Living in Memphis

Memphis is a wonderful place to relocate.  It has a temperate climate, low utility rates, and the purest water supply in the country.  The cost of living is 11% below the national average, one of the lowest in any major U.S. metropolitan area, and according to the 2004 Urban Mobility Study by the Texas Transportation Institute, Memphis drivers use less gas and wait in less traffic than its peer cities of Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Denver, and Louisville.

Memphis' civil accolades include:

• Top place for singles to retire, U.S. News and World Report, March 2009
• Memphis's historic downtown South Main district named "35 Best Retirement Neighborhoods," Money magazine, October 2007
• Top 40 "Best Cities for Singles," Forbes.
• Memphis ranked #15.12th 'Best City' for Relocating Singles (2006), and
• 17th Best City for Relocating Families in the large metro category (2006) by WorldWide ERC and Primary Relocation.

Colleges and universities in the city include the University of Memphis, Rhodes College, Memphis College of Art, Le Moyne-Owen College, Crichton College, Christian Brothers University, Baptist College of Health Sciences, State Technical Institute, and the University of Tennessee Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy.

Climate

• Mean Annual Temperature:  61.9 degrees F
• January Average Temperature:  41.2 degrees F
• July Average Temperature:  81.2 degrees F
• Annual Average Rainfall:  48.6 inches
• Annual Average Snowfall:  5.3 inches
• Average Relative Humidity:  69% 

Housing

There is a wide variety of housing options in the Memphis area.  Whether you're suited to a downtown loft, a low-rise apartment, or a spacious suburban house, Memphis has lots to offer.  Nice upscale houses can be found throughout the entire city and surrounding suburbs.  It is common for people to find they get a lot of "bang for their buck" when they purchase a home in Memphis.  According to Coldwell Banker's annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI), the average home price in 2004 in Memphis Tennessee was $176,125, almost half the nation's overall average.  Sowell & Company Realtors represent clients interested in almost every Memphis neighborhood and community.

Water

Memphis has the "sweetest, most wonderful tasting water in the world," says Dr. Jerry L. Anderson, Director of the Ground Water Institute at the University of Memphis and a nationally known expert in the field.  One of the most wonderful features of Memphis is its artesian well water system, one of the largest in the world.  Because there are so few minerals present in the water, it can be used with little treatment when drawn from underground.

MLGW (Memphis Light Gas and Water)

MLGW is the largest three-service public utility in the nation.  It serves nearly 415,000 customers in Shelby County.  The Tennessee Valley Authority supplies electricity to MLGW, and natural gas is transported by two open-access pipeline companies, Texas Gas Transmission Corporation and CMS Trunkline Gas Company.  MLGW owns and operates Memphis' artesian water system.