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Presidential politics: Germantown is in Shelby County, which voted Democratic in the last two presidential elections. According to unofficial vote totals for 2004, Bush received 157,591 votes and John Kerry received 215,810 votes.
In the November 2000 election, Shelby County supported Al Gore. Countywide, 141,756 people voted for Bush and 190,404 voted for Gore. Nader received 2,860 votes.
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check out Desoto county MS
Shelby Co is GOP terroity but we only have about 250,000 population vs Memphis 600,000 population which means Shelby Co is always listed as voting majority RAT.
Shelby Co gov't is seperate from Memphis' it has it's own mayor (RAT) and County Commission, slim 1 vote GOP majority.
We have NO INCOME TAX, which is a plus, while MS and AR have state IT's. You could choose Tipton Co which is just about 25 miles from Memphis if a drive is not a problem. Or Millington, which is 20 miles and has some nice homes from 150,000 and up (new construction). Or Fayette Co, again there is the 30 min drive to get into Memphis but property taxes are lower.
The nice shops are in Germantown, along with the biggest mall Wolf Chase.
Cost of Living is much lower in TN than where you are at of course. Conceal Carry permits are a breeze to obtain 8 hr safety course plus the fee and cost of the class..coming in at about $200 in total. It's a 4 year permit with a $50 renewal for 4 years. Car tags are about $101 if you live in the county. No inspection if you live in the county, but there is an inspection and fee if you live in Memphis.
Keep in mind that the same $$ you live on in Kali will go many times further in TN especially your housing $$'s. Utilities aren't bad either. I have to assume you are use to a 30 min drive to work given you live in Kali so a drive that length would not be a problem would it? Memphis drivers are horrible when we have winter storms...usually ice, a inch of snow and there are tons and tons of wrecks and the drivers are inexperienced as we don't get them but every couple of years.
I live in what we call "entry level Germantown" and really like it, but we moved here from central Jersey (with a 2 hour commute into NYC to boot), so go figure. Be advised, this area is not even on the same arm of the galaxy with San Diego.
Germantown is part of the Republican gerrymandered district that basically winds its way from eastern Shelby County up to Nashville along I-40. Pretty good rep. Though I don't like his politics, the Congressman for the neighboring district, which includes the rest of Shelby and almost all of Memphis, is Harold Ford, Jr., and he is one of the best in Congress at constituent representation.
Germantown's local politics is just that, local. The city council is pretty lame. A few years ago one city council member made the bizarre claim that we didn't need to widen some of our narrow streets because we were smarter than other people and knew how to drive. There has also been a recent controversy about a proposed law to ban cars parked in the driveway or garage doors left open. Not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
The schools have been good and Germantown Elementary is still excellent. Germantown Middle has been suffering through a complete clown of a principle who knows nothing about educating and even less about imposing discipline. Germantown High School is still excellent academically, but mandatory bussing is introducing a new element of violence that is a concern. My daughter has only one year left and I'm really glad we'll be out of there (hopefully) before anything really serious happens. She's heavily involved in the world class theater and TV production department. If you have children interested in a career in entertainment, either performing or behind the scenes, that alone could be a reason for having them attend GHS.
Were we moving here now I might be more likely to look at Collierville further east in Shelby County or the very northern tier of Mississippi. Amazing growth in Mississippi and the infusion of economic development from the casinos in Tunica is really astounding.
Also, do everything you can to avoid the area up north of Germantown, particularly up Germantown Parkway. Worse than any commute in CA. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true. Ugly.
Final advice. When you move here learn Poplar Avenue, because everything is somewhere in relation to Poplar. Then spend the rest of your life in Memphis learning to AVOID Poplar Avenue.
When noting Kerry's vote in Shelby County, I think it's important to note a few things
Last time I checked, there were 950,000 people in Shelby County, and 650,000 of them are in Memphis proper.
Memphis proper is 55% black, so I would assume that accounts for the bulk of the Kerry vote in that county.