Memphis?????

la8ydi
la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
in Chit-Chat
I may have an opportunity to transfer my job down to Memphis (from Michigan). I'd love to get some opinions - positive and negative about the area. Last year I visited there for a day and a half - not nearly long enough to form an opinion - so I'm hoping someone can give me some "real" insight vs. all the stuff I read on the internet. Someone I asked referred to Memphis as "super ghetto" but I think that's all relative. Is it comparable to Detroit? New Orleans? Thanks in advance!
PS - if you're not comfortable posting your real opinion on here, please feel free to private message me! :-)

Replies

  • bd0027
    bd0027 Posts: 1,053 Member
    I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as Detriot, but Memphis has it's bad areas. I'm sure there are some positive aspects of the city as well. Just pray about it and let God help you decide.
  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    Thanks - I've been reading a lot on a website called citydata or something similar. It's giving me lots of info, but I was hoping to get some "personal" opinions.
  • CJisinShape
    CJisinShape Posts: 1,404 Member
    It depends on your perspective. Are you from a major metropolitan city? Up North? Down South? Here's the pros and cons from my perspective:

    Pros:
    1: Natural Beauty - trees and sky immense
    2. Great housing - cheap, lots of amenities
    3. God friendly atmosphere - lots of kind, generous people

    Cons:
    1. Lacks diversity - white and black, a hint of Spanish, a sprinkle of Asian. That is all.
    2. Lacks food diversity - sweet tea, fried foods, more fried foods
    3. Bad areas really ghetto
    4. Nice areas are hard to drive in - always a cop ready to give a ticket for 5 miles over limit
    5. You have to drive everywhere. It's like a giant suburb. Not a pedestrian in sight, unless they're jogging.
    6. Public transportation is sparse so you have to drive everywhere.
    7. The people freak out when it snows - they don't know how to drive on it.
    8. See a lot of car accidents.
    9. Hot in the summer.

    More Pros:
    1. The people are friendlier, more apt to smile.
    2. Easy on your wallet. You don't pay for parking, no parking tickets.
    3. Easy commutes. You can get from one side of town to the other in 30 min.
    4. Wide, easy streets.
    5. Slower pace of life. This can frustrate you if you are waiting in line, or it can relieve stress if you are frazzled by New York minutes.
  • CJisinShape
    CJisinShape Posts: 1,404 Member
    And also I will second what the poster above said to pray about it and listen to God.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    It depends on your perspective. Are you from a major metropolitan city? Up North? Down South? Here's the pros and cons from my perspective:

    Pros:
    1: Natural Beauty - trees and sky immense
    2. Great housing - cheap, lots of amenities
    3. God friendly atmosphere - lots of kind, generous people

    Cons:
    1. Lacks diversity - white and black, a hint of Spanish, a sprinkle of Asian. That is all.
    2. Lacks food diversity - sweet tea, fried foods, more fried foods
    3. Bad areas really ghetto
    4. Nice areas are hard to drive in - always a cop ready to give a ticket for 5 miles over limit
    5. You have to drive everywhere. It's like a giant suburb. Not a pedestrian in sight, unless they're jogging.
    6. Public transportation is sparse so you have to drive everywhere.
    7. The people freak out when it snows - they don't know how to drive on it.
    8. See a lot of car accidents.
    9. Hot in the summer.

    More Pros:
    1. The people are friendlier, more apt to smile.
    2. Easy on your wallet. You don't pay for parking, no parking tickets.
    3. Easy commutes. You can get from one side of town to the other in 30 min.
    4. Wide, easy streets.
    5. Slower pace of life. This can frustrate you if you are waiting in line, or it can relieve stress if you are frazzled by New York minutes.

    haha! pretty darn accurate! you were probably once here or still here.
    im from memphis. apprx 11 yrs from sfo california.
    it is different, slow paced, you need to be patient.
    it is cheaper than california

    if buying a house. i suggest the outskirts of memphis like...
    - germantown
    - collierville
    - bartlett
    - arlington
    - lakeland
    - eads

    there a lot of people from different states that has moved here. so theres a little bit more diversity now.
    some dont like it, but not everyone is really happy with any change right?

    winks @ bd0027
  • Elbee1
    Elbee1 Posts: 2,259 Member
    It depends on your perspective. Are you from a major metropolitan city? Up North? Down South? Here's the pros and cons from my perspective:

