Unfortunate Leadership - 8/13/2008

We currently have a major crisis of leadership in the city. Our mayor has consistently driven business and productive citizens to the outlying suburbs with his arrogance, greed, and cronyism.

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FLEE FROM MEMPHIS---------DON'T MOVE HERE - 7/29/2008

I am a born and raised Memphis. I have lived here for over 40 years, and the only reason I haven't left is I can't afford to. Between property tax increases, and real estate depriciation, I can't leave. This used to be a wonderful place to live until about 1980. The population used to be working individuals who payed their bills. Now the population is mostly composed of illegal aliens, and criminal elements. The crime is out of control. Memphis was listed by FBI stastics as the most violent city in the US. There is a shooting virtually every day, and a murder at least every other day. Street Gangs control the public schools, and a lot of the neighborhoods. Property taxes are raised sometimes twice a year, and the CITY GOVERNMENT throws away the money on raises for their own salaries, with many making in excess of $125,000 a year as a public servant. The mayor redecorated his office at a cost of $1 Million dollars of taxpayer's money (to redocorate????). Live anywhere but here. Save yourself the pain and anguish..............

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Overall Quality of LIfe in Memphis - 7/28/2008

After living in Memphis for over 50 years, I finally joined the mass exodus from the city (dump) and am living happily (I hope) everafter. Memphis is a great place to be FROM.

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A little honesty from a true Memphian... - 6/26/2008

I have lived in Memphis ( born and raised, actually ) for 23 years - off and on .. and what you read/hear about Memphis is probably pretty true. We have a very high crime rate, extremely corrupt mayor/city council, our school system is the pits ( and is about to get worse in light of the recent 70 MILLION dollar budget cut that was just made ), poverty and drugs are a major issue as well. Memphis is not the place that I remember growing up in. Now it is a nice place to visit, but I honestly can not wait to move far away... ON the plus side...there are some pretty cool things to do in the city. Our Zoo is one of the best I have seen in the country, we have some beautiful parks. Our riverfront is really cool. There are Sun Studios and Stax. We have some top notch museums as well. ( of course theres always Beale St, too.. ) Like I said, its a good place to visit, but living and working in Memphis is something I will be glad to put behind me.

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Memphis Tn--keep your kids in at night! - 6/14/2008

If you are considering moving to Memphis I would suggess you research the area first. Move outside of the city limit, stay in the county, you will be doing ok. There is alot of crime, racial tension and government corrption inside the city. The burbs are nice, if you can afford it. There are alot of house for sale, everywhere so you may be able to find a good deal. If you are coming from CA or NV you will be amazed at what you can get for $200,000. Gas and food are still reasonable though. County schools are ok but stay away from city schools. Also alot of racial tension gangs, drugs and crime. Weather is not bad, hot summers but decent winters. Little to no snow. Not much night life if your into clubs. If you do go clubing, be careful were you go. Lots of gangs, shotings, stabings and drugs in the ones close to downtown. All in all, not a bad little town. No state income tax and decent wages. Good Luck!

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Memphis, TN - 6/8/2008

Memphis is like a big small town. It doesn't have the big city feel that most cities have. The weather is hot, hot during the summer. The winters are very mild. The crime rate is really high. There are some cool places to visit, but entertainment is not excessive. The landscape is somewhat lacking. Memphis is has a lot of potential, but never fully lives up to it.

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Relocating - 6/1/2008

As a life long Memphian (yes I have Elvis stories, but many more stories about much more interesting charcters from here), it is time for me to go (as Robert Plant says in "Ramble-On") Unrestrained crime has decimated the quality of life. Until the civic leaders can come together, Memphis will continue to languish in necrotic mediocrity.

