Olive Branch is in DeSoto County, Mississippi. I used to do a lot of training at OLV. I think you could probably find a reasonably cheap apartment in DeSoto and you would also be pretty close to Memphis International (less than 30 minute drive). Germantown and Collierville are the middle class/upper middle class suburbs here. You might be able to find something affordable in those areas, if you look hard. Germantown might be the better bet, as it is an older area. Almost all of the apartment complexes (I assume you all are looking for apartments, not houses. Correct me if I am wrong.) in Collierville are new and probably expensive. Bartlett might be a good option, but be careful about some of the complexes in that area, as they might have problems. Stay away from anything in the Winchester/Hickory Hill area. Mid-town might be OK, if you can handle living in an older part of the city. It will have a more "urban" feel to it, and you will likely have unique neighbors. A couple of the CFI's that I work with actually live in a high rise apartment building downtown and seem to enjoy it.

As for the city itself, I think it's an OK place to live. It is definitely a cheap place to live as gas prices here are well below the national average and we dont have a state income tax. You will find most folks to be pretty friendly, once you get to know them a bit. It is *hot* here in the summer and we have pretty mild winters. The one or two snow/ice events that we get each year in January pretty much shut the city down. So, if you are from somewhere that has a real winter, you'll find that amusing.

If you have specific questions about places to rent from or avoid, send me a PM. I'll be happy to help any way that I can.