Lakeland/Arlington/Oakland (Memphis, Bartlett, Germantown: relocating, property taxes, housing)

[memphisbound]

Hi -

We are being transferred to Memphis from Colorado this spring. Can anyone offer any opinions on the Lakeland/Arlington area; specifically schools, crime, and various neighborhoods? How is the commute from Arlington to downtown Memphis? Are Arlington and Lakeland both incorporated so that Memphis can't suck them in? That seems to be an important factor to consider based on what I've read. And one last question - we have noticed lots of new growth in Oakland. Any opinions on Oakland and Fayette county in general? Thank you!

[tomterr]

Lakeland is a beautiful bedroom community with no city taxes at this time, it would utilize county schools, probably Bolton, whis is an OK school that has had some problems, but not extreme, short drive to Bartlett and Memphis.
Arlington is growing very rapidly, massive subdivision style, and school problems reflect the growth. Lakeland tries to control growth in a rational manner, time will tell if they're successful. Harding Academy (Church of Christ) is relocating their large Memphis school to Lakeland..
Oakland is in Fayette County, and growth is explosive, with associated problems.
Lakeland is in Shelby County, with higher taxes, and much of Memphis taxation is being shifted to Shelby County, to milk the suburban areas to suppport Memphis.
No perfect answer, but my preference is Lakeland, but long-term something in Fayette County (outside where Memphis could annex, and yes, Memphis can annex across county lines) would probably appreciate more.

[memphisbound]

Thank you for the information! That confirms other research we've done. There is a golf course in Lakeland called Stonebridge. Is this considered a nice stable neighborhood? Our position will keep us in Memphis for only 3-4 years, so location is crucial to us for resale.

[tomterr]

Stonebridge is in the Memphis City limits, not in Lakeland.
The Stonebridge area is almost a part of Cordova, with some of the same problems, but is fairly stable, because it is a somewhat older area.

[memphisbound]

This is so hard from here! This probably seems like a dumb question, but how on earth do I know what's in Memphis city limits and what's not? Especially when a listing says that it's in Lakeland or Arlington. None of the online maps spell it out either. And I just want to clarify that Lakeland and Arlington are definitely incorporated right? These are all issues we never have to worry about here in CO and it's really frustrating.

[GCSTroop]

I have grown up in the Memphis area my entire life and after serving in the military for 6 years I took a job with FedEx "back home". My wife and I are now looking for houses within the 200,000-250,000 dollar range. We can find this in Collierville/Germantown but a lot of the homes need a little bit of work and the taxes are high. Yesterday we went to Oakland and saw some of the newer homes being built and we were amazed at what you get for the money. It's approx. $100 sq/ft, taxes are 1200 a year, and the houses have all the new amenities. i.e granite countertops, tile/hardwood floors, two-story and vaulted ceilings with a lot of crown molding. It was very impressive. You may want to look out there, if not, look in the Germantown/Collierville area depending on your price range.

[MrsMichelle]

Stonebridge is not in Memphis. It is in Lakeland. It is older and may not be worth the money in the next few years. I would look at the new construction in Lakeland. In Arlington your choices will be mainly new construciton.

[LauraA]

I grew up in Memphis and moved to Connecticut last summer. My family and I are moving back to Memphis this summer. As the saying goes, there is no place like home.

I wanted to answer some of your questions and hopefully this will help you. I am also looking for a house. Lakeland and Arlington are incorporated. They are their own city within shelby county. Bartlett, Germantown, and Collierville are also incorporated. I am looking in that same area. I am really leaning towards Arlington or Lakeland. I would love to move to Oakland as my dad has 10 acres that I could build a house on. The biggest problem is the drive that my kids would have to school. We have our boys enrolled in private school. Lakeland and Arlington both go to the new Arlington High School. A friends daughter goes to Arlington High and she has had no problems.

I am also looking in the Cordova area because it is very close to my boy's schools.

I hope that I have helped.

Laura

[plumeria313]

I will go ahead and say, that from experience, Cordova and Lakeland are not good places to buy a house if you plan on selling in the next few years. The housing market there is terrible and people are practically giving their houses away. We had a lovely house in a gated community that took over a year to sell, and we had to take almost $100,000 less than it was actually worth. If you drove around in Cordova and Lakeland you would see absolutely tons of houses for sale at drop dead prices. Plus, a lot of gang activity has started there. Stonebridge is one of the worse neighborhoods because it's an older neighborhood. In the Memphis area, just because it says it's on a golf course, does not make it nice. I would avoid these two places at all cost.

Arlington is very nice, they have a new high school, and many houses are being built. This is definitely a good possibility, but I fear the same problem might occur with Arlington as it did with Cordova. All house building has ceased in Cordova because the city put a cap on any more neighborhoods, because the houses weren't selling. So now those same builders have taken over Arlington and it will be a matter of time before there is no land left there.

Oakland is where I live. It is in Fayette county so it is away from the corrupt politics of Shelby County which are absolutely terrible. Property taxes are way less. There are more rural areas, but there is building activity with nice neighborhoods going in. The only downfall I see is the public schools are terrible, and the drive is a bit longer. I work in mid-Bartlett, and it takes about 30 mins to get there, and an hour to get downtown, 45 mins to get to the airport if there is no traffic.

My suggestions are Oakland and Arlington. I am moving to Florida in a year and soon after moving to Memphis you will see why. Crime is really bad, we've had the same mayor for almost as long as I've been alive and he isn't doing anything about the crime, or schools. The schools are terrible, all that's on the news are how many murders we had last night. There is nothing to do in Memphis for children or adults. It's an all around stale town. I can't wait until I move and I'm 40 mins from Walt Disney World, Universal, and Sea World, and no more than an hour to the beach, while still being in a small quiet town with a fairly small population and hardly any crime. Good luck with the move, I know what an undertaking it is.

[strumpeace]

When I talk about hysteria -- The last post is a prime example.