interesting per capita demographics (Memphis, Germantown: real estate, homes, public schools)

[memphis2]

Some relativetly new data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis website.
DeSoto County MS only had minimal per capita income growth from 05-08 from $31,812 to $32,393. It actually fell from 07-08.

Fayette County, TN rocketed past DeSoto in that same period from $31,312 to $36,287.

Tipton County, TN, which is no Shangri-La, has also now nearly caught up to DeSoto, as it grew from $27,890 to $31,766.

Shelby County still is the highest at $41,598.00.

Interesting data indeed, it seems that DeSoto (or at least Southaven, Horn Lake, and all areas close to the state line) may soon be the next "Hickory Hill", which is why abandoning an area to move a few miles south doesn't solve the problems, it just moves with hyou.

[JoeCartpath]

I imagine the big jump in Fayette County has to do with all the expensive homes built fairly recently in the Rossville area....bring high income people to that area from Germantown, Collierville and East Memphis.

[moonshield324]

How long before the "old money" abandons East Memphis?

[maximus10]

Moonshield, I think East Memphis will be fine. It does seem to be old money though. Lots of folks that I know who live in East Memphis have lived there for generations. I don't see them moving. They like the location. I have noticed that lots of folks are tearing down old homes and building brand new ones in its place.

As far as Desoto County goes, I think most folks saw that one coming. Horrible, I mean horrible, development planning. Goodman road is basically like Germantown Pkwy and their home building makes no sense to me.

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by moonshield324

How long before the "old money" abandons East Memphis?

Old money will stay in East Memphis. It has withstood the trend for all these years now. While everyone else moved further and further East, the old money stopped and stayed in East Memphis.

[weisenheist]

the lifeblood of Memphis in the 21st century will have to come from 'new money', because the old money is dying out, or retiring to second homes elsewhere (lots of coastal ownership, even areas around Denver, and AZ, and FL)

cities don't typically grow, thrive and remain healthy on old money in cities the size of Memphis, TN..it's not NYC, upstate, Red Bank, Mountain Brook, Zionsville, etc..

lots of people I know have seriously contemplated (some have DONE it), moving out of even Germantown, and even Collierville ! Reverse migration is practically non-existent for centercity Memphis, and very unlikely to be a massive movement in the near future

fear is the biggest (and dumbest) motivator for population migration in the area

N MS planning has been haphazard to say the least..even dumb in some cases !

per capita income , as a reflection of the facts on the groung is becoming less informative as a stat, in fact it's becoming more confusing as a predictor I think

[Ginsaw]

That income increase for Fayette is due some to Rossville, but also to growth in Somerville and the county generally. At the same time Fayette has the well-known less property tax rate than Shelby. But, that gap will narrow quickly. That's because the reason for the difference is less school age children in Fayette, and with rapid growth will come the pressure for more schools. So I wouldn't move to Fayette thinking the deal on taxes will stay like that.

And I wouldn't move to N. MS for lesser property taxes either. If you do that you take on Mississippi's state income tax and their vehicle tax policies, neither of which are very appealing. It's understandable though if you had some other compelling reason, a job there or you have relatives there or own a farm or business etc.

Btw, some time back I compared the tax rates for Shelby with nearby counties and found that Hardeman had actually somewhat higher taxes than Fayette. I thought that surprising considering it's more rural. Maybe the explanation is less revenue base to cover the expenses than Fayette.

At any rate, what exactly is this "old money" of which everyone speaks?

If that existed in the first place, a lot went up in smoke with the stock market collapse, the decline in real estate values, declining and/or stagnant dividend income and the effective ending across-the-board of bank interest income. Of course, you may have a handful left who like to think of themselves as "poor but aristocratic"..

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by Ginsaw

That income increase for Fayette is due some to Rossville, but also to growth in Somerville and the county generally. At the same time Fayette has the well-known less property tax rate than Shelby. But, that gap will narrow quickly. That's because the reason for the difference is less school age children in Fayette, and with rapid growth will come the pressure for more schools. So I wouldn't move to Fayette thinking the deal on taxes will stay like that.

And I wouldn't move to N. MS for lesser property taxes either. If you do that you take on Mississippi's state income tax and their vehicle tax policies, neither of which are very appealing. It's understandable though if you had some other compelling reason, a job there or you have relatives there or own a farm or business etc.

Btw, some time back I compared the tax rates for Shelby with nearby counties and found that Hardeman had actually somewhat higher taxes than Fayette. I thought that surprising considering it's more rural. Maybe the explanation is less revenue base to cover the expenses than Fayette.

At any rate, what exactly is this "old money" of which everyone speaks?

If that existed in the first place, a lot went up in smoke with the stock market collapse, the decline in real estate values, declining and/or stagnant dividend income and the effective ending across-the-board of bank interest income. Of course, you may have a handful left who like to think of themselves as "poor but aristocratic"..

Old money are the people who have had money in their family for many generations. If you want to see them, drive past 2nd Presbyterian when church is getting out. They send their kids to Hutchison, MUS, and St. Mary's. That's East Memphis old money of the WASP variety. There's also a lot of Jewish & Catholic old money in East Memphis. I don't think the old money is dying out in Memphis. You don't have to be an old person to be old money.

[Ginsaw]

Then it sounds like "old money" is really having inherited money. Unless the concept is really deeper than that, and is more a sociological than financial description. And maybe based on inaccurate assumptions.

For instance there are some unknown numbers of people who work but also have some amount of money a grandparent earned. Probably not a fortune and certainly not enough to live on.

You also may have many people in that church or others like it who are getting by with difficulty on social security, pensions and modest stock dividends based on money they made and invested themselves, and whose parents actually left them nothing at all.

And, while all this is going on you defintely have some amount of folks in Orange Mound, South Memphis and North Memphis who also possess inherited money, land or other assets.

It's human nature to generalize about the other persons' circumstances and doing it based on appearances and preconceived assumptions is always risky.

Btw, I know for a fact that 2nd Presbyterian parents frequently send their children to public schools.

[kingchef]

"old money" folk, by and large, live w/in their means, use the various financial trusts available to ensure that wealth is past from one generation to the next, and avoid public discussions of their wealth and ostentatious displays of their estates, money, and power. generally, it seems that many believe episcopalians, catholics, and jews have most of the old money, yet, particularly in this area, methodist and baptist, probably because of sheer numbers, have a huge amount of old wealth, as do some others.

as for their wealth at 2nd presbyterian, i don't necessarily know, but, as for their taste, boy, they are right on the "money", so to speak. what a beautiful campus from one end to the other.