I'll do another blog on just my apartment, but for this one, I'll jot down some observations and insights I have on the area.
My apartment has a Cordova address. To anyone who doesn't know, it would seem like I live in the suburbs, like Towson to Baltimore, Cambridge to Boston, or Long Island to NYC. However, as I've learned, I technically live in Memphis. I'll try to explain. Here is a map of Memphis. I live where the blue dot appears.
I've been to a few events that have explained the history of Memphis and here's what I've learned that will explain that. To really understand, you kinda have to go back before the civil war. Memphis was incorporated on May 22, 1819, mostly because of its location above the Mississippi River. While it was still in the Mississippi Delta, Memphis was founded on a series of bluffs right along the river. These meant that the city wouldn't flood during huge storms that sometimes wiped out cities in the lower lying regions along the river. Around the city were cotton plantations, and Memphis became a huge commercial hub for cotton and the slave trade. After the civil war, a huge number of freed slaves moved into Memphis for opportunities. At the time, the city was comprised of a large number of Irish people who had migrated to escape the potato famine. They clashed with the African-Americans and a very tenuous balance was eventually struck. Since then, there has always been an underlying current of racial inequality that remains to this day.
This is not me being racist, this is simply what I've been told by several livelong residents and historians about the area. Memphis is a city bordered by Arkansas to the west and Mississippi to the south so the only way to expand was east and north. When African-Americans moved into the city, the white people moved east. Over the last 200 years, the African-American population would move into white neighborhoods and the white people would move further east. Because Memphis wanted the money that the typically more affluent white neighborhoods brought in, they would annex areas further east so the border kept expanding. While several communities (Bartlett, Collierville, and Germantown) were already incorporated towns and could not be annexed, anywhere else was fair game. Unfortunately, this also meant that Memphis needed to provide services to all of these areas which has not always been easy. The state legislature stepped in and told Memphis that they needed to stop annexing areas so recently, they've been de-annexing places.
So, the point of this is to explain that I technically live in Cordova AND Memphis at the same time. I don't really get it, but my address says Cordova...
My school and district are awesome. I feel so blessed to be working where I am. I'll do another blog post on my school a little later.
A couple of observations so far:
1. Everyone drives a muscle car. In the parking lot of my apartment building, there are probably 20 cars, and at least 10 of them are of the Mustang or Charger variety. Haven't quite figured out why yet. On another car note (so maybe this is 1.5?) It is illegal to honk your car horn in Memphis because it's not polite and it makes too much noise. Legitimately, you can't use your horn. This is also a historical thing that I'm still researching.
2. My neighbors are not friendly, but everyone else in my school and church have been almost overwhelmingly friendly. I still have a bit of "Yankee" in me as they would call it, and I'm not at all used to the attention, support, or friendliness. I'm trying to be gracious and grateful, but I worry that my face gives me away.
3. Memphis is really trying, and I sincerely appreciate the effort. I've gotten involved with an organization that tries to attract and retain young professionals to the area, and the Twitter/Insta handles "Choose 901" and "Bring Your Soul" are great portrayals of the positive things happening in Memphis.
4. Memphis and Nashville have a hate/hate relationship, much like the Baltimore/Washington DC relationship. Memphians feel personally betrayed when a local place opens in Nashville.
5. Memphis is a foodie paradise. Everyone I talk to gives me local recommendations in the form of food; "Have you been here yet?" They then proceed to give me directions "You really should go to the one on Poplar and Madison. It's the best." I don't know where Poplar is yet. I don't know where Madison is yet. So I smile and nod.
6. Traffic here doesn't exist. The aforementioned horrible date was to take place at 6:30 on a Friday night. I live 25ish minutes from downtown, so I left at 5:15 because well, I'm used to DC/Baltimore/Boston traffic, and I was there by 5:50. And then I felt like a loser. The locals complain about traffic, but the longest rush hour traffic jam I've been in lasted 10 minutes.
7. No income tax is awesome, but 10% sales tax kinda kicks you in the gut.
8. The bible belt. I am living in the bible belt. Literally, 5 minutes from my house is a mega Baptist church. It's larger than my first college campus. And my third college campus.
9. Apparently, the Piggly Wiggly grocery stores began in Memphis. I really wanted the Piggly Wiggly to be my grocery store just because it's fun to say, but the only grocery stores in the Memphis area are Kroger stores. It's not like everywhere else I've lived where there is a Giant, Stop and Shop, Ralph's or Food Lion within a 1 mile radius. Literally, the only grocery stores here are Kroger. It's kind of a bummer. Same for movie theaters. Malco is the only movie theater. No AMC's, no Regal Cinemas, only Malco. I haven't been to a movie yet so I don't know what they're like.
10. Maybe the weirdest thing for me is that not everyone here has been to NYC. Last night, we were having dinner and had to talk about the best city we've visited. Two people said New York was the best and brightest. Three people hadn't been there. This is so bizarre.
So, that's life after my first month in Memphis. I still kind of love it here. I'm not sure when that will wear off. I've started work, I've started real life, and I still dig the vibe.
I'll write more about my apartment and school soon.
