Moving to Memphis/ University of Memphis (Millington, Lakeland: low income, real estate market, apartment)

[christopher72]

"But anything south of UM is dangerous."

Not necessarily, I work at UM and I know quite a few (UM employees and students) good folks that live in the area between the tracks, Park, Highland, and Goodlet. Yes, you should be careful of "crimes of oppurtunity". This area has a lot of foreign students, crooks see them as easy targets. Thefts and burlargies do occur, however.

I have a friend who live in a neighborhood on White Station between Walnut Grove and Poplar, no foot traffic, dead end. I swear thats gotta be the safest area of town. I also know few people that have bought homes just north of N. Parkway, just West of Rhodes, seems like a good area.
Also, get a dog.
To Annie81, plenty of single women live in Midtown (within the parkways). Lots of apartments on Madison. It'd Probably be smart of find a Kimbrough Towers-type security building.

[jimlacas]

thanks Christopher72 for shedding some light on that area.

I have been hired at the UofM to start in the fall as a graduate assistant and I would rather live close to the school instead of the suburbs. One of my professors suggested White Station where he lives and that is a possibility (although at the high end of our price range).

Our desire to buy our first house is driving us to get a modest house a few streets south or west (closer to the liberty bowl) of the campus. The "safe areas" mentioned in these forums are way out of our price range. We would have to rent an apartment and we are kind of sick of that life. Especially since we want to acquire some assets instead of pouring money down the drain.

My family consists of me, my wife, and our 3 year old son. we are looking for a decent older place with an actual yard, possibly fenced in, maybe a small patio or deck in the back, inside with hardwood floors and a finished attic. Right now we are in a 600 sqft apartment and any house 1000 or more sqft with a yard will be a great improvement on what we have now. I noticed that there are many places that fit our needs and they are quite close to the university.

I plan on walking or biking to school most days and my classes are mostly during the day. I am not afraid to ride an urban bus either if I have to, as I do this in Alaska and when i lived in the Tampa, FL area. However, most of the places I am looking into are within 1-2 miles of the campus and a bus would be a little silly.

My main problem leading up to my starting graduate school is lining up a place before I get there. I plan to fly down in the next couple of months and pick out a house and buy it, and really get a feel for the area. But that is not a big issue and we always have renting as a fallback.

As far as security goes we plan on having an alarm system, a secure garage for our car, some sort of secure front and back door, and most likely a dog. Also, a fence that surrounds the house. Some of the houses we see listed are on dead-end roads and that is appealling, to cut down on the foot and car traffic.

**Anyone that could let me know about working at UofM and the shopping, dining, and recreational possibilities that exist in the area, would be great.

[christopher72]

Jim, west of UM stay north of the tracks. there are some nice neighborhoods around the pink palace-east of the Liberty bowl, i housesat for someone who lived there, but lots of foot traffic, i had my car burgaled and have heard of break-in's and worse, so beware of that area. for a more family-friendly area try south of UM, north of park around goodlet. the closer to highland the more random B-S. I'll say this again, I strongly advise getting a dog or two. I think dogs are the most effective home security.

[Pearlbob]

Also remember that the main railroad track through town cuts right through that area (through UM, right next to the Liberty Bowl, and then over Central). There are trains every...oh, 30 minutes or so during the busy times, but probably an average of once an hour. They are LOUD. I live blocks and blocks from the tracks in midtown and can heard them at night, although it's not enough to keep me awake. Just remember to look and see how far your house is from the tracks. Because the tracks go through continual residential neighborhoods, they by law have to blow their horns almost continuously through town (every crossing and road). Believe me, when I was in grad school it was a HEADACHE dealing with those trains and trying to get to class on time (sometimes they would just stop on the tracks and completely cut off one side of UM from the other, as the train goes through campus.....ugh).

[Anne81]

I actually just returned from a trip to Memphis a few days ago. I went down there to find a place to live and see the area. I ended up renting the top floor of someone's house in a neighborhood in Bartlett. I found the ad on craigslist and am glad I will be living there. The area seems nice, there is a lot of shopping around there, the couple I will rent from are my age. The commute will be about 15 minutes they told me. So for 2 days I drove around the city, it seems like there is a lot to do in Memphis. I am surprised that everyone is saying so much of it is so unsafe. From what I saw it seems pretty nice there. I'm thinking it's probably just like any city where it's ok as long as you know to avoid certain areas to town. I didn't get to see the bad areas, but my parents who went with me did drive around when I was doing something at the school and they said they saw a really bad looking area a few streets away from the school. I didn't get a chance to see downtown or midtown since I found the place to live during my first day there and signed the lease right away to make sure I got the place. The main places I looked to live were apartments in Cordova and Bartlett. The places I saw in Cordova looked really nice. They were all high security, had tennis courts, pools, beach volleyball, fitness centers, the prices were around $600-800/mo. depending on the size of the 1 bedroom apt. The only problem with Cordova is that it would be a big drive to University of Memphis everyday.

But we actually called a realitor when we got there and he offered to show us around the area and find good places for us. I would recommend you call someone, they will arrange a tour of the area and find houses that meet what you are looking for. Also a big help is the Apartment finder book that we picked up for free at the grocery store. It has more listed on it than we found online, I believe there was also a real estate book as well.

[Pearlbob]

everyone says that when they visit: "it looks fine to me." Give it a few months living here, you'll see. Not to sound pessimistic, just realistic. If all you did was drive around the burbs, then sure, you saw the best areas of Memphis.

Bartlett is good, might be a long commute to UM in rush hour though. But, that's what everyone does...commute to work.

[jimlacas]

what area north of UM is acceptable?

[jimlacas]

Which is better, Desoto County, Millington or Cordova if the commute time to UM is not important?

[jimlacas]

Anyone use or know someone who uses a scooter in Memphis for light commuting or recreation? Either a slower 49cc model or something more powerful? I am interested in actual experience not how much better cars are, etc... thanks

[jimlacas]

Anyone have any experience/comments about the UM Family/Graduate Housing located at UM South Campus at Park and Getwell? They are relatively new, so I haven't been able to find any online reviews... Thanks