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Old 06-30-2009, 08:37 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach
522 posts, read 1,850,965 times
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My husbands job is transfering us to Memphis this November. He'll be working at Millington (Naval Base). We've found this forum about a couple months ago and been doing a lot of research since, mostly by reading everyones post about Memphis. I must admit that I am afraid a little bit....ok! ALOT!!! We have a 2 year old daughter and know that it's not an ideal place to raise a family. We know that the best place would probably be Germantown and Colliervile but would not be in my husband best interest because of the long commute, so we've been looking at lakeland, Arlington and most of the Tipton county.

Just recently discovered Oakland! what attracted me about Oakland is the money that you can get for a house. We have a 180K-230K limit and I'm sure that we can buy a descent house with that.

NOW HERE ARE MY CONCERNS:
  • how come there are sooo many houses in Oakland for sale? is it due to the overbuilding from the builders or is everyone trying to get out of there?(like Cordova)
  • how are the schools in the Fayette county area?
  • Is Oakland it's own city?
  • (and please be honest with this question) what are the chances of Oakland getting annexed by Memphis down the road?
Oh and I heard that there are some areas in Arlington that is in future annexation of Memphis. Is it true? cause Arlington is another place we like. thanks everyone any input will be appreciated.
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Old 06-30-2009, 08:54 PM
 
1,292 posts, read 4,981,692 times
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Anything in the Arlington city limits isn't subject to annexation by Memphis. Lots of places list the address as Arlington or Lakeland, but they're just in that area....not within the city limits.

Personally, I prefer Arlington over Oakland....and you can find homes in Arlington within your price range as well. I looked Oakland over a few months back, but I wasn't impressed by most of the neighborhoods. Arlington also has a great, almost new school - and Arlington is a very quick and easy commute to the base.

I'm not real crazy about Tipton county either, but lots of people seem to like it.

Lots of houses for sale everywhere now just because of the economy. That just makes it a buyer's market....so that's in your favor.
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Old 06-30-2009, 10:08 PM
 
340 posts, read 1,309,990 times
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I'd pick Arlington/Lakeland over Oakland. This is mainly due to the long commute and bad public schools in Fayette County (Oakland). If you stay north of Highway 64, you'll be in Arlington or Lakeland's annexation reserve. See this map for city limits and annexation reserve areas:

http://www.cityofbartlett.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=44

Oakland is safe and nice and is it's own city. There is no chance Memphis can annex the city of Oakland, but there is nothing stopping Memphis form annexing unincorporated areas of Fayette County (although it is unlikely). Oakland overbuilt in the last couple of years, and that's why there is so much for sale.

If I were working in Millington and looking to avoid Shelby County, I'd move to Munford or Atoka (Tipton County). If Shelby County is an option, I'd look at Bartlett/Lakeland/Arlington. Fayette County and Oakland would be my last choice.
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Old 07-01-2009, 07:22 AM
 
1,703 posts, read 6,295,460 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UofMGrad92 View Post
There is no chance Memphis can annex the city of Oakland, but there is nothing stopping Memphis form annexing unincorporated areas of Fayette County (although it is unlikely).
Yes, there is. It's called Public Chapter 1101, which delineates urban growth boundaries for each municipality in Tennessee. The City of Memphis is bound by its growth boundary (meaning its 'reserve'), which does not extend beyond Shelby County.
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Old 07-01-2009, 08:52 AM
 
340 posts, read 1,309,990 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by strumpeace View Post
Yes, there is. It's called Public Chapter 1101, which delineates urban growth boundaries for each municipality in Tennessee. The City of Memphis is bound by its growth boundary (meaning its 'reserve'), which does not extend beyond Shelby County.
Thanks for the info, strum, I didn't know that. I should have done a bit of research before posting, but I relied on my memory of the "toy town" movement in the 90's. My recollection was that the move was started to allow areas in western Fayette County to incorporate easier to stop the threat of annexation by Memphis. I remember thinking at the time how that could be possible. Even if it was then, it isn't now.
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Old 07-01-2009, 10:36 AM
 
1,703 posts, read 6,295,460 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UofMGrad92 View Post
Thanks for the info, strum, I didn't know that. I should have done a bit of research before posting, but I relied on my memory of the "toy town" movement in the 90's. My recollection was that the move was started to allow areas in western Fayette County to incorporate easier to stop the threat of annexation by Memphis. I remember thinking at the time how that could be possible. Even if it was then, it isn't now.
No problem.

