Tennessee Nesties
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
HELP! Moving to Memphis from Chicago!!!
Hi Everyone!
I just found out that my FI and I will be moving to the Memphis area from Chicago. I am so nervous any worried...we are leaving a month after our wedding in May! Anyway, I have some questions and I am hoping for a little help to ease my nerves ...
- What are some safe neighborhoods around Memphis? We noticed a lot of inexpensive homes in Cordova...is there a reason for this?
- I am an ESL teacher and will need to find a job in the area. Any tips on how to go about this? The TN school system is so different from IL so any info is very appreciated!
Thank you!!
I just found out that my FI and I will be moving to the Memphis area from Chicago. I am so nervous any worried...we are leaving a month after our wedding in May! Anyway, I have some questions and I am hoping for a little help to ease my nerves ...
- What are some safe neighborhoods around Memphis? We noticed a lot of inexpensive homes in Cordova...is there a reason for this?
- I am an ESL teacher and will need to find a job in the area. Any tips on how to go about this? The TN school system is so different from IL so any info is very appreciated!
Thank you!!
Re: HELP! Moving to Memphis from Chicago!!!
Hey! Congrats on your big move!
As a general rule of thumb, you'll probably want to live in East Memphis, Cordova, Germantown, or Collierville. I have also heard pretty good things about living in Lakeland. The place most people would like to live or buy a house at is Germantown. The houses in Cordova are what I like to consider "starter homes". They are all around the same size, have the same look, and all have fairly small yards. It's hard to sell them, especially right now, because they are basically a dime a dozen. I live in Cordova (renting a house) and I like it because of the location to the area and our friends but I don't LOVE it either.
I don't have kids and I don't know many teachers so I don't know how much I can help you there. There are basically Memphis City Schools and then the county schools. Memphis has its share of crime, gangs, etc. so if it were me, I'd shoot for the county schools or the private ones.
My FI was transferred to Memphis last year and we were in the same boat looking for a house (we weren't engaged yet)--on the computer, Cordova seemed like a great deal but when we go there understood why--tons of foreclosures making the neighborhoods seem very run down and there were subdivisions of new construction that were abandoned by the builder and completely just fields of mud. We were really disappointed. We spent 4 or 5 solid weekends looking.
For us, Collierville and Arlington were too far out from where FI was going to be working (but it may not be too far for you guys) and although we liked East Memphis, we couldn't get a big enough house with a 2 car garage there because the homes were older and not built with garages. We loved Germantown but didn't want to spend that much knowing we wouldn't be in Memphis forever. So, he ended up buying in Bartlett and he's really happy with the neighborhood. The neighbors are really nice and seem to love to celebrate holidays--we had over 100 trick or treaters and we were invited to an annual christmas party that one of the neighbors gives and people really decorate for the holidays.
I ended up staying in Atlanta because I couldn't sell my house (brand new construction) and because of my job so now he's selling the house in Memphis and relocating back to Atlanta since his company is not doing well and my job is going really well. The house is actually going on the market in the next day or so. There's a post on this board I did about the house if Bartlett interests you or you can page me on the Atlanta knot board.
A few more things about Memphis--in Atlanta, the houses had much more closet space and the neighborhoods have pools but not so much the houses. In Memphis the closets in all the houses we saw were smaller and more houses have pools and fewer neighborhoods have pools. Also, popcorn ceilings seem to be popular in Memphis and not many houses seemed to have basements. All stuff we learned looking at many many houses.
Good luck in your search!
Bartlett, Arlington, Collierville, Germantown are where ya want to be! Oakland is nice too but it is out of Shelby County
We live in the Bartlett area and love it! Cordova has mostly been annexed by Memphis and the property values reflect that! You can get an awesome house in Bartlett for what you'd pay in Cordova with out all the negatives.The closer you get to Memphis line, in my opinion, the less desirable!
My boss actually has a house downtown Memphis and enjoys it....so that could be an option!
Oh and I was in the same boat about moving here, but fortunately just came from Nashville.
I would also suggest maybe renting a place first until you get the feel of the area!
We opted to rent for six months, so we weren't committing to an area that we may not want to settle down in. Thankfully we were able to look aroudn and find the perfect place!
If you want to speak to a Realtor, I can give you our lady's info!
(I hope that made the least bit of sense)
I'm a native Memphian and agree with the pp that you should consider renting first. That will allow you to get a feel for the area and learn the neighborhoods more. There are some great central city areas - Evergreen, Annesdale Snowden, Central Gardens, Harbor Town etc. that have wonderful historic homes. They are expensive but very nice. I reside in Bartlett and love the area. Not too far from the city but not in the middle of crazy East Memphis traffic.
And ditto to the previous poster about the schools. MCS (Memphis City Schools) is in the middle of budget issues, so things are iffy on hiring. But, if your concentration is in an area of greater need - you will have no problem getting a job. My advice is not to remove anything from your lists, but apply at all of the school systems (county, city & private) to find the best fit for you.
Next thing to consider - try to stay withing Shelby County if at all possible for future job prospects. Some jobs (mainly gov't and quasi-gov't agencies) have residency requirements so if you move to DeSoto County, MS (which is basically 25 minutes from Memphis), you will find it harder to find a job with some companies. MCS has no residency requirement, so if you teach in Memphis but live in Bartlett, there is no issue with employment.
Good luck and welcome!