When I was a kid we used to go to Memphis every weekend from west helena Ar. Memphis malls were where the best dressed people would go. We would go eat ice cream on the cream boat. Memphis was really nice in the 70s. Memphis used to have so much fashion. We shopped in Memphis for clothes and furniture.
I grew up in Collierville but shopped at the malls in Memphis for clothes so I remember those good ole days. I miss that so much. Now a lot of people don't care about how they dress, look or conduct themselves. Missing the good old days when people cared.
@@glamgalnorth6320 yeah those were the good ole days. We would go to Memphis to eat at the restaurants they didn’t have in my little town. I really loved that Cream Boat. It was better than baskin robins.
Memphis is just weird. You can drive ten minutes and go from incredibly run down and crime ridden to Massive and expensive houses. You have some of the worst schools and some of the best. It has some of the best neighborhoods and some of the worst. Just a tale of two extremes. Also Collierville might be a upcoming suburb, The nicest parts of the Memphis area are definetly East Memphis amd Germantown.
The new Ford F-Series plant, Blue Oval City, being built northeast of Memphis is going to be a boon to this area, although it will end up greatly affecting housing prices.
I’ve been to 61 U.S. cities in the past 6 months. Memphis is in my top 5 favorites. Beale Street is a lot of fun, with great music and food. Graceland and Lorraine Motel (the place MLK was shot) and the accompanying Civil Rights Museum are must visits. The Peabody Ducks shouldn’t be missed either. There is some danger, but if you’re smart and careful you’ll be fine.
Well I guess if your a democratic you would like it here. There's lots of crime to cheer on and you can always go fight your way through the homeless on Beal street and go to one of the roach infested bars and eat some over priced crappy food and then run the gauntlet back to your car if it's still there. Sounds like a blast. Oh that was just a gun shot.
Well I guess if you are a democrat then you would like it. There's lots of crime to cheer on and you can go to Beal street and fight your way through the homeless people and go to a roach infested bar and eat some over priced crappy food and then run the gauntlet back to your car if it's still there. Sounds like a blast. Oh that was just gun shots.
Lived in Memphis for 65 years. Seen it all, the bad and the good. But when I retired, I felt it was high time to leave. The crime and the shootings made up my mind for me. Moved north to a country town and have never looked back.
Paul I have a similar story. I moved to DeSoto County about 12 years ago and have never looked back. Since I moved down here I've retired. My wife and I would like to move over to Arkansas because Memphis feels too close now. The housing inventory is low in Arkansas and I fear we may have waited too late. We'll see what happens this year maybe we'll be able to do it.
I am 58 and would love to live in Memphis but tales of crime stabbings murder kind of put me out of the tourist mood. When I say tourist I mean inquisitive person. I'm sure there are countless interesting things for me to check out in Memphis but the hospital ER is not one of them with my kidneys or intestines hanging out from being robbed at knife point. I prefer to live the next 20 or 30 years without being stabbed or shot for the $37 I might have in my pocket. Who was it that said, can't we all just get along? Trust in Jesus ✝️🛐
I grew up in The Westwood/Whitehaven area, it was pretty cool place to grow up. But just before I left in 85 I noticed that the dynamics, the cultural environment were changing, and not for the better. What used to be nice homes and neighborhoods started slowly decaying. It is so sad, it use to be such a nice place to raise a family even if you were poor.
Am a Zambian RU-vidr and I decided to find out about Mephis because my fedex tracking says my parcel from florida heading to Zambia, Africa passed through here, I had never heard of this place before. Mephis looks like Johannesburg, South Africa
Of all the "bad" cities that Nick explores and I have also visited, I have to say, I probably enjoyed my stay in Memphis the most. But then again, this was 1994. It probably helped that I stayed at the Peabody.
@@mind-of-neo are you from Memphis or have you lived here?? I was born and raised here and I can tell you that this city has come up since 1994. '94 was much much more dangerous than it is now. Im sure with the adjustments for population growth/decline the statistics will reflect that.
I visited Memphis for the first time in 2007. I stayed in the Germantown area. It was such a nice part of town. I recently went back and stayed in Germantown again. It is definitely not the same! One other thing i have never understood. As popular as the Graceland area is, why is it so run down? That's a huge portion of Memphis' bread and butter. They should really invest in that area to make it more presentable.
