Starting In Memphis (Walnut Grove: apartment, rental, townhouse)

[hankins90]

Hello,

I will be moving to Memphis in, hopefully, August. I will have two roommates who already live in Memphis. I have no idea what to expect being that I have always lived in small towns. I have been prowling the forum for several days and have found A LOT of interesting stuff for me to consider. Unfortunately I am at a stalemate on what to do now. Could anyone please look over my figuring and tell me if I have any flaws.

Townhouse : $700 (ish) p/month
Electricity : $300 p/month
Water : $150 p/month
Cable & Internet : $135 p/month
Total : $1285 p/month

That would be ~$430 each

Does this sound remotely right?

Also I am a white guy, I am a nice guy. SO, which parts should I stay away from when I look for a town house? I really appreciate any help you can give.


Thank You!

[Pearlbob]

You want to find a 3 bedroom rental for $700 total? Or am I mis-reading? For a 3 bedroom anything, I would say it would be around $1200 and up if you want to be somewhere safe. I would guess closer to $2000 if you are wanting something large like a house.

$300 for electricity is too high, although if you are renting a big house, then it might be accurate in the summer.

Water is NOT $150 a month Unless you have a pool that you are filling up every week.

Cable + internet is about what you are guessing.

[hankins90]

Well I was told a 3 bedroom town house runs about $700 per month. I was thinking places like midtown Memphis. I am only going by what I have found on the internet and what my friends in Memphis have told me.

Glad to hear water and electricity are not that high. Lol. I was basing that off my parents monthly bills. (We do have a pool. :P)

I got the cable and internet figure from the forum so I figured that would be stable.

I am moving to Memphis with my friends because I have no idea what I want to do in life and I just want to experience it a little first. So I want some excitement. Safety is IMPORTANT, but I will have Brinks wherever I go and as long as it is not murderously dangerous then I will be fine. Do you have any suggestions? Also what does an electric bill run for a 3 bedroom apartment? Water?

Thanks

[Pearlbob]

When you say townhouse in midtown, are you talking about duplexes? Like an old house that gets converted into 2, 3, or 4 units? You can probably find some low-scale 3 bedroom units in midtown for around $1000, but it wouldn't be too nice. It depends on what you are looking for in a home. If you are renting, you wouldn't be able to install an alarm or security system into the rental unless the owner agreed and let you pay for it all. In which case, might as well save the money and move somewhere safer. But $700? I'd be interested in hearing where they have seen a 3-bedroom duplex renting for $700 in a safe area.

It's hard to guess utility bills when y ou don't know the square footage. If there is central A/C or window units, gas, etc. A water bill is next to nothing. $20 a month? I don't even know, it's all included in one bill through MLGW so I admit I do not pay attention to the specifics. I would say in the summer, for anything that has at least 3 bedrooms, if you have central A/C, the utility bill altogether would be $150 or so. ?? Maybe?

[hankins90]

Is Summer Creek nice? How about Pamela Cove? East Memphis? North Holmes? (I think it is in Berclair area.) I found a house in Summer creek for $750. Pamela cove a house for $650. East memphis has a house for $795 per month.

[Pearlbob]

East Memphis could mean anything What is the closest intersection?

The other areas are pretty iffy. I would not live there or want to be hanging out around there. I'm sure you can find some okay streets, but overall that is not a great area of town.

If the prices are low - there is a reason for it. You pay for safety here in Memphis.

[JoeCartpath]

Summer Creek is Hickory Hill....I'd avoid that area. Pamela Cove is Frayser...you do NOT want to live there. North Holmes isn't really Berclair...it's closer to Binghamton....you don't want to live there. Got an address on the East Memphis house?

[Ginsaw]

Joe is right on N Holmes...definitely not in the Berclair area, which is much farther east.

You say you have two roommates in town? I'd put them to work scoping out new digs since they're already here and will have to like the new location too. Also, what part of town is your work in? You want to be somewhere reasonably close.

If you're talking east Memphis then very generally and with exceptions I'd concentrate my search south of Summer, east of Holmes and north of Southern.

[JoeCartpath]

Yeah, I work 1/2 block from N. Holmes. I don't even want to be at work after dark...I certainly wouldn't want to live here

Actually, I DID live on N. Holmes once. I rented a duplex at 82 N. Holmes - just north of Walnut Grove. $95 per month for 2 BR, 1BA with fireplace. But that was in 1971.....

[Pearlbob]

I took it to mean your friends were moving with you. If they are already here, get them to do all of this work!