but has problems and is scary in placesWe took a family trip to Memphis for the weekend since it is roughly a 7 hour drive from Dallas. The place was interesting but it does seem like a city stuck in the past. The city government seems to have low funding in the police department. We were there for the 4th of July and it was mass chaos on the streets with no cops in the city directing traffic anywhere. It was basically a mass parking lot downtown. Beale Street requires a 21 ID after 10 and this ...
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but has problems and is scary in placesWe took a family trip to Memphis for the weekend since it is roughly a 7 hour drive from Dallas. The place was interesting but it does seem like a city stuck in the past. The city government seems to have low funding in the police department. We were there for the 4th of July and it was mass chaos on the streets with no cops in the city directing traffic anywhere. It was basically a mass parking lot downtown. Beale Street requires a 21 ID after 10 and this reroutes the youths (mostly black) to the streets of Downtown Memphis. Most of them were DTP erupting fireworks in front of the Peabody Hotel and other historic buildings and almost injuring many innocent tourists after hours. Thus the remaining cops are solely focused on Beale Street at night so take caution in the rest of the city at this time. The racism and divide seemed rampant right on the streets after the fireworks with the whites and blacks taunting each other right out of their cars. The city seems to be one of the hardest hit from the struggling economy. Visit Graceland and Beale Street (on a Sunday) for families only. Memphis is definitely a haven for cheap partying and drinking though. Tunica MS just south of the city is great for casinos and is bustling with late night entertainment.Other than that from what I saw Memphis is a city that needs to grow up and get out of the past. With the economy so poor the future looks bleak but it is a place that has great potential. I am not sure if Elvis would have even cared for the city if he were still alive. The large markets of Texas Georgia and the Carolinas had the same political racial and corrupt problems years ago but were able to fix and progress through many decades of reform. I am sure Memphis can emulate the same but it will take plenty of time and definitely a better economy considering how far of a hole they city has dug for itself already.
Date of Trip to Memphis, TN: July2008
Purpose of your trip: Personal
Cost of your stay: $500-$1000
Other Ratings:
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