Need opinions on some apartments? (Memphis, Germantown: safe area, college, living in)

[Utkgrad126]

So I have made the decision to accept a job offer in Memphis! I'm a 23 year old female and mother of a 1 year old labrador mix and we need a place to live! Here are some things I'm looking for:

-Pet friendly
-Safe
-Central location to restaurants/bars
-Close to a park or relatively close would be awesome
-Clean
-I'd like a fitness area, a pretty good one so maybe I wouldn't have to pay for a gym membership
-Pretty area

Here's the ones I've stumbled upon:

-Fielder Square
-The Metropolitan
-The Gilmore
-Uptown Square
-Greenlaw Place
-Arbors Harbor Town
-Parks Edge at Shelby Farms
-South Junction
-Grand Island
-The Venue


Anyone know anything about any of these places?

[85rx-7gsl-se]

Venue is ok, but nothing fancy. It borders between a nice part of town and a rougher part of town. Very pet friendly. Alot of college kids, but also a mix of old residents. Gym area is pretty small, but they do have an indoor pool.

[CristenS]

The Gilmore certainly doesn't have a gym Do they even allow pets? It has a high rise element, and a low garden element. I would think pets may not be allowed in the high rise part? It's an older building, very pretty on the outside. It would be close (maybe walkable to some people) to the revamped Overton Square area. And a bit of a walk to the city's large Overton Park, which has a dog park in it.

I'd nix Uptown Square. It's not the safest of location and not comparable to some of the others you've listed. Same with Greenlaw, I believe those are the same uptown area.

Anything on the island (harbor town) will be safe and just fine. Along the huge river park. But, pretty removed from the rest of civilization! It's downtown but not walkable to anything.

[jabogitlu]

-Fielder Square
-The Metropolitan
-The Gilmore
-Uptown Square
-Greenlaw Place
-Arbors Harbor Town
-Parks Edge at Shelby Farms
-South Junction


I don't know about amenities (pets, gyms) here, but I can comment on safety and niceness.

Gilmore apartments are older, pretty nice for basically unremodeled, WWII-era mid-rise apartments. A/C is window units. Very safe part of Midtown. An easy bike ride (or long walk) to Overton Square, Overton Park, Union Avenue, etc.

The Venue is okay, it's safe due to its huge size and its proximity to Central Gardens. Pet friendly so lots of pet-owning Midtowners live here.

Fielder's Square downtown is very nice. A friend lived there. Fairly expensive. Safe. Close to baseball games, Rendezvous, Beale Street, fairly close to South Main district.

Uptown Square is okay, it's not really walkable to downtown (for the most part) and definitely not walkable to anywhere else. Safe due to its gates, but there is a rough element in that part of town that you would want to avoid if possible. This is not an area that you casually go outside and take a walk, although I'm not saying that you'll be mugged, either. Just rough and unattractive and, no, don't live there.

Metropolitan Apartments and Greenlaw Place are in Uptown, I'd give this area another 10-15 years before living there. Some great people live in the neighborhood but they are long-time Memphians who know the area and know what they want.

South Junction is brand new and safe. Very walkable to South Main and the weekly downtown farmer's market, close to Amtrak (not sure if this is relevant but...) You can catch the trolly (if they're put back in service) to downtown.


Anything on Mud Island or near Shelby Farms is gonna be alright.

I think you need to visit. You have apartments listed in very different areas of the city. People who enjoy living downtown may not enjoy Midtown and definitely may not enjoy living out east (around Shelby Farms).

[eastmemphisguy]

Parks Edge is directly adjacent to the largest off leash dog park in the country, which is, itself, part of the largest city park in the country. The area out there is fine. Very suburban with a Super Walmart, Super Target, and every othet chain store you can think of nearby. Traffic can get bad on Germantown Rd at times, and it's not as trendy as Downtown or Midtown, but it's a practical choice if you like the outdoors and don't work too far away.

[Utkgrad126]

So I visited and found the Edge at Germantown to be my favorite. Within my price range and less than a 10 minute drive to my work, and all around seems nice and safe. Anyone familiar with it?

[jabogitlu]

Great location, photos look nice. Never lived there, but it's solid.

[CristenS]

Never heard of it, but the location is nice. Traffic can be brutal along Poplar, but it's nice to be near a main street like that. Safe area with lots of nice shopping and restaurants.

[tigerphan]

Congrats on the job offer!

Are you going to be working in the Poplar/240 or in one of the big FedEx campuses out east? I'd look at Madison at Humphreys or the Arbors at River Oaks if you are working in the Poplar/240 area near the International Paper campus.....mainly because of the very easy access to the green line trail. Your dog will appreciate that. Both complexes are are safe and well maintained and both give discounts to employees of the major local companies.

If you are working at one of the FedEx campuses (located in Collierville and far eastern Memphis), I'd check out Legacy Farm on Winchester in Collierville or The Fieldstone on Hacks Cross and Players Club. Germantown has a good fitness club, and there's a very awesome Lifetime fitness on Houston Levee in Collierville. Westbrook Crossing on Shea in Collierville is adjacent to FedEx and has very easy access to shopping and the major highways. It's very new, and is across the street from a Nonconnah creek trail head.

I feel that I should warn you....Traffic on Germantown road can be very hairy. Walnut Grove through Shelby Farms Park gets backed up routinely as well. Poplar itself between Perkins and Ridgeway isn't really pleasant either.

[ViolentDisasters]

I don't know much about you, but based on your age, I personally can't imagine a 23-year-old with a dog and a love for fitness enjoying living in Germantown. It's very middle-aged and family-oriented, and there's not a lot in the way of activities for young adults or outdoor activities for pets (unless you live near Shelby Farms).

The majority of people I know in our age range from Germantown left for midtown, downtown, or another city, the first chance they got or else spend most weekends making the unbearably long drive down the Sam Cooper Expressway.