I live in Memphis and can say it is a difficult city to be poor in for sure. Basically have to choose bad or worse when it comes to neighborhoods and schools for your kids. Crime is surging again, the infrastructure is falling apart (see the recent ice storms for example), and the majority of people I talk to about the city want to leave but they can't afford to go. Thankfully we live in a nicer area in Cordova and hopefully closing on a house just outside of Shelby County soon. If it wasn't for my wife's job, we would have moved a long time ago.
@@jaysmith179 You americans got that two party system, so its easier to choose who you are blaming this time. Both are taking the money from poor and putting them in the pockets of the rich.
Yea, movec here in augest. Hate the drivers...(i drive a large truck so people mostly know im there)and ive been shot at 4-5 times on the way to work because someone tried robbing a house near mine then i rolled up with highbeams on, (kind of obvious when you have a car parked sideways in the streat and 4 guys running to the car and speeding away)
Boy, did I love your guest today! Eloquent, logical, clear spoken, just wonderful! Keep getting guests of this caliber And your videos improve tenfold! Great video!
The good thing about Memphis is that it is the Harvard of gangsters, once you finish your internship, you can actually find a very decent gang member position anywhere in the US with a very good salary.
I was in Memphis last week on a road trip. Stopped at the new Hyatt Centric in downtown, near beale street and on the river, brand new and really really nice hotel. Really nice people too. We went around the corner to a new brewery and it was nice and safe so didn't get any bad impression there, but we were just traveling through. Guess there are some good parts to city and it might turn around. Hope crime gets better there cause it was a nice little stop we made and I enjoyed it there.
Mike is such a great guy. It's a shame he didn't get elected because I think he has a very logical and pointed idea of what needs to be done to address the issues. It's multifaceted but he seems to comprehend the root of the problem and where to begin fixing what could take decades if ever. I really appreciated him questioning where the federal money is at, why is it not getting put in the hands of grassroots people who know where it is best spent in the communities. It's happening all over the country.
True there are many bad areas in Memphis. Thankfully I don’t live in one of them. The issue here is more so an issue any and everywhere, ppl not taking accountability for themselves and no regards for others. Oh how wonderful the world would be as a whole if ppl would do/be better
I grew up in a neighborhood that went from good to WTF. My take on it is that yes a lot of what is happening is bigger than me. However what I can do is show kindness and hope it spreads. I can make a choice everyday that I will not be a person who makes things worse. I can choose to view other people with compassion in the knowing that we are all part of this human family. No it is not perfect, but it is a better way forward. We must work towards a day when doing what is rite is more important than money. Then will be our golden age.
Being a teen that stays in Memphis this cut deep and really just hurt to realize all over again, and to see what my fellow pears thinks makes me worried that the endless cycle of violence won't stop. But i will say i learned a few new things about my city and yeah theirs a lot of good people here for sure
I live in Memphis in the Raleigh area, and I'm done with it. People don't have common courtesy. . Trash everywhere. You have to be on your game. Someone attempted to rob me at Lamar and airways at 12 in the afternoon until they were met with a fire arm. Vehicles and home targeted atleast once or twice a year. Its too far gone.
Wonder how my dad watched this city decay staying here in Raleigh for his 60+ years and still hasn't left. I'm 26 and ready to go, regardless of my good job with an awesome company. Trash is everywhere, and people have no integrity or pride in what they do.
I currently live in Memphis. The quality of life here is TERRIBLE. Unbelievable crime (over 300 homicides last year), worst drivers by FAR of any place I have lived, the drivers can get away with anything as the PD is 500 police officers short and speeders and wreckless drivers are not put in check. Ever. Oh, and over 70, yes over 70 freeway shootings last year! Ultra boring as there is nothing to do here as far as outdoor life (except fishing). Businesses by the score and even schools are closing down here and the infrastructure is crumbling rapidly. It rains over 50 inches per year, so sunshine is not abundant and the humidity is stifling! Even the famed BBQ gets old after a few times. My nephew got shot at by a car jacker last year in a "better" part of town, so he moved away. There have been at least 5 homicides within a mile of my house in the last few years, and I also live in a "better" part of town. I'm moving out soon and can't wait! Edit: And the customer service in most places is ABYSMALL!!!
This is what I keep telling folks. The "better" areas of Memphis are no longer the "better" places. It is bad everywhere now. There is little to nothing left in the city to rob. Businesses are closing and boarded up. Some move to the burbs so now it's open season to steal from the "nicer" areas. I moved from the city into the burbs and it was good for a few years but not anymore. Now I live in another state and realized that it's not like that everywhere. Crime does not have to be a part of your life.
