Memphis bound, I must be crazy!

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

No LINKS2K I'm not ignorant, nor do I take pleasure in crapping on your city. Hopefully the new Mayor can turn

things around and get Memphis back on track. But the only people that have been crapping on Memphis are

the residents of Memphis who allowed King Willie to work his magic. Hopefully he is done and gone for good

from the Memphis polital scene.

Sir, while I agree with everything that you stated and dont know just what Links2K wrote I have to agree that nothing needs to be sugar coated but at the same time the whole truth needs to be told. I have never lived in Memphis but worked there pretty much 7 days a week for almost 7 years and still go there several times a month to the VA. Both downtown and the one in Raleigh Springs. In all those days of working I never once had a problem and we were all over that city back in the days that Memp. was having some of their roughest years.

While there are areas to avoid that is true in any city and it does not even have to be a large one. I live in Jackson and have for 18 years this month. This place is a real crap-hole also and there for a good while when the FBI started the new NIBRS crime reporting system which is far more in depth than the older UCR system, Jackson was as bad as Memphis for violent crime. Since that is a per capita based system and Memphis is right at about 10 times the size of Jackson the numbers tell me that a person would be 10 times safer in Memp. than they would be in Jackson. They say that the area around the U of M is a bad area but they are taking over the former Lambuth college here and where that place is will make the main campus look like Disney unless they bring a full police force with them when they do officially open which I think will be for Fall of 2012.

As far as the Section 8 housing thing that was a Federal directive and took place all over the country. Back when it went into effect I rented a brand spanking new apartment in FL which were all 4-plexs, basically two duplexes backed up to each other. I paid top dollar for that new apartment but the guy next door was on Sec-8 and had broken down motorcycles and all sorts of crap in his side of the yard. Each Apt. had two parking places, since he did not have a car both of his spots contained trailers sitting on flats stacked with even more junk. A person could simply look around the complex and tell which apartments were the sec-8 ones. IIRC the directive said 20% of every thing new had to be offered that way. Constant complaints did none of us any good so I finally just moved.

Willie may have been the mayor at the time but that was not his idea and he had no choice but to enforce what the Feds forced on everyone. The man was entertainment for me but was horrible for the people of Memphis yet he kept winning the elections. It would seem that a "King" would want to take better care of his city but Willie was always just about Willie.

Memphis simply isnt the only city with any of the problems that you described although they are all true to the best of my knowledge. Even though I have never lived there it does get old hearing only the negative aspects of the place. For many years the zoo there was rated as the best in the country and quite frankly that is not an easy thing to be much less several years in a row. There also are too many very good hospitals for me to even count which are very good things. And even while Beale has gone downhill even in the time I have lived in TN it is still a very nice place for those who wish to party or those who just want to go and hear some good tunes. Memphis in May is still rated as one of the best music fests in the country also. Auto Zone Park is also a state of the art facility that still amazes me that they got the thing squeezed in where they did.

Like I said I agree with all you said and was shocked that "The King" Willie kept getting re-elected, that man actually stood in public and said that God wanted him to be the mayor there and won that year too. I was pretty sure that he was gone but just the other day they were talking on the news about the schools and while I had the volume way down when I looked up there he was sitting in what looked to be a real office, I dont know if they caved in and gave him back his old job of school Super. or not but for a moment it sure looked that way. I sure hope that they didnt but would not doubt it if they did.

I actually find it odd that I am defending the place but as I said the whole truth needs to be told, crime is actually down the past few years even though I feel the new mayor is a Willie clone the numbers dont lie.

I have met several of the members who live there and the overall feeling is that while things are very bad that they are still fixable, very unlike Detroit which I am rather familiar with also, that place is never coming back to what it once was. Memphis has a chance.

