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I'm planning to retire in the next year or two. I've been living overseas for the past 30+ years, so don't really have a "home base" any more. After browsing a ton of websites, the northern and eastern suburbs of Memphis seem to have a lot going for them (although Memphis itself certainly doesn't seem to garner a lot of recommendations!). Looking through some of the real estate sites, it seems that housing is reasonable and quite nice. I've also seen a few places for sale in over-55 communities, but am leary about being smothered by a ton of rules that govern every aspect of my life, from what color I can paint my garage door to the type of flowers I can plant to banning motorcycles to who-knows-what-else. If I wanted to be treated like that, I would have stayed married to my ex-wife!!
So, I've got a few questions about Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, and other similar towns. I do not want to live in an area that will be swallowed by the "Memphis Monster".
1. Are these areas mostly young families or are there some parts for us more "mature" types?
2. How are property taxes?
3. How are winters? (I hate cold weather!)
4. How expensive are utilities? (assume a 2000 sq ft, single story home, less than 15 yrs old)
5. Are there any community colleges or the like nearby (i.e. not in downtown Memphis) where I could take some fun courses?
6. Crime?
7. Other stuff that I haven't mentioned but you might think relavent?
I really have to question why you randomly chose Memphis out of any city in the entire US. Why not Nashville? Lexington? Charlotte? Any other southeastern city or their suburbs?
I've always had a hard time thinking about why people view places like Bartlett or Germantown as being so far removed from "Memphis." It's a very small area around here. Being in Germantown is not going to keep you away from "Memphis" so to speak. Yes, it's a better area by far, but it's not far-removed so that you wouldn't have any association with what is going on 3 miles away in Memphis.
1. no, it's not just young families anywhere in the city. I don't think you'd feel out of place in those areas at all.
2. property taxes are pretty high in Memphis city, however I'm not sure about those cities. You would pay 2 property taxes: Shelby County, and _____ City.
3. It's 20 degrees out right now. Is that cold to you? Winters are short but it does get cold. Snow is rare, and maybe an inch at the most. It's mainly cold rain, and freezing rain, which is much worse than snow.
4. I don't think utilities are that bad, but I have no clue. Just depends on how much you run your A/C when it's 110 degrees out for 9 months in the summer.
5. There is a Memphis community college, and they might have a satalitte campus out somewhere. I don't know. What does it matter if it's near downtown Memphis? It's not scary.
6. Crime is bad everywhere, it's less in the suburbs but you still see it. Which is why I question your choice of Memphis. You could live in a suburb of a much nicer city.
That is my opinion - if I was in your boat, no home in the US, no family here (i assume), and you've lived overseas for 30 years...I would never, ever pick Memphis. I think most people who live here either A) grew up here and never left, B) moved here for a job, or C) moved here to be near family. I have made the most of what Memphis has to offer, and I do enjoy aspects of the city (downtown and midtown) however if I was retiring and was basically throwing a dart at a map...I would make sure to throw it no where near the Memphis area
Collierville is a good blend of the old and young, self employeed, retired, and corporate execs and managers.
My 3000 sq foot home uses about $300 per month on utilities, that is with a wife and a 17 year old, and a swimming pool running 8 months a year. And we keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Taxes are high in TN but pretty much the same in all the city, with the City of Memphis a bit higher than Bartlett, Collierville, and Germantown. I do not believe that either one will ever be taken over by the city. The area between Bartlett and Lakeland is fairly new as is a good part of Collierville.
My family really likes Collierville, but as one reply before me, if I were retiring, I would retire me and my camera to a Florida beach.
Oxford, Mississippi, is just a short drive down the road, and it has become the non-Florida retirement center of the south. Oxford actually has a 'Retiree Attraction Program'. The town is a good mix of retirees and young folks; the University of Mississippi is located there.
I agree with the above - Oxford is far enough away yet still close if you need something. I still have to suggest somewhere entirely different though - you seem to have a hatred for Memphis already, so why bother moving to a Memphis suburb? I think you'd be happier picking a good city with even better suburbs so you can retire somewhere that you 100% enjoy.
The Oxford idea makes me think; it would be good to retire near a college town like that, because usually most college towns have culture, things to do, yet are smaller...but still have good medical services and a safer environment. Knoxville comes to mind, maybe Gainesville?, Birmingham, Athens, etc. You'd get the ammenities of a large city, with the environment of a college town. You can always buy a place outside of those cities too, so you're not right in the middle of 40,000 twenty-year-olds
Oxford, Mississippi, is just a short drive down the road, and it has become the non-Florida retirement center of the south. Oxford actually has a 'Retiree Attraction Program'. The town is a good mix of retirees and young folks; the University of Mississippi is located there.
In Mississippi, retirement income is exempt from state income tax (of course not an issue in TN) and property taxes are very low. Housing in Oxford is very expensive, but you can move outside of town, get a nice house for cheap, and be five minutes away from everything. The hospital there is very good. Also, you can take classes for free at the University if you are over age 65. Oxford is great if you like a slower pace of life, are intellectual or academic, and don't mind being around a lot of young people. Oxford is a party town but you can avoid the party being next door to you by moving outside of town into a nicer subdivision. Still, you probably wouldn't like it if you are anti-fun or anti-alcohol. There's always arts events, great guest lectures (a constant stream of senators, business people, and even foreign heads of state), sporting events, and great restaurants. It's been named a top retirement place by several publications.
I really have to question why you randomly chose Memphis out of any city in the entire US. Why not Nashville? Lexington? Charlotte? Any other southeastern city or their suburbs?
I've always had a hard time thinking about why people view places like Bartlett or Germantown as being so far removed from "Memphis." It's a very small area around here. Being in Germantown is not going to keep you away from "Memphis" so to speak. Yes, it's a better area by far, but it's not far-removed so that you wouldn't have any association with what is going on 3 miles away in Memphis.
