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^ A lot of the things you mentioned seemed to be about the Memphis metro area and not the actual city. The city of Memphis is not very redneck. I dont know many people here that go hunting. The city of Memphis is not part of the Bible Belt. When i'm at Music Fest, BBQ Fest or anywhere Downtown surrounded by drunk people, i dont feel like im in the Bible Belt. --These places/events define Memphis culture. Most people I know that live in the city don't go to church or they go to non-Evangelical churches (Methodist, Catholic, Episcopal, etc.) I'm religious myself and I feel out of place in this city. If the OP is non-religious, i think they'll be fine in the city of Memphis. It's when you venture into the suburbs and beyond that you'll start to feel the Bible Belt influence.
Exactly. Olive Branch may be 'redneck' and may be proud of its Bible Belt status. The City of Memphis, however, is not the same as Olive Branch or Southaven or Munford or Oakland or any of the other suburban communities. I do not know a soul who lives in Memphis proper who hunts or calls him/herself a 'redneck'. I don't know a soul in Memphis proper who is a Bible-thumper. Most of the folks I know in Memphis belong to mainline, non-fundamentalist churches -- if they belong to churches at all.
I think the representation of Memphis as 'redneck' is quite insulting. Speak for North Mississippi. Don't speak for Midtown, South Main, East Memphis, and the rest of the city I know.
Memphis has its good and bad, but im so tired of people bashing it as some cesspool and if you walk outside youll get shot. It is what you make of it. Period. And if your going to go around blind and oblivious to any pros the city may strain to offer, then you shouldnt even be here, and if you must be here, quit yer complainin and move on. No offense to anyone on this thread, people have said some very true things, and i agree totally, but as a whole, Memphians need to embrace their city- as difficult as it may be. As to the crime, outside of actual Memphis city limits, there really is very little, much like the 'burbs' anywhere else, and these areas are the future of Memphis. The crime is in the city, which very few outsiders move into. And downtown ( usually the only place that people leave their cars in the city) I have felt safer walking than in New Orleans or St Louis even Atlanta at times. If you dont feel safe, then dont walk. Common sense will save you alot of problems. and racism has been here, and will always be here, get over it. Im sorry, I just love this city and to hear people talk it down, sickens me.I know the facts, the crime, but i dont flee like a coward, thats not going to solve anything, and if i thought there was any threat here i would leave- still here. but i digress... To the OP, I have an aunt that moved here from Buffalo, she LOVES it. She lives in Tipton County. She really likes the lack of snow and "the folks' attitudes" as she says.
Well that's fairly easy to say when you don't live in the thick of things, and can just up and move when you feel like it. A large number of people in Memphis don't have that same opportunity, or simply don't want to. There are positives for Memphis, but the notorious negatives have been around for a while. I guess that's what makes Memphis what it is.
If you're not looking for trouble, then you won't find any(most of the time). In Memphis, if you're not looking for trouble, it'll still find you. That's the way it has been for years, and if you turn a blind eye to it, then you'll end up a victim.
[quote=KeyserSoze;6850383]Well that's fairly easy to say when you don't live in the thick of things, and can just up and move when you feel like it. A large number of people in Memphis don't have that same opportunity, or simply don't want to. There are positives for Memphis, but the notorious negatives have been around for a while. I guess that's what makes Memphis what it is.quote]
So Frayser isnt in the "thick of things"? I just moved out of there a few years ago. I know what Im talking about. And I didnt have the oppurtunity to move away as well, I just keep moving a little farther out. Memphis and surrounding area is so incredibly cheap to live in, I wish some of those people knew that. Trust me, those people could easily have the oppurtunity to make something more of their lives, they just choose not to. It is, by no means, the city of Memphis' fault. Everyone likes to blame it on them, and the city could help some, but they have started new programs offering youth jobs, but its much easier selling drugs etc. Why work for it when you can get it for free? Thats the peoples motto. As previously posted, there are plenty of jobs in the city, the people just arent willing to take them.
Memphis is one of the "buckles" of the Bible Belt. However it really doesnt show on the city's crime stats.. But I know quite a few "Bible-thumpers" in the city. You havent been to bigger, or stronger churches than in Memphis proper. Ive attended many, black and white. What you see a lot is that they are primarily the older people of Memphis, not the young. Also, Ive known a few older men, white and black, in the ghettos of Memphis that still hunt. Not redneck, but still some country left in the city.
TNRox, I'm not knocking you. I agree with most of what you're saying. But it seems that some people don't understand what goes on. Like those who could care less, who move further away from the city, and point fingers from the outside looking in. The types who play cheerleaders for the outlying areas, and relegate those who live in the city as lazy welfare bums or what not. I guess I was just sharing some of the frustrations and general mindset of those I know and from what I've seen during my time in Memphis. It's not a single individual/group's fault, but they have to work collectively to improve.
Last edited by KeyserSoze; 01-05-2009 at 07:46 PM..