I am also really amazed at the number of folks who live in Arlington, I came very very close to buying a house directly across the street from the elementary school there back in the late 90's when they built that neighborhood. All I ever signed was the paper that let them check me out but the realator was evidently convinced that I was going to buy it as he kept calling with buliding updates, I kept telling him that we had made up our minds that unless the rates came down we were not going to do it, yet he kept calling. Until that is he woke me on a Sat. morning at 8am on the first day in well over 100 that I did not have to get up to tell me that I needed to be there that day to pick my paint an carpet, I dont know just what I said to the man that morning but he never did call again.

I liked the quiet of the area and the idea that I would be that much closer to where my work was. I just did not like the rate that they were offering me at the time. Hindsight of course is 20/20 and even after the huge housing plunge that house is still worth near double what they were asking for it new. And also after I shut down my business I had a standing offer of a very good supervisors job that I could have taken if I had been closer.

But it was also right after we had our second child and of course had no clues that there would be another one two years later. By now the house would be too small, kinda like where I live now but I am renting and if I want to go I can move a whole lot easier than I could if I had bought this house which I also came close to doing. I feel like things happen for a reason.

So Jr.....Congrats. You will be fine and you already have a group of friends waiting on you ready to help you all that they can, I wouldnt doubt they can help find you a nice place before you even have to move although I dont know your time frames. Welcome to the West end.....it stinks here indeed but good folks are working to fix that come on over and help.

Oh Dear.....Did I just defend Memphis?

Edited August 12, 2011 by Sgt. Joe

[brooksjr]

Don't impede traffic there in the left lane, they'll shoot you...........

LOL.........that makes me want to get in the left lane and drive even slower.

[Guest nicemac]

I "grew up" in Memphis. I met my wife in Memphis (she was attacked at knifepoint twice while we were there). I lived there several years (near Germantown) and my wife lived there a lot longer than me (in Bartlett). There are a lot of things to love about Memphis (the best food in the country, and not just the bbq). There are plenty of good people in Memphis and I have fond memories of my time there. But wild horses couldn't drag me back…

A 30% pay raise? No way. Having no axe to grind and no skin in the game as far as you are concerned, I will say that if my salary were increased 300%, I would not move back to Memphis.

Look up crime statistics yourself. Don't rely on my searches. Memphis is one of the most dangerous metro areas (not just one or two zip codes) in the USA.

But it is not just crime. Memphis is one of the most racially charged cities I have ever been to–and I have travelled extensively. It always seemed every issue was black and white, no matter the subject. It was exhausting.

There are many Memphians on here. They are good guys, I just disagree with them about Memphis' safety.

2010 (top 400) rankings:

http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010/City_crime_rate_2010-2011_hightolow.pdf

2007:

[TABLE=width: 576]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 4]OVERALL (344 METROPOLITAN AREAS):[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 50%, colspan: 2]Safest 25:[/TD]

[TD=width: 50%, colspan: 2]Most Dangerous 25:[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]1[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Fond du Lac, WI[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]1[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI M.D.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]2[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]State College, PA[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]2[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Memphis, TN-MS-AR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]3[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Bangor, ME[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]3[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Pine Bluff, AR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]4[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Eau Claire, WI[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]4[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Las Vegas-Paradise, NV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]5[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Appleton, WI[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]5[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Florence, SC[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]6[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Sheboygan, WI[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]6[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Myrtle Beach, SC[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]7[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Bismarck, ND[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]7[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Flint, MI[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]8[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]La Crosse, WI-MN[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]8[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Stockton, CA[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]9[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Logan, UT-ID[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]9[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Jackson, TN[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]10[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Wausau, WI[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]10[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Shreveport-Bossier City, LA[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]11[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Columbus, IN[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]11[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Miami-Dade County, FL M.D.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]12[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Oshkosh-Neenah, WI[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]12[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Charlotte-Gastonia, NC-SC[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]13[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Edison, NJ M.D.[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]13[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Hot Springs, AR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]14[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Harrisonburg, VA[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]14[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Saginaw, MI[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]15[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Rockingham County, NH M.D.[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]15[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Albuquerque, NM[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]16[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Nassau-Suffolk, NY M.D.[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]16[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Little Rock, AR[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]17[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Elizabethtown, KY[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]17[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Yakima, WA[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]18[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Lancaster, PA[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]18[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Tucson, AZ[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]19[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Wheeling, WV-OH[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]19[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Oakland-Fremont, CA M.D.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]20[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Corvallis, OR[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]20[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Macon, GA[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]21[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Binghamton, NY[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]21[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]22[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Rochester, MN[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]22[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Houston, TX[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]23[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Portland, ME[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]23[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Modesto, CA[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]24[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Manchester-Nashua, NH[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]24[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Sumter, SC[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=width: 11%]25[/TD]