20 years ago there where areas you avoided. Now the city as a whole has become unsafe. Early to mid 2000's Germantown and Wolfchase mall was a safe area. Now that area can be dangerous.
This guy talking to dude is like south Memphis is ruff north Memphis you gotta watch your back. West Memphis is definatly sketchey. East Memphis don't get out of your car unless it breaks down. But Memphis as a whole is alright. Me im like head explodes from the statement. And me note to self never go to Memphis for anything. Talking about right to work state thank your Demacats they have been screwing the very people that vote for em at 95 percent. And they have no accountability so in other words the dema do you wrong abd still you vote em in. It's like if the dog pisses the floor and you give em a treat. The dogs going to piss the floor all the time. That's what u do to the Dems. The puss on you and still you reward them with your vote. Wake up
I went to Memphis in 2011, stated at the Pilrim House Hostel, it was attached to a church and even that didn't stop someone from burglarizing cars. It was a shame because the staff worked really hard to make your stay nice. Food was good and Graceland was interesting but the area around it was scary. The Victorian Village was a jewel from a bygone era.
Victorian Village was nice fifty years ago, before a two brothers bought up all the derelict mansions, tore the down and put in twenty unit apartments on hundred wide lots.
I was born, raised, and lived in Memphis until last August. For all 30 years of my life I’d been a Memphian. Me mentioning where I’m from makes people fearful, which was shocking to me. In fact living outside Memphis allowed me to see how abnormal my hometown is. It wasn’t this bad until the early 2000s though. The killings, shootings, robberies ARE real! You become desensitized to all of it though. The “hood” is so widespread that basically every other street is a hood now, which I hate. There is basically NOTHING for youth, which gives most of them nothing beneficial or positive to do. Memphis makes money, no doubt, but sadly it flows right out the city. Memphis needs help, but let’s be real, it’s a predominantly black city so “help” is most likely to come in the form of gentrification leading to more displacement. It’s an unfair place to be, and yes I’m bitter about it.
You so right, I'm in Colorado from Memphis and loving how I left and living a loving life. Memphis just ran by the Boule Demons and will never be good. I'm a good person and they hate good people. Thank God I'm out
Ok but whose fault is it? Who are the culprits? Blame, blame, blame other people, but who is really to blame? And who are the people who always step in to solve these problems yet get vilified anyway?
The racial demographics speak volumes as to why Memphis was nice back in the 1970s and not so nice today. Father absence in the home is the main culprit in high crime areas. And Memphis is full of them now. 😢
I’m a Californian and Memphis is one of my favorite cities in all of the US. I know the city really well including the rough areas. Call me naive but I am at ease whenever I am here. I don’t feel the crime. I’ve gotten lost in South Memphis in what have been defined as high crime neighborhoods late at night and I have felt safe. I first came here when I ran the 2017 Memphis Marathon. I fell in love with the city’s love of the St Jude’s hospital and I am a regular contributor to them. I was inspired because around mile 8 of running the Marathon, us runners go by St Jude’s Hospital and children who are patients there cheered us with thank you signs and it touched me. I love Memphis because of the intense history here. There was MLK’s assassination but then there is the history of why MLK was in Memphis when he was assassinated. The music history be it Elvis, BB King or even Jeff Buckley who drowned in Wolf River Harbor, I hear music whether it be rap, country, rock, jazz or blues whenever I am there. I was last here last August 2022 and although I did notice the crime tensions in the air, I still had a great time. I always do. In California, the Bay Area, where I live, there’s a pretentious air of woke politics. I come here in Memphis and there is dialogue without the feeling of your opinion being judged or condescended upon if we do not see things eye to eye. Cannot wait to come back here next summer crime or no crime, loud cicadas or blood thirsty mosquitoes. To me, Memphis is a home away from home. Tip: Jack Pirtles Chicken on Poplar: Best Fried Chicken EVER!!!!!
