FedEx Pilots, where to live in Memphis?

[HighNightFlyer]

I lived in Cordova when I was a newhire at FedEx 10 years ago. My crash pad got robbed and my roommate got hurt. All we got out of the Memphis police was that the apartment complex had lost control of its master keys and so the perpetrator just keyed himself in.

When my roommate, just before getting into the ambulance, asked Memphis' finest if they were going to catch the guy they said, "If he turns himself in."

I now live several hundred miles away and have no plans to move back.

For a while the Memphis police had the nation's highest police suicide rate.

If you absolutely have to live in the area just stay outside of Shelby county. I have a rarely used crash pad in Olive Branch, MS in a house with an alarm system and lots of pilots around.

HNF

 

[TaxiDriver]

I live by the new mall, south of non-connah bon and love it. Houses here are new and big. My neighbors are nice and I have never felt uncomfortable walking around.

I agree with Echopapa....we might be neighbors and don't know it. I just moved into the area a few months ago.....realtor said not to buy south of Poplar. I went house to house talking with potential neighbors asking the same question......they all were told the same thing about avoiding south of Poplar....and still moved there anyway. Everyone in our subdivision loves the location. Yes, the train at 3am can be annoying, but you tune it out.

That's my 1/2 cent!

 

[HoursHore]

I am a Professional "RB" guy as well. Life is great when you live in Domicile. I live in South Main / Bluffs, and am having a great time.

BUT (Big But), I have no kids so I Don't have to worry about the Schools. The Girl I am currently seeing was robbed about a year ago in Midtown at gunpoint and moved out to Hacks Cross and Winchester. And Midtown is pretty Nice.

There are nice neigborhoods in the City (cooper young and East Memphis), but you need to send your kids to private school and buy a real big Dog.

Also watch out for Zombies crossing the street wherever they dam well please downtown.

 

[Flapjack]

Some people are never going to like Memphis, for the reasons mentioned earlier. And they are the most vocal, by far, over the people that accept that it's not perfect to live here, but are pretty happy nonetheless. That's why so many are commuters. To each their own.

I like it, because I am home almost every day of the month, every month. I am a permanent reserve guy, typically working about 5-8 days per month, usually a couple of these are airport standbys, the rest usually out and backs. It's some life!

I hate commuting, and I love being at home 20 minutes after I leave the AOC. Got a nice place in a nice suburb, and life is good. I'd rather deal with mild winters / hot summers than the other way around. While Memphis itself is not much to look at, there are some great areas in Arkansas to check out if you like the water or the outdoorsy stuff. And Eastern TN is as beautiful as anything I have seen in this country.

The traffic on the 240 loop is bad at times and in certain areas, but not when we go to work. It's usually very predictable, one way slowdowns on 240 going to/from the 'burbs for morning / evening rush hours. What large city doesn't have traffic issues? I haven't found one yet. The drivers are far worse than any other city I have lived in, however. No joke, they are really bad.

And as far as living near the trains, we know some people that live right next the tracks in Germantown. It sounds crazy, but it is really not very bad - they only blow their whistles at the major intersections, see. If you live well away from these intersections (like they do), all you get is the low frequency sound of the train, which you can barely even hear in the house. Even sitting outside, I didn't think it was bad. IMO, it's no more of an annoyance than a jet passing overhead. It's the price one pays for living in G-Town or Collierville, which IMO is the nicest area you can live in while still being close to the good stuff (Parks, shopping, restaurants).

Cordova has nice areas, but because of the annexation, the market there has fallen flat on its face. Homes are on the market for years (yes, that's right, years). It may never recover - some realtors won't even take listings from Cordova because it is so hard to sell there....But man, you can get a lot of house / yard for your money. Very convenient location to the mall, Shelby Farms, etc.

The thing about Germantown is that it can never be annexed by Memphis, and they have their own local police, have very strict code enforcement, and in general their properties hold their value very well. I am not sure if Collierville is immune to annexation, but at this time it is not annexed.

If you want to make some money on your home, go to the Mud Island or South Bluffs area. Prices have been on an absolute tear over there for a while, and I bet the trend will continue for a few years. Don't expect to get much, if any yard or a great deal on a house. You'll pay Memphis city tax, always on the rise, and you'll pay association fees. They are packed in like sardines. The drive to the airport is super easy. And you can make money quick on your home.

Olive Branch MS is really worth looking into - nice community overall. You are away from the good things in Memphis (Shelby Farms, nightlife, the mall, restaurants) and the bad (crime, corruption in gov't). It's growing quickly, and is stocked with suburban staples like Walmart and Home Depot, etc. Pay MS state income tax, but lower property taxes. Decent public schools, so you don't have to pay for private school, like many do in TN. For some, this is a perfect situation.

