Please tell me why people hate Memphis (Germantown, Dunlap: insurance, loft)

[R Z]

I agree that Memphis is not the Garden of Eden. Granted I was born and raised here and have seen the good, bad and the ugly. When I visit other cities I always think how cool they are and how much there is to do. But if I lived and worked there, it wouldn't be that way due to lack of time. Same with any place you call home.

Is there crime here, yes. Where, mostly inner city. Do we have government issues, yeppers we do. I do my part to try and get the proper people in office, I vote. Other than that, I make the most of the place I choose to call home. Both my children grew up here and then went on to other universities out of town. They are doing fine and seem to be none the worse for wear by having been raised here.

Again, you have your lovers and your haters. It's with anything in life. That's just the way it is. If you hate Memphis you can move. But i think mostly they prefer to find something to gripe about. Must be in the water.

[ComputerMan]

Memphis isn't perfect but it's home. I was gone for 2 years and I'm glad I'm back.

[Deck]

Where the ....were you? Detroit or Iraq?

[strumpeace]

Self-deleted.

[R Z]

We're all still hoping Deck can find a job and move on to the promised land.

[ComputerMan]

I was in Birmingham most of the time. I didn't hate it, I just missed Memphis. I missed my favorite places to eat and my family and friends. I grew up here. I've only gotten to know it better since I've been back. I won't lie. I don't think Willie has been the best mayor and while he's done alright for down town the rest of the city has suffered under his leadership. A lot of the places I was looking forward to revisiting were closed down when I got back. I was disappointed. But I was thrilled to be home.

[Deck]

Well yeah Birmingham is no nirvana either. Are you in Munford now?

[ComputerMan]

Yeah. I live in Munford now. I still work in Memphis. We have family out this way.

[expatnortherner]

Thoughts from an Ex-Nyer

The Good
- Cheap rents (commercial & residential)
- Cheap (from a NY point of view anyway) houses
- Fertile ground for an arts/bohemian lifestyle
- Cheap NBA season tickets and free on-street thin 3 blocks of the forum
- Cheap car insurance
- Beautiful parks
- Cool local events (Memphis In May, any number of festivals, etc.)
- No organized crime (outside of city government)
- Big city with a small town feel
- The Memphis Flyer (free paper)

The Bad
- Too many chain restaurants (lots of sprawl)
- Wages relatively low (but balanced by cheap housing)
- Polarized racially
- Poor cultural & arts emphasis
- Abundance of nuisance crimes
- Big city with a small town mentality
- Crappy newspaper
- Corruption


If you're adventurous, have a pioneer spirit and like a challenge it's a great place to be.

Ex-Pat

[Deck]

The Good
- Cheap rents (commercial & residential) --- Agreed. (because the city has been in a downward spiral for over a decade)
- Cheap (from a NY point of view anyway) houses --- Agreed. (see above)
- Fertile ground for an arts/bohemian lifestyle --- Undecided. (if by bohemian you mean homeless, then yes, its the capital.)
- Cheap NBA season tickets and free on-street thin 3 blocks of the forum --- Agreed. (not a fan of the nba. they have trouble selling those tickets even as cheap as they are)
- Cheap car insurance --- Disagree. That is really relative to what you're used to. We have the highest rates in Tennessee.
- Beautiful parks --- Disagree. Are you kidding me? Where? Shelby Farms aside. Check out Morris Park at Poplar and Dunlap to see what most city parks look like.
- Cool local events --- Semi-Agree. (Every city has their yearly music festival. Some with weaker acts, some with better.)
- No organized crime (outside of city government) --- Disagree. There is no Italian Mafia if that's what you mean, but street gangs run this city.
- Big city with a small town feel --- Definitely agree. Slow drivers, Slow customer service. Very light traffic or congestion. However, by and large people are rude here.
- The Memphis Flyer (free paper) --- Disagree. No slam on the Flyer, but every city Ive ever been to has something like this.

The Bad
- Too many chain restaurants (lots of sprawl) --- Disagree. Every city has a plethora of chain restaurants. Agree on the sprawl thing. That's because of the city's culture and the people's desire to move further and further away. And then the bad element eventually follows and its like geographic musical chairs.
- Wages relatively low (but balanced by cheap housing) --- Agreed.
- Polarized racially --- Agreed.
- Poor cultural & arts emphasis --- Agreed
- Abundance of nuisance crimes --- Super Agreed.
- Big city with a small town mentality --- Super Agreed.
- Crappy newspaper --- Agreed, though many cities have crappy newspapers.
- Corruption --- Super Agreed.