Active couple with job in Germantown, where to live? (Memphis: for sale, apartment)

[Mississippimarkus]

Hello,

We are an active couple with an job opportunity in Germantown.
What would be a good place (safe place) to live?
We like running and hiking.
Are there some parks or trails near by maybe?

Schools are not an issue.
And I understand already the public transport is not much existent.

Thanks
Markus

[mattec]

Germantown isn't a bad option. The city has some greenbelt trails and you'd be in good proximity to Shelby Farms Park, which is a huge park with lots of things to do.

Its also one of the safest places in the metro.

What's your budget?

[jabogitlu]

Agreed with the above poster. Also, some East Memphis neighborhoods have decent amenities. High Point Terrace, Red Acres and Belle Meade are along the Greenline.

[Mississippimarkus]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will check them out.

I looked at Memphis Midtown and it seems there are ome areas where there are almost no houses for sale (south of Overton park) and others where there are lot of options between $15,000 and $80,000. And they are just sitting there.
I am sure there are good reasons for that.

Currently we are just trying to get a feel for the Memphis area but we are looking for a 2 bedroom house/condo up to $120,000.

Any thoughts on Cordova?

[mattec]

Cordova is hit or miss

[eastmemphisguy]

$120k doesn't give you much selection in Gtown. You could definately get a condo at Fountain Square. Maybe one at West Rock. Germantown has a really nice park system, but you don't have to live there to use it. If you'd rather go for a house, Colonial Acres in East Memphis might be your best bet. You'd be reasonably close to Germantown for work, as well as near Memphis's Audubon Park, which is pretty big, as well as very centrally located in the overall metro area. You could be downtown or in suburbia quickly. Cordova is ok, but to me feels very soulless and generic. So many strip malls and tract homes! However, you do also get Shelby Farms, which is the biggest park in town and a lot of house for your money out there though.

[Comingtomemphis]

Vis-a-vis Midtown: south of Overton Park is a very nice (expensive) area. If you are searching with price constraints, remove them and you will see houses for sale. Same is true for west and north(east) of the park.

$120K is a low budget for the nice areas of Midtown. Houses between $15K and $80K are probably outside Midtown, in bad areas or in bad shape. That's why they are sitting on the market.

You could find a small condo Downtown for $120K, and probably a smallish apartment in Midtown.

[Mississippimarkus]

Thanks for the reply.

I am aware that $120k is not much and we might have to spend more.
But as I said, I am just trying to get a feel for Memphis without having been there yet.

I am surprised that a lot of houses seem to sit on the market for a long time and they don't seem to gain any value over decades. Here in Portland crappy houses can gain a got 10% in 2 -3 month just be reselling them. And a crappy small house goes for $370k.

[eastmemphisguy]

I presumed (perhaps incorrectly) from your username that you were from MS. Homes that are very cheap (under 50k) are usually in neighborhoods that have very little hope for revitalization AND also require substantial and expensive repairs. These homes sit on the market because after extensive and expensive repairs, these houses would still be in neighborhoods that people do not want to live in. Unfortunately, there are a lot of neighborhoods that are full of these sorts of properties. All that said, Memphis is still a cheap market and $120k can buy a reasonable home in a livable neighborhood, which isn't the case in many cities.

[jabogitlu]

You haven't been to Memphis and you're in Portland? My suggestion would be to find a nice six month or year lease on an apartment and go from there.