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Calm down Anongmous and stop drawing conclusions on no basis. While I can understand its not ideal to have explorered Memphis prior to moving, life comes with many challenges and in my situation this is one of them. Maybe we'll end up hating Memphis immediately, maybe we'll love it. Who know's.
At the end of the day I want to move back to the US with my wife to be closer to my family and to enjoy a different lifestyle and settle down. Due to the fact that I live in Europe and she works in a special field, we have to cater to her needs if we want to move back. If we want to make our move back to the US while keeping in mind the best thing for our future, we have to move to Memphis. That's where the best opportunity is for her. Plain and simple.
If we don't like it, we won't be bitter, we'll look at as a wonderful experience to see a new part of the country for a few years and see lots of new sights and likely meet a few good people along the way. We're not the type of people you see complaining long after they've left a location.
Yes, I've been on this city for over a year, that's the truth. There is no secret hidden agenda. I don't spend all my time here, but I've read many many threads in the Memphis forum.
I'm well aware many topics I'm asking have been covered. I haven't seen all of them or simply don't remember, so I've asked them again. The whole point of this thread was to help answer some of my questions while establishing a highlight of key questions many people may be interested in. I wanted more personal first hand accounts where possible or updated answers as things change as time moves forwards.
It's because I've read so much of the forum, thought about it so much, and first hand experience that I've been able to sort through all the negativity and realize living in Memphis, like anywhere, is what you make of it. If you have a positive attitude you can make it work.
Maybe I mentioned something about the crime being gang related. Whatever I said I meant from my experience crime is most gang related, maybe it isn't fully the case in Memphis but I bet a good chunk of the crime is and a good chunk more is related to living in bad area's of town. When it comes down to it common sense can go a long way, though bad things certainly can happen to anyone.
Now I just want to know what you think I'm trying to achieve? The truth is I'm trying to learn some of the mundane details of life not often covered here, along with as much as I can about Memphis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anongmous
I would echo this sentiment and advice. In fact I think it's CRAZY moving to Memphis (or any other city) without visiting it and seeing for yourself...SEVERAL TIMES NOT ONCE
Also , please allow me to make a comment..it is an opinion about the impetus of your post.
It seems highly suspect that IF you've been on THIS site , including others for OVER A YEAR, you would be asking these sorts of questions because of great many of your questions have been covered and answered completely with various comments, some negative, some positive.
Your position is not credible in suggesting you've contemplated picking Memphis TN over the entire US to move to from WESTERN EUROPE. I mean Memphis would represent extreme culture shock over a host of other American cities (or Canadian cities), unless you have some 'connection' here such as family, southern heritage, etc etc. Really, I would NOT pick Memphis over several other dynamic southern cities even..for a variety of reasons, but that's based on my personal experience...
Again, if you've been "lurking" here for that kind of time, you wouldn't have HAD to write such a litany of questions...some rather mundane and simplistic...
I'll answer one : Any GREEK RESTAURANTS ??
My Answer: Hell no, not really, nothing that is noteworthy one bit...Memphis hardly has a great Italian restaurant of real note, and maybe one French-inspired place in my opinion...I'll say this again, that's MY opinion ! the food in Memphis is not world-class or comparable to W Europe's food (or NYC's or Atlanta's, or Miami's or New Orleans, or etc etc etc etc)
Good luck,
BTW, you stated most crime in Memphis is GANG RELATED....that's patently a lie for your information
Sorry, but your post has another agenda....dosen't work for somebody who STATES they've been LURKING OUT HERE ON CITY DATA for "well over a year"
Anongmous is our good buddy aka Weisnheist. Search the forums and you might find some of his past posts. If you come across them, you'll get a good understanding of who he is.