Buy a lottery ticket immediately. If you got lost in south Memphis and made it out alive, you may be the luckiest person known. I was born and raised in Memphis. I watched it go from mildly crime ridden to Mad Max level in a span of 40 years. This person is dead wrong folks. And I'm only saying that to save lives. Do not drive in Memphis unless you know where you are going. You will definitely get robbed and/or beaten if you are in the wrong place. Many of my friends over the years have been mugged, beaten, shot, and a couple killed. The rich people here do one thing and that's exploit the poor and sick in some way, shape or form. Even the suburbs are shit now. The best thing to do in Memphis is get the f out. Immediately. The blues may have started here but if you want to go listen to it, make sure you're leave the downtown blues clubs early or you're risking your life. It used to be a great place full of good people and fun. It's the worst of the worst now. Don't believe me? Go get lost in Memphis and report back. If you happen to make it out alive. BTW, I finally left the city a couple of years ago. It's hard to describe how much better life is now for our family.
No way. I'm glad I live in Memphis -- behind 4 security barriers -- and am not a high value target anyway. I hope. I have a good shell of security. I feel I need it. People are varied here, but there seems to be a critical mass of people who are not thoughtful or civilized. Those who are -- tend to be isolated from one another. The controlling mindset on the street is pretty rough and raw. Too many people who have never lived anywhere else, or if they did, they learned the wrong things.
As far as Beale Street is concerned, go have a good time during the day, but before the sun goes down get off Beale, thats when thugs come out. I had a Memphis city policeman tell me this.
@@ringonor4298 We uaually say "nothing good happens on Beale Street after midnight", but the cop is very likely to be correct. Memphis has a problem with armed, feral youth. It is not a First World city in the sense that almost everywhere else in the US is a First World city.
Born and mostly raised in Nashville, as was my dad, but he went to “Memphis State” (he refuses to call it the University of Memphis) in the mid-60’s and he has fond memories of his time there. I try my best not to criticize Memphis’ issues as much as I hear basically every other Tennessean do, because like Mike said they’re tired of it too. I’ve spent some time working in Memphis in the 90’s and 00’s and was lucky to not be a victim of a car break-in, but several of my co-workers weren’t so lucky. And to this day I have never had better BBQ than the ribs at The Rendezvous! That would be one reason enough for me to go back and share that experience with my family, but I’m currently living 600 miles away (in SC, where they know NOTHING about proper BBQ!) and most of my relatives are in the Nashville area, so not sure when I will ever make it back to Memphis.
Now Nashville is where it's at. My meemaw lived in paris her entire life and always went up there over the years and my other family lives in goodlettsville. I love Tennessee and I'm a mississippian! I haven't been to Nashville but my cousins want me to come up there to go check it out with them. I want to so bad because it's beautiful there!
Michael Williams is Great man that goes far and beyond to help the people in the city of Memphis. Memphis has to many sell out leaders that are being voted into office by name and by ole green paper stack. We need a set leader to come together with citzens and the nonprofits to come up with a plan to fix the problems Its not a over night thing but u can't just pocket all the money let the have been doing for decades.
Wow! I was there in Millington in the 80’s in the Navy and I Never went to south Memphis. That was Some crap hole. Tear it down and gentrify it to make viable for people to live there and commute to work elsewhere. Your guest, Mike was intelligent and I hope he can see some positive changes before he departs Earth. Beale Street was fun, we drank in the streets. That was strange. The Rendezvous food was great! Peabody was beautiful. True that around Graceland, it’s TERRIBLE. When I returned in 2009, it was like Time Stood Still in that neighborhood. I Did enjoy Graceland and all the food around town. Only problem was No Unsweetened Tea Anywhere to be found. Only sweet tea. Nice people working in service or hospitality. Thanks. Nick
The former cop eloquently summoned up a lot of the issues/challenges here. Thank you Nick, for allowing him to speak candidly about the good and not so good.
Slightly acquainted with Mike Robinson from his mayoral race 8 years ago. Much more thoughtful remarks here than I would have expected from him back then. Kudos. Perhaps you should run again this year.
I will correct one thing that was stated... Right to work doesn't outlaw unions. It means you can open a nonunion business. States without right to work make it illegal to hire nonunion labor to do work. Think of the oil spill that happened in the gulf when Obama was president. He refused to lift the union sanction that would of allowed other companies to come in to help during clean up.
I have lived in Memphis for many years of my life. I have moved away twice. The only reason why I came back the one time was because I did not at that time have any other support other than in Memphis, but once I explored other cities and traveled, and saw a stark difference, I moved away from Memphis up north and never looked back. It's not a city for me to live. The lack of equitable job and housing opportunities did it for me. And don't get me started on the crime and the lack of mass public transit. Memphis is for some people like Mike, but it's not for me.
