Blair Towers--Downtown (Memphis, Central: housing, rental, salary)

[unc_ajb]

Anyone know about this place?

I am moving to Memphis this summer with my boyfriend, who will be starting pharmacy school there in the fall. I will be supporting the two of us on a social worker's salary (a.k.a. a tiny salary!) so we're looking for cheap places near UT Health Science Center, where he will be in school. Found Blair Towers online and it looks good...but you really never can tell from the websites.

We don't need much space: 1 bedroom is great. Obviously we want to "be safe" just like anyone else, but I've lived in some dicey areas in the past and am very aware of the fact that a large part of "being safe" is "being smart." Don't mind living around panhandling/homeless people/a bit of noise. Not a fan of being caught in the midst of gang violence.

If not Blair Towers, any other suggestions?

[Pearlbob]

This isn't a safe place. Yes, it's right next to LeBonheur and near The Med, but the area is bad. There used to be welfare housing right across the street, which was all boarded up, but that's still the type of area it is. VERY bad part of town a few blocks down on Manassas. I knew people who lived there before and said they often heard gun shots at night. There is nothing you can walk to safely around there, especially at night. Lots of homeless soup kitchen type places along Poplar nearby, so there are always a ton of hoodlums and weirdo walking right there (it's the county hospital, too). I would never, ever live there.

Do you need to be within walking distance or anything?

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by unc_ajb

Anyone know about this place?

I am moving to Memphis this summer with my boyfriend, who will be starting pharmacy school there in the fall. I will be supporting the two of us on a social worker's salary (a.k.a. a tiny salary!) so we're looking for cheap places near UT Health Science Center, where he will be in school. Found Blair Towers online and it looks good...but you really never can tell from the websites.

We don't need much space: 1 bedroom is great. Obviously we want to "be safe" just like anyone else, but I've lived in some dicey areas in the past and am very aware of the fact that a large part of "being safe" is "being smart." Don't mind living around panhandling/homeless people/a bit of noise. Not a fan of being caught in the midst of gang violence.

If not Blair Towers, any other suggestions?

This is a sketchy area, but I know people that live there and like it because it is cheap and a short walk to work/school. The building itself is safe, but the area behind it close to Poplar is not. There are a lot of hospital employees around during the day. I have walked around that area at night (from Le Bonheur), but not by choice. There isn't any gang violence around there, but there are a lot of sketchy characters walking around that area. If you don't mind dealing with them, you are safe as long as you stay away from the Poplar side. Have you looked into the apartment in Uptown? They are pretty cheap, nice, and safe.

[unc_ajb]

Being within walking distance of the school is not necessary, but would be nice. Since we wont have much money to play with, I know we will have to make compromises, and the walking-distance-to-school thing is something we are totally flexible on.

That being said, I do love the idea of living somewhere that is walking distance from neighborhood bars and restaurants. At the moment I live in Nashville, which is very much a "driving town." You pretty much have to get in your car to go anywhere here, no matter where you live.

Can you recommend any neighborhoods/streets/apt complexes that are both somewhat near the hospitals and are within walking distance of some fun stuff? And, of course, not too expensive? Should I be leaning more towards renting the top floor of a house than looking for an apt?

[unc_ajb]

Originally Posted by tennreb

This is a sketchy area, but I know people that live there and like it because it is cheap and a short walk to work/school. The building itself is safe, but the area behind it close to Poplar is not. There are a lot of hospital employees around during the day. I have walked around that area at night (from Le Bonheur), but not by choice. There isn't any gang violence around there, but there are a lot of sketchy characters walking around that area. If you don't mind dealing with them, you are safe as long as you stay away from the Poplar side. Have you looked into the apartment in Uptown? They are pretty cheap, nice, and safe.

I don't love the idea of not being able to walk in the area at night. We envision ourselves being able to do things like stroll to a restaurant for dinner and then walk home...and this sounds like maybe not the best area for that. That being said, not sure if we'll be able to afford a walkable-at-night neighborhood on my cute little salary!

I have not looked into Uptown yet but have read a bit about it on the website. I'm getting the impression it's a recently gentrified area? Is it a walkable part of the city?

[Pearlbob]

Uptown is also not walkable at night. They tore down a ton of crack houses, more welfare housing, etc to build the new homes. But the new homes are still surrounded by that type of neighborhood...you see REAL sketchy people walking thru all the time. It's right at north Memphis, which is well known as basically the worst area of town (right there at Chelsea). Think: barred up liquor stores and graffiti everywhere. Not IN Uptown, of course, but just blocks away.

Look for rentals in the Cooper Young area. You can walk to tons of bars and restaurants, and you'd be around lots of younger people. Just a 10 minute drive to the UT area.

[unc_ajb]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Uptown is also not walkable at night. They tore down a ton of crack houses, more welfare housing, etc to build the new homes. But the new homes are still surrounded by that type of neighborhood...you see REAL sketchy people walking thru all the time. It's right at north Memphis, which is well known as basically the worst area of town (right there at Chelsea). Think: barred up liquor stores and graffiti everywhere. Not IN Uptown, of course, but just blocks away.

Look for rentals in the Cooper Young area. You can walk to tons of bars and restaurants, and you'd be around lots of younger people. Just a 10 minute drive to the UT area.

I will look into the Cooper Young area as it seems a great fit for us. We are not moving til June-ish, but we are doing an apartment scouting visit in the next couple of months...I'm sure I will be back on here at that point with more questions. This forum is wonderful and I so appreciate the advice.

Can't wait to make Memphis my new home!

[Pearlbob]

Also, in midtown around the Overton area might be good; there's not as much around there as Cooper Young in terms of nightlfe, but it's prettier, close to Overton Park/zoo/golf course/art museum.

[OrgasmicSVT]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Uptown is also not walkable at night. They tore down a ton of crack houses, more welfare housing, etc to build the new homes. But the new homes are still surrounded by that type of neighborhood...you see REAL sketchy people walking thru all the time. It's right at north Memphis, which is well known as basically the worst area of town (right there at Chelsea). Think: barred up liquor stores and graffiti everywhere. Not IN Uptown, of course, but just blocks away.

x2 I thought about buying a house in uptown because of all the incentives they offer, but one drive through that area at night was all I needed to see. Hookers and liquor stores

[Pearlbob]

haha, no doubt. The houses are "cute" but they are built in about a week - I can't imagine they are built very well. The neighborhoods are also cute, but you have to keep in mind what is located 4 blocks away. They would have to bulldoze a LOT more out there for me to ever feel safe in that area. I'm talking miles and miles of bulldozing.

I think Cooper Young, Overton area, and rentals in Central Gardens, Evergreen, and Idlewild are good ideas for young professionals right out of college who want to live somewhere nice, but still relatively cheap and fun.

Originally Posted by OrgasmicSVT

x2 I thought about buying a house in uptown because of all the incentives they offer, but one drive through that area at night was all I needed to see. Hookers and liquor stores