i'm not necessarily agreeing w/ the magazine article, nevertheless, if you are looking for a place that apparently has the "official" eye of realtors and people who rank what constitutes a great community, city, etc., you might read the new magazine article that ranks olive branch, ms as the best place in the united states in which to live. the article considers several reasons for the rankings. it is the fastest growing city in the u.s. it is also the #33 fast growing county in the u.s. and it is a southern metropolitan suburb of memphis. desoto county, the county in which olive branch is located, grew almost 51% by the end of 2009, w/ a population that grew from 107,000+ to over 163,000+ in about 9 years.
other great things about memphis and its metro is the fact that several very nice places exist, in which to live, from memphis proper to germantown, bartlett, lakeland, arlington, collierville, and other communities. both fayette and tipton counties are among the fastest growing counties in the state and the nation. even though they contain communities which are growing quickly, much of the area is rural, quiet, and easy drive to various amenities.
at any rate, i think you will be able to find something that suits your needs. you won't have any problem comparing communities. most of the towns have what you would expect to find in bedroom communities. collierville, germantown, and arlington are very much like small town communities. collierville, though its population is around 50,000, it has a public town square, and the community seems to be much smaller than it is, actually. germantown is a community of about 38,000. it is quiet and oriented to family and community. arlington was a community of just over 2000 in the year 2000; however, in 2009 there were more than 13,000+ residents. consequently, you may wish to take the growth issues into consideration. memphis proper has numerous areas in which to live from downtown, midtown, south forum district, harbor town, east memphis, southaven, ms, hernando, ms. marion, ark, across the river, is a nice quickly growing community, and it is next to w. memphis. best of luck. welcome to memphis.
Lifelong Memphian here. This is my first post as well.
As someone else said, I'd think long and hard before making to move to Memphis. Obviously, I have an affinity for the city, as I've lived here my whole life. However, if I were making the move from elsewhere, especially somewhere like Western Europe, I would probably not pick Memphis as a first-choice destination. There are many other cities where, quite frankly, the quality of life is better (I lived in Nashville for four years) - and this is coming from someone who knows the ins-and-outs of Memphis.
Places like East Memphis, Germantown, and Collierville are nice, but even in those areas, the types of cool eateries and upscale shops that other cities get always come later (for example, we are just now getting a Chipotle/Five Guys/etc., when other cities like Atlanta and Dallas have had them for quite some time. And those eateries aren't even what I'd call upscale to begin with). Outside of those areas, a lot of Memphis is pretty run-down, aside from a few spotty areas here and there. That's what's unique about Memphis though. You can be in a block of $500,000+ homes and take a wrong turn and immediately be in a pretty rough area.
Also, don't let the Memphis music thing fool you into thinking there is a great scene here. As a musician (and someone who has worked at Ardent Music), I'll argue with anyone who tries to tout the active scene here over any other comparable sized city's in the South. With that said, Memphis has a great musical heritage and history, and I think people confuse having a rich heritage with having a rich, thriving scene. Visiting the Stax Museum, Sun Studios, the Gibson factory, and Beale Street (etc.) is something that can be accomplished on a weekend trip.
I noticed that you said you frequented clubs like Jaxx and Ram's Head. Judging by the type of acts that typically play at those venues, you're going to be disappointed by the music scene in Memphis even more so. I'm a huge fan of hard/progressive rock, and it's just not prevalent here in Memphis. I'm constantly finding myself traveling to Nashville and Atlanta to catch those types of bands. It's gotten slightly better here recently after Minglewood Hall opened, but it still has a long way to go. I played at a cool blues jam the other night at Neil's in Midtown, but it's the only one that I'm aware of. There's a lot of "tourist" blues (not the real deal, IMO - check out Eric Gales for some raw modern Memphis bluesmanship) down on Beale every night, as well as a quasi-indie scene in Midtown. That's about it though. Beale Street Music Fest is cool, but once again, it's not anything that can't be accomplished by a weekend trip.
