I have lived in Memphis my whole life. I grew up in North Memphis which is pretty rough so I carry most everywhere I go. Memphis is one of those cities that on one block of a street will be very nice homes, the next block crack houses. So you have to pay attention to your surroundings, especially at night. You can't legally carry on Beale as it is considered an open bar, but there are a lot of police so it shouldn't be a problem. There are a ton of clubs up and down Beale St. good music, not just blues, but rock, jazz, neo-soul, it all just depends on what night your down there. Peabody Place is also pretty nice, it is a Mall, but it has some good restaurants a huge movie theater and a place called Gillians which is kinda like a grown-ups arcade. I have been hanging out down there since I was 13, and have never felt scared for my life, but I have always carried a knife. There is no carry in any place that serves alcohol. If I am not drinking I usually carry anyway. That is not saying you should, by any means, just that I personally do. There are a lot of panhandlers downtown, sometimes they can be pestering, but in my experience, not aggressive. As long as you have a weapon in your car and you keep your awareness up while driving around the city you should be fine. If you get a chance on the way through TN I would try to stop at Fall Creek Falls State Park, beautiful waterfalls great hiking trails, some of my happiest memories were had up there. Feel free to message me if you do come to town, I can point you in the direction of good food and drink.
Personally, I find the term "white trash" very unsettling. Not only in it's intended use towards lower class poor white people, but in it's implications that other races and ethnicities are only equal to these second class whites. Since when has Memphis been thought of as a white trash mecca anyway, the only reason I could think anyone would say that is that Graceland is in Memphis and there is some sort of yearly semi-religious flood of Elvis Fanatics to our city.
All apologies for the rant, that term just personally bothers me, many of my friends and family proudly embrace the label “white trash” I personally do not.
