Yes Memphis has a crime problem. It is driven mostly by generational poverty and drugs. The drug situation brings in gangs. There are some great neighborhoods in and around Memphis. There are some good school systems as well. For the most part, if you’re in a good area the crime will most likely never affect you. Living in base provides the most days off at home or the ability to pick up extra work and to make a lot of money. Tennessee is an income tax free state which itself is worth at least $1-2M if invested properly. However if you choose to live out of base, FedEx’s jumpseat program makes it very easy to get to work. However, unlike the major airlines, FedEx discourages against jumpseating directly into a long haul flight.

I think Memphis offers something for everyone. If you like downtown city life, the area around Main Street and South Main downtown have grown substantially and offer a smaller city life with plenty of nightlife and great restaurants. Mid-town is seeing explosive growth with the addition of several large high end apartment buildings and is experiencing revitalization of older homes. If the suburbs are your thing, Germantown and Collierville are safe, mature communities. Whereas Arlington and Lakeland are the new places to be with large homes and a very good school system. If you want small town, country life or rural life, there’s several really nice areas just outside Memphis to include some cities in Mississippi and Arkansas. Several folks live in the Nashville area and drive to work (2-3 hour drive).