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New to Memphis


memphman

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I'm new to Memphis and I'm already in love with the place. Out of all the southern cities I've been too, this is definitely the realest (besides New Orleans maybe). Atlanta is "Atlanta", Charlotte is definitely boring, Nashville has great characteristics of many cities and none of itself. I had the opportunity to relocate to Memphis, Nashville, or Little Rock. Little Rock being too small was out of the question and so many people in Nashville exerted so much energy into putting Memphis down instead of telling me good things about their city. The people of Memphis were so laid back and acted as if they could care less if I moved here or not, while being the nicest people ever. I've been to an NBA game, Overton Square, Beale Street, Cooper-Young, the Pinch, and club after club. When do you people find time to sleep or work?!!!! Memphis is so gritty and has so much character. Its not too big, but not too small either. I hope I don't get transferred anytime soon. Is the crime as bad as some people make it out to be? My company's offices in Nashville had me to believe that I'd be a murder victim as soon as I entered the city limits LOL!

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Welcome to Memphis! I'm glad you're enjoying it here. I have very similar impressions of the cities you just named, although I've never spent much time in Charlotte so I don't really know. I was raised here as a child, lived in Nashville from 8th-12th grade, and have lived back in Memphis ever since HS. Nashville is a great city in many ways, but much like you said, it seems to search for it's own identity and culture.

I also agree that Nashvillians spend too much time putting down Memphis, but so do many Memphians. It is my personal opinion that this is largely related to, shall we say, the demographics here. In some cases it's a discomfort with "urban" culture and some of its by-products - high rates of crime, drugs, illegitimacy, illiteracy, idleness, etc. That's a discomfort I share to a large extent. In other cases, it's plain old prejudice.

Just curious...how long have you been here? What part of town do you live in? What kind of business brought you here?

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Welcome to Memphis! I'm glad you're enjoying it here. I have very similar impressions of the cities you just named, although I've never spent much time in Charlotte so I don't really know. I was raised here as a child, lived in Nashville from 8th-12th grade, and have lived back in Memphis ever since HS. Nashville is a great city in many ways, but much like you said, it seems to search for it's own identity and culture.

I also agree that Nashvillians spend too much time putting down Memphis, but so do many Memphians. It is my personal opinion that this is largely related to, shall we say, the demographics here. In some cases it's a discomfort with "urban" culture and some of its by-products - high rates of crime, drugs, illegitimacy, illiteracy, idleness, etc. That's a discomfort I share to a large extent. In other cases, it's plain old prejudice.

Just curious...how long have you been here? What part of town do you live in? What kind of business brought you here?

All is true, except all cities have the same problem. I was in Orlando and they had plenty of crime. I was shocked. Phoenix Arizona has the highest crime rate in the country. But no one criticizes them. The car theft there is #1 and booming. But welcome to Memphis! I am not from here either. I have been around the world. Lived in Houston. They have plenty of crime. Lived around Nashville and I hated it there. I hate the rocky environment. The diversity was terrible back then. It was country and nothing else. Things have changed since then. Oh yeah and the completely open end football stadium is overated. It looks decent till you realize it is 2 large bleachers with skyboxes.

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Welcome to Memphis! I grew up in the Nashville area and also experienced what you did. Nashville residents do not have an identity and so they seem to knock any place that does. I moved here two years ago and haven't looked back, the culture and diversity here rocks...and your right about the clubs - it's great. welcome to memphis!

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Glad you like it here! I wouldn't move from here unless forced to!

The crime here is really only as bad as the company you keep. 95% of the murders here result from disputes between people who have known each other a long time. If crime rates were based on random murders (where the victim did not know the attacker) I think our city would definitely be one of the safest. It still is a city of course, so you can't get complacent.

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Glad you like Memphis - sounds like you've already done everything there is to do here. Some people are meant to wear a certain sized shoe and it sounds as if you found that shoe in Memphis. My experience is that you have to like where you live in order to be happy. Having lived in both Nashville and Memphis I will agree that there is a certain grit and vibe to this city but I certainly miss the glamour and finesse of living in Nashville. The cities are just different monsters all together.

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Welcome to Memphis! I'm glad you're enjoying it here. I have very similar impressions of the cities you just named, although I've never spent much time in Charlotte so I don't really know. I was raised here as a child, lived in Nashville from 8th-12th grade, and have lived back in Memphis ever since HS. Nashville is a great city in many ways, but much like you said, it seems to search for it's own identity and culture.

I also agree that Nashvillians spend too much time putting down Memphis, but so do many Memphians. It is my personal opinion that this is largely related to, shall we say, the demographics here. In some cases it's a discomfort with "urban" culture and some of its by-products - high rates of crime, drugs, illegitimacy, illiteracy, idleness, etc. That's a discomfort I share to a large extent. In other cases, it's plain old prejudice.

Just curious...how long have you been here? What part of town do you live in? What kind of business brought you here?

I've been here for about a month and a half. I just found out today that I may be leaving soon though. By the way, I'm in the business of consulting. Thats all I can tell you without having to erase your memory LOL! I'm living in a downtown hotel right now. I wanted to take a helicopter ride to get a better idea of what the city looks like, but I can't find a company that does that anymore in town. Know of any?

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Welcome!!! You still have much to do and see in Memphis. I'm not sure if you have children or not but IMO Memphis has an impressive lineup of family entertainment. If you think your having fun now, wait till next month! Memphis in May is awesome! This year the city is repersenting Costa Rica. I would also recommend checking out the beach on Sardis Lake in Mississippi which is about 45 minutes south of Memphis and a game at AutoZone Park. I've lived in Memphis most of my life before moving to Nashville and I totally agree they love to put the city down. They thought I was nuts when I said I prefered Memphis :lol: I don't know about Memphis being the best city in the world but thats not something one can prove since its just an opinion but its certainly one of my personal favorites.

