36 Reasons to Move to Memphis

Photo: Charles Nardi, Renderings: Crosstown, LOEB, Chisca


When you look at the headlines across the city, you see many new developments throughout the area.
Beale Street is now the busiest tourist attraction in the state. Main Street is home to hundreds of new businesses filling the once forgotten buildings that have sat empty for years. The population of Downtown Memphis now has over 30,000 residents with a steadily increasing household income level. The arts are blossoming across the city and Downtown recently ranked in Forbes Magazine in the top “15 U.S. Cities’ Emerging Downtowns”. Memphis also landed at #3 in Forbes magazine list of “The Happiest Cities To Work In Right Now”. If these reasons aren’t enough to make you Choose901, let’s explore even more reasons why Memphis is a great place to call home.

Photo: Jeff Riddle

Low cost of Living – One of the things that makes Memphis so attractive to people who are relocating is the low cost of living. From the price of dinner, the utilities of a household and the cost of housing itself to the price of other good and services. The city itself boasts a 91.8 on the cost of living index. And of course we can’t forget the low cost of furthering your education at one of the many area universities.
Our Food is Amazing – It won’t take you long to figure out that there is much more to Memphis than just BBQ. Add Tastiest Town by Southern Living, Sweetest Water in the World, Best New Coffee Roaster, One of the Best Cities for Pizza, One of America’s Best Bakeries, and one of the Best Farmers Markets in America to the list.
Opening a business here is a good idea – A study compiled by WalletHub ranked Memphis at #7 for entrepreneurs. The cities were ranked based on 13 unique metrics included five-year survival rate, local cost of living, access to financing, and cost of office space.

Photo: Eso Tolson

Livability – The Wall Street Journal named Memphis as one of the top cities for Millennials in terms of livability among Nashville, Brooklyn, and Portland. What did they mean by livability? They described it as the best work/play mix.
The Arts are appreciated here – The arts have been a huge player in the revitalization of Memphis and giving our city it’s character. Creatives from all over the country are discovering that Memphis is a top destination for all form of the arts. Bustle.com ranked Memphis at #5 in its list of the top artistic cities. Initiatives such as the Urban Arts Commission have helped attract artists to our city and helped them to #Choose901. We have one of the best film festivals in the world and some of the best musical attractions in the country.

Pool rendering for Highland Row Apartments

Development is happening daily – The strength of our city’s rebirth and its rise to the top is very evident as investors and business alike are choosing to invest in our city with new development and redevelopment projects throughout all parts of our city. One of the largest projects that recently opened is the new Bass Pro Shop at the Pyramid. The Sears Crosstown project and One Beale are two other multi-million dollar developments that are underway and will change the landscape of our city. Other projects to check out:

Cooper Young Trestle Bridge, Photo: @eli1172 on instagram

Great Housing Market – The housing market in Memphis makes it very easy for someone to call Memphis home. If you are a first time buyer or an investor, you will find it is very easy to find housing at an affordable price. Realtor.com launched an EasytoBuyIndex and looked at the 50 largest metro areas in the country to determine the 10 easiest places to buy a home. Memphis was named #2. It took into account: the total costs of home ownership, whether it’s a buying or renting market, and local factors like insurance, taxes, and supply of affordable inventory.

Tug’s Bar and Grill, Photo: Amanda Hill

We have the best patio weather – One of Memphis’ greatest assets comes naturally: our weather! Residents of Memphis enjoy mild winters, great sunny summers, and beautiful fall and spring weather conditions. The annual high temperature average is 72.4 degrees with an annual low temperature average of 53.6. Average annual precipitation comes in at 53.67 inches with only 3 inches of average snow fall. We get to enjoy all the seasons.
Opportunity – Forbes ranked Memphis among the top 19 cities in the country to “make your mark”. The financially-focused magazine used the following criteria to make the list: average home cost, unemployment rates including direction year-to-year, overall population growth, and millennial population growth.
Tech Growth – Memphis has been named in the top 10 cities in the country in terms of growth in Tech jobs. The report comes from Forbes using data from a research group. It’s important to note the job growth was in tech companies but also workers doing STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) jobs in other sectors as well. Many of the usual suspects are found in this list as well, but Memphis’ growth noted in particular.

Photo: Amanda Hill

Best NBA Team – Calling Memphis home since 2001, The Grizzlies have stolen our hearts and put us on the NBA map. Uniting the city as one, every jump ball in the Fedex Forum or “Grindhouse” unleashes the loud roar of Memphians supporting their favorite NBA team. ESPN Magazine named our Grizzlies the #1 Sports Franchise and Memphis as the Best NBA Destination.

Photo: Samilia Colar

Memphians are friendly – One of the first traits I noticed when I moved to Memphis was how friendly Memphians are! Whether it’s the person who serves you at dinner to your new neighbor, there is no doubt most of Memphis displays the true definition of hospitality. Airbnb has ranked Memphis at #6 on it’s list of the “10 Most Hospitable Cities” in America. Looking to invest in Memphis? Check out Serve901, Volunteer Memphis, and Volunteer Odyssey.

Education Reform: Urban education is the civil rights issue of our time, and Memphis is the place where you can make a real difference. Join the movement here.

This list could go on and on. Chris Vernon says, “If you love Memphis, Memphis will love you back.” I have found this to be true since the first day that I called Memphis home. I chose to make Memphis my home, and I encourage others everyday to do the same. Of course we have our fair share of problems. But if you only focus on the negative, you will miss the great things that are happening around you and the great things that Memphis has to offer. We can all do our part today to make Memphis even better tomorrow. We must be the change we wish to see. Together we can introduce Memphis to the top of every “Best of” list. I truly believe that now is the time, and Memphis is the place.