I agree if a person had no choice but public transportation and taxi service they’ll be waiting for hours and will have to leave hours ahead to be on time in Memphis no lie
It’s the lack of a middle class for me. There’s nothing to do for people who have or desire a affluent lifestyle. I’ve been to Cincinnati, Augusta, Cleveland, Birmingham, etc and unfortunately Memphis doesn’t hold a candle to any of these cities as far as dining, entertainment and shopping.
If the cities' lawmakers appropriated the tax dollars equally, then maybe things would be fair. A century of economic misappropriation and the results of it. Not to mention all of the chemical plants that pollute the air, ground water, and rivers. Biological and economic warfare does exist, and this is an example.
Exactly. It's a typical Democrat run city. Same bullshit excuses that usually involve throwing money at the problem but its never worked and never will. Shitty attitudes, litter and when too many move into an area that think like that, the crime follows.
It will and always will be a city full of ninjas as u say. It was once the Slave capital of the world. And when ninjas was doing good and had they own everything years after slavery;what did they do? They leveled all our prosperous neighborhoods and started the projects. Which is we’re the yt people were living at the time. When I speak of Memphis I look at the whole picture.
I would hardly call Whitehaven (where Graceland is) a "ghetto", but it's not the safest area either. Of course there are ghettos in South and North Memphis but Whitehaven actually has some nice homes and you could do A LOT worse in Memphis.
And in Whitehaven we absolutely do not bother the tourist that comes to Graceland and in my opinion it's the best neighborhood in the whole city based on we have Fed ex and the international airport and being on the other side of Southaven Mississippi helps as well. And not to mention it's the biggest neighborhood in south section of Memphis.
I don't feel safe to leave the house. I don't feel safe driving on the roads. I put my life at risk every day I leave the house and honestly every day I wake up in this place. People shit where they eat and wonder why this place sucks so bad. Extremely corrupt to rob the last bits coming into this city from taxpayers. Get back to the word and read the book. It is the best guideline of how to navigate this world and be good
I’m in my 40’s ,was born in Memphis ,grew up in Memphis,and still live in the area. It’s always extremely entertaining to watch videos and read comments on how awful Memphis is. Is it perfect here? Of course not,but if it were anything like I see in some of these videos,I would’ve moved years ago. Lol.
Well Daniel I think it was Einstein that said people can tolerate anything g they get used to. But you'd be amazed what people can get used too. TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH
@@DMHK138 no nor would I ever. I heard someone say Mempis isn't no worse than any other big city. Well what's the one thing all big city's have in common? Yes your exactly right there all run by demacats. I don't understand how they could fail you time and time again yet you still put your mark on the ballot. Do you people in the city's have Stockholm syndrome? Because I don't get it how they could fail you time and time again yet you tell them their doing a wonderful job every time you walk into the ballot box. Truthfully why would they change if your giving your stamp of approval on the job their doing time and time again. I'm just wondering because I don't live in a big city nor would I ever. Even if I were paid top dollar some things money can't buy like Mastercard said peace of mind and sleeping without worrying about being killed priceless. I don't know maybe it's just me but if I had to lock my doors at night I'd move. I'm just saying. But it is what it is good night sir
@@MikeSmith-cn6ub Seems to me that your whole purpose for having an opinion on Memphis is to be able to have an opportunity to slam Democrats. I’m not a Democrat and have never voted for a Democrat.
If people are tired, they need to stop voting for democrats. Look at the past few Mayors in Memphis. All Democratic. Great video. Thank You for posting. It would be great to see a video like this broken down by Tennessee counties as oppose to just in Memphis
Bwahahaha! It is obvious you have no clue. The current mayor is a Republican who has overseen the worst increase in violent crime in a decade here. You want to know where all the money is going in this city? Look at ALL the politicians. It certainly isn't making it to the non-profits who are trying to make the city a better place. Get rid of your polarized political views.
The best thing about Memphis is what the former cop said... You're centrally located. It only takes a half day to drive to the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, Atlanta, Dallas, Little Rock, St Louis, or Nashville. You could even drive to Chicago or Houston or Tampa in about 12 hours.
They could have made Memphis a great tourist destination and started a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (why should there be one in Cleveland?) and a Blues Hall of Fame too. They could have made a Museum with the Memphis Belle B-17 that was here at one time but they left it outside to rot and be stripped by vandals until the Air Force decided to take it back. Memphis has potential but it has had government officials that are corrupt, unimaginative and unintelligent.