[TD=width: 37%]Cambridge-Newton, MA M.D.[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]25[/TD]

[TD=width: 41%]Alexandria, LA

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Guest nicemac]

Deleted duplicate post

[brooksjr]

I have done extensive research on the crime in Memphis and while I would much rather this job be in a different part of the state I feel confident with our decision. My wife is more eager/excited about the move than I am so please don't think that I'm forcing this move on my family to make an extra buck. The company I will be working for is probabaly close to 90% black, but I did not let that factor into my decision. I've lived in small town USA for 34 years and have had my house broken into once, vehicles broken into, been shot at, had knives put to my throat, etc. so don't fool yourselves into thinking that because your city isn't on the "most dangerous list" that it can't happen where you live. Who knows a year from now, I have to stay with the company at least that long, I may run out of the area never to go back, but at this time I am making the move and will ask God to be with me.

[Guest nicemac]

…but at this time I am making the move and will ask God to be with me.

Blessings on your move and the best of luck!

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

LOL.........that makes me want to get in the left lane and drive even slower.

Watch out now...doing that even makes some of the good guys mad, I havent been shot at yet but I do get cussed out all the time:D

Crime stat lists

Good post Mac, there are some places that I have lived that I wont ever again for various reasons. So long as we keep America America we shall remain free to choose.

You post does back up my statement that things are getting better in Memphis. The list you posted is from 2007 as I am sure you are aware and has Memphis at #2 and Jackson at #9. Two of the whole country's worst sitting here just 90 miles apart is rather wild. It was like that for several years, IIRC one year it was M#1 and J#10 and another was M#3 and J at #12.

But then the link is more current (2010) and has them a bit better at #12, how Jackson managed to not make that list is beyond me other than I know that things have also slowly been getting better here too. I am not certain but I dont think we have had even five murders here this year so far and I can remember years that it was near 20 by March-April.

But unless you count the city as a whole we dont even have a zoo:)

[G27]

Look up crime statistics yourself. Don't rely on my searches. Memphis is one of the most dangerous metro areas (not just one or two zip codes) in the USA.

Stats are great but they rarely tell the whole story.

The crime that spikes Memphis up the chart happens primarily in a couple of zip codes - I live in Shelby county and out where I live people still leave the cars unlocked, etc. Twenty miles makes a significant difference.

IOW, yah, there are areas of Memphidishu that are as bad as anywhere in the country, but they are generally fairly isolated. Where brooksjr is talking about has virtually NO crime rate of any kind, but that doesn't show up in stats...

[Tempest455]

I could comment on the safest cities (many in WI, where I was from) but probably would not be prudent.

I met my wife in Memphis as well, 19 years ago. We went back last year and was shocked how much it had changed.

[brooksjr]

I could comment on the safest cities (many in WI, where I was from) but probably would not be prudent.

I met my wife in Memphis as well, 19 years ago. We went back last year and was shocked how much it had changed.

In a bad way?

[Guest nicemac]

Watch out now...doing that even makes some of the good guys mad, I havent been shot at yet but I do get cussed out all the time:D

Good post Mac, there are some places that I have lived that I wont ever again for various reasons. So long as we keep America America we shall remain free to choose.

