Desoto Co question.... (Memphis, Bartlett, Germantown: real estate, crime, house) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

acarsme · 08-19-2013, 04:49 PM

Ok, based on my new job, and the kind of house we can get for the money, it seems like I was set to look at Desoto Co as a place to live. But tonight I saw a news story about them arresting 4 gang members for shooting someone dead in Horn Lake! Holy cow! The most amazing part to me was half the story seemed to be the police department praising itself! I would be more impressed if the police were stomping the crap out of gangs in the Memphis area rather than patting themselves on the back for quickly arresting people after something terrible happens!
Anyways, is Desoto Co going to decline in the coming years going forward? I mean, if so many people are moving there because its so nice, and the fact it's right across the border from some of the less desirable areas of Memphis, I would think Desoto Co would be ripe for a crime takeover. Am I wrong to be concerned about this? I sometimes get the impression that Collierville is the only place one can truly feel at ease about crime. However I can't go dropping $300,000 on a decent house just to have that peace of mind! Maybe I'm worried for nothing, but that's me, I worry about my family's safety if there was something I could do to improve it.

the_commuter · 08-19-2013, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acarsme

Am I wrong to be concerned about this? I sometimes get the impression that Collierville is the only place one can truly feel at ease about crime. However I can't go dropping $300,000 on a decent house just to have that peace of mind! Maybe I'm worried for nothing, but that's me, I worry about my family's safety if there was something I could do to improve it.

If Horn Lake and every other suburb scare you, then you should probably use that $300k to buy a few hundred acres in Montana, build yourself an underground bunker, and go live there.

Horn Lake isn't scary. Germantown isn't scary. Arlington, Bartlett, Lakeland, and Southaven aren't scary. If you find those places scary, follow the above advice regarding the bunker in Montana.

Tigertate · 08-19-2013, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acarsme

Ok, based on my new job, and the kind of house we can get for the money, it seems like I was set to look at Desoto Co as a place to live. But tonight I saw a news story about them arresting 4 gang members for shooting someone dead in Horn Lake! Holy cow! The most amazing part to me was half the story seemed to be the police department praising itself! I would be more impressed if the police were stomping the crap out of gangs in the Memphis area rather than patting themselves on the back for quickly arresting people after something terrible happens!
Anyways, is Desoto Co going to decline in the coming years going forward? I mean, if so many people are moving there because its so nice, and the fact it's right across the border from some of the less desirable areas of Memphis, I would think Desoto Co would be ripe for a crime takeover. Am I wrong to be concerned about this? I sometimes get the impression that Collierville is the only place one can truly feel at ease about crime. However I can't go dropping $300,000 on a decent house just to have that peace of mind! Maybe I'm worried for nothing, but that's me, I worry about my family's safety if there was something I could do to improve it.

Desoto County is a nice place to live. Like any community you may have pockets of not so great areas where you may have some crime, but those areas are greatly outnumbered by nice safe areas. That story you saw about Horn Lake is probably the only murder in that area in years. In my opinion you may be doing too much news watching. Collierville is not the only safe area in this metro. There are several other safe areas to live. East Memphis, Downtown, Germantown, Arlington, Lakeland and Bartlett to name a few. There are also many others. I would not expect Desoto County to decline much in the coming years, but there may be slight decline in certain DC cities like Horn Lake and Southaven. I would look at Olive Branch or Hernando in DC.

acarsme · 08-20-2013, 02:30 AM

@the_commuter, lol, I don't need a bunker in Montana, thanks. But you're right Tigertage, I will admit I probably do too much news watching....and let's face it, all news outlets mostly report on negative stuff.....even my beloved NBC Nightly News....usually 25 minutes of sad, negative news, ending by 5 minutes of some feel-good story.

Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to psych myself out about this major move. This is something I've never done before, so yes, there is a lot of fear. I just want to get it right.