All these excuses for the crime except for personal responsibility. There is something very wrong and too leniant with black culture. That's the truth.
I lived on Pearcy st for a year. My wife and I were the only white people in the neighborhood. One thing I'll say is every person we encountered were VERY polite! Every person you pass on the street says "Hi" or "Hello" or "Good morning" or whatever. There's sidewalks EVERYWHERE!! EVERY street has sidewalks because lots of people walk long distances to get where they have to go. At night the gangs would fire guns in the air in a pattern. The pattern told the other gangs who they were and to keep out because they were out and about. But during the day if you saw them on the street they would greet you politely. I love Memphis! Great food! Lots of food festivals and jazz clubs.
Born and raised Memphis for 35 years.. Memphis has more pros than cons. I feel like we get a bad rep but honestly its a very medium city..not too fast, not too slow..Memphis is the founding headquarters of FedEx, the distribution center of the United States plenty of good paying jobs...consistant seasonal weather that is true to each season.. we have all 4 seasons lol and cost of living isnt outrageous like some major cities. I feel like it is what you make it fir sure. Its very spread out and theres middle class, not just rich and poor. Oh and theres no homeless camps or rows of tents downtown..that should speak for itself...If you cant make it here then your not trying. Memphis is hood and ratchet to a degree but i love it! ❤ my city
It's so sad where things are going everywhere. There is so much history in Memphis. It's a city I've always wanted to visit. What this officer is saying about decentralization is such a problem throughout the country. We have that happening where I'm at too and I hate it. I really respect what he is saying about standing his ground and help to fix the problem. I think too many people are being run off and expecting a move to fix their problems. The issues are growing everywhere and a big problem is that people are not doing their part to help change things. He is so spot on about the big non-profits taking over and taking up funds from the smaller (and in my opinion, more helpful) non-profits. This is another thing I see happening where I live. We have psychopaths running the world.
Raised in Memphis, was a policeman there for 7 years. I still work in Memphis but live just south of the city in MS. A lot of people do the same. They live in the suburbs but commute to Memphis to work. It's cheap to live in this part of the country. Parts of the city are very beautiful. Midtown is my favorite. There's a small but thriving arts community there. That being said, I do think you have to be extra vigilant regarding your safety here, more so than in other parts of the country.
I'm not a US citizen but I've been visitng the US since 1979. I find NYC as the only place I like going. I used to like Vegas. However now Macao near Hong Kong is much bigger and better casino wise. It has 4 times the turnover of LV. Every year the US becomes increasingly 3rd World. I really notice the decline. I've been to 50 countries and lived and worked in many. I'm a Westerner but live in Vietnam. It may surprise people to know that many houses are much much better in Vietnam than the average houses in the US. In LA people live in tiny wooden boxes little bigger than a double garage. I was shocked the first time I saw this. As for guns and violence, in all my travels in the world including to offbeat places like Apartheid South Africa, India, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia , South Yemen, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, China, Taiwan, nearly all the ex-Communist countries in Eastern Europe, etc etc, I have never been to a country anywhere near as dangerous as the US. There is something very seriously wrong happening there, folks.
My friend Dave lived in Memphis for a bit . He said getting crack is easy as pie .he worked at a Marriott and one of the chefs was murdered trying to break up a fight . There is actually a first 48 episode on it
No, beyond hope. Most of these Ghetto hood cities should be razed and start from scratch. Build camps with fences for the Section 8 HUD demographic. Keep the music venues and Graceland, double the police force, zero tolerance on crime, get busted send them to Parris Island or drop them in the HUD camp.
Not sure if it matters but many of the "Good parts" of town you described are not considered Memphis. For instance Collierville, Germantown, Bartlett, and Cordova (until recently ) are not considered to be Memphis. And although the name of West Memphis sound like Memphis, it is not. They are more like first cousins
Your so right. They are cities of their own. And it's confusing for people when they hear "West Memphis" West Memphis is across the bridge on the other side of the Mississippi River. The name of the city is West Memphis, located in the state of Arkansas. West Memphis, Arkansas.
We've been down to Memphis Tennessee before and let me tell you its 10 times worse than the city of St.Louis. Also Nashville Tennessee is by far the best city to go to in the state of Tennessee.