Also, I wouldn't say the weather here is great by any standards...Expect exceptionally hot and humid summers and cold, wet winters. There's not much fall or spring around here. The humidity is really the killer. Come July and August, don't expect to be able to sit out on a porch at night without sweating considerably. It's a kind of stagnant, sticky, sweltering heat - not the dry, arid heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas. I'm acclimated to it, but whenever I get out of town during those months, I realize how uncomfortable the weather here can be. Having AC is not even up for debate. "Brisk, cool nights" aren't exactly taken for granted here either. The recent floods were slightly over exaggerated by the media. Judging by reports, you'd expect the whole city to have been under water. It was mainly just Riverside Drive and the areas surrounding the mouths of the Wolf River and Loosahatchie that were affected. Keep in mind that this flood was a "100 year" flood. Certainly a rarity. Tornadoes are a threat for sure, but as evidenced by the recent outbreak, pretty much anywhere in the South/MidWest is affected by them. You just learn to deal with them, and whenever a nasty storm looks as if it's headed your way, turn on the TV/radio and take heed of any warnings. Regarding critters, there are lots of mosquitoes here in the summer, and you'll find them to be your biggest insect nuisance. Typical temperate bugs hang out around here (wasps, ants, beetles, moths, bees, butterflies, etc.). Bugs can be a problem, but no more really than they'd be elsewhere. In the city, there aren't many wild animals, but the farther out you venture, you'll see the occasional deer at night or in the evening, as well as raccoons, armadillos, possums, and sometimes coyotes. Nothing really to be worried about
The tap water here is absolutely great. I'd venture to say that it's the best of any city I've ever been to. It's largely a result of the huge aquifer underground that Memphis gets its water supply from.
As far as the educated vs. uneducated thing, Memphis certainly isn't Cambridge, MA. Keep in mind that the demographics of Memphis affects what types of venues, restaurants, entertainment acts, etc, come here. A large portion of the city comprises African Americans with little education. I'm not trying to play a race card or anything, but you'd be a fool not to realize that this fact affects how the city develops. My family had a shop on Jackson Ave for close to 50 years, so I interacted with many of the people who lived in that area (an area that might colloquially be referred to as "the 'hood"). It's an entirely different culture and way of life. Something to think about it.
Crime is bad here. That's also a fact. But crime rates also vary largely with the area you're in. Use a little common sense, and you'll probably be fine. But since you're coming from Europe, I'm not sure how my idea of "common sense" compares to yours. Always lock your doors, don't walk on the streets in bad areas, try not to talk to vagrants, always walk with somebody, etc...
Speaking of walking...Memphis is not a pedestrian city. Everyone drives everywhere for the most part. Of course, when you venture downtown, or into the more impoverished areas, you'll naturally see more people walking around/riding bikes.
Rent obviously varies on where you want to live and how big of a house/apartment you want. You're going to have to take care of your own lawn or pay someone to do it if you have a yard.
Anyways, Memphis is a city that I love and hate at the same time. And I think the reason I "love" it largely rests on the fact that I've lived here my whole life. These are just honest words from an honest Memphian. There are a lot of pro-Memphis supporters out there, and that's absolutely great for the city - it needs as much positive support now as possible. But in my humble opinion, I feel as if they often view the city through rose-colored glasses. There's a reason that blues music had its roots in the area, and those reasons still manifest themselves today in the city's cultural and socioeconomic landscape.
Memphis can be livable, but it will take more effort than living in another city (why make it unnecessarily difficult?). If I didn't have old family/friends/connections around here, I would have probably left a while ago. That's why, if I were you, as someone not from the area, I'd opt to move to a city like Nashville. You'd still be able to make the easy road-trip to Memphis for the great BBQ every once in a while. Just my two cents. Hope this helps.
Beware of "life-long Memphians" comparing the city to others, particularly southern boomtowns like Nashville or Atlanta. It's true that a few Memphians see their city through rose-colored glasses, but they are vastly outnumbered by those who have a chronic inferiority complex the likes of which you're unlikely to encounter anywhere.