Here's the history of 1101 for anyone interested...

Chapter 1101 was a response to that exact 'toy town' or 'tiny town' movement that UofM mentioned. Under 1101, the State required each county (except Davidson and Moore counties, which have consolidated governments) to submit growth plans. Basically, what that meant was that each municipality worked together and with their respective county governments to carve up each county. In Shelby County, the entire county (except a natural preserve) is divided among the seven municipalities. Each municipality has a 'reserve' area and cannot grow outside the boundaries of its 'reserve'. Memphis' reserve, of course, is huge, and on the east stretches all the way to the Fayette County line. Since Shelby County is now carved up among the existing municipalities, no new municipalities can spring up. There's nowhere for them to go. And that was the whole intent of 1101.

Shelby County's urban growth plan with boundaries is available on the Planning and Development Division's website.

So as a funny and unintended side effect -- TN passed 1101 to keep the mayors happy. Simple politics. But what ended up happening was that TN became only the 2nd or 3rd state to do this sort of thing, and it is now recognized throughout the nation as a very progressive urban planning measure (called Smart Growth). Who would have thought that TN would be a leader in progressive urban planning? Totally unintentional, though.
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Old 07-01-2009, 09:36 PM
 
340 posts, read 1,309,990 times
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That whole thing was something to watch. I would agree that in the end (and purely by accident), the state came up with a pretty good way to deal with annexation. The only down side is that areas in the Memphis annexation reserve have suffered because no one was willing to move to those areas if they didn't want to end up in Memphis. It also slowed down the voracious appetite for annexation Memphis had for years by requiring that the annexing city provide services in a much more timely manner. That's why the Soutwind and some Cordova annexation has been on hold for years. No money to provide the services to the current city residents much less in big, newly annexed areas.
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Old 07-03-2009, 04:59 PM
 
79 posts, read 280,595 times
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Thanks for the info, strum, I didn't know that. I should have done a bit of research before posting, but I relied on my memory of the "toy town" movement in the 90's. My recollection was that the move was started to allow areas in western Fayette County to incorporate easier to stop the threat of annexation by Memphis. I remember thinking at the time how that could be possible. Even if it was then, it isn't now.>>

It is my understanding that the "tiny town" movement was spearheaded by Hickory Wythe so they
would not be annexed by Oakland. However, I do not hold myself out as an expert in this area.
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Old 07-03-2009, 09:34 PM
 
340 posts, read 1,309,990 times
Reputation: 161
Quote:
Originally Posted by memphis2 View Post
Thanks for the info, strum, I didn't know that. I should have done a bit of research before posting, but I relied on my memory of the "toy town" movement in the 90's. My recollection was that the move was started to allow areas in western Fayette County to incorporate easier to stop the threat of annexation by Memphis. I remember thinking at the time how that could be possible. Even if it was then, it isn't now.>>

It is my understanding that the "tiny town" movement was spearheaded by Hickory Wythe so they
would not be annexed by Oakland. However, I do not hold myself out as an expert in this area.
Now that you mention it, I recall that is what happened. In my dotage, I'm going to have to quit relying on my memory for posts. I just didn't expect my dotage to arrive so soon.
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Old 07-04-2009, 03:48 PM
 
94 posts, read 373,347 times
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I live in Oakland and I do like it. I would not send my child to school here past elementary school though. The elementary schools are "ok" but beyond that is risky. There is a good private school though on the way to Somerville which is Fayette Academy. What attracted us to Oakland was the price for the houses. There seems to be a LOT of overbuilding. They were building when we came to visit last August and the homes just never got sold. I love our tax rate and we can get pretty much what we need in town. Of course the mall and target, etc. etc. are only 15 miles away. We moved here with 2 kids knowing about the schools. We couldn't really afford Arlington/Lakeland. However, if we could have, we probably would have ended up there and been able to keep our daughter in a public school (both of our kids have special needs) My husband works in Arlington, so his commute would have been sweet. I really do think Oakland is great for families, but if you're concerned about long term for schools, then it's probably not the best choice. I'm hoping to open my own school one of these days...and your kids are young, so who knows, maybe it'll be open by then. (it will be a private school though, lol) Good luck in your search, if you need a great realtor in Oakland, I can point you to one!
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