Just ask about 10pm-6am... Last I checked, it was the busiest airport in the world. I remember the 11pm hangouts under the 27 final where airport cops showed up... A sida badge and saying "showing my significant other the money" bought ya 15 mins. If you drop the gear on 27 about 9 miles out, you are over my house. Unless you are an MD who does the immediate decent with auto throttles saying "hello" it's quiet, yet still a cool sight late at night.
Ironically, my father in law is mgmt in the tower now... It has ALWAYS been GA friendly since about 2003. I did my "solo" towered landings at MEM for my private (off-peak of NWA at the time), and never had an issue either coming to see my (now) wife. Not sure if the text prior cleared the air or not, but it has always been very friendly.
MEM has a bad reputation (city wise). Drive 15 mins east or south (or in many cases west I not downtown) and it's fine. I can affirm this as my neighbor texts me asking if I am coming home because the wife left the garage open all night..... I have spent the last 23 of 28 years of my life calling "Memphis" home. It has its "bad" parts, just like any city, but it's also quite spread out. There are plenty of places where your kid can go to a good public school, not worry about being shot/stabbed, and have a nice QOL.
I will admit that the downtown scene is only "entertaining" about once every 6 months, but that's not my thing to start so there is a bias there.