Like the previous poster, I once lived in Nashville and still visit there from time to time. It may be richer, cleaner, less troubled, more hip or whatever, but personally I find it rather bland and unoriginal. It used to be an original, but became ashamed of its country music, hillbilly, "Hee Haw" image and decided to go upscale. Same goes for Atlanta, a city that long ago outgrew whatever distinct culture and charm it had in the past. Memphis...there's no denying that it's unique. Blues, Rock, Rap, Elvis, BBQ, Catfish, The River, Beale Street. Sadly, too many Memphians can't embrace its distinctiveness because they're too determined to see it become something totally different...another Atlanta, Seattle, Austin, or wherever. We have not yet achieved the level of pride exhibited by citizens of New Orleans who, despite facing even greater crime, blight, illiteracy and economic despair than Memphis, recognize that they live someplace special.
None of this means that Memphis is for you. If you like to be at the cutting edge of popular culture, shop in chic stores, go to the hottest clubs for alternative music, climb mountains or surf every weekend, ride your bike or take public transportation most everywhere you go, then you should not move to Memphis. If you must be in a city with top universities and internationally-acclaimed museums, you will probably be disappointed in Memphis. If you can't stand driving through run-down neighborhoods on your way to work, the airport, or downtown, if you don't want to be annoyed by the occasional drug-addict "character" talking nonsense to himself on the street corner, or if you cannot tolerate the local media's nonstop obsession with crime...stay away from Memphis. If you can't handle sticky summer humidity, thunderstorms, tree pollen or mosquitos, then Memphis is not the place for you.
If you dislike black people, church people, overweight people, or people with strong southern accents, then you may not want to be here; not everyone in Memphis fits those categories, of course, but a great many do.
But, perhaps, you value things like short commutes, time with family, a more relaxed pace, low cost of living (especially housing costs), lots of living space, quiet neighborhoods, strangers being nice to you for no reason whatsoever, an abundance of excellent, locally-owned restaurants (most NOT serving BBQ), street festivals, music festivals, basketball, historic old homes, churches and downtown high-rises that are preserved and still in use, a blossoming arts scene, diverse and accepting places of worship, and a new crop of civic leaders who are finally starting to attack the city's most intractable problems. If so, you will find plenty to like in Memphis.
Interestingly, my experience has been that for every one newcomer who moved to Memphis and hated it, there have been three or four who liked it and settled here. The newcomers who like it the least tend to be twenty-something singles. Those who like it here are often coming from the northern US, especially the big cities, are in their late-30s or older, are married and have school-age or grown children. And remember, too, that although Memphis is only a mid-sized city, there is a wide variety of people here. There are bound to be some who share your interests and preferences. Just because they may be small in number doesn't mean you can't find them.
Best wishes for your upcoming move, and I truly hope you'll be happy here for many years!
I think that's a pretty fair assessment, especially your comment about age. Perhaps being younger is one of the main reasons I find myself envious of other Southern urban centers. It's funny you made that comment, as I was telling my mother the other day that I wouldn't mind "settling down" or even "retiring" somewhere close to Memphis. But for someone who is on-the-go with a young, active lifestyle, I think somewhere else might be a better fit.
You are also right about Memphis having a stronger "personality" than those places like Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas, etc. It's a lot like New Orleans in that sense. It's a place with that harbors the kinds of characters and stories ripe for novels.
I think that's a pretty fair assessment, especially your comment about age. Perhaps being younger is one of the main reasons I find myself envious of other Southern urban centers. It's funny you made that comment, as I was telling my mother the other day that I wouldn't mind "settling down" or even "retiring" somewhere close to Memphis. But for someone who is on-the-go with a young, active lifestyle, I think somewhere else might be a better fit.
You are also right about Memphis having a stronger "personality" than those places like Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas, etc. It's a lot like New Orleans in that sense. It's a place with that harbors the kinds of characters and stories ripe for novels.