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Annexation - 5/22/2008

We moved to Cordova and bought a new home 15 years ago. We have really enjoyed living here. We have lakes, and a pool and tennis courts in our subdivision. Last year, Memphis annexed us into their city. We were not allowed to vote for or against the annexation. Our property taxes nearly doubled but we got some benefits from the annexation: a new library, community center, street lights and better ambulance/fire service and a new park. We also got the Memphis City public school board administration. Memphis, with a couple of exceptions, has some of the worst schools in the state so we now suffer by comparison and some people have moved away to stay in the county school system. Our county schools are among the best in the State and we would have loved to stay with them. Crime in Cordova is rare and juvenile. Memphis has some very frightening crime statistics and we again suffer by the comparison since we are now a part of Memphis. We love living in Cordova because of its great shopping, dining, theaters and a feeling of community and safety but the local media keep us too well informed about the crimes in the city which makes us nervous. We plan to stay here as has our daughter and her family. The cost of living is very reasonable, the weather is 4 season but moderate, and the sense of family is strong.

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Weather - 4/25/2008

Memphis generally has great weather, not counting the very hot summer (which is getting longer).

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cultural identity - 4/6/2008

memphis does have a strong cultural identity. especially downtown and in the historic areas, you are able to have the feeling that youre not just stuck in a large homogenous city. it is not a diverse culture in many ways, but it is not a bland culture. in many ways, memphis is a very unique place and i value its unique character highly.

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I call this city's "Bluff". - 3/2/2008

This city has SO much potential but is basically hanging on life support due to: overwhelming racial tension, political corruption, crime, lack of vision, etc. Granted, many cities have similar problems, Memphis' problems are much more prevalent. From my own personal experience in this city for the past couple of years, it is best summed up in one word: Bittersweet.

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Memphis- a ruined city - 3/1/2008

I grew up in Memphis and although I've lived in other areas (N.Caroline; California; Florida), Memphis has basically been my homebase for 47 years. Memphis has always had problems, but at least when I was young it regularly won "Most Beautiful City" awards and there were many places in Memphis that were wonderful to live in. NO MORE! This city has experienced a horrendous downward spiral for the last 20+ years- the city is filthy, racially divided, corrupted, taxed to death, and unbelievably crime ridden. Whole sections of the city are too dangerous to drive through, much less live in. Many of the areas that have managed to stay nice are like islands surrounded by ghettos and the spillover violent crimes are starting to effect even these nicer neighborhoods. The schools are a complete joke and worse, they are now dangerous. I would NEVER even consider placing a child of mine in the city school system and honestly, the county school system isn't much better. Drugs and gangs are everywhere and I have seen innocent shoppers openly harassed by gang members in what is supposedly a 'nice' mall in Memphis. City services are like dealing with dinosaurs; plan at LEAST a 3 hour trip just to get your lights turned on or your driver's license. Six years ago, my husband insisted we move to Olive Branch, MS, which is right below Memphis, to escape the high property taxes and crime of Memphis. In this short time, the criminals have started to come down from Memphis and are effecting the areas down here. The tragic fact is that everywhere in the whole metropolitan area is impacted by the crime spilling over from Memphis. If you should decide to explore downtown, get ready to be harassed by the *very* aggressive panhandlers. The city just recently created a 'security force' to try to stop this problem, but who knows if it will work. Reverse racism and racism in general is a huge problem here. Service at fast-food restaurants and the like is very poor, and customers are likely to be made to feel like they are an intrusion. The labor market here is poorly educated (those "great" city schools again!) and surly. There is a reason why many big corporations have passed over moving to Memphis or have left- most them have cited the poor standard of labor force here. Memphis is a tragic example of how a city can go very wrong. If you are considering a move to Memphis, THINK AGAIN. My husband and I are already planning our eventual escape from this entire area.

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Culture - 2/20/2008

Memphis is an awesome place if you like food and music. Awesome barbeque, soulfood, and blues.

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Crime - 2/3/2008

Crime is a major concern there seems to be a murder about every other day. The crime has also reached to the subarian areas also, especially robbery. Corrupt politicans, there is no end. A lot of the street crime is due to a broken educational system and low academic student population. The schools are also filled with crim even the elementary school. There are no conquences for student behavior in school. Later they drop out and are responsible for more than half of the crime in this city.

