MEM Based Pilots

[TaxiDriver]

I have a friend who is looking at taking a job in the MEM area. Does anyone have any recommendations as to where a good area would be to buy a home and raise a family?

Thank you.

 

[TonyC]

Bartlett









.

 

[Goose17]

Memphis

We have FedEx pilots living all over the area... Bartlett, Cordova, Mud Island, Mississippi, Mid Town, Germantown and Collierville. The majority of the folks live in Germantown or Collierville. Some argue those areas have the best schools. Relatively speaking, you can live more cheaply in Bartlett or Cordova and a comparable house will cost you more in Germantown and Collierville. The I-240 loop is affectionately called the FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area) and you probably want to stay as far away from it as possible. There are exceptions like Mid Town, but it will cost you lots of money and you will probably end up with kids in private school (which a lot of people do in this area anyway).

As the cancer of the inner city spreads, many families are heading east. Non-Memphis areas heading east in order are Germantown, Collierville, county.

Hope that helps.

Goose17

 

[PurpleInMEM]

Or try Fayette County, which is just east of Shelby county where Memphis is located. Excellent place to raise a family. Taxes are lower, housing is cheap and you can actually buy land with the house...unlike those zero lot line egg cartons their building all over Cordova.

The public schools suck, but they do everywhere else too. Just send the rug rats to private school.

And to reiterate Goose's comment....if your friend must live in Shelby county, stay as far away from the I-240 loop as possible.

 

[TaxiDriver]

Thanks guys. Do you think Bartlett/Cordova/Collierville are far enough away from I-240?

Also, how do you guys like living in MEM?

 

[embraerjetpilot]

My mother is a realtor in Memphis... Im sure she'll be happy to find a good area and help them with their needs..

write me a pm and i will send her phone number.

 

[Deuce130]

I'm considering the move to MEM also. Collierville seems to be the best I've seen so far. I've heard Memphis is trying to annex it, any truth to that rumor? Any downside to Collierville, aside from the fact it's near Memphis? I figure if so many other guys live there, it's got to be OK.

Second issue, does anyone commute to a guard/reserve job? I've got to commute to either MEM or my reserve job and I'm not sure what the obstacles are to commuting to a USAFR job, aside from more difficulty staying current. I can't stage from where I live now and the competition for off-line jumpseats is stiff so It'd be easier to live in MEM, I think. Any ideas or inputs?

 

[HoursHore]

I recently made the move to MEM and along with a few other Brave souls live smack dab within the FEBA. (South Main) Its not that bad, but a certian book by Joeseph Conrad comes to mind. I wouldn't raise a family here. (I'm not) I commute to the Reserves and find they are a lot more flexible than Big Purple. Its a straight online commute though to a smaller city and the jumpseat is easy to get. The hard part is trying to get there on Sun or Monday, when the flight selection is limited, and the offline NWA flights fill up.

Since I live in MEM and bid reserve, I am home 75% of the time. I get the Reserve stuff done with one 5 day excursion to get 10 pts. Its been working really well.

Anything more than a one leg commute to the Reserves is going to get old real quick, esp when 2nd year pay kicks in.

 

[Goose17]

Memphis is annexing lots of bordering land. They cannot annex bordering independent cities though. Germantown and Collierville are safe. Cordova is being annexed.

We have tons of guys living here and commuting to guard/reserve jobs. Unless it is in a hot spot like Jacksonville or Colorado Springs, you shouldn't have a problem commuting to it

As for living here... I plan to move out next summer. To each his own and there are a ton of arguments for both sides, but I see the big positive for this area is it makes working for FedEx very easy. Beyond that, there are many other places I'd rather live. For me, I would like a house on a nice lake. Not possible near Memphis. Add on the politics, race problems and a few other issues and I look forward to moving. On the flip side, my family and I have lived here for 4 years and I have been home with the familiy much more than a guy commuting with my seniority.

Goose17

 

[TonyC]

The public schools suck, but they do everywhere else too. Just send the rug rats to private school.

The quality of the education your child receives is directly proportional to the amount of interest the parents are willing to invest in the process. There are excellent education opportunities in Shelby County Schools, if parents are willing to devote their time and attention to the process.

Simply "send[ing] the rugrats to private school" won't make your children brilliant.


Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, and Millington are individually incorparated in Shelby County, and their schools are part of the Shelby County School system. They will not be annexed by Memphis. Cordova, on the other hand, is not incorporated, and IS at high risk for annexing. In fact, parts of Cordova have already been annexed.

