If Pensacola and Memphis were your ONLY two options, where would you live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please no political posts.

Our kids are all grown so schools are not a consideration. We'd love to live within walking distance of an area with shops and restaurants. We'd also prefer to stay under $600k for a single family house. We like the outdoors-especially hiking trails.

Does anyone here have experience living in either area and have recommendations for specific neighborhoods? If you had to choose, which would you choose? Staying in this area (near DC) is not an option. Thank you!

Nearly moved to Pensacola, Florida about 7 years ago. Found my dream lot, but the asking price for the waterfront lot ( over 300 feet of waterfront on the bay, level 1.17 acres on 18th hole of Pensacola Country Club) was $570,000, but sold for less, and lots with homes sell for close to $2 million so not within your budget. The few other desirable lots in Pensacola that I found--again about 7 or 8 years ago--sold for about $1 million or more and were smaller, but oceanfront or second tier lots.

Pensacola is a very religious community. The white sand beaches are, arguably, the most beautiful in the country.

I love the South, but would be reluctant to move to Memphis, Tennessee due to the frequent & random violent crime. FBI stats almost always show Memphis as among the three or four most violent crime ridden areas of the country. With a budget limit of $600,000, you are not going to be able to avoid violent crime in Memphis.

[Anonymous]

Continuing: Gulf Breeze, Florida is beautiful and adjacent to Pensacola. Perdido Key is nice as well.

Drive time is less than one hour to Gulf Shores, Alabama. The area between Pensacola, Florida and Gulf Shores, Alabama may present some interesting affordable options.

Personally, I love the Gulf Coast region and would jump at the opportunity to live in the region.

While Memphis does have some nice, upscale neighborhoods, your price point may be a bit too low. (Not that Gulf Shores or Perdido Key are less expensive, but trying to point out that the Gulf Coast region is loaded with natural beauty and offers many options between these locations that should be within your price range.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please no political posts.

Our kids are all grown so schools are not a consideration. We'd love to live within walking distance of an area with shops and restaurants. We'd also prefer to stay under $600k for a single family house. We like the outdoors-especially hiking trails.

Does anyone here have experience living in either area and have recommendations for specific neighborhoods? If you had to choose, which would you choose? Staying in this area (near DC) is not an option. Thank you!

Nearly moved to Pensacola, Florida about 7 years ago. Found my dream lot, but the asking price for the waterfront lot ( over 300 feet of waterfront on the bay, level 1.17 acres on 18th hole of Pensacola Country Club) was $570,000, but sold for less, and lots with homes sell for close to $2 million so not within your budget. The few other desirable lots in Pensacola that I found--again about 7 or 8 years ago--sold for about $1 million or more and were smaller, but oceanfront or second tier lots.

Pensacola is a very religious community. The white sand beaches are, arguably, the most beautiful in the country.

I love the South, but would be reluctant to move to Memphis, Tennessee due to the frequent & random violent crime. FBI stats almost always show Memphis as among the three or four most violent crime ridden areas of the country. With a budget limit of $600,000, you are not going to be able to avoid violent crime in Memphis.

I'd move to Pensacola for the beaches alone. So, so beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please no political posts.

Our kids are all grown so schools are not a consideration. We'd love to live within walking distance of an area with shops and restaurants. We'd also prefer to stay under $600k for a single family house. We like the outdoors-especially hiking trails.

Does anyone here have experience living in either area and have recommendations for specific neighborhoods? If you had to choose, which would you choose? Staying in this area (near DC) is not an option. Thank you!

Nearly moved to Pensacola, Florida about 7 years ago. Found my dream lot, but the asking price for the waterfront lot ( over 300 feet of waterfront on the bay, level 1.17 acres on 18th hole of Pensacola Country Club) was $570,000, but sold for less, and lots with homes sell for close to $2 million so not within your budget. The few other desirable lots in Pensacola that I found--again about 7 or 8 years ago--sold for about $1 million or more and were smaller, but oceanfront or second tier lots.

Pensacola is a very religious community. The white sand beaches are, arguably, the most beautiful in the country.

I love the South, but would be reluctant to move to Memphis, Tennessee due to the frequent & random violent crime. FBI stats almost always show Memphis as among the three or four most violent crime ridden areas of the country. With a budget limit of $600,000, you are not going to be able to avoid violent crime in Memphis.

I'd move to Pensacola for the beaches alone. So, so beautiful.

Agree.

The lot that I tried to buy for $570,000 was a steal (was already under contract for $500,000 when I offered), but that was in a slow real estate market. Non-waterfront lots in the Pensacola Country Club sell for less.

Oceanfront lots (one-third of an acre) in South Florida (Naples) were asking $15 million (two adjacent lots were available at that time).