Believe it or not, I am trying to do a lot of positive searching on things too. I was really excited to learn about the Memphis Children's Museum, and the Botanical Gardens. My son would have an absolute blast! Memphis will be my home for quite some time, possibly the rest of my life....it's kind of an overwhelming thing to think about when all I've known is one state for 30+ years.

tigerphan · 08-20-2013, 08:11 AM

Desoto Co is save and very nice. Be mindful of the placement of the future I-269 when choosing a home. That freeway is under construction and you wouldn't want to live right along side of it. There's supposed to be a large retail and office development at the future interchange at Craft Road just north of Byhalia that will take a few years to build out. I imagine the Byhalia interchange will be busy as well. Might want to steer clear of those areas to avoid future traffic noise. That freeway may take a couple of more years to finish but it is coming.

I wouldn't worry about crime in Desoto County. What you saw on the news is probably an isolated incident between gang members that is so rare for that area that the cops consider it a huge achievement to solve the crime. Like Collierville and Germantown, they get excited when they have a chance to break out the fingerprint dust and other "real cop" toys instead of a traffic ticket book.

Desoto has largely done a great job at keeping the bad element out of their community and much of that is done through an impressive police presence and the community's appeal to hard working middle class homeowners that will report suspicious activity when they see it.

My wife and I very nearly bought a home off Getwell near Snowden Grove before we found a good deal in Collierville. You can get a great house in a great neighborhood for your money in Desoto. The drawback is the Mississippi income tax. I think the area east of I-55 and west of I-22 is a particularly good area to buy - especially if it is in the Olive Branch school district. Some very good friends of ours live in the Pleasant Hill/Getwell area and they absolutely love it.

If this news report really bothers you, consider Arlington or somewhere on the Tennessee side. I wouldn't judge Memphis or any city by the crime reports on the news (and definately not by comments on the Commercial Appeal). Good luck in your move. A home Desoto County is likely a safe, low risk investment.

thatswanlady · 08-20-2013, 11:33 AM

Don't worry about it -- seriously. My grandfather, when he was still alive, called the nightly news "Murder & Mayhem" no matter what city he was in. The news loves to report and sensationalize the bad things. On the same day that those four gang members were arrested for murdering someone, there were probably so many good things happening that you just didn't hear about.

This is not to minimize the crime in Memphis, not at all. Crime can and does happen anywhere in the world, even in the safest places. But you're going to be perfectly fine in North Mississippi. It's not declining. If anything, I'd say that's where a lot of the growth is heading as Memphis has become so sprawling.

ColliervilleMom · 08-20-2013, 01:26 PM

Make sure you take taxes into account, MS has a state tax, TN does not. Usually will be offset by the great deals you can get in housing around DeSoto though.

acarsme · 08-20-2013, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColliervilleMom

Make sure you take taxes into account, MS has a state tax, TN does not. Usually will be offset by the great deals you can get in housing around DeSoto though.

Yeah I'm not so sure the tax thing really bothers me all that much. A little, but not a ton considering I've paid income tax here all my life. It would be nice to pocket that money, but I also hear TN taxes the crap out of purchases and property taxes tend to be higher too. These states get their money somehow!

eastmemphisguy · 08-20-2013, 10:27 PM

The pattern in metro Memphis has always been that neighborhoods along Poplar (most of Midtown, East Memphis, Germantown, Collierville) have aged well and ones to the north and south (Frayser, Raleigh, Whitehaven, Hickory Hill) have not. I don't have a crystal ball, but if that pattern holds, it doesn't suggest good things for DeSoto. But, while crime can happen everywhere, people are very seldom murdered randomly. There's almost always drugs, sex, and/or money involved. Burglaries are what hit "regular" people. Real Estate is innately a speculative thing. Nobody can tell you with certainty how things are going to look down the road. I would also say that DeSoto County has more of a country/blue collar bent to it than other Memphis suburbs.

jabogitlu · 08-20-2013, 10:42 PM

I think one difference is that Frayser, Raleigh, Whitehaven, Hickory Hill, etc. were annexed by Memphis. DeSoto County seems much more stable at least for a mid-term buy. Who knows what will happen in 25+ years in any neighborhood!