Memphis Metro Area's Top Neighborhoods

When you think of where the top neighborhoods in Memphis are, you may think of Mud Island located in downtown Memphis. It is home to more than 5,000 residents. The housing ranges from riverside mansions to apartment communities. Mud Island is a peninsula jetting onto the Mississippi River. In addition to the housing, there is also a museum and outdoor amphitheater. It is also minutes away from historic Beale Street, Peabody Place, the Redbirds Stadium, and the FedEx Forum.

Or perhaps when you think of great neighborhoods in Memphis, you think of the Cooper-Young district in midtown with its historic houses. This eclectic neighborhood is known as one of the most artistic and hip areas of the city. Cooper-Young also has a large gay community and is home to the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

Cordova is a recently annexed area of the city. It still has much of its suburb type feel and some areas remain unincorporated. This is one of the busiest retail areas in the city of Memphis. The homes are very reasonably priced and it is convenient to the largest mall in the area, Wolfchase Galleria.

While these areas are excellent neighborhoods, I believe the best neighborhoods in Memphis aren't actually in Memphis at all. I believe the best neighborhoods in the area are the suburbs.

Probably one of the most upscale suburbs is Collierville. This quaint town was incorporated in 1870 and has grown to close to 40,000 residents. However, Collierville still maintains its "small town" feel with its historic downtown area and close knit feel. But, in keeping up with the times, the Avenue Carriage Crossing mall opened in Collierville in 2005. It is also hosts the world headquarters for FedEx. Its industries also include Carrier and Pepsi distribution center.

Another upscale suburb is Germantown incorporated in 1841. Although Germantown doesn't have a lot of industry, it does have some retail. It has some of the most expensive residential real estate in the area and fine schools. Germantown also has more acreage devoted to parks than any other town in the state. With more than 20 parks making each resident living about a half mile from one or more parks. Like Collierville, Germantown maintains a lot of its small town feel.

Arlington is one of the fastest growing suburbs of Memphis and is known as Shelby County's best kept secret. It was founded in the 1830's by Andrew Jackson's nephew, Samuel Jackson Hays. This little town of just over 5,000 is located in the north eastern part of Shelby County. The town has seen substantial growth over the past couple of years. The houses are reasonably priced in Arlington and they have just finished construction on their new playground of dreams.

Southaven, MS is another suburb of Memphis. This suburb-incorporated in 1980 is located in Mississippi, however it is just a few minutes from Memphis. It has become a major retail center over the past couple of years and is the fifth largest city in the state of Mississippi. Southaven hosts the minor league hockey team, the Memphis Riverkings and also has a great entertainment venue, the Desoto Civic Center. The housing is very affordable and new neighborhoods are continuing to go up.

Memphis and it's suburbs have a large variety of housing options that can appeal to anyone looking to call the Memphis Metro area home. It all depends on what you are looking for.