Memphis

valkyrie · #1 10-14-2002, 01:19 AM

Okay, so who can tell me anything at all about Memphis? I've never been there but I'm interested -- what's it like? How is the quality of life, food, nightlife? Is it diverse at all? Is it hard to get a job? Is it fun? Are there good and bad neighborhoods?

This is all part of my quest to find a new place to live. For some reason (and I don't know why because I've never been there) I am totally intrigued by Memphis. I'd appreciate any help and input. Thanks!

three2tango · #2 10-14-2002, 01:55 AM

I am from Tennessee. I have lived in west Tennessee before and I am not fond of it at all. Germantown is the wealthy area in Memphis. They have a really cool pyramid to go to basketball games in and Graceland and of course Beale street is where all the blues music is. I would say that it is more diverse than other parts. I do like that you can see cotton fields while you are driving down the highway. That is kind of neat. I would say if you are under 35 it would be kind of fun.

SATX*APhi · #3 10-14-2002, 01:56 AM

What happened to Seattle?

Heather · #4 10-14-2002, 02:31 AM

Most people I know from Memphis aren't crazy about it for some reason. Then again these were all people that were going elsewhere to college so maybe that was the reason. I went there several times because I "almost" went to college there. (I went to freshman orientation at two schools, had a schedule and dorm room at both b/c I couldn't decide. but that's beside the point!). Sure the town has it's bad parts that I've been told to avoid at all costs but you get that with any big city. It is surrounded by lots of very nice suburbs (Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville, etc.) so it's possible to work/play in the city and live elsewhere. I had fun everytime I was down there but I was never there for an extended period of time. It's about 2 hours from Nashville (I know more about it than Memphis). I think the cost of living is a bit lower than a lot of other big cities.

How cool to be picking a ramdom city to live in!

ilovemyglo · #5 10-14-2002, 09:12 AM

i have family down there and we visit them often enough. Beale Street is awesome, but let me just say, if you are from any place north of the mason-dixon- DONT GO!!! At least not to live. That town is very Southern, even down to the racial problems. Let me put it to you this way, my family lives acorss the bridge, about five minutes from there in Arkansas and in their little town the schools are still segregated, and it is by CHOICE!!!!
We go to Memphis to shop and hang out and while we were on Beale Street last year we went to a karoke bar. It was my brothers, one of their fiancees and my two cousins. While we were there a woman approached me and asked if I knew where I was and I said yes, and then she proceeded to ask me where I was from and I told her Louisville and she said "OOOH!! That is it" and I asked what? and she said that that bar wasn't where you would normally find "white folks" and I told her that I didn't know that, because here it doesn't matter where you go and she said she understood and we sat and talked about how in 2001 how crazy it was that people still thought like that. We ended up hanging out with her and her friends who were hilarious and had a great time, but that had a really lasting impression on me.
So, anyway, I am from Kentucky, which is considered southern and when I go there I am in total cultur shock!! It is a beautiful town and I love to visit there, but I would recommend going there for at least three or four days before you decide you want to live there.

Kevin · #6 10-14-2002, 09:56 AM

My only contact with Memphis is not great.

It was about 4AM or so.. 3 of my brothers and I were road tripping to Lexington, VA.

We were out of gas so right after downtown Memphis we pulled off to get gas.

I think you refer to that part of town as "East-Central"... Well we stopped over at the Mapco. Right as I get out of my car some toothless lady offers me some "Ice" which I decide must be meth... So I politely tell her nope I just want gas... Well I have probably $3 in the tank and by that time another fella roles up and says he just got out of prison... "Can you give me $5" We say no...

Then just about that time there's a mini mob forming... probably 6-10 people... One of my brothers whispers to me that we need to go.. I quickly round up the others, replace my gas cap (pulled the thing out of the car while it was still pumping, made a little mess).. We jumped in the car right as the mob was rolling up on our position. They actually were hanging on my car as we got off.

