Where to live in Memphis?

[Guest BigNoise]

You guys have been awesome, I will def have to hook up with some of you, I'll be leaving all my gun buddies in Knoxville!

[saintsfanbrian]

East Memphis. I am father east than DB. Poplar and Kirby area. I can walk 3 blocks and be in Germantown.

Nice part of the city but a good commute for going to school. Lots of time in traffic every day.

Apartments in this area are not where I would want to live. Farther in to Germantown maybe but in the immediate area of my office/house - no thanks.

Goes back to the good street / bad street thing.

[Guest HVAC Worker]

Having grown up there, have family that still lives there and I still visit occasionally.

They are not pulling your leg, that's the thing about Memphis, Bartlett, Shelby County in general, there is no safe place. Get your permits, get some training, and be diligent at all times.

Come on out to Bartlett,we have a very strong and everpresent police force here.They dont play.We are nothing like Memphis.

[Links2k]

Memphis is a fine city. We have alot of people that believe the media reports. I have lived in Memphis my entire life (except for my time in the Army) without any issues. Downtown is fine if you can afford it. Germantown, Collierville, Arlington and Eads are nice. Bartlett is ok if you are Larry the cable guy( just joking Bartlett). I live in S.E Shelby near FedEx world headquarters. The Shelby Sheriff patrols my area and we have no issues. I believe that you can make due anywhere as long as you stay away from South Memphis, North Memphis and Frayser. Most victims of crime in Memphis know the lowlife that commits the crime against them. Other crime is committed by kids looking to make a quick buck off of whatever you decide is not important enough to take into the house or place in the trunk of your car. Hang with good people and stay aware of your surroundings.

[Guest tnrider]

I lived in Memphis for 37 years. I admit I am glad to be back in Nashville (Franklin) and out of Memphis. I lived in around mid town the whole time I was there, Madison, Cooper Young Area, behind Christian Bro Univ and even East Orange Mound. Memphis is, as stated here earlier, a street by street situation as far as the neighborhoods go. My home was broken into twice over on the Spotswood area near Highland. It is doable to live there as long as you stay aware and use our head. It is a far different city from when I moved there in the 60s. I left there about 15 years ago. Memphis is a good place to be from, away from.

[Guest Steve411]

try east Memphis, somewhere near Chattanooga

[Guest BigNoise]

I don't WANT to go to Memphis, let me make this clear. I HAVE to go to Memphis!

[Chucktshoes]

Don't get me wrong, I love my city. There are many wonderful things about Memphis to recommend it. The only reason the wife and I are migrating out east to the burbs is that we are looking having kids soon and she has vetoed city schools and since she graduated from Overton, she gets to make that call. I didn't go to school here. You just have to be aware of a few things to increase you chances of survival.

To borrow a slogan from a city with whom we have a lot in common

Memphis, where the weak are killed and eaten.

[Guest jackdm3]

We need to step up that "Chow Down" campaign.

[Guest BJEC1248]

I've been here since '84, & lived in midtown/MSU area for at least 20 of those years. there is plenty of low-grade, annoying property crime in that area--don't leave anything on the seat of your car or on your porch that you want to keep--but like just about any other big city, it is the drug trade & the crime suffered by the poor people who live in the poorest neighborhoods that keep the statistics up. you can recite horror stories from just about anywhere, including Knoxville. I can't recall a crime here as horrific as what happened to that young couple there.

I live in Collierville now, at my wife's insistence, altho now that I'm out there, I love it--except for the commute to my job downtown. that part sucks & there's no way to sugar-coat it.

[saintsfanbrian]

Don't get me wrong, I love my city. There are many wonderful things about Memphis to recommend it. The only reason the wife and I are migrating out east to the burbs is that we are looking having kids soon and she has vetoed city schools and since she graduated from Overton, she gets to make that call. I didn't go to school here. You just have to be aware of a few things to increase you chances of survival.

To borrow a slogan from a city with whom we have a lot in common

Memphis, where the weak are killed and eaten.

County schools are not much better. I suggest staying put and pay for private.

[Guest clownsdd]

I've lived in parkway village for 35 yrs and in Memphis all my life. Like the others said, It's a block by block thing.

[G27]

County schools are not much better. I suggest staying put and pay for private.

Hrmm, we home school, so I haven't a horse in this race, but every ranking I've read says just the opposite - Shelby County schools rank quite well across the state while Memphis City schools are deplorable...

[Guest clownsdd]

Got my grand kid in the Catholic school system.

[Curiousgb]

I have friends that live near Overton Park and love it. I like Overton Park. I have run many races there and it is nice. Memphis is like most large cities I have lived in, situational awareness is key. That said, I live out in the Shelby Forest, out in the woods, with large dogs and guns.

[saintsfanbrian]

Hrmm, we home school, so I haven't a horse in this race, but every ranking I've read says just the opposite - Shelby County schools rank quite well across the state while Memphis City schools are deplorable...

I am a product of the County school system. I also have a niece and nephew in there currently. I am not impressed with it which is why the Catholics get my money.

Sure there are good teachers and bad teachers but from what I have personally seen - no thanks....

[gnmwilliams]

I've lived in parkway village for 35 yrs and in Memphis all my life. Like the others said, It's a block by block thing.

+1

I spent 17 years in that area too before I left for college. I do agree that it is a block by block situation but all ya have to do is get a junker car to take down there and leave your good stuff up here! My car growing up didn't even have a key hole in the door. Just a cable to keep it shut. Oh and the tooth pick I had to use to turn the stereo on probably kept em away too.

[Guest db99wj]

I am a product of the County school system. I also have a niece and nephew in there currently. I am not impressed with it which is why the Catholics get my money.

Sure there are good teachers and bad teachers but from what I have personally seen - no thanks....

There are a lot of very good teachers in the city and the county systems, that is not my problem with them, it is school board that scares me. If the local government has anything to do with it, they will all be one system soon anyway. Too much drama in those systems.

As mentioned in another thread, <writes check to private {Catholic} school>

[Capbyrd]

I didnt read everything here but Im sure its a typical slam on Memphis and those of us who can't afford to live far enough east.

I live in Raleigh right by Craigmont High School. The worst thing that has ever happened to my place is a student from the school stole some mail once but was caught 30 seconds later by the cop behind her.

I have great neighbors that all look out for one another. If I moved a few blocks back towards frayser, things would be very different. Its all about meeting people. We talked to the people in the surrounding houses before we bought our house. I recommend you do the same. Get a feel for the neighborhood. If you don't like the way your potential neighbors act, find somewhere else because if you don't stick together, you will have a harder time crime wise.

[Guest PatriotCSA]

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.

Edited February 18, 2010 by PatriotCSA

[Guest jackdm3]

My family has been burglarized in the best of Memphis.

[crnchy]

I live in the Colonial Acres neighborhood. I love it and I feel safe. Memphis neighborhoods are on block by block situation. One end of a street can be perfect while the other end is something approaching a place where I wouldn't go at night.

Check around... there's gonna be crime everywhere but there are plenty of good places to live in and around Memphis.

My neighborhood is probably 15 minutes from midtown and the medical district FWIW

[Guest walkingdeadman]

LAKELAND...everything is greener in Lakeland.

[Chucktshoes]

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?

Edited February 18, 2010 by Chucktshoes
Got ninja'd

[eapking]

Too bad UT-Mem is undoubtedly a "gun-free" zone (what a joke). That place needs carry as it's in a really nasty area. Welcome to the jungle.