Moving To Memphis Area? (Bartlett, Germantown: renting, crime, daycares) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

brownie25 · 03-06-2007, 03:08 PM

Hi everyone i am a 25 y/o single mother looking to relocate to the memphis area around oct time frame i am really hesitant about this b/c of the alot of the negative things i've read on here. I would like some suggestions on the surrounding suburbs,cost of living,etc. I welcome all responses good or bad PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pearlbob · 03-06-2007, 03:29 PM

If you are hesitant about moving here, why do it? Any particular reason? There are other cities near here that are nicer, like Nashville.

That being said, how old is your child? School age? Will you be buying a home or renting?

If you buy a home, you must send your child to school in that district unless you pay out the *** to send him to private school. If you rent, it would be easier to move around and find something in that school district.

The best public school district burbs are Germantown, Bartlett, and Collierville. Cville is really far out east of Memphis though. There are also burbs in MS, however I don't know anything about them other than they are too far away for me to want to ever drive down there for anything.

The city has a ton of really good neighborhoods, but housing is pretty expensive in town as you are paying for safety and not really the type of house it is. Downtown is the new "hip" area of the city to live in, but it's not really the best if you have a child. Mud Island is a family friendly community downtown, but I imagine most those parents send their kids to private school.

Overall, cost of living is really low here. You can buy a nice big house in the burbs for really cheap compared to other cities the same size. However, keep in mind if you live within city limits, which includes several 'suburbs', you pay both city and county property taxes which add up.

To be honest, for me personally, I would not want to raise kids here. I wouldn't want my kids to think this is typical America, this is all the country has to offer. I don't want them thinking that daily murders are the norm in this country and that car jackings and break ins are a typical thing everywhere.

Daycares here are horendous. Seriously, there have been waaay too many children killed in daycares recently, by workers leaving them in cars in the 100 degree heat. Workers who are hired despite past drug arrests and such. Granted, I imagine most of these occur in bad areas of town at bad daycares, but still...you have to be careful if you have a young child. I think as a single mother moving here alone, with no one else that you know here, it would be really hard at first. But, if you already know people here, it would be like moving anywhere else....you'd have people to show you the ropes.

brownie25 · 03-06-2007, 04:01 PM

Thank you for responding i'm getting out of the military in oct i'm stationed in california and it's way too congested here. I'm originally from arkansas but i really don't know much about memphis area, as far as housing situation looking to start off renting and when i get more established eventually will look into buying a home but only if i decide to live there for good. My son is only 7 months old and mom is going to help with that so no need for daycares or school but much appreciated. The main reason i'm going to move back down south is b/c it's closer to home that's why i chose memphis it's close enough and far enough from home

brownie25 · 03-06-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNRunner

Run away from Memphis! Most people who relocate here are unhappy.

I would go for Nashville. Governemnt,School, Job wise is better all around. They have some booming suburbs around Nashville as well.

If I were a single parent and I had to work in Memphis I would look at Germantown, Collierville, Arlington for county schools and or private. Germantown and Collierville police don't want people to know but crime has picked up a lot the last 2 years, coming from Memphis.

There is some new affordable housing in Oakland,Tn (Fayette County). Schools are awful in Fayette County. You would want to do private. 25-30 minutes from the outer tip of Memphis (Wolfchase area). Nothing out in Oakland yet, Wal-Mart is Coming, but new housing is very affordable and safe. There is a huge redneck factor in Oakland.

nashville was one of my choices but the only problem is it's to far away so i chose memphis it's about 1 hour or greater from where my fam is and i wanted to be closer to them i've heard alot about germantown,collerville sounds pretty interesting i just don't want to end up in a place with very close-minded people who just stareat you with hate in their eyes all b/c of the color of your skin

TNRunner · 03-06-2007, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownie25

nashville was one of my choices but the only problem is it's to far away so i chose memphis it's about 1 hour or greater from where my fam is and i wanted to be closer to them i've heard alot about germantown,collerville sounds pretty interesting i just don't want to end up in a place with very close-minded people who just stareat you with hate in their eyes all b/c of the color of your skin

With Fedex, International Paper, Servicemaster, and others Memphis is a melting pot.

redneck is a bad term for Oakland

. It's very agricultural at the moment. Lots of Fed Ex peeps and people escaping from Memphis crime/politics are moving to Oakland, Fayette County, and parts of MS as well.

brownie25 · 03-06-2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNRunner

With Fedex, International Paper, Servicemaster, and others Memphis is a melting pot.

redneck is a bad term for Oakland

. It's very agricultural at the moment. Lots of Fed Ex peeps and people escaping from Memphis crime/politics are moving to Oakland, Fayette County, and parts of MS as well.

what about the millington area?

TNRunner · 03-06-2007, 05:02 PM

Millington is nice. Not sure about schools.

odrobot · 03-06-2007, 06:26 PM

Memphis has the good and bad. There are a lot of options in Memphis. Cordova is a good area because of the convenience, access to the interstate system, strong school system, diversity of housing stock, and cost of housing. There are also newer areas also including Arlington, Lakeland, and Collierville that are more expensive. There are some older communities that include Bartlett and Germantown.

odrobot · 03-06-2007, 06:29 PM

There is a wide range of neighborhoods in Memphis and the surrounding suburbs. Cordova is a popular choice because of the convenience to shopping, restaurants, and other amenities. It also has strong schools, a diversity of housing options, and active churches and community groups. There are also more expensive areas that include Bartlett, Arlington, Lakeland, Germantown, and Collierville.

Pearlbob · 03-06-2007, 07:06 PM

Actually most of Cordova has been annexed by Memphis city, so those schools are part of the Memphis Public School system, thus went downhill quickly. I think eventually all of "Cordova" will be annexed into Memphis. If you want public schools, stay in a burb that will never be annexed like Bartlett, Germantown, or Collierville.

I really don't know about the 'close-mindedness' of the burbs, but basically most of Germantown can be generlized as rich white folk driving around in Benz's. Obviously that's not everyone, but you can clearly see a distinction in people and races when going somewhere in Gtown vs Memphis.