So frustrated!!!! (Memphis, Collierville, Millington: apartments, vehicle registration, elementary schools)

[jessicadezinski]

I've checked out White Station (online of course) and it seems like school I would send my kids to.

hex_haight, do the rentals go that fast in your neighborhood? I will have to send my husband around that area when he is in Memphis during the first week of June. Unfortunately I am unable to visit before we actually move.

I really appreciate everyone's help. I am beginning to have a little more hope that we can find a good place.

[chai26]

Did you look on craigslist for rentals? I rented a 3 bdrm house in Bartlett for $800 a month that was in a good area with good schools. I've found all my rentals on there. It is pretty tough to find a rental in a good area at that price. I'm pretty picky though I looked a lot in Cordova, Germantown, and Bartlett. I wouldn't consider anything else.

[hex_haight]

rentals go insanely quick where i am. there are three streets that still have old school 1950s homes but it borders up to this insanely rich neighborhood. what i hate about it is there is no variation in my neighborhood. almost everyone is white white white white white and seem to have some sort of need to all wear the exact same clothes which really freaks me out. however, i have been told that the white station schools are some of the best in the city, so i guess that is what makes the area so popular. we have three houses for sale on my street, but they are obcenely overpriced for the size of the house...people are paying for the area. one of them sold this weekend..i dont know what they got it down to, but the asking price was $150,000...and it is the same floor plan as my house. it is a nice house and all, but that much for a 1952 three smallish bedroom ONE BATH small gally style kitchen..and no major renovating since it was built?!!?! crazy, but then i'm like 'oh yeah, if you'd chosen kids, you'd be having to take in consideration the schools!"

it is unlikely you won't find a place that will be big enough for your clan and in your price range...but it's like any other shopping hunt....lots of searching before you find 'the one.'

and i found mine by mistake...i was actually looking north of summer in a much more blue collar neighborhood because i knew i could afford it and we'd fit in there......i pulled onto the street i ended up living on because my mom called. i have a thing for anything 'mid-century'..my entire kitchen is inherited pieces, my mixer was bought by my grandmother the same year my little house was built. i kinda wished i'd paid more attention to the fact that i was moving into bannana republic land and less attention to 'OMG! IT'S A FIFTIES HOUSE! LOOK A TELEPHONE NOOK!!"

[jessicadezinski]

chai26- I look on craigslist all the time. Now that I'm beginning to understand the area a little better, it's easier for me to figure out what would work for us.

hex- Your street sounds perfect! That's pretty much what I'm looking for! Now, hopefully I can find it!

[DubbleT]

Richland is a feeder school for White Station middle and high schools. There are usually a lot of rentals in the area north of Rich Rd, between Yates and Mendenhall. But it's like hex-haight says, renting is usually done from signs stuck out in the yards. Some of the streets are more blue collar than others too. Lots and lots of young families choose that area.

[weisenheist]

Originally Posted by jessicadezinski

Is it really that difficult to find a decent rental in the $850 range in a good neighborhood?? All I'm finding are places that are in the Memphis School District, or a not-so-great school in Shelby County.... Education is important, but I don't want my son to be the only white kid in the school either (I don't say that to offend anyone, but who would want to be singled out like that, especially a Kindergartner, in a brand new state and school).

We want to rent for at least a year, to make sure we like Tennessee and the area that we will be living in. I never thought that finding a rental would be this hard!

Right now, we live in Warren, Michigan which is a decent suburb that has a nice mix of every color and ethnicty. There are parts that are terrible, and parts that are great. It's one of the largest cities in Michigan and very middle class. We live on the safe side of town and don't have any issues. The school my son goes to is great. I just want to be able to find that in the Memphis area, without paying an arm and a leg. I thought the cost of living is cheaper down south?!

I hope we're not making a bad choice. This promotion is huge for my husband, but I don't want it to be at the expense of my children.