For the country dwellers, there are sections of Shelby County that are set aside as "reserves" for Memphis, Arlington, Bartlett, etc. For example, you might find a parcel of land in the Bartlett reserve area that you like. For now, it is unincorporated Shelby County, no city taxes, schools are Shelby County. IF it is ever annexed, it can only be annexed by Bartlett, in which case it will still be part of the Shelby County School system. It can never be annexed by Memphis.

To review: if you're interested in public schools, do not consider Memphis, or any part of Shelby County that could ever be annexed by Memphis. That leaves quite a selection of locations with a wide variety of scenery and price ranges.

Regardless of where you live, no amount of money will replace parental involvement.


.

 

[FNG24]

Goose is right, most everything east of the "city of Cordova" has been approved for annexation and the city of Memphis has a long and consistent track record of destroying the schools etc after doing it. You can go into alot od real estate offices and they have maps up on the wall showing the approved and proposed annex areas. If you have kids Cordova High ranks amongst the worst in the country...not me....just the facts from test results and graduation numbers...

 

[Echopapa]

For Families:

#1. Collierville--a very familiy oriented town. A favorite for the younger families. My experience is that the majority of new hires move to collierville.

#2. Germantown--This is an older community with older, but very nice and well maintained houses. Schools are good but not a lot of new options for housing. I see a lot of older captains in germantown with older or grown children.

Don't move to cordova unless you wanna play twice the tax and have half the services.

Bartlett is fine, but you are isolated from the major growth corridor.


For single guys:

Down town or mud island are very popular. Also midtown has quite a nice atmosphere. The schools in all these areas are awful...so stay clear if you have kids.

 

[MVSW]

Germantown...hands down

 

[Goose17]

Germantown / Collierville

Germantown has about used up most of the vacant land and there are not a whole lot of new affordable developments going up. Collierville is relatively new and there are new homes popping up everwhere. Something to consider as well... Many of the new developments have NO trees remaining. Might not seem like a big deal until it is 100 degrees plus and your kids want to go out and play. My house in Germantown is surrounded by old/tall oak trees and the entire back yard is shaded for the most part.

As for the drive to the airport. From my G'town house it is about 20 minutes on the Nonconoban. Add about 10+ minutes from C'ville. Fayette county is even farther.

Either way you slice it, for the area, Germantown and Collierville are good areas for families.

Goose17

 

[Reddie]

Its hilarious to fly with guys who do nothing but bash the city but live in Gtown or Collerville and never venture inside the loop. East MEM and Midtown are actually vey nice. Now dont get me wrong, MEM has some terrible parts and some real political and social issues, but dont sell yourself short by not checking it out. We live in Midtown near the U of M and absolutely love our neighborhood. Tons of mature trees, beautiful older homes, lots of interesting things to do (walk to the library, church starbucks, shopping, theater, restraunts, bars ect.) and 9 min to the parking lot. Another plus is that you will not loose money buying inside the loop in a good area. I have a bunch of friends making a killing buying and fixing up in Central Gardens and Cooper young area (cant say the same for Cordova and soon Southhaven, horn lake ect.). But it always comes down to schools. Well, for my money, Whitestation high in east MEM is the best public (and better than some private) school in Shelby county (do the research and go visit).
Anyway. my 2 cents.

 

[chili]

Check Arlington!!

We just bought a house in Arlington, which is East of Mem about 20 miles or so on I-40. It is a small town right now, but they are building at an incredible rate. If you don't mind the state income tax, Olive Branch and a few other MS towns are very nice as well.

 

[boost]

So I was going to write a nice long description about my observations on Memphis, but words cannot truly describe what it feels like to be there. You must absolutely go and stay there for awhile before you ever consider moving your family there. Perhaps it is the racial problems that plague the progress of the city, the hundreds of homicides or the thousands of uninsured drivers, but there is just something in the air there that will make your sixth sense say "Run, run and don't look back!"
It is true that a lot of the guys that are from there or have family there have found their own little niches in the city (or east of it anyway) but it is best to stay within your walls. There is a reason that 70 percent of FedEx pilots commute.

Good luck to you whatever decision you make...


boost, happy commuter

P.S. If 385 and 240 are jammed up when you visit, then you will want to take Winchester and you can play our favorite game on the way to the airport from the east side of town. All you have to do is count the "check in to cash" places vs. the churches. So far the score is close at 23 to 21, but just try it yourself and let me know what you come up with!

 

[profile]

I live in Germantown, which is great, but in hindsight, I agree with Reddie 100%. I moved from SoCal, and am enjoying living here very much. Don't miss SoCals day to day life, but miss running on the beach or in the mountains. Course, didn't do that enough to make the rest worth it.

 

[Purpledog]

"Run, run and don't look back!"

I did and I didn't. To each his own though.

 

[ClippedWings]

How is it in Southaven, MS? Crime rate?