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.
Merrilee | Olive Branch, MS