Moving to Memphis/ University of Memphis (Bartlett, Millington: hardwood floors, apartments, lease)

[Pearlbob]

Give me some time to look those specific addresses up. But anything south of UM is dangerous. Anything. there's no getting aorund that. You will be VERY hard pressed to find a house for anywhere near $100k in a safe area of Memphis. For that price, you'd need to go out to the surburbs and get a town home maybe.

UM has expensive homes to the west, north, and east. but south is VERY bad. There is literally a railroad track that goes through campus, and like the cliche, the other side of the tracks is very bad.

[Pearlbob]

Okay, the Barron address is bad. In the Kimball and Lamar area for anyone who knows. I wouldn't want to drive in that area late at night.

[Pearlbob]

The Stuart address is also probably not good. Be advised that on maps there are 2 UM campuses that pop up. The campus is on Central. The one that is shown further south...I really have no clue what that is. I went to UM for grad school, and I never knew anything about that southern campus. The one on Central is safe and where everything is.

[Pearlbob]

Buntyn is again, south of the tracks.

Carnes is south. If you get a house RIGHT by Highland Ave intersection, it's a little bit less scary because Highland is such a main road. But I would never live there.

Same with Carrington.

I really urge you to look NORTH of UM. Or, at the very least, directly west of it. Those houses would be a little cheaper but still in a relatively safe area. UM itself has some crime, people being attacked at night in the parking lots, since the area is a little shady. I was always pretty unsettled walking at night to my car. it's also a commuter campus - most people live far off and drive in. That's why there are huge parking lots all over campus. They have some small dorms for freshman, and some people live around the area, but grad students really don't. People just drive in everyday.

[Pearlbob]

For $100k....look in the Cooper Young area. It's near some bars and restaurants. For that price though, you'd have to buy in the sketchier parts of Cooper Young, towards the tracks and near the bad areas of town. It's zip code 38104. Lots of young people live in that area.

[Pearlbob]

Also, the city buses are bad news. I wouldn't feel safe using them. Biking and walking, although safe along Central, anything south of UM you don't want to be walking around after dark. Sorry to say all negative things, but for that price, you really won't get anything in a safe area. In Memphis, you are paying for safety within city limits. There are tons of homes in my neighborhood for sale for $400k and up. Are they really worth that price? Heck no. But it's a safe, national historic neighborhood and the homes are nice, but not THAT nice. It's just a safe area.

[jimlacas]

Pearlbob, I appreciate your help. FYI, the South Campus (Park & Getwell) of the U of M is mainly Family and Graduate Housing, they even have some newer units there too. I assume when you say railroad tracks, you mean the ones on Southern Avenue? How about the area between Central and Southern west of the university? And heading east, how about the White Station and Colonial Acres subdivisions?

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/publ...&nid=231345450

There is a chance we will rent when we get there and then shop around for a house east of the university, or possibly even in a surrounding county/state.

[jimlacas]

In general, I am a little disappointed that the houses near the university, except in the over-priced gentrified areas are considered dangerous. I was hoping for the convenience of walking/biking to school (mostly day classes) and going to nearby parks. I have heard of people living in midtown and biking to the university, so i guess anything is possible. One of the main professors in my department lives in the poplar/white station area and recommended that. That appeals to me since it is near shopping and not far from the parks.

[Pearlbob]

White Station is a good area, they have one of the 2 good/safe publlic city high schools there. What parks are you meaning? Overton Park is in midtown, Audubon park is south of Southern.

But yes, the Southern railroad tracks go through the UM (literally, you have to walk on the tracks and over them to get to one of the main parking lots on campus - it's ridiculously dangerous.

You'll find when you get here, people really don't pick a house based on the direct area. Meaning, people don't expect to be able to walk to anything, unless you live downtown. It's a car-based city, for many reasons.

Between Central and Southern west is okay, although a few blocks away you get into some really expensive homes. North of Central is Chickasaw Gardens, a very wealthy area.

It is disappointing, but we aren't a "college town", UM is an urban university. In the middle of the city, and people drive in. From what I saw, it also has a lot of older adults too, people who already own houses, live elsewhere, work full time jobs, and just go to UM part time to get their degrees.

[Pearlbob]

Also, I think renting first is a good idea. Even if you could just rent for 6 months. People here have very strong views of housing, and many people are scared to death to live in the city and shudder to think about it. There are plenty of areas in town that "look okay" but are bad, or going downhill quickly.

Because Memphis is so poor, we have mainly petty crime, people looking to get a quick $20 for food, drugs, whatever reason. So you wake up in the morning to find your lawnmower gone, the chairs stolen off your porch, your car broken into and your CD's gone, etc. These are crimes of convenience, as in someone is just walking through your neighborhood, sees you have a shed, and walks on into your yard. So if you live somewhere that is walking distance to bad areas (a few miles) you're more likely to have this happen. I work downtown and I live in midtown, and i see the SAME bums wandering around my neighborhood that I see wandering around my office building. And it's a good 3 miles, I'm sure.

People act like Memphis is SO dangerous, but that is only in certain areas of town. That's why it's very important to live in the right areas.

I'm not trying to scare you, obviously I live in midtown and love it. But you have to be very careful about finding a home in the right area. it's impossible to generalize what area of Memphis are good. When you live in town long enough it becomes easy to say Yay or Nay about a particular area, but I know people in the suburbs who have lived here decades and they literally have NO clue about what streets are okay, what neighborhoods are safe, etc within the city limits.