Yes....you'll be safe in Memphis.... (Jackson, Bartlett: section 8, high crime, loans)

[Tunky]

yeah...they all work 3-11.

[Mom2My3]

It is really odd here....I live out in Collierville (the ultimate suburb) and I feel pretty safe. I have lived here going on two years. I have been to all of the tourist sites and been to Beale Street many times. I felt okay there. Seems there is a lot security around Graceland and Beale Street areas. Would hate for any out-of-staters to get shot and give Memphis a bad name!!!
I was recently asked to go to a flea market in an undesirable area. I didn't feel unsafe....really. It was not full of your typical Memphis fare though. We were the definite minority but it was not uncomfortable. This being said....I would not be comfortable in many areas of Memphis. The crime is too unsettling. There is probably a murder-a-day here. Really sad.
We are looking at moving because the crime will be spreading eventually out to the "burbs". They have extended the mall in Collierville with shops like Ross and Circuit City. This has really increased the traffic of people. Many are coming right down Shelby Drive to the mall. I went in there recently and I was again a minority.
I know this sounds bad. I was not raise to have any feelings towards people of a different color or background. I was raised in a college town in OK and went to school with people from all over the world. We were all friends....no race issues!!!! Here it is pathetic with race issues. It has made me have feeling that were unfamiliar to me when it comes to race.....I know many others in Memphis feel this way too. This why I want out too.....the race issues and the rude people. Safety is only the icing on top of this big marble layer cake!!!!

[MysteryMT]

Originally Posted by expatnortherner

- When someone you don't know walks up to you NEVER shake their hand, EVER.

Ex-Pat

Great list, I'm just curious why I'm not shaking their hand? I understand they are a stranger, but it'd be my right hand to their right hand so both are out in the open.

[Pearlbob]

My guess would be they can grab you and pull you down. Plus, who knows where their hands have been? Yuck.

[expatnortherner]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

My guess would be they can grab you and pull you down. Plus, who knows where their hands have been? Yuck.

This is correct, if you travel to NY, SF or Chicago you'll notice that aside from public transportation people always leave about an arm's length of space between themselves.

When I go home I never leave the house without a small bottle of hand sanitizer also.

Ex-Pat

[nyrepresentativ]

I'm from NY and I have been visiting the Memphis area just about every summer of my childhood. I currently live in Atlanta and based on the being here for an oppressive 6 years I have convinced my wife that its time for a move. Both of us have grown accustomed to the abundance of space that the south provides and it would be almost impossible to conisder moving back to D.C. or NY. Being that I have many family members already living in Memphis we have decided that we will be relocating to the Memphis area at the beginning of the year. I know that numbers are numbers but has anyone lived in atlanta, d.c or ny?? Crime wise could someone give me a comparison to those cities??
Thx

[Pearlbob]

While I have not lived in those cities, I do think one benefit of Memphis is that it is much smaller - therefore if you want to live in the suburbs, away from all crime, you don't have far to drive. A 15 minute drive can get you almost anywhere in the area In rush hour, most people from the suburbs probably do not drive more than 30 minutes, 45 minutes if there is a traffic issue. That is much, much faster than a commute from suburbs of DC or NY.

While inside the city limits, especially in the older areas, you will find that areas can go from good to bad within a few blocks. However, there are also plenty of areas inside Memphis that are completely family friendly and are "suburban" in the sense of big yards, nice homes, kids playing outdoors, etc.

Originally Posted by nyrepresentativ

I'm from NY and I have been visiting the Memphis area just about every summer of my childhood. I currently live in Atlanta and based on the being here for an oppressive 6 years I have convinced my wife that its time for a move. Both of us have grown accustomed to the abundance of space that the south provides and it would be almost impossible to conisder moving back to D.C. or NY. Being that I have many family members already living in Memphis we have decided that we will be relocating to the Memphis area at the beginning of the year. I know that numbers are numbers but has anyone lived in atlanta, d.c or ny?? Crime wise could someone give me a comparison to those cities??
Thx

[expatnortherner]

Originally Posted by nyrepresentativ

Crime wise could someone give me a comparison to those cities??
Thx

Don't know it you're a former upstater or downstater but (and this is my opinion) East Memphis is the equivalent to living in Hempstead, LI. Germantown and Collierville remind me of Great Neck and Douglastown (respectively), minus the shore. Being born and bred in South Queens I felt right at home in East Memphis, grit, grime and all.

Just like Hempstead gets spillover crime from south Queens, I have felt roughly the same "threat level" if you want to call it that.

Cooper-Young reminds me of DUMBO or Brooklyn Heights for some reason, (minus the bridge of course). Artist friendly, just enough of a liberal/bohemian atmosphere to make artists and musicians feel at home. And you know wherever they go, coolness follows.

There are other, rougher parts of Memphis, but I have not visited them enough to give you an equivalency.

Ex-Pat

[expatnortherner]

One thing I will say, there are a LOT of people moving to Memphis. Each one, if they are tough enough, brings a little bit of their home with them. It hasn't reached critical mass yet, I mean you still will have problems getting good pizza (at least good deep dish pizza), any sort of Caribbean food, good hot dogs, good luck finding a diner, etc. Overall it's still pretty divided here, two cultures like oil and water with very little in the middle. This is changing though and in the next 5-10 years that critical mass will take effect.

Ex-Pat

[toxickavenger]

There once was a time ( in the 50 and 60's ) when you could ride your bicycle to the corner drug store at S Lauderdale and Mallory in south Memphis or at Perkins Rd and Summer Ave in east Memphis. More than 1 mile from your home. Park your bicycle at the store, never lock it and get a Coke and ride home and no one would ever bother you. You could play on the street in any Memphis neighborhood, Black or White and never ever worry about a stray bullet or a vindictive person trying to harm you. Growing up here was great in the 50's and 60's. But Those Days are long gone. We have a major Gang Problem here which our Mayor has demanded that our Police Department and Local Media don't discuss publically. Crime is terrible. You are Not Safe anywhere in Memphis and anyone who say's you are safe is living in a dream world and just has not been out on the streets responding to the shooting, stabbing, car jackings, muggings, and all forms of hate crimes against individuals.
You are a lot safer in Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown and Millington. All have fine Police departments, Fire and Emergency Services. I have watched my town ( Memphis )swirl in the toilet for the last 18 years. Unfortunately for all of us who are still here and haven't bailed out to Fayette and Tipton County in Tennessee or DeSoto County in Mississippi we are all living in a cesspool of corruption. All issues boil down to Black and White. There are more than 95 different ethnic groups living here and there are some fine people here but Memphis is no longer the "City of Good Abode " I know I am a long time Public Servant. I have seen everything I relate here. Anyone who says, different is just plain foolish.