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My husband (and our family) are being relocated to the Memphis area. We have three girl 10mo, 4yrs, and 6yrs. We are looking for a house in a nice area with good schools. We have been once to scout out areas and were told to look in Collierville and Germantown. Both are very nice areas, but we are having a hard time finding houses we are happy with. Germantown has beautiful older houses, but need lots of updating and Collierville has nice newer homes but most are on tiny lots. We have found a number of newer homes with larger yards and with pools in Lakeland and Eads, but have not heard as much info about either area? Are the school nice? Are there shopping and restaurants in the area?
When we stayed there earlier this summer we staying near Wolfchase Mall(I believe that was the name of the mall) The area was not awful but seemed a bit run down and older? we are coming from a very nice city that has been booming and growing fast. So we are used to newer areas with convenient shopping and entertainment. And very good schools with close knit communities. Any suggestions would be so helpful. I have never moved my family before and am very nervous about making a good choice for my children and giving them a nice place to grow up
you did not mention the kind of work your family does. I would think locating near your work would also be a high priority. Desoto County, MS, just south of Memphis is actually much more desirable than Shelby county, especially when looking at the school situation in the news. I moved here 7 years ago and now have a new grandaughter so am interested in improving the school system here.
Taxes are lower in Marshall county, but then the public schools may not be up to your standards. private schools are available.
But if you find the Wolf Chase area run down...perhaps you're better off some where other than the South. that's the best we have....
You may want to check out some of the neighborhoods in Collierville s/o Poplar Ave. There are several new homes in that area on larger lots (i.e. 0.5 to 2.0 acres). Lakeland and Eads are both very nice areas. The school situation in Eads may be a little up in the air right now since the old county school system merging with the Memphis school system. Eads is in the Memphis annexation reserve and could potentially end up in the combined system. Many of the suburbs like Lakeland, Collierville, and Germantown will be creating their own city school systems, which should provide quality and stable schools in the suburban cities. There are good schools that can be found in the future combined system, but with the pending changes, Eads may be a risk you are not willing to take since you have young kids. There are (relatively) newer homes in Germantown closer to Houston High School and Wolf River Blvd. That area is beautiful with a mix of new construction and very well maintained 10 to 20 year old homes. You may also want to look at Arlington. This is a suburban town to the east of Lakeland, north of Eads (i.e. north of I-40).
Desoto County is pretty nice, but the schools in the suburban Shelby County area are a little better in my opinion. Schools in Germantown, Collierville, and Arlington are going to be much better than what you will find down there. You also have to consider the state income tax that you will have to pay in MS that you do not have to pay in TN. Desoto County is nice is you are a working class to middle class income earner. They have nice affordable homes and an overall good quality of life. Most people that are middle class to upper middle class earners usually prefer Germantown, Collierville, and the East Memphis area. These areas have much higher property value for that reason. Desoto County is growing very rapidly and honestly the government is not adapting fast enough to get a check on the development. You will notice that the area does not really appear to have a master plan of any sort. There are just miles of unchecked development. It is also not uncommon to hear about subdivisions with major issues like flooding, sinkholes, etc. since the government has not adapted well enough to properly inspect some of the construction work down there. (This is just my opinion so don't let that deter you from checking the area out. As I said, there are definite positives to living there when compared to some of the not go great areas of Memphis and Shelby County. Desoto County will provide a more convenient commute if you are working in the Airport area or the industrial areas in SW Memphis.)
I don't know where you all were staying when you were near Wolfchase, but that area is not really what people here would consider run down. Take a little trip deeper into Memphis if you really want to see some run down areas. Wolchase is in the area called Cordova and generally Cordova is pretty nice. You probably would not want to live there if you are going to be using public schools, but you could probably find a GREAT deal on a house. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly made you get the impression that the area is run down?
my husbands is an engineer, currently his office is in Bartlett. I do not want to offend anyone with my comments about Wolfchase, I hope I did not. I should not have used the words "run down". It just did not feel very inviting, bright and lively. As I said the city we are coming from is newer and thriving and although Im ashamed to admit it I lean more towards the news "shinier" areas. Its just what Im used to. We are looking for homes in the range of 400-550,00.
I am very nervous about the school systems and I was told to stay away from areas that may be annexed by Memphis. We have neighbors that came from Cordova and said that they loved Cordova when they first bought their house but once Memphis took it over it rapidly declined and they moved away. So that being said and from your information we should stay away from Eads?
my husbands is an engineer, currently his office is in Bartlett. I do not want to offend anyone with my comments about Wolfchase, I hope I did not. I should not have used the words "run down". It just did not feel very inviting, bright and lively. As I said the city we are coming from is newer and thriving and although Im ashamed to admit it I lean more towards the news "shinier" areas. Its just what Im used to. We are looking for homes in the range of 400-550,00.
I am very nervous about the school systems and I was told to stay away from areas that may be annexed by Memphis. We have neighbors that came from Cordova and said that they loved Cordova when they first bought their house but once Memphis took it over it rapidly declined and they moved away. So that being said and from your information we should stay away from Eads?
Eads is in the Memphis annexation reserve area, but the city is really not interested in annexing that area since it is not very densely populated and extends out to the county line. I would guess that that area would not be annexed for another 20 years (if ever), but you have one issue that may change that and that is the construction of I-69 and I-269. Once these roadways are constructed and the areas around the exits develop with retail, Memphis may try to annex. This is probably at least 5 to 10 years down the road. I would probably scratch Eads off my list if the schools were my primary focus. Not because the schools in the Eads area are bad, but more because of the uncertainty with the school merger. It would be a much safer bet to move into one of the independent suburban cities. For 400k to 550K you guys will be able to live wherever you want in this Metro with no problem. If your husband is going to be working in Bartlett you may also want to check out Tipton County (The County just north of Shelby). This area will be more rural, but you may be able to get more land if this is what you all are looking for. I would personally probably try to stay in the northern part of Shelby County (i.e. Bartlett, Lakeland, and Arlington) for an easy commute. Trying to get from Collierville to Bartlett can be a pain in rush hour.
