East Memphis is the area east of midtown as you head away from the river. The east Memphis neighborhoods are diverse and the general feel is suburban. But this doesn’t mean that the homes are all newer. In fact, in the older Chickasaw Gardens area, many of the homes were built in the 1920s and 30s. Those in the Village have been around for 50 years in most instances. And the ones in High Point are of a similar vintage.
East Memphis is a large area and is usually thought of as stretching all the way to the I-240 loop in the east. However, I am going to focus on the smaller areas near Audubon Park, Memphis Country Club, and Galloway Golf Course. Poplar Avenue is the main thoroughfare which runs the length of the area from the west to the east, and as you head down it toward the loop, you will notice golf courses, shopping centers, neighborhoods of many vintages and styles.
The first area I would recommend to anyone moving to Memphis is an upscale one. It is at the western end of east Memphis and was developed from the land owned by Clarence Saunders, the creator of the first self-serve supermarket in the world. Saunders made a fortune and his home, a virtual castle across from Memphis Country Club, is at the edge of the development called Chickasaw Gardens. The Gardens homes are very upscale and no “for sale” signs are allowed there. Built during the 1920s and 30s, most of the homes are Edwardian, Mediterranean, Tudor and Colonial, with a sprinkling of other styles. the area is really a park, with walking and biking paths that meander around a concrete ditch and a large beautiful lake filled with ducks and geese. There are no sidewalks, which adds to the park-like ambiance to the area. Homes in the Gardens have ample lots but they are not expansive and they become in the areas further to the east. Trees and landscaping here reflect the wealth that has been put into the area.
http://www.tellthetruthtravel.com/Memphis3.htm will give you a good picture of the lovely lake, and this is the web site for this neighborhood: http://www.chickasawgardens.com/ This neighborhood is a favorite of specialist Doctors and many other professionals and you will expect a hefty price tag on any home up for sale. People feel like they’re buying their own piece of a private park and lake with a feeling of safety and seclusion within a busy city.
Next, going on east, between the L&N; tracks on the north and Poplar Ave. on the south are two neighborhoods, one extremely high end, and the other one moderate but lovely. Galloway Golf Course lies in the very center of the Galloway neighborhood, and like Chickasaw Gardens, it has a very park-like feel and is absolutely exquisite. The following will give you some idea of the properties in this area: http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/621977. The next site gives some reviews of this innovative golf course and a map to give you some idea of the location:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2740719-galloway_golf_course_memphis-i. Click on the link and zoom in to see how the homes are laid out all around the golf course. Like Chickasaw Gardens, the homes here show a range of styles but most are at least 40 years old and older, with absolutely prime construction, and there are no sidewalks. John Caliperri, the head coach of the University of Memphis basketball team, chose to live here. Galloway differs from Chickasaw Gardens in that the lots are quite a bit larger. But graceful old trees and a real elegance punctuate both areas. Galloway also has a convenient location next to an old shopping mall.
Directly across from Galloway is a more modest neighborhood of very nice bungalows built and developed in the middle of the 1900s. High Point has experienced Huge growth and development in the past decade and a half, with home prices running into the hundreds of thousands. I would think the starting prices of homes there today would be around $130,000 for a small home or one which had not been rennovated. Rennovation is rampant in High Point, with builders going in and making additions and alterations that will reflect modern demands, like openness, larger kitchens and closets and more windows. It’s an exciting area to live in and many young professionals raising young families choose High Point because of the demographics of similar families, the proximity to Galloway Golf Course and social events available in this tight-knit community! There’s a short description of this neighborhood in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Point_Terrace,_Memphis
Here is an example of a recent listing in craigslist which gives a picture of a home with a representative style of the whole area: http://memphis.craigslist.org/apa/243620443.html
The Village is another booming area that has location as a prime feature. Homes here were built in the 1950s and were considered “modest” at the time. Brick traditional is the main style predominant here. However, when many people began moving out east, the lucky ones chose High Point or the Village early on and the appreciation they have seen over the past thirty years is nothing short of breath-taking. A $30,000 house bought back in 1955 or 1060 would possibly now bring over $200,000. Rennovations, additions, and modernization of floor plans, plus landscaping would really have paid off handsomely in this area. The roads, though they have sidewalks, are winding and the same intimate and private feel pervades this area that I mentioned about Chickasaw Gardens and Galloway. Their simple site will give some information: http://www.villagememphis.com/index.html. I have seen some homes going for as much as $300,000 and even more, depending on the improvements and additions made.
Last, I just have to mention Belle Meade, right across Poplar from the Village. This is a truly upscale neighborhood. The Film, “the Firm,” was filmed in Memphis! They chose one of the small cottages to use as the location that Tom Cruise and his “wife” resided in, while the Firm did its dirty work. There are other great shots of the city in this film. The homes are a range of sizes, but at the east end of the area lots are Huge and some homes are gargantuan. Those on east and west Cherry are among the ritziest in the area. Charlie Rich, aka the Silver Fox, lived at the corner of West Cherry and Tukahoe until the house was sold. http://www.charlierichjr.com/fox/. I can imagine that it would take millions to purchase some of the largest properties in this area. There is a link to the neighborhood but they do not have a very active web site: http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/public/main.html?nneighid=596466063&nsupercity;=389864191. Belle Meade really is an exquisite place but you have to see it to believe the loveliness of the area. It’s old Memphis and new Memphis all wrapped in one.
