Moving to Arlington (Memphis, Germantown, Collierville: rent, crime rate, house)

[JeniKer]

My fiance & live in Ohio, and he has a possible job opportunity down in Arlington. Can anyone give me basics on this city?? Crime, people, weather? I am clueless, I hate to admit it, but I've never moved out of state in my life. Any help or any books, websites, or movies I could watch to familiarize myself would be great.

[Pearlbob]

Arlington is a suburb of Memphis, and Memphis has the highest crime rate in the country.

However, crime IN Arlington is probably extremely low. Most people live in Arlington and commute into the city for work; so if your husband is going to work out there too, good for him. Less time in the car!

The weather is HOT about 15 months out of the year Seriously though, we had a few "cold" spell recently but right now it's in the 50's. You are from Ohio...I am sure you are used to very cold weather. It does not snow here (MAYBE it would snow 1/2", once a year...it has not "snowed" this winter though...) but the summers are brutal. It was 110 out for a while last summer, with close to 100% humidity. Days like that, you don't go outdoors.

People are people, I haven't found Memphians to be particularly nice, but then again a lot of Memphians in the service industries are not well educated and don't give a crap about things. I think middle class working folk are just as nice here as anywhere. In Arlington, I'm sure it's better.

I wouldn't watch any movies to get insight into a city. Browse this forum, that might help with brutal honesty of Memphis. Go to some other websites, maybe get a tourism book on Memphis to get the highlights.

[JeniKer]

Thank you for your answers. I'm sure I'll be asking a lot more questions in the near future. I'm excited about it, but a little hesitant, as I have a good job here & I would have to start over down there. Now, when it comes to housing, what's the best way to get the truth on neighborhoods. Like here in Akron, Ohio, I can tell someone about the surrounding communities & which would be good & which might be sort of trashy. But I'm nervous about asking a realtor because I would imagine they would say anything to sell a house, am I right?

[Pearlbob]

Are you looking for a home only in Arlington? The town is fine. It's an older "town" that is now a "new" surburb of Memphis. Meaning, it's been around a long time so you might see some old home that are sort of run-down, but the majority will be brand new construction and brand new subdivision neighborhoods. People have been moving out of Memphis and into Arlington. I highly doubt there are any bad neighborhoods there; maybe a house or two that was built a long time ago when it was all farm land and wasn't kept up; but y ou're not going to find an entire bad neighborhood full of weird people.

Unless you consider all suburbanites weird. (inside joke for the forum)

[chuck1229]

New developments, new high school, one of the best in the county. Good access to the Interstate, and only about 30 minutes from the City of Memphis and about 15 minutes from a very dense area of shopping and dining locations. A major medical equipment company is located there so I assume some high level tech/engineers live close to the area.

[JeniKer]

Hey Chuck1229, are you talking about Wright Medical company? If so, do you know anything about the company?

I suppose I should take your advice, Pearlbob, and get a tourist guide for Memphis. Any other areas you would recommend?

I really appreciate everyone's input.

[chuck1229]

Originally Posted by JeniKer

Hey Chuck1229, are you talking about Wright Medical company? If so, do you know anything about the company?

I suppose I should take your advice, Pearlbob, and get a tourist guide for Memphis. Any other areas you would recommend?

I really appreciate everyone's input.

Yes, Wright Medical. I know it is a well known organization and keeps getting bigger.

[Pearlbob]

Well, I just meant a tourist guide so that you can see the "highlights" of Memphis (not that people who live here do those things on any regular basis).

If your husband will be working in Arlington, that seems like the obvious choice for a house. Most people live there, and commute elsewhere. It wouldn't make too much sense to move to Memphis, but move to say, Germantown, and then commute up to Arlington. But, Germantown and Collierville are the two wealthy suburbs that have safe schools and are highly recommended to newcomers.

[JeniKer]

Ever had to quit your job & just pick up & move to another state? Within a couple months? Seems like a scary thought.

[Pearlbob]

Maybe you need to just rent an apt for a while when you get here, so you can learn about the area yourself first. Memphis isn't the type of city you want to go into blind. And despite what info you can glean off of this forum, it's just opinions of specific people. My opinion probably wouldn't match what you are looking for.