Nervous about moving to Memphis (Germantown, Collierville: violent crime, house, safe area)

[kln575]

My husband was just offered a position at Fedex Services. From what I understand this is in the Collierville area. I have not heard good things about Memphis in regards to safety and I am very apprehensive about moving here. I have grown up in Southwest Missouri (Springfield/Nixa area) my whole life and I'm not quite used to living in/near a large city. After reading some of the posts on this website I am even more scared about moving to this area. I am also unsure if we will be able to afford to live in the safer areas of the area. Are my apprehensions unfounded or should I really be concerned about moving here? This would be a great opportunity for my husband career wise, but we don't want to get ourselves into a bad situation. Any advice or opinions would be appreciated!

Also, I am still in school and would need to student teach in a school district in the area. Are there any schools that you would recommend?

[Dd714]

Yeah alot of us come down hard on Memphis, me included, but I wouldn't be that worried. I am not sure exactly where you are moving to but Fedex HQ is near Germantown, not Collierville (although Fedex may have some operations in Collierville). But anyways don't worry about housing costs. Housing is VERY cheap in this area and even the more expensive areas of Memphis are much cheaper than your average shotgun shack in other areas of the country.
Crime is a problem but, for the most part it is occuring in certain areas of Memphis where drugs are also a problem. Unless you plan to go to these areas to buy crack you shouldn't have a problem. Sometimes it overflows into outlying areas. Follow the common sense rules that everyone repeats in this forum - buy a house and live in the incorporated towns other than in the Memphis city limits. Collierville is a fine little town, you live there and I bet you will only venture out to Memphis proper maybe once a year.
Memphis has it's gritty soul but it grows on you - appreciate the good things about it: Good barbecue everywhere, cheap cost of living, a rock and roll identity for those who like the night life, relativly good traffic, mild winters, generaly relaxed southern atmosphere, etc. You learn to take the good with the bad of Memphis.

[Dd714]

Ahhh Bossman/MisterMiester/C Prosecutor! You get banned weekly and yet you come back! In a world that changes so quickly somehow I find that encouraging in a twisted way.

Your observations are a little bit overboard (as always) but I don't neccessarily disagree. But, man, a BBQ pork sandwhich at interstate BBQ usually changes all my bad thoughts about Memphis when I've had a bad day. Really there are worst places in the US to live.

Hint of the day: Change your ISP address so the mods don't catch you creating this new log-on.

[MrsMichelle]

The Mid-South/Memphis area is not that bad. It's a lot of hype being thrown around on this board. Mostly from a select few. I sent you a message.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by MrsMichelle

The Mid-South/Memphis area is not that bad. It's a lot of hype being thrown around on this board. Mostly from a select few. I sent you a message.

Oh yes it is. While I have many fond memories of Memphis, the crime there is outrageous. While living one block away from a police station in Midtown, my bike was stolen off my 2nd-story balcony, and my car was broken into.

Then I moved to a "safe" neighborhood in East Memphis, and my house was broken into within a week of moving in. I got a security system. My house was broken into three times AFTER I got the security system. My neighbor's car was broken into, then my car was stolen. Another neighbor's house was broken into, and all the crooks took was a pizza from her fridge. Another neighbor's tool shed was broken into and wiped clean. Another neighbor's mail was stolen.

A colleague in Germantown was attacked in her driveway while she was walking to check her mail.

It broke my heart to finally have to leave Memphis. It's got a lot of potential. But the crime there is absolutely horrible, and for most Memphians it's just a way of life; they just life with the fact that either their car will someday be broken into or their house will be broken into (or both).

[tomterr]

Concern about crime in Memphis is not Politically Correct.
Many of Memphis' black citizens consider being concerned about crime as "code" for racism.
I personally have had the SAME car stolen three times, it was recovered each time after it ran out of gas, in North Memphis.
I sold the car last time it was recovered.

[Brian]

I have been to Memphis often and never had any problem there (I am white, if that mattered to you). When it comes to comparing Memphis to much bigger, Atlanta, Memphis does feel somewhat unsafe.

IMO, what the city really needs is new faces in the city government to lead the city out of the messes.

[JMT]

Every single police officer who came to my house for each of those crimes I reported was black. And every single one of those police officers said, without a doubt, the culprits were black. I told them that I was afraid to say anything because I didn't want to be characterised as being racist. They each assured me that it was not racist to assume that the crooks were probably black since they did, too. In a city that's 70% black, that's just how it is. The vast majority of law-abiding citizens are also black.

And I definitely think Brian is on to something, the city desperately needs some new leadership. I think Willie has done some good things--and he has done much to save Memphis from the Ford family--but I also think he needs to step aside and let someone else take over.

[KewGee]

I've been to Memphis once and did not like it at all. I felt very unsafe. I stayed there for one night not too far from Graceland and the FedEx planes kept me awake all night long. Obviously, I was right under their flight pattern and it seemed like they were going to hit the motel. I hated it and will never visit that city again.

That's just my thought; I don't live there so one can take my comments with a grain of salt.

The web site I checked shows Atlanta's violent crime to be a tad worse than Memphis; both are very high. Property crimes ratings for the cities are the same, high as well.

Good luck; sometimes we just have to go where the jobs are.

[TheBigApple]

amjb, if you stayed anywhere near Graceland, then you were in an unsafe area. Don't jude the whole metropolitan area by that experience. There are "safe" areas in Memphis. The crime in the Germantown/Collierville areas is significantly lower than say North/South Memphis. Avoid those areas and you should be OK. I absolutely love Germantown and Collierville. Just use common sense, be aware of your surroundings, and invest in a home security system. Also, Shelby County Schools are excellent. If your husband is working for Fedex, he will probably be near Germantown or Collierville, and I would highly recommend any of the schools in those areas.