Collierville Neighborhoods: PLEASE give us some advice! (Memphis, Germantown: houses, to buy)

[MJSZ]

Hello all! My family is moving to Collierville in the coming months. My husband is taking a job in the Memphis area. We have three children that are too young to attend the public schools yet, but the time will come soon.

We are looking to buy a house in a place with a commuting distance that will be 35 minutes or less to downtown Memphis. Has anyone been to the Magnolia Preserve area? Is it a nice neighborhood? I have read in some other blog posts that anywhere south of Poplar is not so nice. Is this still the case? Is that area safe? Has anyone had any experience with the Sycamore Elementary School? Lastly, are there any recommended private Pre-K schools?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

[AttyShekelman]

yeah, stay NORTH of Poplar

[mattec]

That’s outdated advice that I don’t believe every had any legitimacy and was mostly based on race. Most of the new developments in town are south of Poplar and specifically south of 385. The Town Square is also south of Poplar and has some very nice homes around it.

Magnolia Preserve is very nice and will give you what you want, if your looking for a quiet suburban lifestyle.

[MJSZ]

Originally Posted by carlottasold_it

I had to pull up a map to get my bearings, but yes the more southern part of the town would be the poorest. Generally speaking, the whole town in general in nice and quiet. Collierville is mostly an expensive area though. Very nice suburban life. Let me know if you have any more questions. As far as the schools there is a site where you can look up school performance.

Thanks for your reply! We're looking at some houses called "Magnolia Homes". It is a new development and by no means inexpensive. The houses are in the 600-700+ range depending on the lot size, etc. The school that is assigned is Sycamore Elementary, which I found out is the lowest performing school in Collierville. Yes, there is a website with this information. It's the TN State report card, which can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/education/data/report-card.html

I do have a couple questions for you: do you know anything about the reputation of this specific school? Is this neighborhood safe?

My husband will be visiting the area at the end of the month to look for a home, but I'm afraid that he won't be there long enough to get a real feel for the neighborhood(s).

Thanks so much!

[MJSZ]

Originally Posted by AttyShekelman

yeah, stay NORTH of Poplar

Thanks Atty, for your response. Is there a reason for this? Are all of the neighborhoods in the South of Poplar not so good? Are they unsafe?

[Comingtomemphis]

I'm not sure you can commute from there Downtown in 35 minutes, especially during rush hour. To keep the commute shorter, look for houses in Germantown near 240. They will be older homes, often in need of updating. Schools are equally good.

[mattec]

Originally Posted by MJSZ

Thanks Atty, for your response. Is there a reason for this? Are all of the neighborhoods in the South of Poplar not so good? Are they unsafe?

They are nice and very safe.

Back in the 80s and 90s almost all of the suburban development in Collierville occurred north of Poplar, and the old, pre-suburb town was located south of Poplar, mostly east of Byhalia. This older part of town was more socio-economically and racially diverse than the new suburbs being built north of Poplar, creating the false perception that it was less safe/desirable. Many older and longtime residents hold onto these prejudices. However, in the late 90s/mid-2000s, the area north of Poplar began to run out of land to build on and the Town started focusing its efforts on it's town square. These two events caused an increased interest in the south side of town, leading to a revitalization around the Square and new housing and commercial developments in the southern part of town west of Byhalia, like Schilling and Porter Farms, Fleming Gardens, and Carriage Crossing. In 2018 the new high school campus opened at Shelby and Sycamore, which will lead to additional developments being built on the south side of town.

[MJSZ]

Thank you, very much, Mattec, for your detailed responses and all the information you provided us!!!

[NoClueWho]

Some of the nicest, most expensive homes in Collierville are South of Poplar..............

[Geneyus]

OP,
I sent you a PM.

For everyone else,
Ignore anyone who says not to live South of the tracks in Collierville or Germantown. Absolute nonsense.