Nashville vs Memphis (Murfreesboro, Jackson, Portland: crime, new home, living in)

[psi2007]

I live in Memphis and have for the past 6 years. I'm considering moving to Nashville or out west. Phoenix is so spread out and Las Vegas is so dry. Portland, OR and Nashville are my next places to check. I've visited Nashville once and went to the Convention Center which was wonderful. What do you like about living in Nashville?

[bnewman]

It's the BEST...been here 13 years from Jacksonville, Fl and would never go back! I LOVE IT!

[gbone]

Some things I like about the Nashville area:

• It's dynamic and growing, mostly for the best.
• Variety of entertainment.
• Variety of good restaurants and getting better.
• Pro football & pro hockey.
• Fairly stable economy.
• The people.
• Beautiful parks.
• Variety of outdoor activity.
• Variety of shopping and getting better.
• Whole Foods, Trader Joe's(in the Fall).
• Huge influx of young professionals.
• Family oriented.
• Opportunities for community involvement.
• Plethora of higher education institutions.
• The Natchez Trace.
• Lakes.
• Outstanding healthcare.

There are more but I'll leave some for someone else to respond to.

[Steve_TN]

I moved here in 94 from NJ. Lived in Nashville for 6 years and now in Murfreesboro for 8 years and would never leave the nashville area. There is so much to do, enjoy and love.

[scottv]

I grew up in Memphis and lived there for about 20 years total on and off between 1980 and 2007...I now live in Nashville and it is a much better place to live mainly because you don't have all the King Willie-related crazy stuff going on and in your face all the time...I will say that Nashville is NOT a utopia, we have our crime problems but if you stay out of the "bad" areas you will be pretty much ok here-I can't say that about Memphis...

[Tunky]

Oh my...my my my....I could go on and on about this. I just left Memphis in July and moved to the Nashville area and in a nutshell.....get out of Memphis, you will be glad you did! My husband and I are SO happy we made this choice! We had to spend this past weekend back in Memphis and it just sealed what we already knew...we are so glad to be out of the incredible filth that is Memphis....the pervasive depressing feeling of crime, despair, blight, poverty....poor Memphis is THE definition of wasted potential.

[Steve_TN]

Originally Posted by Tunky

Oh my...my my my....I could go on and on about this. I just left Memphis in July and moved to the Nashville area and in a nutshell.....get out of Memphis, you will be glad you did! My husband and I are SO happy we made this choice! We had to spend this past weekend back in Memphis and it just sealed what we already knew...we are so glad to be out of the incredible filth that is Memphis....the pervasive depressing feeling of crime, despair, blight, poverty....poor Memphis is THE definition of wasted potential.

Tunky - It is great to hear you love it here! There is nothing better that having no doubt in your mind that you made a wonderful choice.

[Tunky]

Thanks Steve! We truly have been delighted with our experience so far! My only wish is that we didn't travel so much for work so that we could spend more time getting to know our new home!

[Tunky]

you expanded on my wasted potential comment perfectly...you get a gold star.

I have posted on the Memphis board...but it's an exercise in futility, especially when trying to converse with natives or long time residents.

Last spring I took a cab in Memphis and much to my surprise, had a very nice conversation with the driver. He had lived in Memphis for 45 years, off and on. He said that the only reason so many Memphians say it's not so bad is that they don't know any better. I started paying attention and he's absolutely right.

[Tunky]

Oh...and for the original poster....go to the Memphis board and dig up a thread titled "Why I Am Leaving Memphis". There is a lot of truth in there...you just have to dig through a lot of nonsense too.