Lesson of the day.. never pull off to get gas in a part of town where the police cars don't stop for anything and are using searchlights.

Gotta love Memphis.

alphachiohmy · #7 10-14-2002, 10:20 AM

All I know of Memphis is the airport, which some of is new and there is good shopping there if you are ever stuck between planes. We stayed at the Peabody hotel, where they parade ducks in and out of the hotel lobby twice a day. I did not form great impressions of the downtown; Beale Street was fun and nice. With an abundance of watering holes(Silky O'Sullivans), restaurants and music coming from the street. So it was a fun weekender, but I don't know how it is to work and live there.

Good luck. Have any places narrowed down for your move? If I were going anywhere, I would be all about southern California, but I better keep dreaming. The only place I'll be moving to in the next 2 months is into the city of Chicago or back to St. Louis

sororitygirl2 · #8 10-14-2002, 10:51 AM

Beale Street Kicks ASS! It's ranked the #5 place in the WORLD to spend New Years!

Very fun bars... can't remember all the names off the top of my head... Bebe Kings Blues Bar and Silky's are fun... don't know if they have a good house scene or not...

Anyway, I like Memphis. If you eat barbecue, it is the best for those restaurants (check out the Rendezvous). If you like American Kitsch, you've got Graceland.

It is very diverse, but, yes, somewhat conservative/old-fashioned in terms of the racial issues.

Amd the ducks at the Peabody are ADORABLE!

valkyrie · #9 10-14-2002, 11:37 AM

Thanks so much for giving me the scoop, everyone. I think that if I was ever at a bar and someone told me that there weren't normally "white folks" there I would probably freak out -- I don't know how I would deal with old school racial issues. I have a funny feeling I probably wouldn't fit in there very well.

PiPhiJulie · #10 10-14-2002, 02:30 PM

I've been to Memphis several times. From what I have seen I think it's a really nice city, for the most part. It's very clean and the crime isn't really that bad (maybe I think that because I'm from New Orleans and crime is terrible). The people are really nice. THe suburbs are really nice there are some really wealthy sections in Germantown, Collierville, and Cordova.

As for jobs I think it depends on what kind of job you are looking for. I know that Fed Ex is based out of Memphis and there are many large companies there.
The shopping is good they have a huge mall called the Wolfchase Galleria, where I go shopping sometimes.

My sister and brother-in-law were thinking about moving to Memphis that's how I know so much.

BearyCuteAPhi · #11 10-14-2002, 05:35 PM

why are you looking for somewhere new? if you don't mind me asking...

ronnie

tcsparky · #12 10-14-2002, 08:12 PM

I grew up near there, and my younger sister lives there now. I love it. There is wonderful shopping, Beale Street totally rocks, and the barbeque is the BEST IN THE WORLD. Once you've had real Memphis BBQ, you will never ever ever eat that stuff they serve in restraunts (sp?) around the country again.
I say "Go for it". The place has it's ups and downs (what place doesn't?), but for real Southern flair, it's the winner. Yes, there are some racial tensions, there are "bad" parts of town, but even small towns can have those. Go there and give it a try.

PearlGrrl · #13 10-14-2002, 08:34 PM

I think Memphis is a nice town. I used to live about 45 minutes away so I went there a lot for shopping, cultural excursions (art shows, theatre), concerts and the occasional Beale Street venture (including my bachelorette party). From what I know of friends who live there, Beale Street is mainly a tourist trap and not a local hangout.

I wouldn't say that it is a town dominated by "southern" values. Granted, there are some very small segregated towns in Arkansas that are close to Memphis, but I've never found that it spills over into Memphis. But there are small-minded segregated towns all over the country, to be fair.

It's a large metro area (well, it's large to me...) with some very nice neighborhood flare. The job market is decent... any idea what kind of job you're looking for?

By the description in your other post, I would look into Austin, Texas. It's a great town -- and sounded exactly like what you were looking for.