What's good about living in Memphis? (school, gated, wage)

[Johnny Ryall]

The party never stops in Memphis, the birthplace of cool. Those who disrespect us, secretly want to be us.

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by kingchef

(loads of irrelevant stuff deleted)

actually, memphis may get the last laugh, now that knoxville has gotten quite a good deal of national air time on court tv for no less than 4 televised murder trials. nashville, too, has gotten "soiled"
i think of that old country song, "who's sorry now".

Jesus rotting Christ, was there supposed to be a point embedded in there somewhere? Sure, other cities have isolated problems, but that does not diminish the fact that Memphis is a total train wreck, the result of corrupt government and racism since Dick Hackett was mayor. The list is almost endless, from catered in gourmet banquets on the school budget's dime to paying for 21 flat tires on one cop car at the same location. Memphis is a total loss, and anyone who cannot see that is just in denial.

[SJC2010]

Originally Posted by Cosmicstargoat

Jesus rotting Christ, was there supposed to be a point embedded in there somewhere? Sure, other cities have isolated problems, but that does not diminish the fact that Memphis is a total train wreck, the result of corrupt government and racism since Dick Hackett was mayor. The list is almost endless, from catered in gourmet banquets on the school budget's dime to paying for 21 flat tires on one cop car at the same location. Memphis is a total loss, and anyone who cannot see that is just in denial.

If you hate it so much, then why don't you move somewhere else?

[Memphis10AC]

Really the only GOOD thing about living in Memphis is the low cost of living. Ironically, that's also the very same thing that keeps a lot of people who really want to leave stuck here. For instance, a young I dated last year is a teacher for Memphis City Schools. She really wants to leave Memphis and was considering moving to Nashville. However, she found out that even in Nashville the cost of living is a little higher but the teachers actually get paid LESS than they do in Memphis. So she eneded up staying here being miserable.

[cheapsk8]

Originally Posted by SJC2010

If you hate it so much, then why don't you move somewhere else?

Thats easier said than done in some cases. some stay because of job / work obligations.. In my case I'm keeping my kids in the same school until they get out of high school. In my fantasy my daughters graduate school and then we move to our house in the tampa area and I transfer with my company then. I'll then post on this forum and look back fondly on my times in Memphis and know that the move I just made was in my and my familys best interest

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by SJC2010

If you hate it so much, then why don't you move somewhere else?

What makes you think I live in Memphis? I haven't for 30 years. One does not have to live in a pig's sty to know that it's dirty. You're not very sharp, are you?

[BradfromNO]

Originally Posted by sb-gal

I've read all that there is wrong about Memphis tell me what's right about it.
Sell me on living there (please).

Thanks!

Yes, but obviously not enough times, lol. OK, I did not read the whole thread, but I
will tell you that for one, you are doing the right thing in terms of money. You can expect all of your
utilities to be roughly half of what you pay now just for electricity, at least in my estimation. Sure,
you modern kids with your cellular devices and your "cable" TV, you might spend more, but for my
rabbit-eared self, I pay about 90 bucks a month in the SUMMER. And as I said, that is for everything,
because forward-thinking Memphis has combined it all into one bill. They have not figured out how
to do it without corruption, but it IS consolidated. You'll be arriving just as our crook mayor is out
of office, so you should see an improvement there. There is no ridiiculously entrenched green
beauracracy (sp) here, like in CA, where your endless quest to be without pollution has made
doing anything nearly impossible, and we steal our water here, too. Say goodbye to the california
girl, in Memphis we have the (shudder) midsouth bod. A deadly combination of bon-bons,
Krispy Kreme, BBQ and lard that has turned all but the most brutally regimented ladies into
giant sacks of flubber. And many of the men, too.
But that's more a Mississippi thing, although Memphis is more or less Miss.
to begin with, so there you go. Short intense summers, mild winters with occasional snow,
conveniently falling on Friday afternoons so you don't have to be killed by the motorized
version of complete illiterates. You spend a few days indoors, off the icy roads, play in
the snow for a day and by Monday, there is not a speck of white to be found.
I am leaving as soon as possible, but there are a few things I will miss.

[BradfromNO]

Originally Posted by thenuegeye

Please don't knock law enforcement. The morale is just low from fighting a losing battle every day.

This is a comment that you certainly have a right to post, but it is only a half truth. No, it's all true, but people will knock the MPD for any number of reasons. There is a statewide campaign against using 911 for non-emergencies, but when you try to report a crinme or incident or suspicious person, you get a recording. If you get a person on the phone, they tell you that you called the wrong number, If you call THAT number you get a recording. Then if you get a person they send you on the same merry-go-round. Perhaps it is budgetary, perhaps it is sheer entrenched laziness in dispatch, but oh no, there is plenty to complain about in law enforcement. Platoon style speed traps that purport to be about area complaints, but are actually set up because of the prime location for the platoon system. And by this I mean a good area for speeders, a good surveillance point, and a good off-street corral to dump em into by the dozen. Don't get me started on lax traffic enforcement. There is no bottom up plan. If you take people who run through intersections LONG after the arrow is gone, which occurs many hundreds of times per minute in this city, you might find a fair amount of criminals riding around breaking that law and carrying drugs and weapons and take em off the streets before they commit serious crimes. But I got off track seriously.
There is, however plenty of fair complaint over law enforcement. But good on-street patrol presence for the most part.

[Johnny Ryall]

Originally Posted by Cosmicstargoat

Memphis is a total loss, and anyone who cannot see that is just in denial.

Crime & corruption are not just Memphis problems, they are Tennessee problems. "Total loss"? Don't be too over dramatic and discredit yourself, because no one beleives that. A slow growth metro that was ranked 9th in the nation for corporate expansion is no loss to reasonable people.

[Tigertate]

I see the Memphis haters revised this thread. I wonder if Memphis is really as bad as you all claim or if you would find misery no matter what city you lived in. I am thinking the latter. Memphis has its problems that are well documented, but you can have a good quality of life in this area (and that goes for City proper and suburbs). Its all about what you make it. If you have a good job and live in a nice part of town or the burbs, life is not horrible here. Now if you have a low paying job and live in a bad part of the city what do you expect? You would have the same issues in any city in America. Every major city has its issues and the poorer you are the more you are affected by those issues. Don’t blame Memphis for your problems. Memphis is great because if you make 50K a year you can live in an area that can get you away from most of the issues in this community. 50K goes a lot farther here than most major cities which is a big plus. There is crime here, no doubt, but there is crime in every major city. The same can be said about poor public schools, blight, and government corruption. Memphis does not have the market cornered on those issues. The problems always seem worse when you actually live here because the media in this town loves to sensationalize everything. Anyway, that is all I have to say.