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Crime rate on the rise in my city! - 1/28/2008

Every time I watch the news here, they are reporting some kind of homicide event. For Memphis to be the size it is in comparison with larger cities such as Chicago and others...it is ridiculous to have so many crime events here!!! Years and years ago, while growing up as a kid in the 70's 80's it wasn't so bad then...now-a-days, I can't beleive my "ears" anymore. I am considering re-location whenever the time is financially feasible for me to do so. This is no place I want to continue raising my kid, I realize crime is everywhere...but my kid deserves better than this...and so do I. To, anyone considering the move here, I would reccomend moving on the out-skirts or in smaller adjoining cities/towns....just take care to do your homework on the shcools,and living enviroments. "Heaven help us All"

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Memphis: A Cheap Place to Live - 1/24/2008

Hmm . . . what do I say about Memphis? I'm glad I don't live there anymore. It seems like it would be really tough to move back. I suppose it has a few good points . . . the cost of living is low . . . and . . . . . . . there's a Statue of Liberation. I think I would move to just about any other city in America before moving back to Memphis, TN.

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Memphis--What a dump! - 11/30/2007

I've been to quite a few places in the country, and I would have to say that Memphis is one of the dirtiest, most crime ridden cities in the U. S. Reverse racism; Memphis is a prime example. People in Memphis (Black and White,) get off the whole race thing and grow up! Let the past die and move onto the twenty-first century! Clean up your city and get past the narrow mindedness of skin color. I lovethe South, but I must admit that way to many people in Dixie (White and Black again) think about the Civil War. The war's been over for over a hundred years! Get over it! Who cares where you're from when you move from somewhere? If a person wants to work and wants to contribute to society, welcome him/her!!! That last statement applies not only to Memphis, but any city in the country for that matter!

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Great - 11/1/2007

Memphis offers a lot of great things. We have our Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Orpheum Theater that host Broadway hits, the FedEx Forum that is home to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Memphis Redbirds Baseball team that is AAA, Beale Street that is home of the blues, the Peabody Hotel that is historic, a great natural park called Shelby Farms and not to mention the mighty Mississippi River!

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crack + prostitutes + crime + corruption + church - 10/27/2007

I was born and raised in Memphis and have never lived anywhere else. I hate this city. As a child: The schools were decent, maybe some were good. But I didn't feel completely safe or comfortable. There was gang activity, drug use in the restrooms, frequent fistfights, incompetent and racist administration, and a curriculum that was not challenging, even in the honors program. As a college student at U of M: I lived near campus, that area was known for car break-ins, armed robberies, and horrible apartments with bad management. I lived below crack dealers and this was not abnormal. As a working adult: It seems hard to find a decent job. There's lots of minimum-wage service-industry work, but it would be nice if there were more options. Even skilled labor jobs don't pay a living wage or offer decent benefits. As an adult: Crime is everywhere, even in the more exclusive neighborhoods. The criminals follow the money. The drivers are generally bad. The traffic may be light, but the drivers should never have passed the test. The schools seem to have gotten even worse since I was in them. The government is extremely corrupt and wasteful, and so are the police. If you live in Memphis for any substantial amount of time, you're bound to be robbed, mugged, or run into by someone with no auto insurance. Even though I've always heard the South is friendly, everyone here is too scared to look each other in the face. It may be seen as a challenge. Incompentence is so commonplace that nothing is ever done about it. This is from the McDonalds to the University to the mayor. It does have a low cost of living, which is reflected in a low quality of life. It does have Shelby Farms, which is really nice, and there is good music and interesting history. But the ghosts of E.H. Crump and Elvis aren't helping us now.

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toilet bowl of the country - 10/2/2007

i have lived in memphis for 36 years of my life and have just recently moved. i moved because of the corrupt city government, the crime and the unbelievable hate that riddles the city. it is filthy and run down and the city mayor buys a new car or a new stadium, whatever hes in the mood for. certainly not improvement of the city. i fear for my childs safety in school.students beating other students or teachers fondeling students. i dont feel that education or the well being of our children are a concern for the leaders of the city. they would rather buy new basketball courts. i have decided to move my child away from memphis so that she has a chance to learn something other than racism, hate, and corrupt leadership.

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