Is Memphis Really that bad (Jackson, Savannah: home, rent, travel)

[mjtinmemphis]

I've lived in Memphis now for 4.5 years. To answer the question is memphis that bad? I would have to say yes.

I personally find the delta culture of the region very difficult to adjust to being from another part of the country. I am a christian but I do get tired of people asking me what church I go to or what type of christian I am. The fact of the matter is most churches in this town resemble cults and has very little to do with promoting biblical christianity.

Race is a major issue in this town because its a predominately black city and has the highest percentage of black residents amoung top 50 metros. White people tend to blame the problems of memphis on black polititians. The news media in this town has double standards when providing news. They are so quick to put a black face on corruption and not tell anything about the corruption of their white counterparts. Both blacks and whites are corrupt not just blacks!!!!!!!! Blacks tend to blame whites for jim crow instead of taking it upon themselve to educate their children and teach them how to thrive in this unique city. If pastor billy bob doesn't say it, they don't do it.

There are many other issues that I can discuss about the difficulty that transplants have in adjusting to Memphis but I am out of time.

[cordovamom]

I'm a transplant too, having grown up in Chicago and having a husband that was transfered often. I've lived in Ohio, Michigan, Colorado and San Francisco, California before being transfered here. There is a certain amount of culture shock moving from any area to another. People rave about California, but the lifestyle didn't suit us. Ohio and Michigan were both so economically depressed that presented a whole set of its own problems. Colorado I loved and would move back there in a heart beat. Memphis is not a perfect place to live but when I hear about all the crime, I wonder where it is? In Colorado and California and Michigan we were the victims of crime. In Chicago growing up, I was the victim of crime. Here in the burbs of Memphis, I leave my door unlocked at night. We've been known to accidentally leave the garage door open on occasion. The children have left bikes out. I don't even lock my car in the drive way. And in the 7 years I've lived in Cordova we haven't personally experienced any crime.

I'm not blind to the fact that there are problems with Memphis. But seriously it is no worse than other areas of the country that I've lived in. I'm sure everyone's experience will vary. I've always lived in large metro areas and don't think you could compare Memphis to small town rural life in Kansas or Iowa for example. But as far as comparing it to other cities of the same size I see little difference.

As far as the religion issue, we're in the bible belt. And we actually found that the most difficult thing to adjust to. We're Catholic and the perception of Catholics in the south still has a long way to go.

It takes a certain amount of compromise to adapt to any new place and culture and Memphis culture certainly does take some getting used to. However, through each relocation we have found that looking for the best points instead of dwelling on all the bad points of any area we've been transfered to sure helps in the adjustment process .

[Pearlbob]

I'm sorry but if you have to ask "where is the crime" here in Memphis because you don't see/hear about it, than you are very blind. I cannot comprehend someone acting like they are oblivious to what goes on in this city. It does not help this city when suburban people act like there is nothing wrong, their neighborhood is fine, thus there is no problem. I would never leave my house door unlocked at night. Anywhere, let alone here. There is way more crime per capita here than in the areas mentioned above (other than maybe Detroit in Michigan, or Cinncinnati in Ohio).

To compare Memphis to San Fran? To anywhere in Colorado? And say you can't see the difference in the total amount of crime between those areas???

Most Memphis city politicians ARE black. And the Ford family is black, which seems to be the root of most political crime in this city. Which is probably why you think white people/the news seems to single black politicians out.

I agree that Memphis is the bible belt and that it is very hard for a non-religous-christian to ever fit in here. I've lived many other places, and was never bombarded with the "So what church do you attend?" and "You're a christian, right?" questions like I am here. It's very sad that people are still so uncompromising and unwelcome to other schools of thought.

[crystalblue]

if the family is known to be criminal, why doesnt some DA go after them?

[Pearlbob]

The Ford family "runs" Memphis....they have been prosecuted over and over for crimes, including right now; one of them failed to pay the utility bills on their home and business, the utility company CEO was aware of this and didn't make him pay (again...the Fords 'own' Memphis), and a news station finally broke the story and now Ford is having pay thousands of dollars of unpaid utility bills. I heard on the radio that he went at 11am to one of the offices down SE and paid "some of the bills" but not all of them.

[Pearlbob]

And I must now add, the Shelby Co mayor's 34 yr old son (we have 2 mayors here, city and county) was just arrested for meeting a 13 year old girl online and sleeping with her.

Of course, the son of the mayor is not a politician himself, but again...just more legal issues surrounding the political families here.

[mjtinmemphis]

My issues with Memphis is mostly based on personal issues that I deal with on a daily basis.

I personally don't like the Fords or Mayor Harrington. However, those are the leaders that Memphians want leading their city and they get what they get. I personally don't think that we would have heard anything about the MLGW scandal if it wasn't for the people involved being black. This happens in every city you have elected officialls that are black. Not just Memphis. There is no way I can say that there isn't a double standard because there is. We all know that white people in general are just as crooked as blacks. It never hits the news until it has to. Look at the Bellevue Church scandal.

