Do you think of Memphis as a "Educated City" (Nashville-Davidson: house, neighborhood)

[SteveTime]

In your Opinion is Memphis

Educated?
Sophisticated?
Cultured?
Professional?

A Lot of people around the country don't think so

[marktwain]

Too bad for them. Memphis has a great sense of history--check out the number of books published by university presses about the city. Fewer than about New Orleans, way more than about Nashville, Birmingham, even St. Louis, a much bigger place. It has an interesting history and apparently there is quite a readership here for well produced books about it. That, to me, is sophistication.

Lots of classical music, much associated with the U of M, but a many professional events too, even apart from the Memphis Symphony. Thin on the visual art I would say. Great lectures by visiting scholars at Rhodes College.

I just moved here a couple of years ago, but I have never felt shorted on the cultural stuff.

[Geneyus]

Depends on what you're talking about. There are plenty of groups and organizations here that have made great achievements that others couldn't, but as far as the population when broken down to individuals you see every day, I'd say it's pretty ignorant.

I attended a sporting event last night and saw several "urban" youths dancing in a mosh pit with no music. They were just rapping. In another area, there was one fight and unknown people were throwing full bottles of water really far into other parts of the crowd for no apparent reason. I'm often dumbfounded by how people disrespect others in this city.

[tigerphan]

Originally Posted by SteveTime

In your Opinion is Memphis

Educated?
Sophisticated?
Cultured?
Professional?

A Lot of people around the country don't think so

I do like Memphis, but it became clear when I moved here that the educated population in the metro area are either in mid town, east Memphis, Germantown, or Colliervillle. I do consider Germantown and Collierville to be Memphis.

I don't consider the mid-south to be educated or sophisticated relative to parts of Texas, the Pacific northwest, Atlanta, or even parts of the gulf coast. It is on a higher level culturally, IMO, than Jackson or Little Rock.

Here are some stats for comparison.

For population 25 years and over in Memphis:
High school or higher: 83.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 24.5%
Graduate or professional degree: 8.0%

For population 25 years and over in Collierville:
High school or higher: 95.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 50.7%
Graduate or professional degree: 17.6%

For population 25 years and over in Germantown:
High school or higher: 97.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 63.0%
Graduate or professional degree: 27.3%

For population 25 years and over in Atlanta:
High school or higher: 88.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 47.2%
Graduate or professional degree: 17.9%

For population 25 years and over in St. Louis:
High school or higher: 83.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 28.2%
Graduate or professional degree: 11.8%

For population 25 years and over in Town and Country (St. Louis suburb)
High school or higher: 95.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 72.7%
Graduate or professional degree: 39.0%

For population 25 years and over in Nashville-Davidson:
High school or higher: 81.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 29.7%
Graduate or professional degree: 10.0%

Memphis is a large city that's home to the nerve center of many large companies and medical facilities that employ thousands of educated people as well as several large institutions of higher education. Cultural norms expected of large cities exist here that may not be around in smaller cities like Birmingham, Knoxville, Jackson, or Little Rock.

On the other hand....it is in the mid south. As a part of the Mississippi delta, the Memphis area is largely poor and uneducated. That lends itself to more blue collar work and a large welfare class. Remember, Memphis' location on the river has always made agriculture a big business in the region as well (that's a business that requires far less manpower than it did just 50 years ago). Memphis has also become a massive distribution hub through the 20th century and a medical center.

If you are seeking an educated populace, you'll find the Poplar corridor through Memphis (including Mid town near the large schools), Germantown, and Collierville to be diamonds in the rough in the mid south. The Mississippi suburbs are more blue collar, and the Arkansas side is largely rural and agricultural.

[Comingtomemphis]

As in most places, it's important to choose your neighborhood carefully. Tigerphan, our house is not in any of the places you mentioned, but according to City Data, 68.5% of the residents have a college degree or higher. Not sure I would have agreed to buy there otherwise. My husband and I both have post-graduate degrees, and to me, it's easier if one's neighbors are from similar backgrounds. Of course, others will disagree.

[jabogitlu]

I interact with many uneducated people just in the day to day here. Coming from Appalachia, I don't think much of it. But I can't seem to find a great used bookstore...

[tigerphan]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

I interact with many uneducated people just in the day to day here. Coming from Appalachia, I don't think much of it. But I can't seem to find a great used bookstore...

Those are becoming more difficult to find everywhere. The independents that used to carry new and used books were largely driven away by the big players (Borders and B&N). Amazon is taking those larger bricks and mortar stores out right now. The only remaining independent that I know of is in East Memphis off Perkins near Poplar. I'm honestly not sure if the B&N locations are doing well, given their sq ft requirements and what I imagine is pretty expensive space.

Maybe Starbucks will get into the book business? I'm sure used bookstores exists....but that's the type of thing that you usually stumble on randomly. They are getting hard to find.

[bumped1]

Overall, I'd say NO to having all of those descriptions. Obviously some people here are educated, cultured AND open-minded. However, there do seem to be A LOT of people that have one or two of the above but are lacking something else. I think a lot of folks in Memphis are probably college educated (via UofM, Ole Miss, UT) but whether they have an inclusive and loving attitude towards different kinds of people (race, sexual orientation, etc.)...probably not. Some people are pretty loving folks but lack much education. Some are educated and tolerant but lack a certain level of class (ie drive unnecessarily large SUVs and don't give a hoot about recycling). Some have none of the above. Very few seem to have all of the above.

[tigerphan]

Originally Posted by bumped1

Some people are pretty loving folks but lack much education. Some are educated and tolerant but lack a certain level of class (ie drive unnecessarily large SUVs and don't give a hoot about recycling).

You judge class as the type of consumer goods people buy and their recycling habits?

Memphis is not particularly environmentally conscious and may prefer larger vehicles and homes, but I find that most of the people here are far too decent to make that same judgement that you made.

I think a lot of folks in Memphis are probably college educated (via UofM, Ole Miss, UT) but whether they have an inclusive and loving attitude towards different kinds of people (race, sexual orientation, etc.)...probably not.

It's ironic that you'd complain about the lack of "inclusive and loving" attitudes as you generalize an entire subset of the population like that. I'm sure you have more people in mind to paint with a very broad and judging stroke like that.

[jabogitlu]

My best friend (has lived in DC the past 5 years, but originally from Appalachia too) visited Memphis last weekend. When she left, I asked what she would report to DC friends. Her words were that Memphis is "much less ghetto," much "more historic," but also "much more boojy than I expected."

While we did visit all representative areas of Memphis (I took her to work in Frayser, South Memphis, etc), we did hang out some in the Square and South Main, so that's probably where the boojy comments come from.