Need Memphis info plz.. (Knoxville, Bartlett: new home, neighborhoods, schools)

[cjlosio]

My family is relocating to Memphis but Im needing to know the good and the bad...honestly. Im not worried about schools because my son is being homeschooled. I need information about the communities. We are a black family from Missouri. We have always stayed in the suburbs and it hasn't failed us yet..so I dont want to change things now. We have never had a problem with racial issues, we live in a relaxed and caring community. I'm looking to find the same kind of community. I have already been told to stay away from N and S Memphis. Im needing more info.

[movingallison]

As a longtime Memphian, I can definitely tell you that avoiding N and S Memphis is good advice. As for communities? In Memphis (the city itself), there is "East Memphis," which is known for middle-to-upper class folks who want to stay in the city and live normal lives. Think: normal shopping centers, decent schools, corporate restaurants, etc. There is "midtown," which is the artsy, unique area of town home to many old, historic homes, thriftstores, cafes, and decent nightlife. The traditional suburbs include Germantown and Collierville, and extend into Cordova, Arlington, and Bartlett. Germantown used to be known as the ritzy area, but now is just a place with nice homes and neighborhoods. The Germantown police are about 300 times better than Memphis police, if safety is a big concern. Collierville is where the rich people go to flee the city, and Arlington is working-man's Collierville, with lots of subdivisions and cookie-cutter homes. If I were you, I'd take a trip and drive down Poplar avenue from Collierville to Downtown and see what vibes you get. Personally, I've lived in East Memphis and Midtown, and enjoyed Midtown immensely, but grew up in East Memphis and will always call it home. Don't be scared off by stories of racial tensions. Yes, it's there, but one of the things I appreciate most about living in Memphis is getting a healthy dose of diversity and culture even as I shop for groceries. Your child will appreciate it too.

[cjlosio]

Thank you so much. I will do that.

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by movingallison

Collierville is where the rich people go to flee the city, and Arlington is working-man's Collierville, with lots of subdivisions and cookie-cutter homes.

Agree with everything except about Collierville. I don't live in Collierville but was looking for houses in that area when I first moved here. I wouldn't call Collierville "rich" by any means. More of a old home-grown southern town with it's own identity, middle class, and a cheaper alternative to Germantown.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Dd714

Agree with everything except about Collierville. I don't live in Collierville but was looking for houses in that area when I first moved here. I wouldn't call Collierville "rich" by any means. More of a old home-grown southern town with it's own identity, middle class, and a cheaper alternative to Germantown.

That makes me chuckle. In 2000, Collierville's homes had an average value of $190k, Germantown's average was $216k. Not much difference. In 2004 and 2005 there were over 1100 new homes built in Collierville with an average value of $321k. (Stats for Germantown aren't available on city-data.com, but Germantown's population grew by a total of only 132 between 2000 and 2005. Not many new homes are being built in Germantown these days.)

It doesn't sound like Collierville is the cheaper alternative to Germantown anymore.

[Dd714]

And you got all that by living 300 miles away in Knoxville did you? Collierville and Germantowns zip codes and boundries overlap and merge at certain points. I doubt any citydata stats well give the whole picture. At the same time some of Germantown overlaps with Memphis.
Germantown is essentially filled up, no more room for development, plus it is closer to downtown Memphis. Hence the higher costs.

Trust me as a resident - Germantown is condidered the "exlusive/high cost" area. Collierville a little more reasonable, a little more country, a little farther out from Memphis.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Dd714

And you got all that by living 300 miles away in Knoxville did you? Collierville and Germantowns zip codes and boundries overlap and merge at certain points. I doubt any citydata stats well give the whole picture. At the same time some of Germantown overlaps with Memphis.
Germantown is essentially filled up, no more room for development, plus it is closer to downtown Memphis. Hence the higher costs.

Trust me as a resident - Germantown is condidered the "exlusive/high cost" area. Collierville a little more reasonable, a little more country, a little farther out from Memphis.

Actually Knoxville is closer to 400 miles from Germantown.

When Collierville issues residential building permits, it's for homes built in Collierville. It has nothing to do with ZIP codes. That is public information that is available to anyone, whether they live in Germantown or Knoxville or Hong Kong.

I know people in Germantown like to think they will always be the most prestigious, most exclusive suburb, but that's not the case anymore. And no, Germantown's city limits do not "overlap" with Memphis' city limits. They can border each other, but they do NOT overlap. Memphis cannot issue building permits for Germantown, and Germantown cannot issue building permits for Memphis. I'd love to see what would happen if Memphis were to start collecting property taxes from people who live in Germantown.

(Oh, and I used to live in Germantown, too.)

[Dd714]

I was actually questioning the statistical data, not tax or city boundries. A Germantown zip code may be in Memphis city proper, or in Shelby County, or in Collierville. Most home cost analysis are done by some kind of zip code analysis and thus may be flawed when you get down to neighboring city vs. neighboring city detail.
But this argument is pointless and the original poster must be saying WHO CARES when she reads this. As a general rule I would tell her to skip Collierville and Germantown alltogether and consider Olive Branch. For that matter I would take Knoxville any day over anything in the Memphis area.