New Job - No Kids (Memphis, Bartlett: rentals, crime, big house)

[btaylor11]

My husband has recently been offered a job by the Memphis FD, so we are considering relocating to the city. I have seen multiple threads regarding people moving to Memphis and worries about the crime, the schools, and the traffic. I have seen the questions regarding where to live in order to avoid any ugly parts of all three. From previous conversations it seems that Cordova, Germanville, Collierville, and maybe Bartlett would be our best bet. But what I would like to know is - what is the feel of the city? Are people in these urban-subarbs nice for the most part (i.e. give you a welcome gift when you move in to the house next door) or has the crime gotten everybody too scared to talk to each other?

[Pearlbob]

No one is too scared to talk to each other. Be nice, and people will be nice to you. We look out for each other too; if you think there might be something wrong in the neighborhood, you need to be able to rely on your neighbors.

I wouldn't compare Cordova to Gtown or Cville. I would avoid Cordova.

However, I thought I have read on here that if you are a part of Memphis police or Memphis FD, you have to live within Memphis city limits??

[btaylor11]

My husband said that to keep the job you have to live in Shelby county, so it is not restricted to the Memphis city limits (which is nice I guess based on some comments in the forum I have read recently). So Cordova is a no then? Darn it - I saw some nicer looking rental houses there. Well, its good to know that people aren't too stand offish. We are coming from South Dakota - if you don't wave and smile to somebody out here, it's a major offense! I will keep looking for housing in Gtown or Collierville then - what about Arlington? Any other suggestions?

This forum is great - its nice to have some place to go to ask questions from people who know the answers!!

[Pearlbob]

Ohhh you want to rent. That's different. Cordova is not a suburb anymore; most of it is "Memphis city" now, and has been annexed by the city. That's why home prices there have dropped some, as those kids go to Memphis city schools now, they pay Memphis city taxes now, etc. But if you're just renting, you wouldn't have to worry about re-sale values.

[daneinmemphis]

Hi
We just relocated to Memphis last summer, we live in Lakeland and work in Bartlett. We are also renters, and we looked at several rentals in Cordova first, you can get a nice big house there for a fair rent.
People are friendly here, my husband being from Indiana and myself from Europe, we were both surprised over how everybody "chats" around here. You can't go to Kroger without ending in several "chats" with people. Most of our neighboors came over when we just moved in. So people are definetely very friendly here. It's the South

[btaylor11]

That's good to know. I lived in Atlanta when I was younger, and I remember the people being very friendly (but then again I was a kid and you don't really pay that much attention to anybody taller than 4.5 feet!). I have just read so many posts about the crime and not being able to avoid it that it made me a little uneasy to begin with. Why did you end up choosing lakeland instead of cordova - closer to work?

If he gets the job, I think I'll have him rent a studio or furnished one bed during academy and move down after graduation - that way he'll know what station he's at and what kind of a commute he's looking at.

[Jadastwin]

Originally Posted by daneinmemphis

Hi
We just relocated to Memphis last summer, we live in Lakeland and work in Bartlett. We are also renters, and we looked at several rentals in Cordova first, you can get a nice big house there for a fair rent.
People are friendly here, my husband being from Indiana and myself from Europe, we were both surprised over how everybody "chats" around here. You can't go to Kroger without ending in several "chats" with people. Most of our neighboors came over when we just moved in. So people are definetely very friendly here. It's the South

You are definitely right about how friendly the people are there. It's so refreshing to meet people who are approachable and nice. In the big city here up north, that never happens. I'll be gone from it in a few days and can't wait to get away from the rudeness and self-centered mentality of the people here. Moving south and never looking back!