419 nursing jobs in Memphis, TN

Nurses and young professionals who want city life cluster in Midtown—especially walkable, artsy Cooper-Young—and the South Main Arts District; a Reddit local reported 18 years in Midtown without issue. East Memphis pockets such as Colonial Acres offer mid-century brick homes, mature trees, and Park/Poplar access at a middle price tier.

Locals consistently steer newcomers to Germantown and Collierville (called two of the safest areas in the state), plus Bartlett, Cordova, Lakeland, Arlington, Oakland, and Atoka; Harbor Town on Mud Island is a planned mix of townhomes and cottages on the river. Across the line, Olive Branch (Money magazine Best Places to Live five years running), Southaven, Horn Lake, Walls, and Byhalia in DeSoto County, Mississippi, bring newer construction, lower property taxes than Tennessee, and Memphis job access.

In-city 2026 Extra Space medians: Cooper-Young homes $128,531 and rent $871; East Memphis $147,292 / $999; Cordova $168,247 / $1,312; Bartlett $195,900 / $1,379. Colonial Acres (Houzeo) median home $247,000, rent $1,475. Germantown is the premium suburb at $337,600 median (household income $131,215). A separate Extra Space citywide average of $412,965 home / $1,576 rent uses different methodology; housing costs run about 16% below the national average, and Cooper-Young appreciated 25%.

Olive Branch and DeSoto County offer new construction on larger lots with lower Mississippi property taxes; budget for Tennessee home insurance averaging $3,408 a year.

The metro average commute is about 22 minutes. East Memphis and Colonial Acres sit on Park and Poplar avenues with a reasonable drive to Downtown and East Memphis employment centers, and Bartlett is described as commuter-friendly.

DeSoto County towns such as Olive Branch and Southaven are pitched for easy access to Memphis jobs; Reddit threads discuss 30–40 minute drives into the city. Sources do not name hospital-specific routes, transit lines, or parking at medical centers; Methodist Olive Branch Hospital is the only facility explicitly tied to a residential community.

Memphis claims more than 100 barbecue restaurants and two BBQ festivals; named institutions include Rendezvous pork barbecue and Central BBQ, also known for hot wings in Memphis honey-gold sauce. Beyond cue: Gus’s Fried Chicken and a wider soul-food scene, Hog and Hominy for pizzas and Southern twists, The Liquor Store for brunch, Sunrise for biscuits, plus MICHELIN-recognized kitchens and High Cotton Brewery.

Cooper-Young and South Main are the walkable dining districts; Harbor Town Square has cafés. For parkside eating, locals point to Tugs on Mud Island and food trucks at Tom Lee Park; hospital-campus late-night options are not covered in these sources.

Tom Lee Park on the river is recommended for all ages and pets, with picnic and food-truck culture; Mud Island River Park and Harbor Town’s marina paths, mini parks, and riverwalks sit on Wolf River Harbor along the Mississippi. Midtown life orients around Overton Park.

Cordova is described as spacious and park-rich, and Colonial Acres has nearby parks and rec facilities. HoneyTrek notes the Mississippi River and one of the biggest urban parks in the world wrapping the city; the metro averages 218 days of sunshine, but summers are hot and humid with flood risk.

This is the city that invented rock & roll at Sun Studio, incubated Stax soul (Stax Museum: Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Mar-Keys), and still runs on blues—Beale Street is the tourist nightlife strip, while locals also use Cooper-Young and the South Main Arts District. The National Civil Rights Museum occupies the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was killed; Memphis has six U.S. Civil Rights Trail sites, and Graceland remains a landmark.

Two barbecue festivals punctuate the calendar. Extra Space lists buzzing nightlife and spectator sports among the city’s draws; HoneyTrek frames the arts as Memphis’s unifier.

Expect long, hot, humid summers and flood risk—the climate con Extra Space flags most clearly—plus air-quality and allergy issues that bother newcomers. The metro still logs about 218 sunny days a year.

Statewide, hail, wind, and tornadoes are real enough that Tennessee’s average home-insurance bill hit $3,408 a year (7th highest nationally in a June 2026 LendingTree report). Sources do not give a month-by-month feel for fall, winter freezes, or spring storms beyond that extreme-weather warning.

Germantown posts a 96% high-school graduation rate, high-performing schools, and roomy homes; Collierville and Germantown are repeatedly called two of the safest areas in the state. Bartlett (90% graduation, median household income $87,372) is described as 49% safer than other city neighborhoods, with family events and a tight-knit feel.

Cordova (92%) and Cooper-Young (91%) also score well on graduation; East Memphis is 83%. DeSoto County, Mississippi schools outperform state averages (Pleasant Hill Elementary near Olive Branch’s Southbranch), and Methodist Olive Branch Hospital was named by Newsweek among the best maternity hospitals—while citywide violent-crime rankings are why families cluster in those suburbs rather than central Memphis.

Community voices split hard. Boosters cite affordability (housing about 16% below the national average), a raw music-and-food culture that is not Nashville-polished, lots of trees, the Zoo, and tight-knit pockets—Midtown especially.

Critics on Facebook, Reddit, and Quora call Memphis one of America’s most violent cities, with crime, poverty, and aging infrastructure overshadowing the good; a former medical student said a classmate’s car was stolen and used in a drive-by during orientation week. Extra Space’s 2026 guide adds driving and infrastructure headaches, air quality and allergies, and hot humid summers with flood risk; the practical local advice is to live in Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, East Memphis, Midtown, or DeSoto County, not a random city ZIP.