Possibly Moving to Tennessee from Texas

Germantown is from middle to upper class income levels. Many people who live here are actually very down to earth, I avoid the ones who aren't. I live in the older part of Germantown.
Collierville is nice too. Arlington is the up and growing part of Shelby county. Olive Branch is booming because it is more reasonably priced, but many folks are fleeing Memphis to move there due to that fact so it's schools tend to be overcrowded. I can tell you about specific schools in the Shelby County School system if you desire. I don't want to post a really long and give what is not needed so feel free to contact me if you want more info.

I was born and raised in Memphis. While the statistics do say crime is high, and I do believe it, I've never had anything happen to me or any family or friends except a couple of theifs that actually occurred in MS. I lived in a pretty bad area when I was very little and then we moved to a slightly better one when I was in elem. school. It was an old neighborhood in the heart of Memphis and we never had any problems. I've lived in Baton Rouge, LA and Macon, GA as an adult and then moved back to Memphis area and lived in Bartlett, Cordova, and now in Olive Branch. I have felt just as safe everywhere I've lived. As long as you're careful about locking up and pay attention to your surroundings when you're out you should be fine. And you should do this no matter where you live. Collierville and Germantown are nice areas and have much lower crime rates than Memphis. Bartlett is still pretty nice but older now and thus housing is a little cheaper there. Cordova is good to. I have friends and family that live is all these areas and are very happy. We live in Olive Branch about a mile south of the stateline. My parents and sister moved down here so we did to be closer to them. The schools in Desoto county are rated as some of the best in the country. While the school system does struggle to keep up with the growing pop. they are constantly building new schools. Shelby County and Memphis City schools are kinda hit or miss for quality so check out the ones in your zones if schools are a concern for you. Generally though the nice areas have nice schools. Downtown Memphis is fun for going out but can be dangerous, as any downtown, so do take extra precautions when there at night. Don't let the stories of Memphis keep you from taking a good opportunity if the job offer is worht it. There are safe areas.

Oh, and the MS state tax is not that bad. I don't even really notice it. Besides MS has a lower sales tax so you save on all your shopping to make up for it.

I have lived in Memphis all of my life. The way I see it, Memphis has a tunnel that you can safely pass through at any time day or night, but if you veer of the course you could have major problems. My husband and I often discuss how visitors would perceive our city. It would be very easy to stumble into a bad area if you are not familiar with the city. I do love Memphis, but it is not for everyone. Can you visit before you decide?

I've lived in Memphis proper for 13 years, moving down here from Indianapolis.

Yes, we do have a high crime rate in this city. HOwever, most of that crime is in the midtown area (known for car vandalisms generally) and in high poverty areas. So unless you plan on moving into the ghetto areas, you don't have as much to worry about. The crime tends to be crimes of opportunity - leaving cars unlocked, or leaving a purse or iPod visible in your car. More serious crimes tend to be between people who know each other (i.e. drug deal gone wrong, family members getting into fights). I won't sugar coat it and say there isn't random crime as well - the U of Memphis area tends to have serial muggers, car jackers, or rapists every 3-5 years or so go through.

I work downtown and I went to school at the Univ of Memphis. I've pretty much "escaped" unscathed so far. I've wandered downtown by myself in the evening and at night and felt safe, even when I've walked through some slightly questionable areas. I'm 5'2", so I don't think it's because I'm scaring anyone away :) I walked the U of Memphis campus by myself in the evening leaving class, and just made sure to stay near major streets and in sight of people, cars and buildings.

I think as long as you use common sense and take a few precautions, you can avoid a lot of the crime around here and not make youself a possible target.

I live in Cordova/Memphis. The only crime issue I've had are some jr high kids whose bus stop is at my corner writing "Loser" in chalk on my driveway and ringing my doorbell at 6:15 a.m.. I called the school transportation department and it stopped the next day.

I like Cordova. It's the "commuter suburb" with a good mix of all kinds of people. The houses here are cheaper. It's safe here. Lots of convenient stores. If you live in the part of Cordova NOT annexed into Memphis, you only have county taxes, and you get county schools. It's also pretty central to everything, and a commute into Collierville wouldn't be too bad. Collierville, however, is lovely and if you can manage to find a house there, I'd definitely move there.

If you have the time why don't you come down and check out the neighborhoods and judge for yourself. I live in Olive Branch and I think it is great and the school system is awesome!

We live in the Collierville area. The crime is much less than you would think. We feel completely safe here. We could not imagine living anywhere else in the Memphis area. Germantown is nice, but we really love Collierville. Good people, good schools, and great churches.

T.,
I am a native Memphian. I grew up in a part of town that I will not drive through now! I lived in Germantown with my folks before I married. My parents still live in Germantown. My husband and I have lived in Memphis & live in the Cordova area now. Our area in Cordova has now been annexed into Memphis. We are very close to the Bartlett line.
So I have watched Memphis decline over the years! I would not choose to move here now! Isn't that sad? However, I have nothing to compare it with. A friend of ours that also grew up here and moved a few years ago to Birmingham says that there is the "cruddy" stuff everywhere, crime, political scandal, education issues, etc.
Germantown, Collierville, Arlington... all in Shelby County. Then in Fayette County, there is Oakland where lots of folks are moving. There are public school issues there though.
I am not very impressed with the public education system here at all. County is generally better than City, but I have seen some real issues in both. I home school our kids. Most of their friends are now home schooled or in a private school.
The crime in Memphis is awful and the mayor is a no better!
I hope someone that has moved to Memphis from another area will respond so they can do a comparison.
When our last child graduates, my husband is looking at changing jobs (his current job will always keep us in Memphis area), possibly changing his complete field, and moving. We don't know where right now. Think we need a change of scenery though.
I hate to paint such a negative picture, but I will not sugar coat things either.
One last thing, my brother moved to Grapevine, Texas for several years and then transferred back to the Memphis area. He moved to Olive Branch, MS. He really likes it there. He did a study on the cost - sales tax, state income tax, etc between the areas and decided that he would rather go with Olive Branch. He said he could not afford to live where he wanted to live in the Memphis area and would not move to where he could afford in this area. He would rather live back in Grapevine though! :-)