Anyone have any advice?

my advice is to be thankful of the promotion, but I would never advise anyone to move to memphis for very long just do your time and try to leave as soon as humanly possible because it WILL be at the 'expense of" your children and your own safety, your happiness, and sanctity IMHO -that's my opinion based on solid experience , we all do things for career advancement etc and I understand that, but I've lived all over the nation, and in good conscious I could not recommend anyone from any other decent town / city in the nation, to set up shop and truly permanent residence in such a backward city such as Memphis is (specifically) - also watch out for your young kids to begin to sound like (speech) that they are from the redneck backwoods or the ghetto- many natives in Memphis unfortunately sound uneducated even when they are not, which is not a phenomenon, but 'sounding undereducated' (speech, etc) can hurt your childrens' future mobility and success outside the south (ask other transplants to Memphis that had to rear school-aged small children there in Memphis, they will tell you the truth) - all of a sudden your kids will start sounding like the southern air-head beauty pageant debutant living next door in the suburbs. That's MY opinion and you certainly don't have to agree with it, but you shall see for yourself. Tell your husband you don't want to live in Memphis very long, that's the only solution. These people are too entrenched and narrow to change, don't waste too much time. Good Luck

[dgwilliams65]

I don't know what you are meaning by "good neighborhood", but
most white people around here either live in Memphis and send their kids to private school or live outside Memphis. Period. Those are the facts.

The cost of living is cheaper in the South, but sometimes you get what you pay for. A good suggestion is to look in Desoto County, Mississippi which is a suburb of Memphis and housing is relatively cheap and the schools are excellent!!!!!

[dgwilliams65]

Please note that suburbs are generally located "around a city. Remember that for Memphis, 50 % of the surrounding area is located in other states.
To the west is East Arkansas and you can find some good housing there if you are willing to cross the Mississippi river (don't go to West Memphis; try going to Marion, AR). Also, to the south is Mississippi. That's another thing people sometimes forget about Memphis.

[WGH]

I wouldn't suggest the Tipton County area. It is nice area to live, but the commute would just be horrendous! I live in Cordova and I don't have any school aged children right now, so I don't know much about the schools. My husband's job is taking us to Virginia so there really hasn't been a need for me to look into the schools here. I would say that Cordova does have some cheaper rentals and the entire Germantown Parkway has everything you need with a 5 minute drive: mall, TARGET!, Wal-Mart, fast food, etc.

There is a neighborhood across from mine in a gated community and the homes there are renting $1000-$1100/month. They are all on a 0-lot line, but it is a nice, quiet neighborhood. The neighborhood I live iin you, you can rent for $1000 or less (we are about to rent our home!), but you don't get the garage. You can get more house in Cordova area than a place downtown. Like a few posts above, I have heard White Station is an excellent school. I am not sure about elementary school areas.

Good Luck to you as you move to Memphis

[(901)]

Originally Posted by weisenheist

my advice is to be thankful of the promotion, but I would never advise anyone to move to memphis for very long just do your time and try to leave as soon as humanly possible because it WILL be at the 'expense of" your children and your own safety, your happiness, and sanctity IMHO -that's my opinion based on solid experience , we all do things for career advancement etc and I understand that, but I've lived all over the nation, and in good conscious I could not recommend anyone from any other decent town / city in the nation, to set up shop and truly permanent residence in such a backward city such as Memphis is (specifically) - also watch out for your young kids to begin to sound like (speech) that they are from the redneck backwoods or the ghetto- many natives in Memphis unfortunately sound uneducated even when they are not, which is not a phenomenon, but 'sounding undereducated' (speech, etc) can hurt your childrens' future mobility and success outside the south (ask other transplants to Memphis that had to rear school-aged small children there in Memphis, they will tell you the truth) - all of a sudden your kids will start sounding like the southern air-head beauty pageant debutant living next door in the suburbs. That's MY opinion and you certainly don't have to agree with it, but you shall see for yourself. Tell your husband you don't want to live in Memphis very long, that's the only solution. These people are too entrenched and narrow to change, don't waste too much time. Good Luck

lol