Yet Another Memphis Relocation (Jackson, Bartlett: rentals, crime, houses)

[PhoenixtoMemphis]

Hi All,
I've been lurking around here for awhile and need some direct advice. We will be moving to Memphis in just a couple of weeks. I will be working at St. Jude and my boyfriend...well, thats TBD. We're looking at houses to rent (because of our dog) and have narrowed it down to a few. Can you look at these streets and tell me if it's it's just plain bad, decent, or good?

1) Jackson & Birch (Midtown)
2) Graham & Macon (Berclair)
3) Woodlawn & Sycamore View Road (Bartlett)

We've got to keep expenses low which has dictated the locations we're considering. Hopefully we can get just a 6 month lease until we find an area to buy in. Your help would be much appreciated!

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by PhoenixtoMemphis

Hi All,
I've been lurking around here for awhile and need some direct advice. We will be moving to Memphis in just a couple of weeks. I will be working at St. Jude and my boyfriend...well, thats TBD. We're looking at houses to rent (because of our dog) and have narrowed it down to a few. Can you look at these streets and tell me if it's it's just plain bad, decent, or good?

1) Jackson & Birch (Midtown)
2) Graham & Macon (Berclair)
3) Woodlawn & Sycamore View Road (Bartlett)

We've got to keep expenses low which has dictated the locations we're considering. Hopefully we can get just a 6 month lease until we find an area to buy in. Your help would be much appreciated!

Sight unseen, I'd go with number 3. #1 isn't midtown and I sure wouldn't go with that. Being near Jackson in that area isn't a plus. #2 is a definite "no". The area is in decline - South of Macon, you're ok in general. Macon and north of it is very dicey.

Woodlawn and Sycamore view is a very stable and safe neighborhood. The municipal center and the Bartlett police department are right there. Also, a brand new library (opening this weekend, I think) is right there as well. There's a large, very active United Methodist Church right at that intersection which has helped keep the neighborhood very nice. There are several very historic homes there (circa 1840's) It's a very nice area - grocery stores, restaurants, very nice parks to walk the dog, etc.

[Pearlbob]

Jackson and Birch isn't really midtown. That's getting towards some really bad areas of town there. Jackson itself is not a good street when you get that far east. It has some so-so neighborhoods around it, but RIGHT on Jackson....Jackson is a pretty major thoroughfare.

Graham and Macon - again, that's prett north. Not the best area. Anything north of Summer is going to be dicey.

Woodlawn and Sycamore View - that should be okay, but it looks like its right on a train track. Active?

If you are willing to live out in Bartlett, you should consider Cordova. You can find TONS of house rentals there for relatively cheap. Or, in midtown, there are plenty of rentals there for low prices.

I understand about expenses, but Memphis has a lot of very dangerous areas. Inexpensive tends to equate to unsafe here.

If you are moving here in 2 weeks...have you not traveled here yet and looked around the area? I would never, ever recommend moving to Memphis site unseen. It's just way too unsafe here for that. Even an area of town that might be "okay" could have neighborhoods filled with unsavory people that those of us on this forum wouldn't know about. I would recommend coming here for a weekend and driving around town and checking things out for yourselves before you start looking for places to rent.

[PhoenixtoMemphis]

Thank you for the information! Choice #3 will allow us a short term lease...so I think we would be okay for several months there.

I have been to Memphis look around, but at the time I was looking at houses to buy (mostly in Cordova). Our plans have changed a bit and we need to rent a place first. Unfortunately, we can't get out there to look at places to rent between now and when we move. I know it's a huge disadvantage - especially with crime and the fact that many houses aren't advertised. I'm not finding much online in our current price range in Cordova.

[DubbleT]

I believe the trains are active on that track, at least they were when I worked in that area about 18 months ago. Still, it's a better area than the others listed.

[mzloolue]

Graham and Macon can still be very good.

It really depends on exactly where the house is.

If you look at Sandra, which runs parallel to Graham between Owens and Macon, Sandra and the streets right around it are excellent.

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by mzloolue

Graham and Macon can still be very good.

It really depends on exactly where the house is.

If you look at Sandra, which runs parallel to Graham between Owens and Macon, Sandra and the streets right around it are excellent.

There's quite a stretch of area between Owen (no s) and Macon. While Sandra is still an attractive street, you can not extrapolate it from the rest of the area bordering it. I adore the 4000 block of Faxon that opens up to Graham at Grahamwood Elementary. Unfortunately, you can not lift that beautiful street out of the area that is having some crime issues and issues with properties not being cared for. If I could, I'd be living on that street right now.

[DubbleT]

I'm living right on the other side of the school and it's iffy. You really would need to go on a block by block basis in this neighborhood. Blocks of owner occupied well cared for houses are interspersed with shabby areas of run down duplexes and uncared for rental housing. I still feel relatively safe, for now, but I am looking to move by the end of the year. Some nice little town in east or middle Tennessee sounds like a little bit of heaven to me after 25 years in Memphis!

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by DubbleT

I'm living right on the other side of the school and it's iffy. You really would need to go on a block by block basis in this neighborhood. Blocks of owner occupied well cared for houses are interspersed with shabby areas of run down duplexes and uncared for rental housing. I still feel relatively safe, for now, but I am looking to move by the end of the year. Some nice little town in east or middle Tennessee sounds like a little bit of heaven to me after 25 years in Memphis!

If you're referring to the area around Grahamwood, you've hit the nail on the head. The area West of Grahamwood has been iffy for a lot of years. The block of Faxon immediately East of Grahamwood is a lovely High-Point Terrace type of street with large lots.