Shelby County (Memphis, Bartlett, Germantown: city hall, to rent, low crime)

[sylina2100]

My husband is considering a job In Memphis and has to live in Shelby County within 6 months of employment.Well we have 3 small kids and will be looking to rent a house. Any suggestions on what areas we should look into that have decent schools and low crime. It just has to be within the county.Thanks

[UofMGrad92]

It all depends on how much you want to spend on rent, but stick within the city limits of Bartlett, Arlington, Lakeland, Collierville, and Germantown to make sure you stay in Shelby County Schools. Don't let somone tell you that the house has Bartlett, Collierville, etc. schools and just go with that. Talk to the city hall in the location you are looking at and make sure it is in the city limits of that city before you rent. Bartlett, Arlington, and Lakeland will have lower rents in more areas than Collierville and Germantown, but all areas will have nicer houses that rent for more and less nice houses that rent for less.

The schools and neighborhoods in all these areas are generally safe and will provide an adequate/good to a great education. All of them have some spillover crime issues from Memphis from time to time, but so do all the outlying counties around Memphis. However, I don't know of anyone who lives in any of these cities who live in fear of going to the parks, walking in their neighborhoods, or shopping and dining out.

Bartlett, Germantown, and Collierville all have their own police departments that are plenty agressive keeping things safe. Lakeland and Arlington rely on the Sheriff's Department and their further distance from Memphis for safety issues.

Some of the schools in Bartlett and Germantown have more diversity than the other areas, mainly due to parts of the Memphis annexation reserve (not yet in Memphis, but will be some day, and the kids go to Shelby County Schools until that happens) that border the cities. The only real problem with this is it brings in some kids from poorer backgrounds who don't adapt as readily to discipline in the school and sometimes are not as prepared to learn. I haven't heard of this being a big issue in elementary schools anywhere, but it has lead to some perceived and even real "gang" type behavior at the middle and high school levels.

If you are thinking private schools, then there good areas to rent in Memphis itself, but I'm no expert on that. Some others on this board can steer you in the right directions if you decide on that route.

If you do come here, welcome to the Memphis area. There are lots of challenges to living in the area and hearing about the poverty,crime and corruption, but there are also lots of good things and lots of good people. If you are a church going person, there are lots of good (and some not so good) churches in the area, and if you like to eat out, there are lots of good (and some not so good) restaurants.