I don't think that is necessarily true. Going up between the two cities, I hardly ever went to Memphis and the city seemed a world away. It all depends on what you want. Many really integrate themselves into the city, and some only reach the city limits when they have to go to court.
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2. property taxes are pretty high in Memphis city, however I'm not sure about those cities. You would pay 2 property taxes: Shelby County, and _____ City.
Memphis taxes are pretty comparable with pretty much every other larger city in the country and a lot lower than many (like Houston and Dallas). People just complain because they are a lot higher than the surrounding rural areas and higher than Nashville, which has very low taxes for an urban area.
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3. It's 20 degrees out right now. Is that cold to you? Winters are short but it does get cold. Snow is rare, and maybe an inch at the most. It's mainly cold rain, and freezing rain, which is much worse than snow.
It's not Florida, but it doesn't get that cold here. When it does get cold, it usually doesn't last very long.
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5. There is a Memphis community college, and they might have a satalitte campus out somewhere. I don't know. What does it matter if it's near downtown Memphis? It's not scary.
The University of Memphis has a satellite campus in Collierville. Southwest TN CC has their largest campus in Cordova.
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6. Crime is bad everywhere, it's less in the suburbs but you still see it. Which is why I question your choice of Memphis. You could live in a suburb of a much nicer city.
Crime is not bad everywhere. Crime is very low in Germantown and Collierville. When a rare major crime happens, it is news for weeks.
Crime isn't "bad" in Germantown, per se, however Germantown literally butts up right next to Hickory Hill, where crime is terrible. So you might live in Germantown city limits, but you are 1/4 a mile away from an area that has horrible crime. IE - you are shopping in the same grocery stores, buying gas in the same stations, driving through the same areas, that "those" people are.
Memphis just isn't THAT large. It isn't like a lot of large urban cities, where some of the "suburbs" are literally 30 miles away. I just don't want people thinking that they can move to Germantown and be completely isolated from everything else going on in town.
It also depends on what you want out of retirement...if all you want is to sit indoors all day, then you can do that anywhere. But if you want to retire and spend time volunteering, going to arts festivals, museums, etc - you more or less have to go into "the city" for that, no matter where you live. Which means Memphis.
Regardless, none of those 3 suburbs the OP mentioned will ever become a part of Memphis City. However, most of Cordova has already, and if you buy a house around the area that is unincorporated, you most likely will be Memphis City at some point in the future.
Many thanks to all who responded. I appreciate you taking the time to answer the majority of questions.
I picked Memphis (plus a few other locations) after spending about a year of reading websites ranging from AARP to Zoos in America (okay, I made that last one up). The suburban Memphis area was one that consistantly came up on a lot of lists, so I starting checking into housing, prices, taxes, etc. Eventually I came across this forum and posted the note above which elicited answers from you good folks.
While I am aware of the crime statistics for Memphis, I'm not "afraid" of living there. For the past twelve years I have been living in several different African countries -- and not the ones featured in "Conde Nast" travel magazine, but the ones where you could be killed for a dollar...or the shoes you happened to be wearing. The reason I wanted to avoid the center of Memphis was all the rush-rush-rush, noise, traffic, pollution, and yes, to some extent the crime. I would certainly travel into Memphis for sightseeing or concerts, or to take some community college courses.
Weather? At the moment I am posted to Kuwait. The summers are blazing - some of the highest temperatures in the world - but I generally don't even break into a sweat until it breaks 125F or so, which it will for 4 months out of the year. If you throw in humidity, then that's different and it takes me a while to get used to, but overall the hot weather doesn't bother me much.
PearlBob mentioned that it was 20F in Memphis the other day. Is that cold? No, it's worse than cold to me. If it only happens rarely or for short periods, then I could probably handle it, but I really, really do hate cold weather. More than a month of winter-type weather and I'm looking for an escape.
Chuck's 3000 sq ft home with a pool using $300/month for utilities sounds great! I don't plan on a pool (they're a money pit of their own type and really eat up electricity) and tend to try to conserve a bit on A/C and heat. Most likely I'mm have a somewhat smaller home, so that figure is more than acceptable.
Thanks to those that mentioned Oxford, MS. I am surprised that I've never seen it mentioned anywhere, but will certainly give it a check. I lived in a university town in my teens (Norman, OK) and know the pros and cons of living in one. I'm not anti-fun or anti-alcohol at all, but am definitely anti-stupid....which, unfortunately, seems to accompany alcohol and parties quite a bit, especially in a college town.
I don't plan to work, but will probably end up either volunteering for something or getting a part-time job just to keep busy. I like the outdoors, but am not a hunter/fisherman. I am an avid motorcyclist who likes to do touring. My wife and I have probably put 35-40,000 mi on bikes touring around Europe, so it would be nice to do a bit of it in the States also....and no, I am not a straight-pipe-Harley-badboy-wannabe. I also love to toss a off-road motorcycle into the back of a pickup and go find some nice trails to explore through the hills and woods with some friends. TN seems to have a reasonable amount of open trails and several off-road clubs who encourage responsible enjoyment of the land.
So, considering all the answers from everyone, I think I'll still keep the Memphis area on my list of possibilities.
The condo area of the South Main Arts District downtown was actually listed as about the #8 place in the country to retire. Seriously.
I would say we have more than a month of "winter" though. Now, 20 degrees is NOT winter to me (I'm from waaaaay up north) however I think Dec, Jan, and Feb get that cold. Not everyday; we wax and wane with the temps. It was 20 a few days ago, and supposed to be 60 for a few days next week, then drop again...it's annoying.
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Collierville
