Im moving to Memphis! Help a brother out!

[Guest BigNoise]

As some of you know, I got married on June 5th and I am moving to Memphis from Knoxville this weekend. My wife (that sounds weird) is going to pharmacy school there. We are living on Mud Island and I am working in Collierville (The only transfer I could get). Anyway, if you Memphis guys have any suggestions for anything from places to eat to grocery stores that would be great. Also, if anyone wants to get together and shoot lemme know!!

Edited July 9, 2010 by BigNoise

[Guest jackdm3]

WOW, dude! You home and work are polar opposites! You may find it easier and cheaper to do the "M" bridge and shop in W. Memphis, AR. If you find ANYTHING for sale on the island, it's probably a rip-off. You're going to love trying to find parking in downtown Memphis. Beale St. is off limits for your weapons. I'll think of more tomorrow.

[deerslayer]

Downtown to C-ville is a long ride, but at least you'll be going against most of the traffic. You also may find that Memphis is not the warzone that many on here (who have never even been to Mphs) would have you believe.

[jeffmem]

A great place to eat in Collierville is jajas river Kwai ... Located off of the town square. Do it soon since they are closing for good at the end of august.

There are a lot of great places in midtown. Most anything in cooper young will be tasty plus there are lots of great places downtown around beale. Subscribe to Paul ryburns blog for some recommendations.

Grocery store wise they are mostly all the same but there is a health food grocery store behind houstons on poplar. It changed names and I don't remember the new name at this time.

Shooting wise try out range USA on whitten and range master on mt. Moriah. If you want to shoot long guns or shotguns PM me and I will take you as a guest to mssa.

[Chucktshoes]

Welcome to Mempho! You just landed yourself a good 45min-1hr commute each way. This is an awesome city though.

[Guest KimberChick]

Welcome to Mempho! You just landed yourself a good 45min-1hr commute each way.

Pretty much! Jack's right as far as general shopping goes. West Memphis is your closest stop for groceries/Wal-mart type places and easier to get in and out of than the places in Midtown on Union Ave. Miss Cordelia's is great for a few things and close to you in HarborTown but they are a bit expensive if you do all your shopping there. They have a great deli counter btw. I eat lunch there every other week or so.

[Capbyrd]

I don't think I can add anything that they haven't already said. But if want to get together to shoot, let us know.

[memphismason]

Pretty good advice so far. I will start thinking of things to tell you.

The Blue Monkey on Front Street (South End), has good food and isnt to far from you. We eat lunch there 1 to 3 times a week. It has a full bar and menu.

[EMTRN]

Welcome buddy,

I live right outside of Collierville. It will be a good place to work. Downtown living will be fun, but you will need to go to midtown for your groceries, or West Memphis as some have already mentioned. Good luck!

[Guest SUNTZU]

Downtown to C-ville is a long ride, but at least you'll be going against most of the traffic. You also may find that Memphis is not the warzone that many on here (who have never even been to Mphs) would have you believe.

And you may not. I've been there.

[Capbyrd]

And you may not. I've been there.

How many times were you robbed/raped/injured/attacked/murdered while you were here?

I have lived here for 27 years of my 27 year long life. In that 27 years, I have been robbed twice. I left my car unlocked parked on the street and they took the radio. I left my car unlocked at the mall and they took my radio and my clarinet. Total in my lifetime, I have had less than 1500 dollars worth of items stolen from me and never been murdered. I think people's perception of Memphis is a little off sometimes.

[Guest SUNTZU]

How many times were you robbed/raped/injured/attacked/murdered while you were here?

I have lived here for 27 years of my 27 year long life. In that 27 years, I have been robbed twice. I left my car unlocked parked on the street and they took the radio. I left my car unlocked at the mall and they took my radio and my clarinet. Total in my lifetime, I have had less than 1500 dollars worth of items stolen from me and never been murdered. I think people's perception of Memphis is a little off sometimes.

I have been there twice. Attacked once. In a mall. By a group of juvenile black males. For being white and in "their" mall. Thanks for asking. **** Memphis. The only good thing about that short fight was the elderly black gentleman who thanked me for "teaching that punk." So **** Memphis except for TGOers and that one elderly black gentleman.

I'm editing to add that I'm probably biased based on this. I mentioned this to BigNoise in the Buyer/Seller feedback thread. I told him to look jackdm3 up as I couldn't remember off the top of my head who all is from Memphis on this board. I'm sure TGOers will look out for other TGOers. I hope you all can help BigNoise get settled as to the good and bad of Memphis (as in just about any city in America). But as far as I'm concerned...**** Memphis.

