Memphis is a town with so much to do and so little time to do it. From Beale Street to Midtown, there are places to see all over the city. Fortunately, the best parts of the city are extremely walkable and perfect for people who do not own a car. Memphis has a trolley and bus system operated by the city. It runs routes throughout the entire area, and has a fairly large fleet. The central hub is downtown, where you can purchases passes and catch any connecting buses you might need to get. Some do complain about the buses being a little slow, so if you plan on using public transportation, please be aware of delays and plan your trip accordingly. There is also a train station that has a hub in the downtown area, which runs routes on the Amtrak line, including both east to west and north to south routes. You would also visit that station if you wanted to go to West Memphis in Arkansas. If you are a bike rider, Memphis can be a pretty rough place for you. The spaces where bikes have safe lanes are extremely limited in the outer parts of the city, and the traffic in the downtown area can be a little hazardous. However, there are some spots in the Midtown and the University area that are pretty good places for bike riding. Memphis is also a place where you should practice extreme safety when walking at night. The crime rate is very high in some parts of town, so it would be wise not to wander around alone if you are unsure about your neighborhood. The downtown area is perfectly fine if you are in a group and stick to the lit parts of the city. Avoid walking in unfamiliar places, though. Here are a few neighborhoods to check out if you are deciding to make the move to the city and don't want to be a driver.
Harbor Town is located in the middle of the Mississippi river on an island called Mud Island. At first glance, this would seem like a terrible place to live without a car. However, the group that designed the area had walkability in mind when they built it. The entire island has all of the conveniences of a major city while still maintaining a suburban style neighborhood. No matter where you live in Harbor Town, a restaurant, grocery store, or shopping boutique is within biking or walking distance. There are also several places to work on the island, meaning if you wanted to, you would never have to leave. It is also extremely close to Midtown and Downtown Memphis, making it reasonably cheap to get a cab or a ride sharing service like Uber or Lyft to come pick you up. If you want to leave the island, biking and walking is not recommended. While it is perfectly safe to walk or bike to anywhere on the island itself, the roads leading off of the island are not designed with foot traffic in mind. Also, the mass transit system does not have any routes connected to it, so it would be a good idea to use a cab or a ride sharing company whenever you need to leave.
Victorian Village is located in the eastern part of downtown Memphis. It is named this because of the large number of Victorian style homes that were built here in the late 1800s. It has become a historical area that contains a lot of museums that offer a peak into the past. Recently, several people in the neighborhood have gotten together and formed a community development committee to help preserve and build up the neighborhood.
Located in Midtown, Idlewild is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the entire city. Because of its age, like Victorian Village, it was designed before the invention of the automobile. This makes it a great place to live without a car. It is right in the middle of Midtown, making it easy to head in any cardinal direction by foot or bike to go where you need to go. The bus system runs several routes in the neighborhood as well.
