Midtown Memphis-Family friendly? (Cleveland, Central, Linden: loft, new home, neighborhood)

[strumpeace]

I wouldn't worry about, either. I do think some of the houses in Cooper Young, particularly those on the east and south sides of CY (near East Parkway and Lamar) are vulnerable to property crime. CY does, however, have a strong neighborhood watch, if I've heard correctly.

[Pearlbob]

Oh definitely, CY is a whole other ballgame. That definitely backs up to some shady areas. They definitely have more crime down there. It's hard to believe, I know, but really one or two blocks can make all the difference in Memphis. It's hard to understand for people who don't live in the city.

[szeyamo]

Originally Posted by mjpinto

My question is: Is midtown suitable for a family with young children? We have an infant and a 2 1/2 year old. My husband will be away a lot for work and am wondering if its ridiculous for me to look in midtown for safety reasons.

I've lived in midtown for 11 years, the last 6 years have been in the Evergreen Historic District. I have a 5 year old and 2 year old twins. It is not ridiculous to consider living in midtown. I wouldn't want to live in any other part of Memphis. We love our neighborhood and have MANY friends with children around these parts. I take my children to the local parks regularly (East Parkway, Peabody, Overton, Williamson) and walk/ride bikes with them around the neighborhood every day. We play in Trinity's playground where we have met many "locals" with children. The Memphis Zoo and Children's Museum are favorite haunts of ours and they are minutes away. Recently my son has started playing team sports through the Evergreen Church --- and we're meeting friends in the neighborhood through that. Though I can't say I haven't heard of bad things happening: a friend of mine said she has stopped going to Peabody Park since having her car broken into last year. Once at East Parkway, I am pretty sure I parked near a drug dealer (lots of single people walking up, exchange of hands, and quick departure). Our neighbor claims to have had something stolen from his shed ... nothing has happened to me personally though. We have an alarm system in our home and since we have lived here, we have not experienced crime.

The school situation is not great though. The public school your children would attend is Snowden and I have numerous friends who are sending their children there (making a conscious effort to support the neighborhood school and avoid private). If you don't feel comfortable with public, there are private schools within a reasonable distance that you could send them to: Grace St. Luke's, Immaculate Conception, Maria Montessori, etc. Given the reasonable cost of housing, this will probably be a doable option for you.

I guess a lot has to do with your background and where you've lived. I come from a big city and I love midtown Memphis for what it has to offer my family.

Hope this helps.

[mjpinto]

Wow - thank you so much for all of your input. It is truly invaluable.

I am leaning more toward buying in th city. I was at my parent's house last week (in the city limits of Philadelphia) with my children. THere was a block party going on. Kids everyewhere. It was such a great atmosphere. The kind I haven't found living in the suburbs. It made me miss city living.

My husband has been checking out Cooper-Young but said (just like everyone has mentioned) that there is a great street - then a not so great street right next to it.

Can you tell me the zone/streets that are contained within the Evergreen Historic District?

Any opinions on Mud Island?

Thanks!

[Pearlbob]

Central Gardens just had our annual 4th of July festival and children's parade. We have things like this several times a year, including a pretty lucrative historic home show once a year.

You can go to centralgardens.org (i think is the site) to see a map of CG. Basically it is south of Union. East of Cleveland. West of McLean. North of Central.

As for Evergreen.....not sure. North of Poplar? East of Cleveland. West of McLean probably. South of....?


As for Mud Island. It's sort of the new, yuppie area for young families to live. Big termite problem in the homes though. Tiny zero-lot-line homes with no yards. It's cute, but you couldn't really raise a family there if you want them to have a yard to play in, or have a big dog. There are huge million dollar homes that have bigger lots of course, but the majority of the homes are geared towards younger couples who don't have kids, or maybe have a small child. It is a very safe area though, and cuter than the typical suburbs (the homes are all brand new and thus cookie-cutter-ish but look better than those type of homes in the burbs, I think. A little more character.

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Central Gardens just had our annual 4th of July festival and children's parade. We have things like this several times a year, including a pretty lucrative historic home show once a year.

You can go to centralgardens.org (i think is the site) to see a map of CG. Basically it is south of Union. East of Cleveland. West of McLean. North of Central.

As for Evergreen.....not sure. North of Poplar? East of Cleveland. West of McLean probably. South of....?


As for Mud Island. It's sort of the new, yuppie area for young families to live. Big termite problem in the homes though. Tiny zero-lot-line homes with no yards. It's cute, but you couldn't really raise a family there if you want them to have a yard to play in, or have a big dog. There are huge million dollar homes that have bigger lots of course, but the majority of the homes are geared towards younger couples who don't have kids, or maybe have a small child. It is a very safe area though, and cuter than the typical suburbs (the homes are all brand new and thus cookie-cutter-ish but look better than those type of homes in the burbs, I think. A little more character.

You don't need a big lot in Mud Island because there is a huge amount of park space all around you.

[strumpeace]

Evergreen district = 38112, which is the zip code for most of midtown.

[Pearlbob]

38104 is all midtown. That's the real midtown

[defiepilex]

38112 also bleeds into Binghampton around the Tillman area.

[mjpinto]

Ok - I found two houses that I am going to look at - one on Central (near S Barksdale) and one on South McLean just south of Union.

Are these areas considered Central Gardens? Are these "shady" areas?