Best Places to Live in Memphis

Every city has communities that set the benchmark for the best and worst that it has to offer. From Atlanta's Buckhead region to Houston's tony First Colony, communities can make or break a city. In Memphis there is no Buckhead or First Colony. Areas like that have been reserved for its suburbs Bartlett and Olive Branch, which is why Money Magazine has listed them in its Top 100 best places to live in 2007. But what does Memphis itself have to offer outside political chaos, rising crime and a migrating economic base? Are there communities worth living in?

In the Money survey they looked at measurables like the financial vitality, housing economics, education, quality of life, leisure and culture, and other variables of the city. If you were to do the same for the communities in the city you would find some interesting nuggets about the various communities in Memphis. Using the same measuring sticks that Money Magazine used and only pooling the communities inside the city limits the obvious leaders for best places to live in Memphis would be Mud Island, Cordova and Cooper-Young.

Mud Island has been the premiere address in the city since its development began in the 90s by real estate developer Henry Turley. With its distinctive houses and suburban feel, Mud Island feels a thousand miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city even though it is walking distance from downtown and Beale Street. With housing prices averaging over $200,000 and its own market grocery opening up in the fall of 2007, Mud Island and its most recognized community, Harbor Town offers the best living that Memphis has to offer.

Second on the list of best places to live in Memphis is Cordova. While it has eroded somewhat since its annexation into the city, Cordova remains a premiere community with its middle class dominant community and plush retail life. Once a thriving suburb, Cordova has continued its growth and build-out over the last ten years since the city took it over in the 90s. With a solid education base with the new Cordova high school as well as rich private schools like Evangelical Christian School and St. Benedicts of Auburndale, Cordova remains a solid option for raising a family inside the city.

For the artsy, culture-driven citizens, the Cooper-Young District remains the soul of the city. From Overton Square to the Cooper-Young intersection, CY maintains its long-standing place as the cultural epicenter of Memphis. With its spirit and distinctiveness, similar to that seen and experienced in San Francisco, Cooper-Young will continue to be a place of life and interest for those that call it home.

As certain as the best places to live are, the worst or least desired places to live in Memphis are equally identifiable. From the mire that is South Memphis to the lifelessness that is Frayser, these two areas are the two communities most people in Memphis would not want to live in. With underperforming schools and no retail options, those that live in the city are far less approving of their areas than those that live in Cooper-Young or Cordova. And with housing options relegated to depressed or distressed options it certainly cannot hold a candle to the residents of Mud Island.

What is interesting is that the city has begun to take notice of the differences and begun to invest in the redevelopment of Frayser and South Memphis. With its new Uptown Project in South Memphis and the redevelopment of Stax, the city is pushing to reinvent South Memphis around Lemoyne-Owen College. A far more daunting challenge is what to do with Frayser. Since the shutdown of the Firestone plant, there has been little industry and therefore life in the area. And with a high school graduation rate among the poorest in the city the prospects are difficult to ascertain.

The future of Frayser may be driven by what the Department of Transportation decides to do with the planned interstate that will be running through the northern side of the city. If it pushes deep into Frayser it may be a boon for the area and its residents with hotels and restaurants needed near the exits.

Is there anything good that can be learned from knowing the best and worst places to live? It could be to know where we should focus our efforts or to see where things are going good so that we could model them in other areas. But that would mean that the people in leadership have a real concern for making sure that no areas are receiving less attention than others. And we know that is simply not the way the money game is played.

My apologies to the residents of Frayser and South Memphis. You deserve more than you are receiving. And as soon as the powers that be find a way to make money in your area you will receive even more attention and investment capital than you do right now.

Until then, find somewhere else to call home.