Edited June 30, 2010 by SUNTZU

[Guest db99wj]

How many times were you robbed/raped/injured/attacked/murdered while you were here?

I have lived here for 27 years of my 27 year long life. In that 27 years, I have been robbed twice. I left my car unlocked parked on the street and they took the radio. I left my car unlocked at the mall and they took my radio and my clarinet. Total in my lifetime, I have had less than 1500 dollars worth of items stolen from me and never been murdered. I think people's perception of Memphis is a little off sometimes.

Most of the hardcore crime that happens in Memphis, that gives Memphis the bad name are in concentrated areas of town, Northwest Memphis (both sides of I-40/I240), Orange Mound, and Southwest Memphis (Whitehaven). It is spreading east along Winchester to Hickory Hill. The rest of the areas is just random, typically crime of opportunity, types and usually involves theft. The roaches go to places where they can eat. All cities and towns have areas where you just don't go, Memphis, being as large as it is, has several. Keep your guard up, as you should anywhere you go or live, and you should be good. Hide your valuables when you are not in your car. Enjoy the city. For my job, I get to drive all over the place, in and out of these areas, the good areas and all areas in between.

[Guest 270win]

Collierville is a good safe place. You'll like working in that town. You'll also be next to Germantown, which is also a great safe town. Mud Island is nice and isolated from the 'hood of Memphis....but you don't have a lot of options as far as shopping for your wife. I've heard a lot of people who live on Mud Island go to West Memphis across the river to the Wal Mart and Kroger...which is kind of a cruddy town. I'm from Little Rock and we call West Memphis(you'll want to carry a gun there and your wife will too if she goes there alone whether she has a license or not) the armpit of Arkansas. I honestly would not let my wife wander around downtown Memphis at night alone.....go to class.....and get back to Mud Island with the car doors locked and drive on a well lit busy street. Since ya'll will be in downtown/midtown for restaurants and shopping in the daytime....definitely carry a gun...there are a lot of homeless crackheads that roam around. Get your wife a can of Fox Labs Pepper Spray for school...that's the hottest stuff on the market...tell her to spray any panhandler that gets too close and run...they're all over Memphis....it's like a trash can in a big chunk of the city...that's why I don't live in Memphis...I live in a suburb.

[Capbyrd]

I have been there twice. Attacked once. In a mall. By a group of juvenile black males. For being white and in "their" mall. Thanks for asking. **** Memphis. The only good thing about that short fight was the elderly black gentleman who thanked me for "teaching that punk." So **** Memphis except for TGOers and that one elderly black gentleman.

I'm editing to add that I'm probably biased based on this. I mentioned this to BigNoise in the Buyer/Seller feedback thread. I told him to look jackdm3 up as I couldn't remember off the top of my head who all is from Memphis on this board. I'm sure TGOers will look out for other TGOers. I hope you all can help BigNoise get settled as to the good and bad of Memphis (as in just about any city in America). But as far as I'm concerned...**** Memphis.

This made me laugh pretty hard!

Most of the hardcore crime that happens in Memphis, that gives Memphis the bad name are in concentrated areas of town, Northwest Memphis (both sides of I-40/I240), Orange Mound, and Southwest Memphis (Whitehaven). It is spreading east along Winchester to Hickory Hill. The rest of the areas is just random, typically crime of opportunity, types and usually involves theft. The roaches go to places where they can eat. All cities and towns have areas where you just don't go, Memphis, being as large as it is, has several. Keep your guard up, as you should anywhere you go or live, and you should be good. Hide your valuables when you are not in your car. Enjoy the city. For my job, I get to drive all over the place, in and out of these areas, the good areas and all areas in between.

That reminds me of something I heard once. "Stay outside of the loop and you'll be fine." While not necessarily a rule to live by, its pretty close.

[Guest jackdm3]

Sun, which mall and what year was that? That was one bad visit. What happened on the other visit? I love the details on skirmishes.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Sun, which mall and what year was that? That was one bad visit. What happened on the other visit? I love the details on skirmishes.

