Relocating: Help with Place to Live (near UofM) (Memphis, Bartlett: best suburbs, for sale)

[dfmoving]

My husband and I may be moving to Memphis as he has been offered a position with the University of Memphis. I am wondering if anyone can shed some light about where to live around the area. Here is what we are looking for:

- Close to UofM (no more than a 30-min drive). Historic areas or suburbs would be good. Preferably away from student neighborhoods.
- Looking for a good realtor to help us buy our first home, but if not, would definitely like info on where to find nice, non-student "rental homes".
- Quiet, family-friendly neighborhood (we don't have kids yet, but possibly soon, so proximity to good schools would be a plus).
- Near parks or neighborhoods to walk.
- Within 20-min drive to nearest mall/shopping area.

I appreciate any info that you are willing to share. We are natives from Michigan, but live in Oregon at the moment. Thanks so much!!

[Pearlbob]

Basically all of Memphis is within a 20 min drive of every part of Memphis So you're in luck there.

There are neighborhoods right around UM that are very nice, older homes, big trees, families, etc. Almost walkable to the campus (although Memphis is not a walking town). What is your price range? That will make a big difference for suggestions.

[dfmoving]

Thanks. Price range is $150,000-$200,000 (max). 3-bedroom homes or condos. Aiming to buy, but it may not be feasible in our time-frame. Looking for info on rental homes, too.

Are there any specific historic, clean, green, and family-friendly areas that anyone can recommend? I hear that Central Gardens is nice. As for suburbs, any that you can recommend...any personal favorites and why? Thank you so much, again.

[strumpeace]

You might check out the Joffre neighborhood (northwest of the U of M) or High Point Terrace (north of the U of M). Both should come awfully close to your price range. Joffre is likely to be a bit less expensive.

Personally, I would also look in the Normal Station neighborhood just south of the U of M. You'll get mixed reports on that neighborhood, but imo, if you stay in the core of the neighborhood away from Park and Highland, all should be good. Housing there is relatively inexpensive. (I have friends who've lived there for several years; they all love it.)

If your husband is faculty at U of M, you can likely get your future child(ren) into Campus School for elementary. Also, iirc, the Normal Station neighborhood is zoned for Campus School. It's a very good school. (Once you're ready for middle school, though, you're on your own.) I'm not sure which school zones cover the other two neighborhood. I would guess that High Point is zoned for Grahamwood, which is also a good school.

Oh, and you mentioned Central Gardens...You would have a very difficult time finding anything in Central Gardens in your price range. There's a neat little condo complex across from Immaculate Conception that might (barely) hit the upper end of your price range.

Best wishes.

[dfmoving]

Thank you very much. Any thoughts on suburbs and/or subdivisions w/in 30 min from UofM? Newer, 3-bedroom-type homes around 200K (or less)? Know any good realtors?

[Tigertate]

You may also want to check out the Eastgate/ Sea Isle Park area. This neighborhood is about a 5 minute drive from the U of M and has several things on your wish list. The whole neighborhood basically surrounds a large park (Sea Isle Park) that is within walking distance to most of the area. The school in the area is Sea Isle Elementary. I have heard good things about this school. It is not as highly regarded as Campus School, Grahamwood, or Richland but it is a pretty good school by Memphis standards (very diverse, good teachers, pretty good scores). The price range for homes in the area will range from 100K up to 350K depending on the size of the house. The neighborhood is also very convenient to the Poplar Corridor, I-240, shopping, and entertainment. The area is located south of Poplar, east of Mt. Moriah, inside the I-240 loop. This is a very safe and stable neighborhood with a strong and active neighborhood association.

[Tigertate]

Originally Posted by dfmoving

Thank you very much. Any thoughts on suburbs and/or subdivisions w/in 30 min from UofM? Newer, 3-bedroom-type homes around 200K (or less)? Know any good realtors?

As others have said; most of the Memphis area is within a 30 min drive of anywhere else in the area. The best suburbs for your price range and interest in a newer home will probably be Arlington, Lakeland, and Bartlett. These are all very nice communities with low crime and good schools. You may also want to look at the north MS suburbs like Olive Branch and Southaven.

[Pearlbob]

In that price range you can get a great up-to-date home (not huge, but nice) near UM in some of the areas already listed. Probably not Central Gardens or Evergreen, but definitely closer to UM in Joffe, High Point, etc.

38111 is the zip code for the area right around UM that incluceds High Point, Jofree, Chickasaw (way more expensive)
38104 is where 'midtown' is and Central Gardens, Evergreen. However keep in mind, the lower the price, the worser the neighborhood, especially in midtown so be careful if looking there.

Crye-leike is a local realtor company that has a great search tool on their webpage. You can search by zip, price, # of bedrooms, etc. I have no experience with the actual company, but their website is very useful!

Mid-South Property Finder | Search Properties | Crye-Leike Property Search

[one opinion]

In the current market, you'll be surprised at what you can get for that money, especially if you're willing to do a little work on the home yourself. I'll give you some examples below of listings I've seen in real solid neghborhoods (which may cost more per sq. foot than less desirable neighborhoods), but want to clarify that I have not been inside the homes... I would definitely drive around these areas and see if you like the neighborhoods even if you don't like the homes I've listed.

As others have pointed it, there are probably not many homes in Central Gardens that will be in your price range, but you may be able to find a few if you're patient and willing to fix a few things on your own. For example, I recently saw the following listing at the western edge of central gardens: 1407 Peabody Avenue, Memphis TN - Trulia While this is a foreclosure, it appears to be in good shape (from the pictures, haven't been in myself or even looked at the exterior in person) and could probably be bought for $200k or less, though I certainly am not encouraging you to stretch if this is your upper limit. An example in the Evergreen historic district is 279 Hawthorne Street, Memphis TN - Trulia

Another area to look in is East Memphis (not so much historic but more suburban.) If you're looking to buy, you'll probably be priced out of the area between Walnut grove and Poplar (unless you're real lucky), but I've seen some listings just North of Walnut Grove and south of Sam Cooper in your price range. For example, Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowedand 236 Leonora Drive, Memphis TN - Trulia and 4800 Barfield Rd, Memphis, TN 38117 MLS# 3211712 - Zillow . The first two are in the Richland elemantary school district (good) and the second is in white station elementary district (not as familiar with). All near Grahamwood elementary (where the optional program is fantastic and can hold its own in comparisons to any public elemantary school around). Also as others have pointed out, the high point area is also good as are some areas south of Park (for example near Sea Isle Park).

If you decide to go with the suburbs, Germantown (38139, 38138) is the best of the them and while you will be priced out of some parts of it (homes near Houston High and Middle are huge and expensive), you will still be able to find some nice ones in your price range in real good neighborhoods (ex. 1951 Corbin Road, Germantown TN - Trulia). I was one Cordes Rd last weekend and saw two homes on the street for sale within this range ( http://www.trulia.com/property/10961...ntown-TN-38139 ). Personally, with prices where they are now, if I wanted a suburban feel, I wouldn't consider anywhere other than East Memphis or Germantown.

[dfmoving]

Wow! Thanks for all of the helpful info! You guys/gals rule!!! I see that Tigertate mentioned Arlington, Lakeland, and Bartlett for areas to look at in the suburbs...and One Opinion prefers Germantown and East Memphis.

How would any of you describe the difference between these areas?

Thank you again to everyone here... you are the best!