    Pros:
    1: Natural Beauty - trees and sky immense
    2. Great housing - cheap, lots of amenities
    3. God friendly atmosphere - lots of kind, generous people

    Cons:
    1. Lacks diversity - white and black, a hint of Spanish, a sprinkle of Asian. That is all.
    2. Lacks food diversity - sweet tea, fried foods, more fried foods
    3. Bad areas really ghetto
    4. Nice areas are hard to drive in - always a cop ready to give a ticket for 5 miles over limit
    5. You have to drive everywhere. It's like a giant suburb. Not a pedestrian in sight, unless they're jogging.
    6. Public transportation is sparse so you have to drive everywhere.
    7. The people freak out when it snows - they don't know how to drive on it.
    8. See a lot of car accidents.
    9. Hot in the summer.

    More Pros:
    1. The people are friendlier, more apt to smile.
    2. Easy on your wallet. You don't pay for parking, no parking tickets.
    3. Easy commutes. You can get from one side of town to the other in 30 min.
    4. Wide, easy streets.
    5. Slower pace of life. This can frustrate you if you are waiting in line, or it can relieve stress if you are frazzled by New York minutes.

    haha! pretty darn accurate! you were probably once here or still here.
    im from memphis. apprx 11 yrs from sfo california.
    it is different, slow paced, you need to be patient.
    it is cheaper than california

    if buying a house. i suggest the outskirts of memphis like...
    - germantown
    - collierville
    - bartlett
    - arlington
    - lakeland
    - eads

    there a lot of people from different states that has moved here. so theres a little bit more diversity now.
    some dont like it, but not everyone is really happy with any change right?

    winks @ bd0027


    All the above, plus Cordova is also a nice area to live in.
    linda
  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    Thanks everyone! I'm from Michigan - about an hour and a half outside of Detroit. Live in a fairly small town...but we have WalMart, Target, Home Depot and a mall, so not TOO small. :-) Grew up in Iowa - love and miss the "small town" homey atmosphere. I've been researching Olive Branch, Collierville, Germantown, and Cordova as places to live. I appreciate all the info!!! Oh, and I'll be looking for an apartment or condo to rent (me and my 20 year old daughter) when we come down, so if anyone has info on those as well, that would be great!
  • bd0027
    bd0027 Posts: 1,053 Member
    winks @ bd0027

    I see you creeping on me again, Kage. d:
  • CJisinShape
    CJisinShape Posts: 1,404 Member
    My advice is to stay at a hotel for a week or two while you look for apt/condo. They have a lot of apartment "villages" with 10-20 buildings. They can have widely varying amenities and rent specials. Some are really, really worth the time to look for.
  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    I'm planning on going down in April and staying about a week. Will be able to look around and get a feel for everything. I'm hoping to be able to make an informed decision from that.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
    R U bringing any kids? WE have some great private schools!! Public schools, I would stay away from.

    Winters are not so bad, but as soon as the news says Snow, stores are out of stock of everything.

    Summers are extremely bad, but thank g-d for A/C

    On one of the main streets, we have Super Walmart & Super Target, 5 miles down from there there Sam's club/costco

    Plenty of Starbucks, but I have a hard time finding Dunkin Donuts.
  • rhonderoo
    rhonderoo Posts: 145 Member
    I'm in Memphis, born and bred. I live in Cordova and agree on the above post, for the most part. There is also a large Indian community here, really, really large and the Jewish community is fairly large, as well. There are a couple of Muslim mosques and a couple of Hindu temples, so diversity is there.

    Memphis, like a couple of other southern cities like Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte and Chattanooga have a pretty big transient community. I work for a Fortune 100 company and the communities they go to are Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland and Cordova. The metro area here is about 1 million, if you count North Mississippi, and two neighboring counties. Midtown and Downtown are awesome for restaurants, museums, community fairs and festivals, art districts and nightlife and the young singles that come to my company head there for living. Check out Yelp, Choose901, to name a couple. We get a bad rap for crime which we deserve, but it's mostly robbery and domestic crimes in areas that are generally going to be that way. Also, the zoo is one of the best in the country. It is AWESOME. I've lived in a few apartments, before buying my house, definitely check their ratings.

