Are There any Opportunities for Professional African Americans in Memphis (foreclosures, renting)

[jonescl]

Hi, I am a professional African American looking to relocate to Memphis in the near future. I am in the IT field and make well over 60K where I'm at. I have visited researched the city and saw that it has a relatively low cost of living, utiliites are cheap and housing is affordable. I have only visited the city once and stayed for a couple of days. I drove to the bad areas of town to the good areas of town. I noticed that the Poplar and Lamar areas of town seem to be the worst I saw there. Although most of the areas looked down-trodden and full of homeless people, I did not find the areas to look any different than any other major urban area in America. I ventured out to restaurants, gas stations, barbecue joints on the North side of Memphis, and did not feel threatened one bit.

[Pearlbob]

Poplar goes for 20+ miles long, but most of it is very, very nice. ?? Maybe you only saw Poplar right downtown near the jail. Lamar, yes, is horrible.

Glad to hear you found Memphis to your liking. It's not all a warzone like some people make it out to be.

[expatnortherner]

Some observations from someone with a similar background:

- The economy is in a downturn which means hiring is tight right now, even at the larger companies

- You'll make less here, but the other fixed costs are also lower (taxes, car insurance, food, etc.) especially if you're coming from a major city

- If you're not married, dating will be very.......interesting to say the least. Never, ever let anyone you date know how much you made or make (I can't stress this enough)!

- If you're Baptist or COGIC you'll have plenty of folks to welcome you (not that any other faiths won't, but there are a LOT of Baptists and COGIC here).

- Right now you may be better off buying rather than renting as the foreclosures have left a ton or properties on the market.

Ex-Pat