I would take issue (a rather minor issue) with referring to Nashville as a 'Southern urban center.' I live part-time in Nashville and commute between Nashville and Memphis regularly. There is very little that is urban about Nashville. It has many strong points and, overall, is imo a good place to live. I enjoy my time there. However, as someone who lives in Nashville, I can tell you that after living in Memphis--which is truly an urban center--Nashville seems like little more than a collection of suburbs. Even the most 'urban' parts of Nashville--Downtown, West End, Hillsboro--have a uniquely suburban feel. There is nothing in Nashville that compares to Downtown Memphis, South Main, or Uptown. Those areas are urban. Nashville is not.
That's just one opinion, of course, but I wanted to get it out there just in case the OP is still reading. When it comes to urbanity, Nashville has nothing on Memphis. As a Ph.D. (in urban affairs) recently told me at dinner, New Orleans and Memphis are really the only truly 'urban cities' in the South--New Orleans, obviously, more so than Memphis.
Aside from that, I think your earlier post is very good and probably fairly representative of a number of younger people who don't have much experience in other places.
Thanks more insider views of Memphis. We’re already set on Memphis due to a wonderful career opportunity for my wife. There is no going back now, I wish we could have visited more in-depth beforehand, but it is what it is. As you well noted there are many positive and negative aspects of Memphis (like any place), we’re well aware of them and have taken everything into consideration. We believe Memphis will be a nice experience for us and believe we can manage to live there for a few years, hopefully we love it to death, but if not we’ll be able to manage for a few years and move on after her time’s up if that’s the direction we want to go.
That’s a shame about the music scene, but more or less what I expected. Hopefully it continues to improve and I’ll be able to catch a few quality concerts every year. I’ve already spoke to my wife about how we can make weekend trips to Nashville, St. Louis, Little Rock, etc and check out a weekend concert and tour the city at the same time. That way we’ll manage to do two things for the price of one, saving a few bucks along the way. We’ll manage and this certainly isn’t a roadblock for us. Now we have a good excuse for more weekend trips; I can’t complain.
Don’t forget that I’m American from the DC area, so crime is nothing new to me. While never experiencing it first hand I’ve certainly encountered my fair share of sketchy people and have gained street smarts due to all of this. While it’s sad to hear Memphis probably has quite a few of these kinds of people, it’s not a big surprise. Regarding the crime being featured daily on the news, I can’t say that’s much different either from the DC area, it certainly won’t get me down.
Where I’m from we also have very humid summer, I imagine it’s similar or worse in Memphis, I’ll find out firsthand in the summer of 2012 and will be able to make comparisons. The summer/heat never really bothered me, though I suppose it may take some getting used to do again since it rarely gets above 80 degrees where I live now, most the summer require a small jacket in fact. I simply can’t imagine the weather being more boring than what I have now, haha.
I’m looking forward to some real storms taking place, I miss those! I’m expecting some epic thunderstorms, should be nice! Does the area get lots of hail during these types of storms? Driving in them is never any fun but I love watching them from the comfort of the house. Here’s a question, regarding the threat of Tornadoes, does the city have tornado sirens to warn the residents? I know some places in tornado alley have them.
It will be interesting for me to see how the uneducated vs. educated thing plays out, I’m well aware this occurs everywhere to different degrees, however I am getting the impression it will be quite evident in Memphis compared to what I’m accustomed to. It certainly will be an interesting experience!
We want to be a part of the community; perhaps we can bring something unique to the table to help improve Memphis for the better. What that is I don’t know yet, but hopefully we can do our part.
Regarding the one comment of the many different people in Memphis, I would love to hear about the role Religion plays in the area. How often does Religion affect your daily life? I’m specifically interested in hearing from the Non-religious.
I know the stereotypes and don’t expect to have any issues/problems as I’m sure most of what is out there on forums like C-D is a bit over hyped, but I do get the impression religion is more in your face, to what degree I’m not sure. I am respectful and understanding of other’s beliefs so I don’t expect any problems, however I do enjoy discussing religion, philosophy, etc, so I’m looking forward to encountering these people.
Any horror stories involving religion at the workplace? I read a few of those recently that caught my attention and was intrigued.
- Religion involves itself in your life as much as you want it to. Obviously, you'll have more religious conservatives here than you might up north, but it's nothing really intrusive.
