I'm from Kentucky, Lexington specifically. Louisville is a nice area it's about an hour away. The main areas I know of that I would not recommend living at would be around campus area or some parts of downtown. I'm not too familiar other than that.
Looks to me like the nature of aluminum. Whether exposed to the elements shortened its life or not eventually it will corrode from what I've seen. Just like most steels will rust eventually the same can be said from alumnium for the most part IMO