We may be moving to the Memphis area, appreciate your insights! (Germantown: appointed, fit in)

[COCUE]

Greetings

DH just got offered a job in Memphis. The office is downtown. The role sounds pretty good and it will be a great move for him professionally and for our family financially. We cannot think of any practical reason to reject the offer except that moving is hard :-(. My job can be remote so I will not have to look for a new job from the get go.

I've never been there and we don't know even one person in the area. I started doing some online research and have read a lot of the posts here. It looks like there's a lot of crime in the city proper and public schools are not so great in the city.

On the plus side, there were also a lot more big companies than I expected. So if we have to look for subsequent jobs, should hope be not too difficult. The climate seems more 4 seasons than what we have here.

We currently live in Austin and have young kids that will be 2 - 9 years old if/when we move. The older kids go to a very good elementary school and my toddler is in a great preschool.

Germantown seems to be the most suggested area on this forum. Any others? My husband would prefer rush hour commute around 30 minutes but can probably do 45 minutes. We want public schools and can decide on a kid by kid basis if private is a better fit for that particular kid.

We are looking for a family friendly area (lots of kids) with good schools, low crime and acceptable commute to downtown. Our budget is $500-800k. We would need at least 5 bedrooms and newer house (less than 10 years old. Doesn't need to be new construction). Likely be in a temporary accommodation for about 6 months but want to be in the same area that we will subsequently purchase so kids don't have to change schools.

FWIW, we are a black family. Will my kids fit in if we end up in Germantown?

I know that there are 3 elementary schools in Germantown with a 4th opening in the fall. Any thoughts on any of them or are they all the same? Riverdale is apparently k-8, I'm not familiar with that. Any thoughts?

Also looking for full day daycare/preschool. The ones I found online seem to be just half day. Is that the norm in the area? Appreciate any suggestions of good full day preschools.


Also are there folks who have lived in / familiar WTH Austin and now in Memphis area? Your insights appreciated too.

Thank you for reading!

[The Fruglar]

Check out DeSoto County in MS as well as Germantown. Some good schools, plenty of suburban amenities, and the housing budget will go a long way there.

[cc06mha]

Germantown is really good area and has some good schools. I have friends who teach out there and say good things. Since you mentioned that you would consider private schools on a kid by kid basis, whenever that time comes, I would recommend Harding Academy in East Memphis. It is a Christian school with excellent academics, athletics, etc. It is genuinely one of the most racially diverse schools in Memphis and makes a strong commitment to intentionally Christian education. If this appeals to you, look into and I don't think you will be disappointed. If it doesn't, that's fine. Either way, I want to (potentially) welcome you to Memphis and hope that you enjoy it here

[Comingtomemphis]

You may find more large, new-ish homes in Collierville than Germantown. The public schools are equally good, but the commute a bit longer.

I am not black, so can’t speak on the racial climate from personal experience. Like you, I am not originally, but in speaking to people and reading, it’s something you may want to explore before choosing an area where you feel comfortable. Memphis is an old southern city with a distinct history which still reverberates today. My impression is that it’s not a progressive city with as many black professionals as, say, Atlanta. Race is never far under the surface in public discourse, and that will be very evident in the upcoming mayoral race.

Have you visited and spent time exploring the various parts of the area? Find a good real estate agent who knows Memphis well. Good luck.

[COCUE]

Originally Posted by The Fruglar

Check out DeSoto County in MS as well as Germantown. Some good schools, plenty of suburban amenities, and the housing budget will go a long way there.

Thanks so much for your response. Will look into it. How far is it from downtown?