Beyond it being ridiculous to call Whitehaven a ghetto, claiming that you are likely to get robbed if you live in Memphis is just as ridiculous. Memphis has some rough areas and crime certainly happens there, but that crime happens to people that live in those areas and that typically are involved with the wrong crowd. I along with a lot of my friends grew up in Whitehaven in the late 80s through 90s and people were not really having problems. If you go into the wrong parts of this city looking for trouble or hanging with the wrong people, you will have problems. If you live in a reasonably safe area, stay out of the street life and have a little common sense you will be fine.
I been living in Memphis all my life, and there was one thing that really stood out on this video, and that's when the projects were torn down, crime just went CRAZY all over Memphis, they should have left them folks alone, they wasn't bothering anybody, we was okay with them being in they're on community
Which projects? Winchester, Whitehaven? I mean you could be talking about anywhere and besides more have sprouted up over the last 30 years or less. Times and social unrest as well as city wide decay and racial tension all fuel the fire as well.
Memphis is it’s own worst problem. You’re sitting here listening to a POlice chief who has a slightly slanted view of what Memphis is. He also has some extremely valid views too. But he’s talking about data and political leadership. The leadership was lost when the old boy -old white man that everyone loves to hate. If you took another Boss Crump to let him run the city, you’d have both more problems and fewer other problems. White people packing big guns because they are afraid of blacks who are afraid that the white cop is going to kill them. And that whole city is poor as hell on a shoelace! If you look at what people think are rich white folk look like, they won’t find them in Mudfish! Memphis doesn’t know the meaning of rich. Well off, yes. Rich, NO! Everyone needs to lighten up on everyone else there. My Memphis motto is: “Memphis just does it wrong!”
I was born in east Tennessee and moved to and grew up in Memphis due to a better cost of living. I lived in Hurt Village Housing Authority from age 6 until I was 15. We played downtown and along the Mississippi and Wolf Rivers. When schools desegregated the violent groups moved in and violence became a bad problem and people were not safe. The city government didn't try to make desegregation work. We moved to Frayser after Martin Luther King Jr was killed and then later back to my hometown in east Tennessee. My family moved back to east Tennessee in 1972. I went back to Memphis a couple years ago when my son's stepfather was dieing in the hospital after a traffic accident involving his big rig. There were two citizen fights involving police outside of the hospital and a shooting incident on our motel parking lot. It made me sad. I loved growing up there.
It could be fixed…I live in east TN and we would happily donate Memphis to Mississippi as it is holding our reputation back, but Mississippi won’t have it….. Memphis could be fixed as soon as they stop voting democrats like clock work….go woke, go broke also applies here….
In the spring of 1996 my wife and I were young and dumb. Traveled to Memphis to see Graceland. Memphis was the scariest place I'd ever been, until I visited Birmingham, Alabama.
I have family that lives in Tennessee and i live in Mississippi so been going through Memphis my entire life. The only time i ever stopped by there was many years ago when we took a trip to Beale street for a few nights and we had a good time. I don't indulge in the things i did at that time now but it was still a good atmosphere down there.
I really like Memphis. I always say they have the best Barbeque. I visited the Civil Rights Museum.The Peabody Ducks are cute. Beale Street has great lounges to hear Blues music. I like the view of the "M" bridge. It's a great city. I wish the negative things about the city could improve drastically. I feel that the potential is there.
Im from London uk ive lived in Memphis for 33yrs it truly is not as bad as you make it out to be some areas have gone down badly but sone have come up i bought a cheap house in the hood Binghampton very dangerous being white i stood out like a sore thumb lived there 20 yrs never had any trouble it has since become gentrified and definatley come up now i live in a big 1959 split level ranch house in raleigh people call it the ghetto it is definatley not yes memphis has bad areas when i first moved here i hated it its gritty but over the yrs ive come to like it terrible murder rates yes but usually is a few areas South memphis bad north memphis bad Frayser bad white haven medium hickory hill medium midtown nice East memphis nice crosstown nice downtown nice harbourtown nice universary area nice bartlett nice cordova nice Germantown nice collierville nice we really have everything here it is sad to day this but 99%of the violent crime is in poverty stricken african american neighbourhoods it is true what the police officer said when they tore the projects down put everyone on section 8 and they moved all over the city they took the crime with them certain aread like hickoryhill nevet recovered it caused huge white flight the area is definatley not what it was but its still not bad i shop there somtimes in there huge international food market
Easy to say Ghetto, rather than fix the social-economical causers of the 30% poverty rate and decline of property value--low-paying employment. There is crime in other cities and suburbs in Tennessee too...
