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Excellent commentary and feedback by you and "GailA." Very insightful stuff... I hope more continues to flow in from other readers.

My wife and I are originally from upstate NY (near West Point) but I was stationed out here at Camp Pendleton after joining the Marine Corps. To make a long story short, I remained in San Diego after my EAS back in '94. San Diego has changed dramtically since then. So many more people. So much more traffic. You find significant garbage alonside the freeways now, and I'm talking about big stuff like old chairs, and other misc. furniture. The schools have gotten worse. There's plenty of John Kerry stickers on car bumbers here. It's turning into Los Angeles. And through all of this, the cost-of-living has skyrocketed out of site. It's always struck me as funny how something that's in an obvious state of decline somehow manages to increase it's cost of admission and/or value...and people still line up to pay it! The only people who tend to still be "hot" on San Diego are those new to it. For those who've been here a while and can recall the way it was, well, we're basically jumping ship; this is no way to live. Enough of the rant. Again, my "thanks" goes out to those who've taken the time to comment.

We have about 58 rain days. Hummidty is a problem for newcomers. So far it's been nice, but wait 5 mins and it will change as the saying goes. Most of the Tornadoes we get seem to hit Tipton Co. Like most southern cities which receive little snowfall Memphis is woefully under prepared to handle it. It has imporved vastly since we moved here 18 years ago.

Memphis is a dirty city, plenty of dumping of items like you described along the road ways. This must be a thing that goes with larger cities. Millington is clean I'll say that. We have pick up of those items if you put them out on trash day. Millington is a Navy base town, still is a small town pop is about 10,000. It is set to grow because the base is getting about 1,000 new personel according to the BRAC findings.

The only sound advice I will give is DO NOT live inside the Memphis city limits, you get socked with Memphis & Shelby Co property taxes and they are WHOPPERS nearly $9 for the 2. 25% per $100 of assessed value if I remember correctly. Memphis schools are the PITS, avoid them. Shelby Co schools are better, but still not the quality of a good private school. Get a CCW permit ASAP if you intend to spend much time in Memphis, carjackings are all to common. Drive with locked doors. Regardless the cost of living is much, much lower here than any where in Kali.

If you choose AR or MS you get stuck with a 30 min drive and a State IT. If you choose one of the neighboring TN counties to Memphis you get the 30 min drive MINUS the State IT, which would mean a 3-6% increase in salary for your family depending on what you currently pay out for a state IT.

The Regional Medical Center (The Med) has a first class trauma center which the MS & AR send their critical patients to.

You will find more BUSH stickers than SKerry stickers in Germantown. GOP campaign HQ was in G'town.

Our grocery stores double coupons up to 60 cents.

I'm sorry, but The Point isn't 'upstate NY.' Upstate is places like Albany, Binghamton or Syracuse. West Point is the Hudson River Valley, perhaps the most beautiful part of New England (OK, maybe Concord at the peak of fall leaves, but nothing less). I grew up in Scarsdale and dearly loved our trips up the Hudson, the visits to The Point, watching the Long Grey Line marching on the parade grounds, visits to Bear Mountain, etc. I'm of Scottish origin and I firmly believe that the Hudson River Valley just looks like HOME.

I don't know SD, but my nephew and niece both attended SD State and I've learned of it from them. I know the bay area from five years there myself (77 to 82) plus my parents and my sister's family living in Palo Alto for the last decade or so. My nephew (same one from SD State) is just taking a leave from LAPD (he sold his book, including the movie rights!) so I have some links to the Southland.

Memphis / Germantown isn't anything like any of that.

It is, however, a great place to raise kids.

It is also a place that will frustrate anyone with a modicum of political sophistication no end. You will learn to hate the phrase/attitude "we're just little old Memphis" whenever you talk about solving a political problem. The most offensive thing is the black inner city power base and their reaction to rampant and obvious corruption. They point (legitimately) to decades of white corruption by Boss Crump and say "now it's our turn." Fortunately the power base that is growing up in the black community around the county mayor, as opposed to the city mayor, is emerging as a very reasonable alternative. Harold Ford Jr. is making a very clean break from his psychotic older generation (primarily uncle John) and could be a very interesting and attractive alternative to "politics as usual."

And as to your Marine association, my oldest son is at Quantico in OCS as we speak. He has a year to go at Texas A&M before taking up his commission (assuming he does OK at OCS) and is seriously talking about career. He's really good at languages and is even a family legacy with The Agency, so I have great hopes he'll end up at Monterey or Langley. Of course he wants to be "down in the weeds" and is VERY involved with Force Recon. What is it with Marines?

When you arrive I'll be pleased to show you the best places for Barbecue, as well as a few places to avoid. For real, important, info about Memphis I'll stear you to my wife, who is truly plugged in (g).

Hey! I know I'm a late-comer here, but thought you might still want some input.

We live in unincorporated Shelby County, near Collierville. Not too bad, but like they have all said, Memphis gets a lot of our tax dollars and WASTES them. And guess what? We get no vote. Except for the occasioanl letter to the editor, there is nothing we can do.

Race is an all-consuming issue here. Some city councilman is now waging an effort to re-name all the city parks named after Confederate heros or memorials.

About half the people in my upscale Collierville neighborhood are black, and I'm happy with them. On the other hand, it only takes a few self-styled "leaders" to poison the whole atmosphere, and that's exactly our situation in Memphis and Shelby County.

The violence spoken of at Germantown High School in one of the previous posts is a direct result of busing in kids whose parents don't or can't give them a good example to live by. Some of those kids will be moving to Houston High School in the next couple of years - Because the Germantown High parents pitched a fit. Houston is a good school right now. My oldest son is near graduation, and he will stay, but we've made arrangements for my youngest to go to private school, at much expense.

We are looking at moving east to Fayette County. Since our youngest will be going to private school, that's OK, but if you are depending on public school, Fayette is not the place to be.

I think you'll find that if you get in a good neighborhood in Shelby County, or even in Memphis, that there are a LOT of nice, hospitible people, but the problem is, that so many of us are so tired of putting up with all the crap, that the good neighborhoods are often disappearing.

I know most about the South and East sections of the county, which includes Germantown and Collierville. Germantown isn't bad, but be prepared for high city and county taxes, compared to surrounding areas. Collierville is the same way, but it's a little more "country". Germantown is more "city". Collierville has more farms and open space left - but not for long.

When you move, find a good group of friends and a good church, and you'll find you might be able to ignore some of the more irritating things, because you will enjoy the nice folks so much.