New Job In Memphis-nice Places To Live? (Bartlett, Germantown: apartment complexes, rentals)

[RICHIEANDLAURIE]

May Take A Position In Memphis Soon. Anyone Have Suggestions For A Good Place To Live? We Have An 11 Year Old So We Are Hoping To Lease A Nice Condo Or Townhome In An Area With Good Schools. We Are Coming From S.ut Where Our Son Has Been A Bit Sheltered, So We Think Maybe "inner City" May Too Much Of A Culture Shock For Him. I Don't Mind A Commute As Long As It's Not Over 30 Minutes.from Reading Other Threads, It Appears That Some People Live In Ms And Commute. Our Price Range Is In The Upper Region Of Moderate I Guess.how About Restuarants And Gourmet Shopping-we're Foodies! Also We Like To Swim And Work Out, So A Condo Complex With A Pool Would Be Great As Long As It's Not A Senior Community.

[tennreb]

I would suggest living in Germantown. You could probably find a house to rent there. There are a limited number of condos in Germantown, but you could find one if you really want a condo. Germantown has a huge public fitness facility that charges a nominal monthly fee. It has both an indoor and outdoor pool. I would suggest looking near there. Most of the good restaurants in Memphis are downtown and Midtown with some in East Memphis and Germantown. There's a Fresh Market (upscale grocer) in Germantown and East Memphis and a Wild Oats (soon to be Whole Foods) in East Memphis. You can find more condos and be closer to the great restaurants in East Memphis, though you will have to send your son to a private school (many excellent schools in the $7500/yr range) if you live in the Memphis city limits. I would avoid MS because there are few condos and the area is dominated by lower end chain restaurants. There are no decent grocery stores in DeSoto County. You may also want to look at Mud Island. Although it is downtown, it is an island in the middle of the river and really separate from the inner city. It is a model community where kids can roam free without worry of crime. There's also an excellent grocery store there (Miss Cordelias) that is a foodie paradise, and you are close to all the great foodie restaurants in downtown and midtown. They are building a boutique hotel and two restaurants on the island (in addition to the two casual ones already there). Your son will have to go to private school, and I don't know if there is a pool on the island outside of the apartment complexes. There's a small private school on the island (Montessori) and some excellent larger ones within a 15 minute drive in Midtown. Nearly all the boutique and upscale shopping in Memphis is located on a 10 mile stretch of Poplar Ave in East Memphis and Germantown. If you are looking to rent, there are several good apartment complexes on Mud Island and in Germantown. Mud Island's apartments are mostly occupied by medical/dental/optometry students since the health science center is nearby. They all have pools. The Vineyards in Germantown is a really good upscale apartment community in a great location.

[Pearlbob]

First of all, how on earth did you type like that?!?!

Are you looking to rent or buy? "Condo" is a term used here for apartments that you buy. I assume you mean, you are looking to rent an apartment or a house? Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville are all suburbs that have okay public school systems and should have a fair amount of rentals. Otherwise, I have heard of many private kindergartens being $5000 or more, and as your child gets older the tuition gets much higher. Due to the crummy schools, many people send their kids to private (maybe half and half?)

As for a pool...not sure. Most apt complexes that have pools get over-run with kids, college students, and kids who don't live there (as in, they sneak into the pool and then go home afterwards). In the apts I have lived in all over Memphis and the burbs, the pools have been a headache.

So you do not want to buy at all? There is a new condo complex in Midtown, converted from apts to condos recently. VERY CHEAP. I am faint of heart actually seeing the prices on these condos....$150k for a 3BR or so. but, they look cool and they have a pool. In town though, which you stated you were not wanting.

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

First of all, how on earth did you type like that?!?!

Are you looking to rent or buy? "Condo" is a term used here for apartments that you buy. I assume you mean, you are looking to rent an apartment or a house? Germantown, Bartlett, Collierville are all suburbs that have okay public school systems and should have a fair amount of rentals. Otherwise, I have heard of many private kindergartens being $5000 or more, and as your child gets older the tuition gets much higher. Due to the crummy schools, many people send their kids to private (maybe half and half?)

As for a pool...not sure. Most apt complexes that have pools get over-run with kids, college students, and kids who don't live there (as in, they sneak into the pool and then go home afterwards). In the apts I have lived in all over Memphis and the burbs, the pools have been a headache.

So you do not want to buy at all? There is a new condo complex in Midtown, converted from apts to condos recently. VERY CHEAP. I am faint of heart actually seeing the prices on these condos....$150k for a 3BR or so. but, they look cool and they have a pool. In town though, which you stated you were not wanting.

The public schools in Germantown and Collierville are generally excellent. They are at least more than just "okay." The only other excellent public schools in the area are the optional programs at White Station and Snowden. I would agree about the pools, but this may be better at some of the more expensive complexes such as the Vineyards. Most people in Memphis that want access to a pool either join a public facility (Germantown has an excellent brand new public pool and so does the Collierville YMCA) or a country club. There are a lot of country clubs in Memphis that are fairly inexpensive, especially compared to those up north.