what do you think about this speciific area Bartlett (Memphis: apartment complex, leasing agent)

[chiwese]

Hi guys,
my husband and I are moving to Memphis in 3 weeks! We have been to visit Memphis to pick places to live a number of times.
We want to rent and applied at a place close to Bartlett.
It called Birches of Countryside close off of Reese Road close to the intersection with Whitten Road.
We are still a bit anxious about crime in this area as we have 1 young child.
Could someone please reply with what they think about that neighborhood and/or apartment complex....how safe is it....how have you enjoyed/not enjoyed living there?
I will be working downtown so we thought this is close enough to downtown and looked safe enough....but we are not sure.
thanks

[JoeCartpath]

I don't know about those apartments specifically, but that's a safe area. My son lives just south of there...and has for a number of years. FWIW, it's in the Bartlett area - but not actually in the Bartlett city limits. I believe it's in the City of Memphis....but it could still be in the county - I'm can't remember....

[Cruffler03]

I have lived in Bartlett for the past 9 years and, due to a job territory change, am moving to Greenville, SC in the next couple of months. When I moved here, I asked several of my cop friends where would be a good spot around Memphis to move. Their answers: Bartlett and Lakeland. We chose Bartlett becuase of the proximity to good private schools in the area.

I would not be overly concerned about crime in this area. Bartlett has a very strong police force and they have been aggressively moving to hold off the crime that is so prevalent in Raleigh (to the west) and in Memphis city proper (to the south). Still, there are a number of 'quick-change' scam artists working the businesses along Stage Road and be prepared to lock up your valuables in the trunk of your car when walking in parks or shopping. There are a number of 'smash-n-grab' car break-ins in the area, especially around the holidays.

In the last year, Bartlett put another police sub-station on the border of Raleigh and Bartlett along Stage Road. There are a LOT of current and retired Memphis PD and Sheriff's officers living around here. It is said that the response time for Bartlett PD is measured in scant minutes, not quarters of hours.

You can believe it too --- just don't speed in the city limits. They constantly radar along Bartlett Boulevard, Stage Road and a number of other high-traffic commuter streets and side streets. They LOVE to ticket....

Bartlett upsides: incorporated city, so no annexation into Memphis proper; not in Memphis, so no city taxes, no annual automobile testing, and close to Shelby Farms for walking/biking trails.

Bartlett downsides: It's not Collierville or Germantown, so some people will be snobs and try to be act more superior....

It's a good place to live and raise a family, enjoy it!

[strumpeace]

The Birches of Countryside is not in Bartlett. It is in Memphis, and your children would go to Memphis City Schools.

Let me relate my one--and only--story regarding this complex. About two years ago when I was looking for a new apartment, I visited the Birches. The leasing agent walked us through the complex and showed us an apartment. It was nice enough. So on the walk back to the office, I asked "So how's the crime rate in this area?" The woman literally turned red, ended eye contact with me, and told me "I'm not authorized to talk about that. You'll have to call the Memphis PD for a crime report if you want to know about that." I pushed the issue a little by asking if there had been any violent crimes in the complex recently. She refused to answer again, and was bothered enough by my questions that she hurried me out the door.

Odd, odd experience. Based on that experience, I would never rent there in a million years. It might be a perfectly fine place, and it may well be the policy to not discuss crime, but the whole incident came off as awkward and told me to get as far away as I could.

I kept my Midtown apartment.

Best wishes.

[Pearlbob]

If you have a child who would be attending school, and this is Memphis City, then avoid it.

[chiwese]

THanks for all the replies so far.... Our child will be under a year and we probably would have moved by the time its time for her to go to school so school will not be an issue.

[phyremuse]

Back in the late 90s I lived in the Birches for about 5 years. It was lovely then. It has changed and continues to change and I wouldn't move back there. I currently live just east of there in a house and am working toward moving. There are sad trends in Memphis and this neighborhood is sliding. I'd look north and East of there.