From Brighton MI, to Memphis TN (Bartlett, Germantown: big home, neighborhoods, new construction)

[Pearlbob]

If you've lived in Detroit, then you understand Memphis. It's just a lot hotter here.

On my street, maybe half the houses might have bars? It's really at your own discretion....I bet most of the homes with bars have people over 60 living in them (no offense to anyone) and the younger folk don't worry about it. Sometimes the bars have been there for 50 years and no one has taken them off. who knows! I had bars on the doors when I moved into my home and never thought a thing of it, one way or another. haven't considered taking them off, although I probably would haev never put any up if I moved into a house with none.

[Pearlbob]

Definitely look at the homes I posted above in the links...I didn't see any obvious bars on them!

[Pearlbob]

FYI...here is a house for sale near Shelby Farms (walking distance) thus in Cordova and annexed by the city of Memphis (you're basically considered city of Memphis residents). This is the typical home you will find in the burbs for this price range. To me...ugly. Not bad, but just no character, all carpet, nothing "unique" about it... But, this is a nicer home in a new development. Better to be brick then siding.

Crye-Leike, REALTORS®:: Property Search Detail

And to clarify, I know the listing says "no city taxes" but I have a friend who lived a couple houses down from this place, and the reason they moved is because Memphis is about to annex the neighborhood. So, soon they WILL have city taxes.

[lillibette]

Well! I think this discussion has been great. And not to worry, strumpeace, I haven't been scared off by pearlbob's comments. It's good not to gloss over a city's downsides. I think he was positive without trying to whitewash the truth.

My main concern was that the bars represented something that might not be just a precaution. I think all in all, I would put "mid-town" on my list near the top. I sounds like it has all the elements we want, as long as we can find a home we can afford. I'll also check out the other areas recommended as well.
"Go raibh maith agat!"
Thanks to you all!

[lillibette]

pearlbob, I just looked at the links you posted. These are definately us! They're brilliant! I am quite sure that we'll be looking in that area.

I appreciate your time and help.

[Pearlbob]

I think you've already gotten the hang of it, but basically midtown can be summed up with the 38104 and 38112 zip codes. (crye-leike.com has the best local search engine)

Hard to generalize, but the "safe" areas of midtown are east of Cleveland. Stay within a few blocks of Central to the south. Stay within a few blocks of North Parkway to the north. And East Parkway can be said to be the eastern border of 'midtown.' (that's MY midtown, people who live elsewhere generalize half the city to be 'midtown')

[strumpeace]

Actually, my concern was over Pearlbob's (rather ignorant, if you ask me) assessment of the suburbs. There are houses in Collierville and Bartlett that outdate the houses in Pearlbob's neighborhood by decades. The oldest houses in and around Shelby County are not in Midtown.

The constant "we're better than you are" thing between people in Midtown and people in the suburbs gets very old. It's one of the most tiring things I have to deal with in my job. Both parties are quite unreasonable, and both have played major roles in the continued decline of our city and region.

Best wishes with finding a new home.

[Pearlbob]

I know that there are old home in the burbs, but there are very few compared to the new influx of "designer" neighborhood developments that have taken over the burbs in every city. For every 1 old home, you'll find 500 brand new ones that all look alike. The older ones are hard to come by. They also tend to be old homes that were on farmland, thus may have big yards, but they are still far out, not near museums, parks, or whatever this person might be wanting.

Midtown is really the only area where you can find street after street of old historic homes. Out in Collierville, you might find one old home and then miles of newer homes around it. And, I think, those really old big homes out there would be a lot more expensive, because they are so hard to come by. In midtown, everything is old and historic.

I'm not saying the burbs are horrible, they are just not my thing personally. It doesn't fit my lifestyle. Midtown isn't better, it's just different. For someone looking for an old home, Craftsman style, near museums, parks, etc....the obvious answer is "midtown." I think espeically when she said she used to live in a historic neighborhood in Detroit that was near high-crime areas. That sums up Memphis to a tee!

For someone who said they want a lot of land, a new construction home, good public schools, etc....I would recommend the burbs anyday, and have repeatedly on here.

[enli]

lillibette - my husband moved down to the Memphis area seven months ago and it has become permanent; I'll be with him off and on until my retirement not quite two years from now (we're in our mid-50's, too). We're from Royal Oak originally. We're moving to Collierville. Great city, IMO. I can't imagine moving into an area where you can only count halfway decent areas in terms of blocks, so yes, it's the burbs for me.

[Kabluey]

Originally Posted by lillibette

We would like a house. Would love an older home, bungalow, craftsman, etc... but we are open to newer if the house and neighbour hood has character. No kids, we're in our mid 50's our kids are grown. We have dogs, a collie and a Jack Russell so a yard would or at least a dog park would be a must, night life isn't that important, but we do like museums, historical areas, weekend events, concerts and the like. A 30 minute drive to Memphis wouldn't be out of the question. (Where we live everything is at least 30 minutes away)

BTW, are there any lakes that offer boating and swimming near Memphis?

Heber Springs, Arkansas has a lake. There are lakes nearby, not so much IN Memphis. Pickwick lake, Sardis Lake. Reelfoot for an extended trip.