Memphis

Discussion in 'The Thunderdome' started by LawVol13, Apr 9, 2012.

  1. LawVol13

    LawVol13 Chieftain

    Like it? Hate it? Scared to go? Share your thoughts or experiences.

    I personally like it down here, and have had a hell of a good time here. Downtown is really nice and not dangerous at all, in my experience.
     
  2. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    Egypt has been a pretty scary place the last couple of years.
     
  3. LawVol13

    LawVol13 Chieftain

    Solid.
     
  4. volfanbill

    volfanbill Active Member

    I've only ever been to downtown and the typical tourist stops. Memphis is just so far away from Northeast Tennessee that's it's not a destination point for me. I'd rather just drive a bit further and hit up St Louis or go north or south somewhere along the East Coast. Like what I see though, just not enough to make it a point to go back when I have other options. Never felt scared in the parts I've been.
     
  5. gorockytop101

    gorockytop101 New Member

    Memphis is definitely an entertaining place to live. Parts of downtown are pretty care-free, and the food is fantastic.
     
  6. LawVol13

    LawVol13 Chieftain

    Having the Grizzlies certainly makes it more entertaining for me.
     
  7. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    It's ok. Got really tired of the bums, crime, and crooked local government. Some fun places downtown and midtown. Beale Street is fun at first, but gets pretty old.

    Seems like a town that falls well short of its potential.
     
  8. LawVol13

    LawVol13 Chieftain

    All very valid points. I haven't really been affected by the crime or local government, so I guess it doesn't really bother me. And, you're right about Beale.
     
  9. volfanjo

    volfanjo Chieftain

    I spent some time there in my teenage years. It was fine. There were a lot of good ethnic food communities there, especially Vietnamese. I remember during the summer months it was the hottest place I have ever been in my entire life. I also remember running into Tony Harris' father in a record store. Interesting convo, that guy.

    I have had no real reason to go in 10 years so I can't speak for any recent happenings. Could I live there? Sure, but I am easy to please. I just really hate the time zone change.
     
  10. volfanbill

    volfanbill Active Member

    It's always awkward when people ask where I'm from and I say "East Tennessee", they immediately say, "ooh, so you go to Memphis a lot I bet huh?" And I have to explain that no, it's a long, long ways away for me and they don't believe me. I even explain how Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi all fit underneath where I am and Memphis so it would be the equivalent of driving through all those states just to get there. What's scariest/funniest is how many people tell me I'm wrong, that that's not how it's geographically set up. That should give you a good idea of how high the IQ is for the average soldier in your Army. Don't you feel safe?
     
  11. volfanjo

    volfanjo Chieftain

    Yeah, I would bet you could ask the first 100 people you meet at the Johnson City Mall if they've been to Memphis and you'd get 2 or 3. Myrtle Beach or Atlanta? 99 out of 100.
     
  12. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    As a native rural West Tennessean, you are taught from early on that anything past exit 12 is bad.

    BBQ is best in the world. I still have and will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Old Mid South Colosseum. However, government is crooked and incompetent as can be. King Willie held that city back for years and years. And too much of the area is just overly sketchy.

    And after spending three weeks at The Med with my mom in 2008, I don't care if I ever spend too much time there again.
     
  13. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    The Med is a hell hole.

    Food was great and as bill mentioned there were several good Vietnamese places all with names too weird to remember.

    You couldn't get gas without five people asking you for money.
     
  14. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    The following is no lie about the day my mom left The Med.

    She had broken her neck, and they had put her in a halo. Not only that, but she had a broken arm and leg as well. Me and two male nurses are trying to put her in the back of my Explorer, and as we're standing there doing this a lady walks up to me and asks me if I have $5 she can have.

    To this day in my life, that is the only time I've used the word [uck fay] in front of my mother, and I'm pretty sure I let out about 10 variations of it in my 5 second response to this lady. Luckily my mom was so drugged up she couldn't remember it.
     
  15. fl0at_

    fl0at_ Humorless, asinine, joyless pr*ck

    Haven't been asked for money since 2007.

    Of course, I also haven't acknowledged someone that said, "Excuse me, sir" since 2007. A few nights ago, while at a Redbox, I had a woman cross the parking lot saying "Sir, excuse me sir. Sir. SIR! Sir. Sir. Excuse me."

    A couple next to me, however, were not so lucky. They actually looked at her, and got asked for money. Key is, ignore everyone you don't want to know. Carrying a side arm sometimes helps, too.
     
  16. CardinalVol

    CardinalVol Uncultured, non-diverse mod

    A friend of mine has a hysterical story about getting played for $20 one night at a gas station by two guys. It's even funnier if you bring it up when his dad is around to watch his dad mad at him about it 10 years after it happened.
     
  17. fl0at_

    fl0at_ Humorless, asinine, joyless pr*ck

    I've helped out guys for gas before. But I have to be in a good mood. And I always require that the person show me their gas gauge, and it better be on empty. In which case, I'll give a bit. Of gas, not money.

    And I know the difference between the real homeless and the panhandlers, so I can avoid those too. The key is that the real homeless don't get out of the rain very well, and often push the entire contents of their life around in a grocery basket.

    A lot of the people holding up signs at red lights are panhandlers, and they do very well for themselves. There are a pair on Getwell, though, that I haven't decided if they are pan handling or just homeless. They have a hole underneath the bridge that they sit under, and rotate who is standing off the 40 exit with the sign.

    Just not sure if they live there, or just use it for shelter during the summer heat. But, generally, the further East you go, the more likely the person isn't homeless, but is panhandling. The reasoning is, there aren't any good stone doorways to sleep under when it rains.
     
  18. volfanbill

    volfanbill Active Member

    This sounds a lot like Fayetteville, NC (the city beside Bragg). You see the panhandlers at the major redlights/intersections and you can look off into a corner and see their buddies counting all their money. Only difference between what you describe in Memphis and here is that I'm not really sure I've ever met an actual homeless person here. For a real exciting time, visit Bragg Blvd. hookers, drug dealers and everything else you want. The Fort Bragg Black List (the places we as soldiers aren't allowed to go) grows daily. It's basically a book now.
     
  19. Volst53

    Volst53 Super Moderator

    My dad had to go for business when I was young. My whole family went down with him since it was the summer, and he was going to be there for a week. I'm from the middle of BFE East Tennessee. It was another world from what I was use too.

    I punched another kid in the face during my week there. We went to a bowling alley one evening, and I went to play arcade games. Two boys walked up asking for me to give them money. I told them no, and they said they were going to take it. So, I punched one right in the nose. I was 10 and I'd guess they were a year or two older than I was.
     
  20. LawVol13

    LawVol13 Chieftain

    Some asshole asked me for money the other night, and he was wearing a [uck fay]ing NorthFace jacket. I simply responded, "when I can afford clothes as nice as yours, I'll think about giving you some money, so get out of my way."
     

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