- Memphis/Shelby County has plenty of sirens.
- And yes, the weather here is far from what I'd call "boring." You'll see plenty of thunderstorms and possibly the occasional tornado. Hail often falls too (last week, baseball-sized hail fell down where I live).
- Yes, the humidity will take some getting used to, especially when you have 95+ temperatures along with it.
Overall, your move to Memphis will definitely be an experience, so you won't be shortchanged on that end. As you said, the best thing for you to do at this point is see for yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strumpeace
I would take issue (a rather minor issue) with referring to Nashville as a 'Southern urban center.'
I was using "urban center" more as a term indicative of population size.
Calm down Anongmous and stop drawing conclusions on no basis. While I can understand its not ideal to have explorered Memphis prior to moving, life comes with many challenges and in my situation this is one of them. Maybe we'll end up hating Memphis immediately, maybe we'll love it. Who know's.
At the end of the day I want to move back to the US with my wife to be closer to my family and to enjoy a different lifestyle and settle down. Due to the fact that I live in Europe and she works in a special field, we have to cater to her needs if we want to move back. If we want to make our move back to the US while keeping in mind the best thing for our future, we have to move to Memphis. That's where the best opportunity is for her. Plain and simple.
If we don't like it, we won't be bitter, we'll look at as a wonderful experience to see a new part of the country for a few years and see lots of new sights and likely meet a few good people along the way. We're not the type of people you see complaining long after they've left a location.
Yes, I've been on this city for over a year, that's the truth. There is no secret hidden agenda. I don't spend all my time here, but I've read many many threads in the Memphis forum.
I'm well aware many topics I'm asking have been covered. I haven't seen all of them or simply don't remember, so I've asked them again. The whole point of this thread was to help answer some of my questions while establishing a highlight of key questions many people may be interested in. I wanted more personal first hand accounts where possible or updated answers as things change as time moves forwards.
It's because I've read so much of the forum, thought about it so much, and first hand experience that I've been able to sort through all the negativity and realize living in Memphis, like anywhere, is what you make of it. If you have a positive attitude you can make it work.
Maybe I mentioned something about the crime being gang related. Whatever I said I meant from my experience crime is most gang related, maybe it isn't fully the case in Memphis but I bet a good chunk of the crime is and a good chunk more is related to living in bad area's of town. When it comes down to it common sense can go a long way, though bad things certainly can happen to anyone.
Now I just want to know what you think I'm trying to achieve? The truth is I'm trying to learn some of the mundane details of life not often covered here, along with as much as I can about Memphis.
Hey, some of us already know the truths about Memphis...and you, frankly, will not know how you will 'react' in your endeavor the 'experience' the 'true flavor' of Memphis, TN
That's the point...but again nobody is suggesting 'how' you should react or even think about Memphis. You're the one who is asking for OPINION based on experiences, right ??
You have received some fairly frank responses from a few other posters, and nobody is painting a rosey picture about Memphis..unless they haven't lived here very long at all.
Others have suggested that you may wish to consider other cities rather than Memphis. I too will echo that. Why NOT consider a host of other options IF you have them ?? And I too would suggest Nashville over Memphis TN if I were relo'd from anywhere, esp Europe !
Some people like to pretend great things about Memphis that aren't really true. Memphis is not some truly 'great city'..it never has been, and it will continue to be eclipsed by several other cities for the foreseeable future..Memphis DOES have competition ya know..lol Still others think Memphis 'hung hte moon'...lol.....god bless'em...I don't ...and if you've lived in multiple places inside and outside the south, you'll agree with that statement. Memphis is deficient in many areas sorry to say, but it's the damn truth.
In re "Religion" ?? Memphis has some of the most bogus Bible Thumpers I've ever been around in my life. They haven't come to terms with the fact that they worship a man called Jesus, a non-white Semitic JEW....the irony viz racism in Memphis is quite funny for me.
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Just my two cents. Hope this helps.
