostered a wide variety of cultural attractions that include the Poage Landing Days, Winter Wonderland of Lights and the Firkin Fest craft beer festival. The Paramount Arts Center is a historical landmark that continues to be an important cultural center for Ashland's arts and entertainment. In the summer, the Center provides arts class programs for children and in the winter, it hosts an annual Festival of Trees celebration. A number of notable people are from the Ashland area including National Public Radio journalist Noah Adams and country music artists Billy Ray Cyrus, Tracy Cyrus, Jason Carter, the Judds, Julie Reeves, and Keith Whitley. The nearby Highlands Museum Discovery Center covers a good deal of Eastern Kentucky history that includes its famous heritage for the country music industry.

Working in Ashland

Ashland boasts a proud industrial heritage with a promising future. Since its founding the city grew from pioneering homesteads to an important economic center for pig iron, coal, and oil production. Its close proximity to the Ohio River also opened up opportunities for glass and plastics manufacturing, chemical engineering, education, and medical industries. The largest employers in the 20th century included ARMCO Steel Company L.P., the C&O Railroad, Allied Chemical and Dye Company, and Ashland Oil and Refining Company. The latter is now known as Ashland Global Specialty Chemicals, Inc. and currently operates in over 100 countries.

The King's Daughters Medical center is the leading employer for the city today and employs about 4,000 residents in the Ashland metro area. In 2016, U.S. steel production has gradually increased from 78.5 million to 81.6 million metric tons in 2017. Plans for revitalizing the steel and manufacturing industries are underway with new daily job postings at the time of this writing. Median household income averages rest at over $30,000 for individuals and $40,000 for families.

Ashland Neighborhoods

A number of beautiful neighborhoods exist in the Huntington-Ashland metro area. Most of these neighborhoods are suburban with a natural Appalachian feel. Some of these neighborhoods include these areas:

• Bellefonte, KY - A charming small-town community that is only an eight minute drive from downtown Ashland, but feels like you are away from it all in the Appalachian Mountains. Homes here tend to be more affordable due to the more 'rural' environment.
• Coal Grove, OH - This quaint town has more of a suburban polished feel and is just across the river from Ashland. It's the perfect place for professional individuals and is close to the amenities of the city. Average home prices are middle to higher in range. The village also has very good crime ratings.
• Westwood, Ashland, KY - Not to be confused with Lexington, Kentucky, this suburban community is very close to Ashland and one of the top 10% retiree friendly communities in Kentucky. Diverse housing options are available in this quiet neighborhood that range from single family homes with multiple bedrooms to 1-2 bedroom studio apartments. Many of these homes are newer compared to other buildings in the area and tend to be priced at the higher range.

Ashland School District

Many good public-school options are available for Ashland KY residents. All of them within the city's limits are in operation under the Ashland Independent School District. Schools within the Westwood community are under the Fairview Independent School District. The rest of the schools in Ashland's rural outlying areas are operated by the Boyd County Public Schools system. The two private schools in Ashland are the Holy Family School and Rose Hill Christian School.

Paul G. Blazer High School is reputed for its sports and music programs. Named after the founder of Ashland Inc., the school has achieved a dozen national qualifier championships in football and basketball. Additional accomplishments include 4 state, 42 regional, and 55 district championships in the Tomcats' basketball boys' team. The school's marching band, fondly named “The Pride of Blazer,” is known for excellent performances in AAA competitions by the Kentucky Music Educators Association.

Several secondary schooling options are a stone's throw away in Ashland. They include Ashland Community and Technical College, Tri-State Barber College, and a Morehead State University satellite campus. More universities are available across the river in Ohio such as Ohio University Southern Campus and Tri State Bible College. All of these options are less than 5 miles away from Ashland city limits.

Moving to Ashland Resource Guide

For current rates and information about electric, water, and other utilities, new residents can access these resources provided by the Ashland Kentucky Alliance, which the Ashland Chamber of Commerce is part of. Resources from the Ashland City website are also available.

Ashland Housing

Like many cities in Kentucky, Ashland excels at providing a low cost of living for its residents. AreaVibes gave the city a Livibility Award for Top Ten Medium Cities in Kentucky for Cost of Living. Finding homes for sale in the Ashland area is also not much of an issue. Therefore, new residents have the opportunity to place more focus on the quality of what they want over the quantity of homes available.

As a whole, the Ashland metro area is a wise choice for those who wish to settle into the eastern Kentucky area for the long term and is ideal for those seeking career moves in the medical, steel, chemical and manufacturing industries along with retirement. Its proud industrial past coincides with the overall beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and a promising future of America's manufacturing industry to come.