That's just what I think - as you can see, there are a lot of opinions on the subject. Good luck, whatever you choose!

 

[AdlerDriver]

Memphis is a s**! hole! I mean it completely sucks. Every time I go there I find a new reason to hate the area. Let me list a few:

1) Weather sucks - out of 12 months you've got 5 months where it is grueling hot and you want to shoot yourself and another 4 months where it's very cold
2) Not an ounce of natural beauty in the area. I mean I challenge one person to name something beautiful about the area
3) Traffic stinks - it's worse than DC or southern California - truly
4) Worst gov't management imaginable. On all aspects - from running the city to fixing the roads - it's truly ridiculous
5) Rampant racisim - white on black and black on white - not a place I want to raise my kids
6) Downright depressing - compared to say the coasts, you'll be depressed living in this area. The shopping stinks, grocery stinks (it's like you stepped back into time when you walk into your local Kroger store), most of the neighborhoods stink

So there you have a few. Yes Collierville and Germantown are ok but hey let's face it you live in Memphis. Whatever happens in Memphis has a huge impact on the entire metropolitan area. Oh yea, real estate is cheap. I wonder why??

Do the right thing - live somewhere nice and commute in. Your family will love you for it. Oh one final thing I forgot - the crew force - night and day difference from working out of Memphis and working out of one of the other domiciles.

Do you or have you lived in Memphis?

 

[PurpleTail]

Don't ask me though - I'm moving to Fort Worth in a couple weeks.

Goose17

Best response yet, wise beyond your years!

Memphis is a toilet bowl.

 

[1stCivDiv]

Not so bad..

Ok call me stupid but we really don't mind it here. However, I would look at the Olive Branch/Southaven, MS area. There is a lot of construction going on down here and there are several neighborhoods that have 300K+ dollar houses going up at the rapid rate. There are more shopping malls going up around this area than you can read about. Also the schools in DeSoto county are some of the best in MS. Beale street is only a twenty minute drive from our front door and AOC is ten. Can't beat that, and sitting on reserve in my own bed and "dozing for dollars" is not all bad. Good luck in your choice but if you look around you can't beat the real estate market and the QOL staying here than trying to commute. In my opinion it is well worth the negatives.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

2) Not an ounce of natural beauty in the area. I mean I challenge one person to name something beautiful about the area

There is this girl that hangs out on the corner of Lamar and Airways..... She is pretty hot. Kinda kills your #2 now doesn't it...

 

[Goose17]

The best thing about living in Memphis as a pilot is FedEx. It makes the flying very easy. You can upgrade at 100%, not worry too much about seniority, lots of flexibility with your schedule, and you see your family all the time.

I have been here for 4 years and I have only flown nights a month or two. I have taken an entire month's schedule and dropped everything and made it up on the fly with all afternoon launches. Also, if you want to you can make extra scratch (hot topic now).

That being said, I am giving that all up to move away from the area. I will forgo upgrades and the $ that goes with it to improve my senioriy and my quality of life. Why am I doing this? Memphis really doesn't do much for us. It is flat, there isn't any good water unless you want a long drive, the city has serious racial issues like mentioned above and the politicians all look and sound like ex-cons. Sure, you can have a nice house and see the family all the time, but I have 2 young kids just starting school and quite often we are at a total loss on things to do to stay busy here. I'm sure it is just a lack of imagination on my part, but after the 100th trip to the zoo and the childrens museum, some trips to the park, and drives to the nearest lake, we have used all our tokens and are ready for more.

We are moving to a house on a lake just outside of Fort Worth TX. We don't know anyone there, but the area seems nice, the people seem nice, and the schools look pretty good. So, in 2 weeks time, we head west on a new adventure.

To people moving to Memphis; you will definitely be home more and make more money to boot. If you and your family are happy here, then all the power to you.

There are definitely worse places, but there are many better ones too.

To each his own.

Goose17

 

[FedExFlyer]

South of Poplar/I-285 corridor

I think the thing with the south of Poplar could be an issue due to access to I-385. It's a quick getaway for those looking to cause problems. The bad guys arent as prevalent north of Poplar due to them having to make a trek through the middle of town to make their getaway where the police force is more prevalent.

I hear of alot more break-ins south of the I-285 and Poplar roads and crime seems to move eastward along the Winchester/Shelby/Holmes roads over the years.

Granted, its a great area at the moment but things can change down the road bringing property values down making your home worthless.

Just my .02/chime in if you disagree