You post does back up my statement that things are getting better in Memphis. The list you posted is from 2007 as I am sure you are aware and has Memphis at #2 and Jackson at #9. Two of the whole country's worst sitting here just 90 miles apart is rather wild. It was like that for several years, IIRC one year it was M#1 and J#10 and another was M#3 and J at #12.

But then the link is more current (2010) and has them a bit better at #12, how Jackson managed to not make that list is beyond me other than I know that things have also slowly been getting better here too. I am not certain but I dont think we have had even five murders here this year so far and I can remember years that it was near 20 by March-April.

But unless you count the city as a whole we dont even have a zoo:)

The 2007 list is only cities above 500k population. For all cities in 07, Memphis was 13th. The 2010 numbers I referenced include all size cities. (The newer reports from morganquitno.com require a subscription).

The FBI rankings have Memphis 6th overall in 2010 (getting worse instead of better)

The 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America - 24/7 Wall St. - National - The Atlantic

Edited August 12, 2011 by nicemac

[Erik88]

Memphis is one of the last places I would want to live but if you stay out of the bad areas you should be fine. If it turns out you hate it there you can always move.

[Guest TresOsos]

well i grew up in goodlettsville before rivergate and i think it is bad now it was a great place to grow up before rivergate

You are absolutly 100% correct, I'm in Goodlettsville by zip code only, and seldom if ever go to Rivergate.

[brooksjr]

Memphis is one of the last places I would want to live but if you stay out of the bad areas you should be fine. If it turns out you hate it there you can always move.

I have felt the same way away about Memphis most of my life, but I also so feel that way about Orlando(I hate the whole state of Florida). I guess it comes down to you go where the work is.

[Guest TresOsos]

I have done extensive research on the crime in Memphis and while I would much rather this job be in a different part of the state I feel confident with our decision. My wife is more eager/excited about the move than I am so please don't think that I'm forcing this move on my family to make an extra buck. The company I will be working for is probabaly close to 90% black, but I did not let that factor into my decision. I've lived in small town USA for 34 years and have had my house broken into once, vehicles broken into, been shot at, had knives put to my throat, etc. so don't fool yourselves into thinking that because your city isn't on the "most dangerous list" that it can't happen where you live. Who knows a year from now, I have to stay with the company at least that long, I may run out of the area never to go back, but at this time I am making the move and will ask God to be with me.

You should feel right at home then, reminder to self, stay away from Estill Springs........LOL.

[brooksjr]

You should feel right at home then, reminder to self, stay away from Estill Springs........LOL.

Or maybe just don't hang out with the wrong crowd..lol

[Guest db99wj]

You can watch the news and almost every night there is a murder, or assault, or armed robbery, or some other type of violent crime. On occasion, they happen in areas that are familiar to me, a majority, a large majority of the time, I can guess what area it is going to be, and these areas are not areas that I'm going to go to anyway. The news reports remind me of news reports I see when I am in Nashville, or Houston, or Dallas, or Louisville, etc, the news reports the bad stuff. But like Memphis, these are areas that I wouldn't be going in anyway. The crime that happens in the better parts of Memphis are typically crimes of opportunity, for example, lady leaving her purse in plain view in her car. I disagree with the statement about AC Wharton (new mayor) being a WWHerenton minion or whatever was said, I can't find it. Wharton has probably done more positive things for the City of Memphis than King Willy did in his whole tenure. With the economy and jobs, Memphis has done quite well during the last few years compared to many cities across the country, when looking at the industrial sector. Yes, retail values and home values in some areas have suffered, new construction is rare, our industrial base has stayed fairly strong, mainly due to the unique and beneficial infrastructure that Memphis has with the airport, rail, river, and highway. Wharton has embraced this and promoted this and worked hand in hand with the county mayor to assist in keeping jobs, increasing jobs with existing industries and bringing in new jobs. Wharton is not the savior, don't get me wrong, but he has at least turned the direction of the city around. He has been cleaning house as well, our government was/is full of corrupt individuals, but it seems like they are getting weeded out on a consistent basis.