Your very right KeyserSoze. Many people havent been in "the thick of things" like you said, and since they havent, they dont understand why the things that happen in Memphis do. A lot of people that move here and that thrive primarily in the suburbs, but not all, do not see the whole picture. The city and the suburbs are two completely different worlds that clash, but they both could not survive without the other. Of course, I dont know everything there is to know about the city, but im coming from what I experienced growing up and even now. The main thing is, things here happen for a reason. Its not just random, sporadic crime. Wonder why there are still people in the ghettos? Not that they cant afford to move away, but because they know how to deal with it and what people to avoid. If it was random shootings everyone would be dead, random burglaries and no one would have any stuff. If Memphis was as bad as people make it, nobody would live there, they would find a way to get out. Think about it, most of them dont have jobs- no strings there. Drug money or however they get their money would easily pay for houses outside of the city. However, thats not what they want. For those people its daily, normal. Wake up, holler out the window for them to get off the lawn, dont wander on the streets at night, lock every window and door. Its just not what most people see as an acceptable lifestyle and thats completely understandable. Ah but weve gotten off subject, the OP wants to hear about Memphis as a whole, not the petty inner city problems that are in every city. We can all agree that most all areas outside the city proper are devoid of any crime.
I think the representation of Memphis as 'redneck' is quite insulting. Speak for North Mississippi. Don't speak for Midtown, South Main, East Memphis, and the rest of the city I know.
You prefer ganger or thug? At least a redneck generally is working towards owning a home and usually has a job...
I'd take a whole trailerpark of rednecks over the products of the Memphis City Schools--if you can call them products when they so rarely reach completion.
And you can refer to midtown all you want, but you can't call Memphis a city of sophisticates. Nor can you call the populace particularly friendly. Seems like both Nashville and Knoxville have both titles more sewn up than Memphis. I live in Central Gardens, for the record. Sorry, I'm just not at all impressed with Memphis, nor do I really consider it all that southern--at least not the south I grew up in. This city could use a strong injection of either a more country sense of good, warm humor or a touch more nuance. Whatever the case, things just seem eternally broken in this city, and I don't see that changing.
I'm admittedly biased, but truthfully, it's not uncommon for the rest of the state to view Memphis as an alien planet at the edge of the state clinging to the banks of the Mississippi--not really a Tennessee city, at all, but absolutely a pit where tax dollars are sucked away from more productive places.
Memphis may not be a 'sophisticated' place; who ever said it was?
However, to characterize it as a 'redneck' town implies that it is backwoods. You may find that flattering. I don't, and I imagine that most Memphians wouldn't.
You prefer ganger or thug? At least a redneck generally is working towards owning a home and usually has a job...
I'd take a whole trailerpark of rednecks over the products of the Memphis City Schools--if you can call them products when they so rarely reach completion.
And you can refer to midtown all you want, but you can't call Memphis a city of sophisticates. Nor can you call the populace particularly friendly. Seems like both Nashville and Knoxville have both titles more sewn up than Memphis. I live in Central Gardens, for the record. Sorry, I'm just not at all impressed with Memphis, nor do I really consider it all that southern--at least not the south I grew up in. This city could use a strong injection of either a more country sense of good, warm humor or a touch more nuance. Whatever the case, things just seem eternally broken in this city, and I don't see that changing.
The description redneck is probably more preferable to some of the other titles cities are given, to me. But memphis? not a southern city? could the words memphis and north be used in the same sentence??? and memphians are some of the friendliest people around. Try going to some northern cities, see how much response you get from the people there. Ive been to chicago and found it the most other worldly place Ive ever been. And as a whole, city folks are going to be less friendly than small towners, even in the south. For such a large city, Memphis is mighty friendly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CMartel2
I'm admittedly biased, but truthfully, it's not uncommon for the rest of the state to view Memphis as an alien planet at the edge of the state clinging to the banks of the Mississippi--not really a Tennessee city, at all, but absolutely a pit where tax dollars are sucked away from more productive places.
Right, its only the largest city with the second largest metro in the entire state. Its nothing.
Its funny, while I was in Chicago, someone asked where I was from. I told them. With a confused look, they asked, "Isnt Tennessee in Memphis?" I smiled.
Hope this doesn't offend anyone. I'm not writing this to please those of us who live here or to gloss over Memphis like a travel brochure. I'm writing to give my most honest opinion to the one who started this thread and asked our opinions. First the good; Memphis is a city with many of the conveniences and features of most cities, but it feels laid back and smaller. Memphis barbeque is the best in the world. ('Though North Carolina bbq is a close second!) There are many, many trees in Memphis compared to most cities. A doctor once called this "The Sinus Belt" because of all the flower, tree, shrub, and grass varieties (I suppose that's also a negative!) Housing is affordable. A wide variety of churches from which to choose. Easily navigable roads, comparitively speaking. And my Ohio-transplant neighbors looooove the weather. Now, the bad; The tension between races is tops on my list of things I hate most. (Although I think this is mostly limited to black/white and hispanic/black. Hispanics and whites get along pretty well for the most part, as well as other races. But the black/white tension is palpable and I HATE IT. The government is shady and polarized. The inner city schools are abysmal with the RARE exception. Crime rates are terrible. Not so much in the the suburbs, but in inner city. And even though I am a life-time southerner I hate the weather half of the time/love it the rest. The winters are wet and cold...okay, not Buffalo, Fargo, or Bismark cold, but grey, WET, days of cold wind blowing don't do anything for me! (We DO get some days here and there in the winter of sunshine and higher temps though.) And if you like saunas you'll LOVE our summers. ('Nough said?) I spend many days indoors when I think people assume we get to be outside all the time. I would much rather live in Nashville or Knoxville in Tennessee. I've lived in Maryville, TN (a suburb of Knoxville) and LOVED it. I would also recommend Tupelo, Mississippi, Ashville, NC, and Charlotte, NC. Hope this helps! Bon voyage!
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