Single, Professional, Black Male Relocatiing to Memphis (Where To Live? What To Do? Am I Making A Mistake?) (Bartlett: apartment, lofts)

[UrbanBlackProfMale]

I'm a single, professional, 30-something black male with no children and I"m college-educated. I have been reading all the post on here about Memphis and to be frank, I'm a little nervous about relocating to the area.

I like diversity or at least a place that are liberal and culturally open-minded. Some of my best friends are Black, White, Persian, Armenian, Greek, British, and Japanese. Originally from Atlanta, I've spent most of my adult life living in Hawaii and most recently in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry.

Can someone point me in the right direction (see below):

1. What are some nice areas of Memphis to live in? I'm open to paying up to $1700/month. I've noticed some nice loft developments downtown but I'm seriously considering a nice house out in Bartlett, Arlington, etc. Any advice?

2. What is the single/nightlife/dating scene like in Memphis? Not to sleep around but to seriously meet someone, settle down, and start a family.

3. How is race relations? Crime? Issues like DWB? (Driving While Black)

4. Are there any areas to avoid?

If there is anything I should know or you want to say that I didn't address here, please by all means, let it rip.

[ComputerMan]

The lofts down town are pretty nice. I have a few customers that live in some. Not bad.
I can't really comment on racism because I don't see alot of it first hand. Maybe I just try to ignore such things because it's ignorant.
I think DWB in memphis would better stand for "driving while breathing". Cops usually ignore you until they're looking for reasons to pull people over and write a tickets. Then they find the stupidest reasons. I once got a ticket for having my headlights off after 5:00 PM, no joke. Forget the fact that it was summertime and the sun doesn't go down until 8:30 or so in the summer.
There are always areas to avoid. Whitehaven, South west Memphis around Mitchell is like a forgotten wasteland where people have chain link fences in the front yard. Frayser and North Memphis isn't too great either. Hickory Hill use to be good now it's not.
Downtown, Midtown and East Memphis are your best bets if you want to stay in the Memphis city limit.
Of course Bartlet and Arlington and other suburbs aren't bad I don't think. Germantown and Collierville are where people with money live. Millington is a smaller rural suburb but is growing. Tipton county is nice but might be more of a drive to Memphis than you're looking for, and it's very rural (think rednecks). However my parents' neighborhood out in Brighton of all places has a couple of bi-racial couples so I suppose they aren't too redneck out that way.
Honestly you'll pay alot less for a house than a loft, and it will be all yours. There are new houses built on Mud Island if you don't mind having no yard and your neighbor right next to you. They look expensive however.
I'm not much of a night person, That is Beale street is very active at night, so I prefer it during the day. If you like that sort of thing then it's great. I don't do loud and crowded very well.

[UrbanBlackProfMale]

Computerman, thanks for the quick response. I've only been to Memphis once and the one time I was there, someone broke into my car and tried to steal it from the hotel. Now that you mentioned it, it was near the Hickory Hill area if memory serves me correctly.

I'll be in town next week for 4 days to check out the area so I will definitely look at the areas that you mentioned.

Thanks again!

[Pearlbob]

These questions have been covered many times before, if you want to search thru this forum. Briefly:

Living downtown and living in Arlington are night and day. I think it is best to pinpoint what you are looking for in a neighborhood. Urban concrete city with nightlife? Or residential yards with kids and families?

If you want to be near nightlife or a single's scene, the sububs is not the way to go. downtown seems a better fit. Downtown has a touristy area in Beale, but it also has a lot of areas where local residents hang out.

Memphis has a lot of race problems, and obviously the worst crime in the country (more or less). Like you've seen, there are lots of problems with petty crimes like car break-ins. Most of the bad crime (murders) stay to certain areas of town.

There are lots of areas to avoid in Memphis, and it can go from safe to unsafe in a matter of blocks in some areas. Almost impossible to explain. Midtown is great in most areas, but does have its bad parts. It's more ecclectic, gay friendly, multi cultural, etc that you seem to enjoy. Very old homes, renovated for the most part. Might want to check the area out while you are here.

[UrbanBlackProfMale]

I would be working in downtown Memphis within walking distance of Beale Street. I'm really looking for more bang for my buck in terms of housing. Searching some of the online housing sites, I noticed some beautiful homes in Collierville, Arlington, and northern MS at decent prices.

I don't have to live in the nightlife or single scene, I just want access to it when I am looking for something to do or have friends/family in town. I've been in Los Angeles around Hollywood, the parties, the award shows, etc and kind of looking forward to having a nice home to come to versus a 1000sq ft apartment.

Thanks for the advice. Please keep it coming. I want to armed with as much information as possible for my visit next weekend.

[Pearlbob]

If you can afford Collierville and don't mind living 40+ minutes away from work and downtown, and you want a big new house, that seems like the option for you. Just be aware that living out there won't provide you with as open-minded and diverse of a population that you'd find within the city of Memphis (since you mentioned race relations and things to do, dating, singles, etc).

[UrbanBlackProfMale]

Thanks. Don't mind commuting at all. Just don't have the patience to deal with ignorant, narrow-minded people. How is Arlington? I found a really, REALLY nice house out there online.

[Pearlbob]

Arlington has grown a lot within the past couple years. Still mainly residential (not much in terms of stores at all), but it's better. Not as rural as other area, but close to them. It's not as upscale as Germantown or Collierville are, but seems to be a nice family area with lots of new construction.

[Pearlbob]

Also just beware of the actual city a home is located in; some might advertise as "Arlington" but is actually a part of un-annexed land that could be taken over by Memphis (or another city) one day.

[UrbanBlackProfMale]

"Pearlbob" thanks for all the information. I am reading and re-reading these the various post on here and I'm just completely baffled. People either love Memphis or absolutely hate it. I hope my experiences next weekend are good. I'd hate to make a mistake....