If the cities' lawmakers appropriated the tax dollars equally, then maybe things would be fair. A century of economic misappropriation and the results of it. Not to mention all of the chemical plants that pollute the air, ground water, and rivers. Biological and economic warfare does exist, and this is an example.
The answer is no. I was born and raised here and live here now. The elected officials have run this city in the ground since the 90s. Mainly democratic.
Your time estimate is right on but if you've noticed that last 10 -15 years have been the most dramatic downslide with the last 3-5 years being the absolute apocalypse.
I'm being honest. I was born in Mempho. Behind Graceland. Whitehaven was a great place to grow up. If you grew up there you know. I never saw a cop car patrol the neighborhood. You could leave your door opened all night without a worry.I would see a cop car sometimes around sears, goldsmith, and shopping centers. Until around 1975 76 you started seeing them more and more. Sometimes in the early 80s my parents sold their house. The Black people were moving in the neighborhood. Jumping forward, Whitehaven has become a shooting gallery. It's not as bad as a lot of Memphis, but who wants to live in that environment. This is why some black families move. Memphis is now led by unprofessional people with some of the stupidest ideas. They seem to throw money away on a trolley idea that keeps sucking money and spitting it out. You used to go to Beale st. Without worry. Now so kid has to come down there with a pistol cause their mom raised a fool. My black friends say they wish they could fix all this. It is a shame. It shines a bad light on black people. My opinion is that most of the fools don't have a father in the house. My dad would beat the tar fool out of me and he never left his pistol under the mattress. These are just my opinion. If I go to Memphis its to the zoo,hospital or drive threw it. I sure wouldn't go anywhere else. Nowhere is safe with children that have guns. Either don't have children or don't have guns.
You can’t say what the REAL problem is….you can’t SAY the truth…it all comes down to CULTURE….I’ve known it all along…LBJ said he was going to “Fix it” in the 60’s with his federal mandates and programs….it’s only gotten WORSE, and will continue to do so. The culture of dependency and the abysmal family structure, or the near extinction of, is a good place to start. Look in the mirror and quit blaming everyone else. We’ve been putting money in the incinerator and gotten ZERO results. Look at the the show ‘ The First 48’ and watch the Memphis episodes. There was one where the cops went to a murder outside an apartment building with lots of shots fired, but no casings to be found. One of the detectives said it’s a common scene. People in the apartments pick up the casings before the cops get there’s to protect the shooters… Plus the no snitch rule… nice and very smart…it’s insanity to the hilt. That’s not even considering the kids having kids, the drug addicts having kids, the people with no future or motivation having kids. The perpetual generational welfare cycle, where the more kids you have, the more money you get. The assumption that the government will financially support you and any kids you have. Look in the mirror first, before you blame anyone else. And those that have have risen above, despite growing up within that culture, owe it to those who choose to blame everyone else for their failings, to tell them to look in the mirror. Memphis is a great example. A once grand place turned into a dump… Chicago is the next Memphis and Detroit. It’s moving right on schedule.
I read many comments up to yours. Congratulations on actually mentioning the truth. I also noticed that there is a certain five letter word that is never uttered in any comment or in the video.
I've lived in Memphis my entire life.... North Memphis, you're making it out to be a lot worse than it actually is dude. Yes it is a very dangerous city. But if you keep your nose out of other people's business you'll be just fine
"Making it out to be a lot worse" and then saying "it is a very dangerous city"? Do you expect people to take you seriously? My friend was minding his own business when he was robbed and killed with a fire extinguisher. Another friend was minding his own business when he was shot at an ATM. My elderly next door neighbor was killed in a home invasion. He kept his nose out of other people's business. I could go on and on.
I remember visiting my sister when she moved there for a job with FedEx and that area was quite nice from what I remembered. Had lots of fun times in Memphis, sad to see how it’s changed.
It's really a shame how bad it is here. I grew up in memphis going to ross road elementry school, mt. pisgah and st. Benedicts for middle school and germantown high school. When i was growing up club 616 and amnesia were the place to go along with the highland que and the antenna. I've been living in lakeland for the past 16yrs and we've just had enough. We're packing up and moving to Arizona. Memphis will always have a special place in my heart but the good times of this city are all in the past. My job is to keep my family safe and being here in such a violent place well, I'm not doing my job. Is it easy to move, no. But if you want it bad enough, work hard and save a little money you can get out of anywhere. For anyone living in memphis tn, either born here or new i highly recommend attending a fire arms safty class and buy some protection!