Working that far out, there is no way I would live anywhere west of Lakeland. You have all the amenities that you need and don't have to drive far, and still have a country feel. Arlington is a great town. Arlington is the next growth center in Shelby County. Their planning and development department and their plan is very strategic and very governed to ensure good healthy growth. There is no way I would live out there due to my job, my wife's job, our kids school and our Church all being withing 3 miles of each other. Her parents live about 5 miles. My closest friends are within 5 miles. My life is here in East Memphis and I like my life, a lot. Oh, my kids also don't go to public school, MCS is the biggest embarrassment that the City of Memphis has going right at the moment. They are in private Catholic school and we love it, we would be there even if the city had great schools. Oh and it is not the actual school or teachers, we actually are in a great district, White Station, it is the administration, the board, and the dumbass Superintendent Cash.

But anyway, with all that said, Be ready to be murdered raped and robbed, maybe in that order....maybe not!

[Guest db99wj]

I have felt the same way away about Memphis most of my life, but I also so feel that way about Orlando(I hate the whole state of Florida). I guess it comes down to you go where the work is.

Have you noticed that most of the most F'd up stories that come out consistently come out of Florida. I don't get it. Most of it is central Florida and most of my experience is in the Panhandle, but dang, those are some messed up people down there.

[brooksjr]

Have you noticed that most of the most F'd up stories that come out consistently come out of Florida. I don't get it. Most of it is central Florida and most of my experience is in the Panhandle, but dang, those are some messed up people down there.

The folks I work for now are former Orlando area residents(40+ years) and they are the STRANGEST people I have ever met.

[Guest nicemac]

In a bad way?

I moved from the Germantown Road Extended/ Winchester area in 1990. My neighborhood was fairly new (built '85-'88), with manicured lawns and a nice place for kids to play. Seven years later while passing through on a trip from Nashville to Dallas, we decided to check out our old house, just to see how it looked. We were shocked. The lawns were overgrown, there were literally cars on blocks in front of houses and the place looked like 'the hood." Privacy fences were knocked/ falling down, there was broken glass in the street. Houses looked dilapidated.

[Guest TresOsos]

nicemac I agree with you 100% " But wild horses couldn't drag me back…" and I've been offered the opportunity to move back multiple times.Just some things I won't do for money. Nashville is not perfect by any stretch but it is much better place to live and raise a family than Memphis and that's just MHO. Having lived out of the Memphis "dynamic" for 30 years, but having visited enough to experience it, I could just never go back to that.

Brooksjr, again best of luck to you on the job and move.

[Erik88]

I have felt the same way away about Memphis most of my life, but I also so feel that way about Orlando(I hate the whole state of Florida). I guess it comes down to you go where the work is.

I completely agree. Orlando was not on my list of places I wanted to live.

[bigwakes]

Be ready to be murdered raped and robbed, maybe in that order....maybe not.

That's not entirely true. I lived in Memphis for nearly 3 yeas and was never murdered. 2 outa 3 ain't bad.

[Links2k]

Stats are great but they rarely tell the whole story.

The crime that spikes Memphis up the chart happens primarily in a couple of zip codes - I live in Shelby county and out where I live people still leave the cars unlocked, etc. Twenty miles makes a significant difference.

IOW, yah, there are areas of Memphidishu that are as bad as anywhere in the country, but they are generally fairly isolated. Where brooksjr is talking about has virtually NO crime rate of any kind, but that doesn't show up in stats...

+1 No descent person goes to Frayser, North or South Memphis for anything but work. They eat their own in those areas. Other than that Memphis is as safe as ANY other city.

[Guest db99wj]

+1 No descent person goes to Frayser, North or South Memphis for anything but work. They eat their own in those areas. Other than that Memphis is as safe as ANY other city.

Yep.