A buddy of mine was going to UTK who lived in Memphis. This was about 97 or 98. He was going back to visit his family and asked if I wanted to go. Why not? What could go wrong? He needed to pick up some gifts for his family at the mall. Apparently, white people aren't supposed to go to that mall. My friend is black, so he was fine, I, on the other hand, was not supposed to be there. Luckily, the group of youngsters had a pack mentality and didn't realize that pissed off Dagos are willing to plant fists in multiple faces till one side or the other is finished. I won. And to gloat, left that mall as fast as I could go because I wasn't fighting everybody. The elderly black man is the one who told security who started the fight. Security told me to "git" and I "got." Don't remember the name of the mall, just the name of the city. I was inside that mall for all of two minutes when this happened. Later on my buddy apologized because he forgot that white people just didn't go to that mall. Helluva friend.

[memphismason]

Had to be Southland Mall

[Guest SUNTZU]

Had to be Southland Mall

I've actually been thinking of going back to Memphis to visit for a weekend. I'd like to see Beale St. even though I can't take my gun. I like the blues. I wouldn't mind if one of you, or a group, made a TGO Memphis Tour Guide thread, either.

[Guest jackdm3]

In that year, Mall of Memphis was like that and Hickory Ridge Mall was getting like that. Now if you said Southland Mall, I'd say only 20 years ago you'd be fine. Raleigh Springs Mall I haven't been in for 15 years, so IDK. Three-Wolfchase mall wasn't there and Oak Court Mall you'd have no problem.

This is all a numbers game coupled with whatever the socioeconomic status is for those who live around a mall. In the early days of any new Memphis mall built among that affluent (read:white) population, the roles were the total reverse of what you had experienced. In the beginning days of the Mall of Memphis, I took a black junior high buddy with me, and I did notice that he clung a little closer to me than my white friends, and he didn't talk as much nor as loud. Now that I think of it, it was probably quite similar to the way his ancestors felt in the early 60s.

[Guest jackdm3]

I've actually been thinking of going back to Memphis to visit for a weekend. I'd like to see Beale St. even though I can't take my gun. I like the blues. I wouldn't mind if one of you, or a group, made a TGO Memphis Tour Guide thread, either.

Writing one up for the OP, now. A "Big Cities" guide thread category would be nice to do all across the state, if any show an interest.

[Links2k]

Well, I have lived in Memphis for five decades without any incidents. I figure if you stay out of North/South Memphis, put your valuables away when you leave your car (as everyone should), don't hang with thieves or drug dealers and all is well. Random crime will always happen to someone.

I can't speak on Suns' situation except to say that young Memphians (black and white) suffer from low self esteem and anything (no matter how dumb it is) that makes one of these ignorant kids feel disrespected sets them off.

It sounds like Southland mall. Very few white people live in that area so very few shop at that mall. Regardless, you should be able to shop in any mall that you want. I can understand Sun being pissed. I have never been a victim, but because I feel that one should always watch their six no matter where they are. I say **** every city in America, because I think that there is too much crime everywhere and I would feel no safer in Hooterville than I do in Memphis. I guess that I am just paranoid.

[Capbyrd]

I lived in Frayser until 99 and now I live in Raleigh. I have great neighbors and love where I live.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Well, I have lived in Memphis for five decades without any incidents. I figure if you stay out of North/South Memphis, put your valuables away when you leave your car (as everyone should), don't hang with thieves or drug dealers and all is well. Random crime will always happen to someone.

I can't speak on Suns' situation except to say that young Memphians (black and white) suffer from low self esteem and anything (no matter how dumb it is) that makes one of these ignorant kids feel disrespected sets them off.

It sounds like Southland mall. Very few white people live in that area so very few shop at that mall. Regardless, you should be able to shop in any mall that you want. I can understand Sun being pissed. I have never been a victim, but because I feel that one should always watch their six no matter where they are. I say **** every city in America, because I think that there is too much crime everywhere and I would feel no safer in Hooterville than I do in Memphis. I guess that I am just paranoid.

Just a note: I hope I didn't set the poor lil bastards off by looking at the pretzels too hard. I didn't disrespect them, I walked into the damn mall. I agree with everything you said, though. If they feel disrespected for ANY reason (hell, maybe my shirt was the wrong color, but I'm pretty sure it was my skin based on their words and actions) they will jump you, and that IS black, white, brown, and yellow.

[Links2k]

You are correct. Those idiots don't respect anybody or anything regardless of color. What kills me is when someone fights back and blows theirs butts off you have their momma on t.v. screaming "my baby was a good boy".