[Anonymous]

I think your best bet in Memphis would be near Overton Park — great walking trail there (plus zoo, museum, outdoor concerts, etc.). South of the park is Overton Square, which has a lot of shops/restaurants (and you’d also be close to Cooper Young). So something in the middle would be like this:
https://www.redfin.com/TN/Memphis/24-S-Cox-St-38104/home/60900673

But the area to the west of the park is the nicest, so maybe something like this:
https://www.redfin.com/TN/Memphis/1722-Peach-Ave-38112/home/87649797

[Anonymous]

DOJ just issued a scathing report on the Memphis PD.

CNN reported this within the past few minutes.

[Anonymous]

Please share why those are your ONLY two choices. I could not, would not, EVER, live in either one

[Anonymous]

Pensacola is too maga and white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please share why those are your ONLY two choices. I could not, would not, EVER, live in either one

Memphis and Pensacola are so extremely different. You can find a single family home for under 600k basically anywhere in the south.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pensacola is too maga and white.

The city itself (which is admittedly small) votes blue.

[Anonymous]

Pensacola, hands down. But DH has been stationed there 3x time and it's our retirement plan, so take that with a grain of salt, I guess.

I'm not going to harp on Memphis crime, because really, it varies by neighborhood. And yeah, if you want a normal sort of suburban lifestyle, there are great places in Memphis.

But Pensacola feels like being on vacation all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please no political posts.

Our kids are all grown so schools are not a consideration. We'd love to live within walking distance of an area with shops and restaurants. We'd also prefer to stay under $600k for a single family house. We like the outdoors-especially hiking trails.

Does anyone here have experience living in either area and have recommendations for specific neighborhoods? If you had to choose, which would you choose? Staying in this area (near DC) is not an option. Thank you!

Nearly moved to Pensacola, Florida about 7 years ago. Found my dream lot, but the asking price for the waterfront lot ( over 300 feet of waterfront on the bay, level 1.17 acres on 18th hole of Pensacola Country Club) was $570,000, but sold for less, and lots with homes sell for close to $2 million so not within your budget. The few other desirable lots in Pensacola that I found--again about 7 or 8 years ago--sold for about $1 million or more and were smaller, but oceanfront or second tier lots.

Pensacola is a very religious community. The white sand beaches are, arguably, the most beautiful in the country.

I love the South, but would be reluctant to move to Memphis, Tennessee due to the frequent & random violent crime. FBI stats almost always show Memphis as among the three or four most violent crime ridden areas of the country. With a budget limit of $600,000, you are not going to be able to avoid violent crime in Memphis.

I'd move to Pensacola for the beaches alone. So, so beautiful.

Agree.

The lot that I tried to buy for $570,000 was a steal (was already under contract for $500,000 when I offered), but that was in a slow real estate market. Non-waterfront lots in the Pensacola Country Club sell for less.

Oceanfront lots (one-third of an acre) in South Florida (Naples) were asking $15 million (two adjacent lots were available at that time).

Warrington is a weird choice for people who can afford to live elsewhere (yes, even at the country club). For a half million, I would recommend East Hill, Perdido Key, Seville, Innerarity, or even East Pensacola Heights or Cordova Bluffs.

[Anonymous]

Very tough choice. As someone in FL, you either live on the water and fear destructions and hurricanes, or you are more inland and don't really have the immediate benefit of living in FL. I'm done with hurricanes so I wouldn't probably decide to move here even though Pensacola is theoretically nice. Memphis is not a good city, and geographically pretty isolated, but a more livable climate choice. I'd pick some burb there possibly. TN as a whole is a very nice state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very tough choice. As someone in FL, you either live on the water and fear destructions and hurricanes, or you are more inland and don't really have the immediate benefit of living in FL. I'm done with hurricanes so I wouldn't probably decide to move here even though Pensacola is theoretically nice. Memphis is not a good city, and geographically pretty isolated, but a more livable climate choice. I'd pick some burb there possibly. TN as a whole is a very nice state.

+1 But would pick Knoxville over Memphis if it's TN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please share why those are your ONLY two choices. I could not, would not, EVER, live in either one

OP here
I'm still reading through all the posts. Basically it's about job opportunities. For many reasons, I really want to move out of my current home. We've wanted to for several years, but our kids were still in school up until this past summer. We currently own a house in a DC exurb, and while it was nice as a family with young kids, I'm just over it now. Moving to another part of the DC area would likely require downsizing, and my husband doesn't want that (but I do!)

My husband (our primary income) has job offers in Memphis and Pensacola. He's been looking at the job market for his skills for a few years now and these two areas seem like the most likely place, besides DC, where he can get a job.