[COCUE]

Originally Posted by cc06mha

Germantown is really good area and has some good schools. I have friends who teach out there and say good things. Since you mentioned that you would consider private schools on a kid by kid basis, whenever that time comes, I would recommend Harding Academy in East Memphis. It is a Christian school with excellent academics, athletics, etc. It is genuinely one of the most racially diverse schools in Memphis and makes a strong commitment to intentionally Christian education. If this appeals to you, look into and I don't think you will be disappointed. If it doesn't, that's fine. Either way, I want to (potentially) welcome you to Memphis and hope that you enjoy it here

Thank you so much. We will keep Harding in mind if we move and decide to go the private school route

[COCUE]

Originally Posted by Comingtomemphis

You may find more large, new-ish homes in Collierville than Germantown. The public schools are equally good, but the commute a bit longer.

I am not black, so can’t speak on the racial climate from personal experience. Like you, I am not originally, but in speaking to people and reading, it’s something you may want to explore before choosing an area where you feel comfortable. Memphis is an old southern city with a distinct history which still reverberates today. My impression is that it’s not a progressive city with as many black professionals as, say, Atlanta. Race is never far under the surface in public discourse, and that will be very evident in the upcoming mayoral race.

Have you visited and spent time exploring the various parts of the area? Find a good real estate agent who knows Memphis well. Good luck.

Great information. Thank you for sharing. I haven't been to the area but my husband was there for his interview last week and drove around. We plan take a 2 day trip next week to scout out the area. I heard about collierville but my husband would like to keep his commute to the shortest we can get while having good public schools, low crime and family friendly. When we visit, if be sure to try to look around but my understanding is that we cannot find good public schools in good family friendly and low crime area in the city. Heard you can get 1 or 2 but not 3 of them together in the city. Do you think otherwise? Appreciate any information you can share. I also would prefer not to do the optional program schools route either.

[dc1538]

Originally Posted by COCUE

Great information. Thank you for sharing. I haven't been to the area but my husband was there for his interview last week and drove around. We plan take a 2 day trip next week to scout out the area. I heard about collierville but my husband would like to keep his commute to the shortest we can get while having good public schools, low crime and family friendly. When we visit, if be sure to try to look around but my understanding is that we cannot find good public schools in good family friendly and low crime area in the city. Heard you can get 1 or 2 but not 3 of them together in the city. Do you think otherwise? Appreciate any information you can share. I also would prefer not to do the optional program schools route either.

Actually, you're spot on. Germantown or Collierville will be your best bet, as the have the best school systems in the area. Collierville has the newer housing stock, but Germantown is closer to everything compared to Collierville.

[Comingtomemphis]

Kind of like good, fast, cheap - pick any two! Here’s why that’s largely true: the closest-in areas were developed first, so those houses are old. The new houses are further out. Some of the Mississippi areas are fairly close to Downtown up route 55, which is a heavy commuter route.

I will try to summarize the school situation. There were Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools in the suburbs. The City government gave up its charter and the two systems merged for a short time. The suburbs voted to create municipal schools and the state legislature and courts allowed it. The whole process was acrimonious, to say the least.

Race was at the heart of it. The City schools are largely black and poor; the suburban schools are more white and middle class. This reflects population shifts that followed the MLK assassination and court-ordered busing. SCS retaliated by refusing to let Germantown have the schools located in their town, as they claimed they couldn’t educate poor children of color. Neither would they cede the names, so the schools called Germantown are not part of the Germantown school district. AFAIK, Germantown residents can send their children to either system, but the municipal system has significantly better results.

The best-performing city public schools tend to be in the wealthier, whiter parts of town, which also tend to be safer. Parents can apply to send their children to any school, but it’s not automatic, and the transportation is on them if the school is out of their area. Check out Idlewild Elementary, a city school in a lovely part of Midtown. That is a very short commute to Downtown, but the houses are older. There is also an excellent private school, Grace-St. Luke’s nearby, which has all-day preschool.

You are going to have to research this stuff on your own, because Federal fair-housing laws don’t permit real estate agents to discuss it. If you have contacts through a sorority or church group, you might get good insight.

[Comingtomemphis]

A five-bedroom house just came on the market on Mud Island. That is a wonderful family-friendly neighborhood Downtown.