University District Neighborhood Guide

The University District is Memphis's most energetic college neighborhood, built around the University of Memphis campus and anchored by the Highland Strip, a stretch of local restaurants, bars, and coffee shops that draws students, faculty, and longtime residents alike. The area runs roughly from Southern Avenue down to Central, between East Parkway and Highland Street, giving it a compact, walkable footprint that makes it genuinely easy to live without a car for daily errands. Historic bungalows and mid-century rentals line the side streets, offering some of the more affordable housing stock in Midtown-adjacent Memphis. The tradeoff is a neighborhood calendar that runs on the university's rhythms, meaning gameday weekends reshape traffic and noise in ways that can catch newcomers off guard. For anyone who wants a lively, pedestrian-scaled neighborhood with strong local dining and a genuine sense of place, University District delivers.