Carol

I lived in Houston for 6 years, Arkansas for 6 years, and I've been in Memphis for 7 years. All I can say is that like Houston, the crime is directly proportionate to the part of town it occurs in. Most of Memphis' crime is black/black or hispanic/hispanic. There are nice neighborhoods within the Memphis city limits, and I can promise that evenif your husband took the job in Collierville, you don't want him to have to drive from Olive Branch to anywhere you might need to go, especially work! There are several "crime tracker" links on the local news websites, I think like WREG and WHBQ and the Commercial Appeal newspaper website is www.commercialappeal.com . I've lived in several different parts of town in Memphis, some are decent neighborhoods and some aren't. I used to live in a cove near a high school, I stayed there for over a year until a few hispanics shot each other to death 75 feet from my front porch. I was pregnant at the time and looking to move anyway, so that gave me the proper motivation. I will say this: outside the Memphis city limits is not necessarily safer, houses get broken into and people get shot in Bartlett, Cordova and Germantown as well.
I live in the 38117 zip code, and while it's within the city limits it's kinda the Jewish part of town and there's a lot of nice little neighborhoods here. Your greatest asset will always be to make yourself aquainted with your neighbors whereever you move, have a car with a keyless remote and never leave anything in your car on the seats or within view.

I hope this helps, if you need any other advice feel free to ask.

Not sure if this will help you any at all but we moved from DFW area to Olive Branch in 2003. And we absolutely love it here. Yes there is the state tax but the cost of living is so much lower from TX that you really dont notice it. Im not sure if you have children or not but the Desoto county schools are wonderful. Rated one of the top in the state/nation. We looked in Collierville & Germantown when we moved also, and you are right, it is more expensive there. We have not had any problems where we are regarding crime. Yes there are some places in Downtown Memphis that you might not want to be stuck in at night alone, but dont a lot of large towns have areas like that. Anyway, really look in to the olive branch area. Even farther east is a nice area that your could check out too. Marshall county is where we are looking right now (for no other reason than we need a larger house) :) Hope maybe some of this helps you. And GOOD LUCK!

We have a Memphis address although we live closer to Germantown. Our children are in the Germantown Elementary, Middle & High School zone. We live at Lincoln on the Green apartments & probably will until our household settles more. We have 5 children, 2 moved back to Texas this year & the 3rd is getting married in January.

Collierville is a very nice place to raise a family. The prices of homes there & in Germantown are a bit pricey but you are paying for good schools, safer towns and good community. Memphis has many problems and I would not go downtown at night either. They have done a lot to improve downtown, and I enjoy going there during the day, but I still don't feel safe there at night, especially on Bealle Street.

The Memphis Zoo is great, Mud Island is a lot of fun, the Peabody Hotel is some place you should visit & I hear Graceland is fabulous although I've not been there yet (we've been here almost 2 years). I travel on Poplar Avenue many times for the main branch library and health food store but seldom at night alone. Just my preference.

Memphis city schools have many issues that have caused many people to move to Shelby County schools where stats are much better. IMHO, Memphis could be a wonderful city. But it has many problems from the Mayor down to the schools. Homes are less expensive there, but not worth buying due to where you havae to live & schools you have to attend. I hope I don't offend anyone here, but it has many problems.

But in all honesty, don't be afraid to move here. Collierville is a great community. We prefer to stay where we are because of the International Baccalaureate program my 10th grade daughter is involved in at Germantown High School, it's the only high school on this side of TN with that program. Collierville has a great downtown and this summer they had free concerts on the square every Thursday. They gave away door prizes, had concession/vendors, and people brought lawn chairs & picnic baskets, it was lots of fun and such a feel of small town (which I love).

I don't know much about state taxes, only seems you can write them off your taxes? But I hear Olive Branch is great too, many people live there & work here.

And one last thing. I don't know if yall will be looking for a church, but we attend Central Church in Collierville & it's wonderful. www.centralchurch.com They also have the least expensive private school in the area, Central Day School...www.centraldayschool.com

Hope you find something soon & keep in touch! We also moved from Texas, Ponder to be specific. Where are you coming from?

Hi T.,

The news does always seem very grim in the Memphis area. I personally would not give you 2 cents for Memphis. I live in Olive Branch and I have not had any issues here at all. (Other than my husbands job didn't work out the way we wanted and now we are trying to sell and move to Arizona)

Collierville and Germantown are very nice areas. I have friends that live in those areas from the Church that I occasionally attend. Those areas do seem to have an upperclass feeling, which is not how I was raised so I feel uncomfortable with that.

If you have any other questions I would be happy to try and answer them for you.

Hi, T.. I am 34yrs. old and have lived in Memphis and the Memphis area nearly all my life. If this is a job your husband can't refuse then by all means, take it. As for housing, try looking in Piperton, Eads, and Oakland. These areas lie east of Collierville further away from Memphis. But honestly, if your just looking to make a change, DO NOT move to the Memphis area. I have moved away only to have to move back but I have plans to move again. It would be wonderful to welcome a good citizen like you because we most certainly need more. Goodluck in your search.

Chel