Many of the quality of life issues in this city are not linked to any politician. Look at the crime rate for the Metro area. You can't blame that on the Fords. Look at the foreclosure rate in Shelby county. There are over 10000 listings. Compare to other counties of similar size like Davidson Co. Tn 1700 or St. Louis Co. Mo. 4000. You can’t blame that on the Fords or Herrington. It falls back on the individual Memphian. Both black and white. Last I heard there were over 500 sex offenders registered in Shelby County. It has nothing to do with black or white nor does it have anything to do with elected officials. Why is Memphis considered as the Bankrupts capitol of America. Because of Memphians! Not the Fords. Why is it that 27% of blacks in Shelby Co live in poverty compared to 24% of blacks in Davidson Co Tn. or 20% of blacks in St. Louis Co Mo. Something is wrong with Memphians not the politicians.

The reason I chose the St Louis/Davidson Co comparison is because those are comparable in size to Shelby being within 300 mi radius. St. Louis having approximately 1000000 Davidson 500000 Shelby having 900000.
This is not meant to be a city vs city debate. The purpose of the post is to expose the way of thinking most memphians have of their city and to show the true cause of Memphis not reaching its potential.

[mzloolue]

Dear folk transplanted to Memphis,

You seem concerned that you don't understand Memphis and it seems like you may wish that Memphis was someplace else...

Well, the fact is that Memphis is not someplace else...it is what it is and you may have to be here for a long time before developing an inate understanding of how Memphis functions. Some people get it; others never do.

So relax..go with the flow...put an alarm on your car and a monitored alarm on your house...for your own peace of mind if nothing else.

There is crime here because there is poverty and unemployment. You may have your car stolen or your house burgled.
We have; it happens.
If young men don't have jobs they will create their own and they may be coming to your house while you aren't there to help you get rid of some of your clutter.

Most murders are done by someone the victim knows, so if no one that you know wants to kill you and you are not in a gang or in the illegal drug business, then you are pretty safe.

Most Memphians are nice, friendly, hard working people.

It's Spring y'all...Get a glass of tea, go sit outside, listen to the birds sing, plant something and just relax for a while.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by mzloolue

Dear folk transplanted to Memphis,

You seem concerned that you don't understand Memphis and it seems like you may wish that Memphis was someplace else...

Well, the fact is that Memphis is not someplace else...it is what it is and you may have to be here for a long time before developing an inate understanding of how Memphis functions. Some people get it; others never do.

So relax..go with the flow...put an alarm on your car and a monitored alarm on your house...for your own peace of mind if nothing else.

There is crime here because there is poverty and unemployment. You may have your car stolen or your house burgled.
We have; it happens.
If young men don't have jobs they will create their own and they may be coming to your house while you aren't there to help you get rid of some of your clutter.

Most murders are done by someone the victim knows, so if no one that you know wants to kill you and you are not in a gang or in the illegal drug business, then you are pretty safe.

Most Memphians are nice, friendly, hard working people.

It's Spring y'all...Get a glass of tea, go sit outside, listen to the birds sing, plant something and just relax for a while.

That's a good post. And I agree. I loved my time in Memphis and would love to move back if given the opportunity. I don't think there's a more beautiful neighborhood in the state than Central Gardens. Maybe Chickasaw Gardens. Or Evergreen.

However, unemployment and poverty don't necessarily mean there has to be a lot of crime. There are several places in Tennessee with higher unemployment and more poverty than Memphis but have very little crime.

And having a home alarm system is no guarantee that your home won't be burgled, either; mine was broken into four times--three of those times were AFTER I had an alarm system installed.

But I agree with previous posts that, while the Fords are a corrupt and pitiful family, they are not the reason why there's so much crime in Memphis. AJ Wharton's son is apparently a no-good louse, too, but he lives in Knoxville. And I think King Willie has actually been a pretty decent mayor. Memphis has a history of crooked politicians; the Crump family was certainly no better, and they're white.

I think generations upon generations of welfare families who have the attitude that the rest of the world owes them something is a huge reason why there's so much crime in Memphis. The cops who came to my home explained this to me (and the cops were black). They said that these punk kids, products of single-parent homes and welfare, think the world owes them something, and they have no problem breaking into someone's home to get it. It's not because they're unemployed or bored.

[Pearlbob]

Very true. I was bored a lot as a kid, but I didn't break into homes! It's just about education, about family structure, role models, etc. When kids have bad parents, missing parents, thug peers at school, text books from 1985, neighbors on welfare, etc...why bother trying to better yourself when it seems like there is absolutely no hope? If you don't know a single person who "made it" in life, then you probably don't even believe that you can possibly "make it" yourself.

I agree with the above post...people act like they are owed something. Like it's other people's faults that they dropped out of school in 10th grade, had 6 kids, and are on welfare and live in govt owned housing. If the rest of us can make something of ourselves, so can they. Maybe it's harder for them, but still, anyone can succeed in life if they try. People just don't want to try. It's easier to whine and complain, live of the govt, steal from others, than actually work hard and try to be successful.