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I've been here for about a month and a half. I just found out today that I may be leaving soon though. By the way, I'm in the business of consulting. Thats all I can tell you without having to erase your memory LOL! I'm living in a downtown hotel right now. I wanted to take a helicopter ride to get a better idea of what the city looks like, but I can't find a company that does that anymore in town. Know of any?

Dunno if their still open but heres the only one I know of

Performance Helicopters Inc

Arlington, TN

901-867-7770

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The huh-wuh ? Are you talking about the soil ? :blink:

I am referring to the landscape. Like Birmingham at times it can be depressing. depending on the season. Nashville is nice. But I will take my green yard with only dirt and grass anyday. St. Louis also have the same landscape as nashville. But that is just me!

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I am referring to the landscape. Like Birmingham at times it can be depressing. depending on the season. Nashville is nice. But I will take my green yard with only dirt and grass anyday. St. Louis also have the same landscape as nashville. But that is just me!

Memphis is basically flat. It is beautiful in the summer when the lush foilage is here but come winter - Memphis is as ugly as any other city.

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Not many places are attractive in the winter however the lack of acknowledgement in previous posts certainly didn't address the fact that in winter - Memphis is dreadfully depressing as well. no snow, dead grass and flat terrain = utterly blah. But hey - its home and I love it for what it is - not what it lacks.

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Not many places are attractive in the winter however the lack of acknowledgement in previous posts certainly didn't address the fact that in winter - Memphis is dreadfully depressing as well. no snow, dead grass and flat terrain = utterly blah. But hey - its home and I love it for what it is - not what it lacks.

Ha! you can have some of our snow. We're usually up to our necks and the last of it melted just last week :shok: Looks pretty but after a while you get sick of it. Memphis certainly does look sad in the winter but there isn't really much that can be easily done about it. Atleast its all over now :thumbsup:

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Not many places are attractive in the winter however the lack of acknowledgement in previous posts certainly didn't address the fact that in winter - Memphis is dreadfully depressing as well. no snow, dead grass and flat terrain = utterly blah. But hey - its home and I love it for what it is - not what it lacks.

I second what Bears said. I live in Southern Minnesota where, for 4 months, absolutely everything is brown, white, and grey. In the south, Tennessee included, you've got a lot more perennial bushes--hollies, privet hedges, and so on-- that stay green year round. I've been back to Memphis in January and have seen pansies blooming and yards planted with winter rye which stays green. It almost hurt my eyes to look at the color since I'd been so sensory-deprived. :(

One thing that I noticed when I moved up here is how in winter, you can't smell anything outside--no vegetation, no dirt smell, nothing, you even forget what rain smells like because it doesn't rain in winter. That's just because everything, smells included, is locked up frozen.

As Bears will attest, winters up here are very grey with little sunshine. At least down south a cold front sweeps in, it cools off, it then warms up to 60 and rains, then another cold front. Up here, it's just unchangingly gloomy.

If not topography--although hills never mattered to me, having spent most of my life in New Orleans--I would say that the vegetation in Memphis surpasses Nashville in its lushness and almost jungle-like quality with those huge towering trees and dense undergrowth. I guess that has to do with Nashville's rocky soil.

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About the only thing that really caught my attention in Nashville was the fact that you could see the skyline from just about anywhere in town. I guess it has something to do with the hills. I rarely see the skyline of Memphis, unless I'm downtow or in Midtown.

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I am referring to the landscape. Like Birmingham at times it can be depressing. depending on the season. Nashville is nice. But I will take my green yard with only dirt and grass anyday. St. Louis also have the same landscape as nashville. But that is just me!

St. Louis and Nashville the SAME landscape ? That's news to me. :blink:

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About the only thing that really caught my attention in Nashville was the fact that you could see the skyline from just about anywhere in town. I guess it has something to do with the hills. I rarely see the skyline of Memphis, unless I'm downtow or in Midtown.

Yep that's part of the reason. Another reason is because downtown isn't in the center of town. However, you can see Clark tower and parts of the East Memphis skyline from all over.

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Hey memphman, since your living downtown did you check out Africa in April? This year, its repersenting Sierra Leone. I went a few years back and had a great time. If you haven't, better hurry. Last day is April 23rd at Church Park (next to Fedex Forum)

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This thread is disturbing. I think it's funny that many of the Memphis boosters on this site feel the need to do to Nashville EXACTLY what they claim is done to Memphis while boostering Memphis ("Nashville has great characteristics of many cities and none of itself"). So I guess all those who enjoy Second Avenue, Broadway, Vandy, the Hermitage, great joints like Tootsies, Centennial and Bicentennial Parks, and all of the great aspects of Nashville should just realize that these are characteristics that Nashville apparently imitated from other places trying to "find it's own identity?!?!?" If Nashville has no characteristics of it's own because similar elements are mirrored in other cities then, guess what, the same thing could be said about Memphis. After all, it's not the only place in the South with walkable urban neighborboods, rich blues history, and grit.

Let's get real, folks. Nashville has an identity. Memphis has an identity. If you prefer the latter, that's fine, but claiming the former doesn't exist because you prefer the latter is foolish and sounds as mean-spirited as many of you claim Nashvillians as being. As much as some Nashvillians like to put Memphis down, Memphians like to put Nashville down as well. It's what happens when the two largest cities of a medium-sized states are around the same size. But what seems to be even more prevalent around these parts is Memphis posters constantly using Nashville as a judging stick for where Memphis is going. This thread was a prime example. There was bascially no reason to call out other cities while exalting Memphis yet it happened. I encourage many of you to visit the Nashville forum where you will see that Nashvillians are not doing the same with Memphis.

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