Newer Resident Co-Habitating with Long-Time Resident (Memphis, Midtown: crime, house, employment)

[harbinger99]

We live in a clean, moderate part of town known as Berclair. We are working hard to move, but in the meantime, we are here. Last night I was held up at gunpoint. I have lived in major cities in both the US and overseas, and I'm a veteran, so some of these cities have been during serious political unrest and violence, however I have never felt scared before last night. This is NOT a safe city. This was not an isolated incident. We have uniformed personnel at our gas stations and inside our grocery stores. Most of the ones assigned to these places spend their time on their cell phones, chatting up customers, or are grossly out of shape. There are a few who seem to be quite astute and on the ball, but that is not the case most times. I DO NOT recommend anyone moving here intentionally. The vast difference between the financial classes is significant and causes serious issues directly related to crime and violence. It is not an issue of race, it is one of money. ESL is also a major issue in the elementary schools where there are higher populations of foreign-born residents. Most of the public schools rank a D and below in performance. If you are not a Christian, there are few options for private schools, unless you have a very good income, and there are charter schools where the majority, at times up to 100%, are comprised of only one race. There are serious socio-economical issues in this area of the country. I am from the north, my boyfriend is from the south, and we see both sides to the issue as he has always been poor and I grew up well-off. Until Memphis officials do something to drastically close the gap between the have's & the have not's this city will slowly destroy itself from the inside out and take a lot of innocent people with it. I have been trained by the US Government to use a gun and I have never felt the need to purchase one for my home until I moved to Memphis. Violence begets violence; even if just in preparation for it. Be safe, citizens. I love you all, even the man who held me up. Hate is part of the problem, not the solution.

[JoeCartpath]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I lived in Berclair during the 70s. Parts of that area have changed a lot since those days - and not for the better.

The Memphis officials have little, if any, influence in closing "the gap between the have's & the have not's". For the most part, the "have not's" are responsible for their own situations. If someone refuses to get an education, has no ambition beyond their next bottle of beer or their next purchase of meth, there is virtually nothing anyone else can do to lift them up. I agree that the fact that such a HUGE portion of the Memphis population is uneducated, lazy and immoral is the root of most of our problems...but I don't see a solution on the horizon.

I hate to see this happening to the city I was born and raised in. I hate that the situation you describe is getting worse instead of better. I miss the days when Memphis was constantly being awarded titles such as "Cleanest City", "Quietest City", etc. I wish you could have seen what Memphis was like in the 50s, 60s & 70s. Was it Utopia? of course not...but it was a very nice place to live.

[tigerphan]

Originally Posted by harbinger99

We live in a clean, moderate part of town known as Berclair. We are working hard to move, but in the meantime, we are here. Last night I was held up at gunpoint. I have lived in major cities in both the US and overseas, and I'm a veteran, so some of these cities have been during serious political unrest and violence, however I have never felt scared before last night. This is NOT a safe city. This was not an isolated incident. We have uniformed personnel at our gas stations and inside our grocery stores. Most of the ones assigned to these places spend their time on their cell phones, chatting up customers, or are grossly out of shape. There are a few who seem to be quite astute and on the ball, but that is not the case most times. I DO NOT recommend anyone moving here intentionally. The vast difference between the financial classes is significant and causes serious issues directly related to crime and violence. It is not an issue of race, it is one of money. ESL is also a major issue in the elementary schools where there are higher populations of foreign-born residents. Most of the public schools rank a D and below in performance. If you are not a Christian, there are few options for private schools, unless you have a very good income, and there are charter schools where the majority, at times up to 100%, are comprised of only one race. There are serious socio-economical issues in this area of the country. I am from the north, my boyfriend is from the south, and we see both sides to the issue as he has always been poor and I grew up well-off. Until Memphis officials do something to drastically close the gap between the have's & the have not's this city will slowly destroy itself from the inside out and take a lot of innocent people with it. I have been trained by the US Government to use a gun and I have never felt the need to purchase one for my home until I moved to Memphis. Violence begets violence; even if just in preparation for it. Be safe, citizens. I love you all, even the man who held me up. Hate is part of the problem, not the solution.

Sorry about your experience. That area up there off Summer has seen better days. It isn't horrible, but it's definately in distress. My theory is that when they built Sam Cooper, they unintentionally removed a significant amount of through traffic on Summer, which hurt the retail area. The public schools got worse, and the neighborhood didn't have enough of an employment draw like East Memphis has....so it started to go down hill.

What I've learned about Memphis is that the folks in charge and a shameful amount of the people that elect them are not serious about reducing crime and attacking the root causes of poverty since they benefit politically by throwing money at the symptoms without demanding change. It's as if they want to perpetuate this cycle of failure.

Some of these problems in government are exacerbated by federal policies as well. I've concluded that these practices won't change. We'll never see meaningful education overhauls that don't place a higher priority of the protection of special interests over the needs of the student. We'll never see real changes in our war on drugs, welfare, or subsidized housing or any other policy that has a negative impact on the social breakdown that causes crime and poverty.

I've moved to the suburbs to reduce the chances that crime impacts myself or my family. If I have to move again, I probably will leave the metro area entirely. Our vote at the ballot box doesn't seem to make a difference, but voting with our feet at least improves our own situation.

All we can do, as a citizen, is to try to help people get out of the situation that they are caught in through no fault of their own. Hopefully one day I'll have enough money to help some kids get into a safe private school, provide tutoring and mentorship, and away from a thug lifestyle...all things thousands don't have access to today in Memphis.

[Tigertate]

Did this really happen? We have seen a couple bogus screen names pop up on this forum over the period of time when you happened to join the forum, so excuse my skepticism. If this is a legit post, I am very sorry that you experienced that. We definitely do have a crime problem in this city and Berclair is not the greatest area in the world (not horrible, but not without problems).

[jabogitlu]

There are lots of hold ups in the city. One 3 weeks ago a block from my house (in the heart of Cooper Young). One a couple days ago on Carr in Idlewild. You have to have your wits about you. But this is true in any city similar to Memphis. It is safer in certain areas like Walnut Grove/High Point, and the 'burbs.

Not detracting from Midtown. There are also advantages to living here. However, for places like Berclair... well, I'm just not sure what the advantages are. Of course, price point is one huge factor. The best parts of Memphis are inaccessible to so many because of housing costs here.