    I never knew we had so many Memphians here, we should do a meet up sometime. :D

    Here's some links, and feel free to message me!

    http://www.choose901.com/#_

    http://www.shelbyfarmspark.org/

    http://shelbyfarmspark.org/shelbyfarmsgreenline

    http://memphiszoo.org/

    http://www.downtownmemphis.com/

    http://cooperyoung.org/

    http://www.germantown-tn.gov/

    http://www.collierville.com/

    http://memphis.about.com/od/communities/p/cordova.htm

    http://www.memphistn.gov/

    http://www.memphisinmay.org/
  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    My job can transfer to Memphis, Collierville, Cordova, and Olive Branch (among other areas in TN). My 20 year old will be moving with me and she'll try and get a job at a WalMart or Target or something similar. She doesn't drive, so she'll either need to walk, take public transportation, or get a ride from me. I guess my best bet is seeing what it's like when we visit in April. Can't wait!
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    theres a dunkin donuts on hwy64 off I-40

    Olive Branch is in MS ( the nicer part or North MS)
    - ptax is low
    - car tags are high if new , gets cheaper as the car gets older
    - sales tax is 6%ish (i think)

    Memphis
    - ptax is doubled compared to the cities outskirts
    http://www.assessor.shelby.tn.us/Calculate.aspx

    - sales tax is 9.75ish now i think
    - car tags is less than $200 new or old.

    (creepy wink@ bd0027)
  • Elbee1
    Elbee1 Posts: 2,259 Member
    Who needs Dunkin Donuts when you can have the best donuts evah at Gibson's Donuts on Mt. Moriah. . . between Poplar & Park?!

    Yes, Memphis has one of the best zoos I've ever been to.

    And, you must be sure and have some bbq in Memphis. The best bbq ever! I highly recommend: Leonards Barbecue, Corkys and The Rondevue (?spelling).

    I highly recommend Germantown...

    Linda
  • CJisinShape
    CJisinShape Posts: 1,404 Member
    My job can transfer to Memphis, Collierville, Cordova, and Olive Branch (among other areas in TN). My 20 year old will be moving with me and she'll try and get a job at a WalMart or Target or something similar. She doesn't drive, so she'll either need to walk, take public transportation, or get a ride from me. I guess my best bet is seeing what it's like when we visit in April. Can't wait!

    Walking, public transport? Anyone else want to explain this?
  • johnwhitent
    johnwhitent Posts: 648 Member
    Beale Street - Memphis Blues!
  • neekosmith
    neekosmith Posts: 47 Member
    I live in Olive Branch & lived previously in Collierville. OB is definitely lower cost of living all around & a pretty safe area. I try not to travel into Memphis too much because it gives me a headache with all of the crazy drivers (god, I sound like I am 70).
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    I grew up in north Mississippi, near Memphis, and still have family there.

    You mention several options outside Memphis. All of those beat Memphis itself, hands down. Memphis is a mess. Ineffective city government, and a school system in terrible disarray. High crime rate. Very racially polarized. Used to have decent public transportation, not sure what it's like now.

    Olive Branch, Miss., was once a small town, but like most of DeSoto County, is growing by leaps and bounds.

    Collierville, Tenn., is a good option as well. Both Collierville and Olive Branch are a reasonable commute from Memphis.

    Cordova, Tenn., is a more upscale area east of Memphis.

    Memphis has Graceland, and Beale Street, and Memphis in May. The Rendezvous has good barbecue. There's a zoo, a mediocre NBA team, and a triple-A Cardinals affiliate.
  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    Thanks everybody!!! :-)
  • rhonderoo
    rhonderoo Posts: 145 Member
    Our NBA team is awesome, at least we think so. Hopefully they make the playoffs this year!

    A lot of what you get depends on who you talk to, I guess like everywhere. I didn't want to live in MS, because you will pay income tax there. TN doesn't have state income tax. Tags are higher, but property taxes could be lower.

    I used to live at Trinity and Germantown in Cordova, and had neighbors that walked to the Super Target and Super Walmart there across the street. The 'burbs will be better for jobs in places like that.

    We have public transportation in the form of buses city wide, but it's harder to navigate than some cities I've been to. I love the public transportation of the northwest and vancouver, but you won't find much like that in the states and definitely not in the south. MARTA is about as good as you get down here. The buses are okay once you learn the system, but there's a learning curve. For sure.

    It's a sprawling city, but the pocket communities will generally be easier to get around in if you work close to where you live.

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