Where to live in Memphis?

[Guest tennesseevolz]

I would suggest Southhaven, Hernando, or Olive Branch, MS---that's just my op from work trips down there.

[Almond27]

One thing reading through this thread is people in Memphis have a sense of humor. My mom lived in Memphis in the 70's and taught at Whitehaven Elementary. She had alot of interesting students and parents. The one story she tells is of the girl she had in her class named Marijuana and no I'm not kidding. Only in Memphis haha.

[Links2k]

I suggest you and your wife drive around town a bit and you'll more or less see what's good and bad. And yes, you will see some weird stuff, like crossing Summer Ave from large, expensive homes immediately into low income neighborhood. One of the main things to keep in mind, even in places like East Memphis where I grew up - just because the yards and homes look nice doesn't make it a safe neighborhood. Break ins and burglaries are commonplace. In my old neighborhood, at least 75% of my neighbors had been broken into at some point in the past.

If you can afford it, go to Collierville, Lakeland, Arlington etc. If you can't afford those areas, you can do what I did and just go a bit further to Fayette county. Almost no taxes, very little crime, and houses aren't expensive. Yea so I drive about half an hour every morning, but it's worth it.

Just to throw something else out there, Memphis is 61% black and 34% white. Take from that what you will and be prepared. We've had a racial pot-stirrer for a mayor for 16 years up till just a month ago. So it pays to be careful where you go and who is around you when you are out.

The former mayor was a world class butt, but statements like yours do just as much harm. Most victims of crime in Memphis know the suspects. Because the area has a large population of blacks does not mean that every black person in Memphis is out to get you. That's just bs.

[Guest PatriotCSA]

Fair enough. I just remember all my friends from U of M several years ago who were not from around here, esp from up North who were quite shocked and unprepared for the situation. Most folks moving here know these things already but some don't. No foul intended.

[Capbyrd]

Capybrd, My wife and I are in that boat of not being able tp afford to move far enough east at the moment and are looking at houses in the city. That is one of the areas we are looking at. Know of any decent houses on the market near you?

Sadly, no. There was a house a couple down from me that would have been a great place to live but it sold about a month back. I'll keep an eye out though.

[seawash]

It's a tough call on where to live in the Memphis area; you seem to need to be near the pharmacy school.

I'm going into my 3rd year here and we chose to live in Collierville and I commute to the "heart" (if you can call boarded up buildings the heart) of downtown every day. My first 2 years here I worked near the pharmacy school, I was very near the MED. You will see everything in that part of town.

Check this out:

In Pictures: America's 20 Most Miserable Cities - No. 3 Memphis, Tenn. - Forbes.com

As the old Kung Fu master used to say "Choose wisely Grasshopper"

[Guest db99wj]

Capybrd, My wife and I are in that boat of not being able tp afford to move far enough east at the moment and are looking at houses in the city. That is one of the areas we are looking at. Know of any decent houses on the market near you?

Whats your price range?

[Chucktshoes]

Whats your price range?

Well because I am in the process of doing some credit repair (irresponsible youth strikes again!) we are having to qualify strictly on the wife's income if we want to buy before the expiration of the tax credit. That is forcing us into the *<85k range. The plan is to buy now, stay in the house 3-5 years, do some upgrades and then sell out (hopefully) once the market improves and head to the Collierville area as that is where our personal lives are centered. We don't have any kids so this is the plan as schools are not a concern as of this moment.

[Guest jackdm3]

Remember that when you sell, any profit you make is tax-free once you've lived in it for two years and a day (or 2 out of 5 years prior to the sale). You could do this until you reach the max of $250,000 each or $500,000 joint. By the time you get that far, the laws will probably have changed to a higher figure.

[Guest db99wj]

Well because I am in the process of doing some credit repair (irresponsible youth strikes again!) we are having to qualify strictly on the wife's income if we want to buy before the expiration of the tax credit. That is forcing us into the *<85k range. The plan is to buy now, stay in the house 3-5 years, do some upgrades and then sell out (hopefully) once the market improves and head to the Collierville area as that is where our personal lives are centered. We don't have any kids so this is the plan as schools are not a concern as of this moment.

Look here. 38117 real estate & 38117 homes for sale | Single family homes,Condos,Townhomes,Co-ops - REALTOR.com®

If it doesn't work, just go to realtor.com put in zip 38117, and I used the 0-90000 range. Can always negotiate down a little or a lot in today's market. This will put you into the area that is South of Park between Estate and Perkins. Not a bad area, many good hard working people, nice houses, especially for couples or with 1 or 2 kids. Close to almost everything or at least roads to get to everything else.

[Chucktshoes]

I am familiar with that area, not a bad one at all. It is also on our radar.