The complaints about Cordova declining are really more fiction than fact. People move from annexation into Memphis like the plague just hit the area, so the decline is kind of a self fulfilling prophecy. The people move before they even really see the effects of Memphis leadership. When they move in mass they drive down property values and create and unstable housing market. Cordova has experienced a pretty substantial stagnation in property values since being in Memphis is viewed by some as undesirable, especially when you have the negative perception of the school system. However, things like blight and crime have not really affected the Cordova area. The area is really big, so some areas have probably experienced more decline than others, but overall the area is pretty nice. There are many middle class families and really nice neighborhoods in this part of town. Schools are an issue, when you get into middle and high school, but many people in the area use the money they save on a house to use private schools.
I don't think anybody was offended by the run-down comment, just more surprised. Most of the retail areas near Wolfchase are pretty "new and shinny" as well, that is why I personally was surprised to hear you say it looked run-down and uninviting. The southern part of Bartlett, which is not that far from Wolfchase can appear older and run-down in spots due to the age of the area, but once you hit HWY 64 and Germantown Pkwy everything is pretty new and nice. I am basing my view of Wolfchase from comparing it to other areas like Metro DC/ northern VA, Metro Raleigh-Durham, Metro Nashville, and Metro Dallas. The Worlchase area seems just as nice as anything I personally saw in those areas of the country, and I believe those areas are considered pretty nice to many.
Thank you for your feedback I cant tell you how helpful it is! Honestly. Looking for a home for a family out of state has been difficult to say the least.
I asked our realtor about Eads and he told me today that it was "Collierville Reserve" have you ever heard that? I havent been able to find much info on Collierville reserve.
Im hung up on this Eads deal because we found a house we are interested in (the first one we are both excited about)
Your explanation of Cordova makes total sense. I can see that happening, thats too bad. But good to know its more perception than reality.
We stayed at a Hampton in at Wolfchase. Again I feel bad for saying run down. I took my three young daughters to the mall alone on our first day in town and just felt a bit uneasy. It felt kinda sketchy. It could have been my own anxiety of being in a new place though. We currently live in a suburb of Kansas City KS in Johnson County. I would say the shopping/restaurant areas Im used to are more along the lines of the outdoor mall in Collierville.
Thank you for your feedback I cant tell you how helpful it is! Honestly. Looking for a home for a family out of state has been difficult to say the least.
I asked our realtor about Eads and he told me today that it was "Collierville Reserve" have you ever heard that? I havent been able to find much info on Collierville reserve.
Im hung up on this Eads deal because we found a house we are interested in (the first one we are both excited about)
Your explanation of Cordova makes total sense. I can see that happening, thats too bad. But good to know its more perception than reality.
We stayed at a Hampton in at Wolfchase. Again I feel bad for saying run down. I took my three young daughters to the mall alone on our first day in town and just felt a bit uneasy. It felt kinda sketchy. It could have been my own anxiety of being in a new place though. We currently live in a suburb of Kansas City KS in Johnson County. I would say the shopping/restaurant areas Im used to are more along the lines of the outdoor mall in Collierville.
Thank you again for your help!!
Ohhh, that makes more sense. So was it more of a cliental issue than a physical appearance issue (i.e. roads and buildings looking old and run down)? Wolfchase can attract some rough looking shoppers since malls attract people from all over the area. The same happens at the Collierville mall from time to time as well since many shopper from Hickory Hill venture out that way to shop. Teens can be especially uninviting at Wolfchase, but there are rarely any safety issues there.
I have never heard of Eads being in Collierville Reserve, but some of the areas just north of the Wolf River are in Collierville reserve. I am not sure where the actual border line is between Memphis annexation reserve and Collierville's reserve. I have a map I can PM you, but it doesn't really get to the street level. I think Raleigh Lagrange Rd and Monterey Rd. may be the actual border line, but I am not sure. If the house is in Collierville reserve area you should be fine since you will be linked to Collierville schools, but I would make sure I am actually in Collierville reserve before making anything final since most of the Eads and Fisherville areas are in Memphis annexation reserve.
Last edited by Tigertate; 06-25-2012 at 02:01 PM..
imajmommy -- just so you understand what the Collierville Reserve is (or Memphis Reserve for that matter). A reserve area is currently county only land but can be annexed in the future the "owner" of the reserve (e.g. Collierville Reserve, when the county land is annexed, will be annexed by Collierville). While you are in a "reserve" status, you will pay only county property taxes - of course you will get only county services also. Once (if) annexed, you would pay County taxes as well as city taxes.
After reading your posts, I say Collierville is the place to be. It's a thriving city with everything you need conveniently close by. Your husband's drive may be a bit longer, but there are side roads like Houston Levee that can get him to work. I don't know if the 385 has connected yet to help with his drive. The homes can be much newer and there are some areas with big open lots as well. Germantown is pretty much done with land. You'll have to knock a house down and start over to get the house on the land in Germantown.
Desoto County, MS, just south of Memphis is actually much more desirable than Shelby county, especially when looking at the school situation in the news. I moved here 7 years ago and now have a new grandaughter so am interested in improving the school system here.>>
This may be true to some but not all and certainly not the best educated or highest incomes.
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