Memphis – More Than the Home of Elvis

Memphis, Tennessee is the home of the Blues, barbecue and Elvis. If you love good food, good music and nice people, you don’t need to look any further than Memphis. The largest city in Tennessee, Memphis and its surrounding suburbs is home to over one million people. It borders both the Arkansas and Mississippi state lines and is within driving distance of many great cities including Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago, and Dallas. It is also a mere twenty miles north of Tunica, Mississippi – the third largest gaming destination in America.

When you come to Memphis, you will hear music wherever you go. Memphis has a great musical heritage in many different genres. W.C. Handy wrote the first blues song in Memphis in 1909. The 1950’s saw the emergence of rock-n-roll with legendary Memphis rockers Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis leading the way. Isaac Hayes recorded his famous Academy Award winning “Theme from Shaft” in Memphis’ Stax recording studio. Memphis has several music museums to tour such as Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Rock-n-Soul Museum, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Sun Studio Museum and the Elvis memorabilia at his home, Graceland, located in south Memphis.

Memphis has some of the best food you ever tasted! Barbecuing in Memphis is an art form honored each year in May with the world’s largest barbecue contest. One of the most celebrated Memphis barbecue restaurants is Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous, a favorite of locals and visiting dignitaries alike. Being located in the heart of the South, Memphis is also known for its home cooking. Restaurants with meals that include fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, turnip greens and cornbread can be found all over town.

Memphis is the home of FedEx, with its owner, Fred Smith, having started the company there in 1973. The Autozone corporate headquarters are located in downtown Memphis, as is the world renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which specializes in cancer and other terminal childhood diseases.

Average Lifestyle

The average lifestyle in Memphis is primarily laidback, yet the city also offers the conveniences of a big city. The average household income is $35,532 and the average house costs about $72,000. Because of such well known attractions such as Graceland and Beale Street, Memphis has many national and international visitors all year long.

Weather

The weather in Memphis is humid (average of 69%) and the annual average rainfall is 48.6 inches. The average temperature is 61.9 degrees F, but it can get cold and even snow a few inches in the winter. Summer temperatures can range into the high 90’s and the average low temperature is 42.2 degrees F.

Things To Do

There is plenty to do in Memphis. You can visit the newest additions to the Memphis Zoo, Ya Ya and Le Le, the giant pandas. You can tour the home of Elvis, Graceland, or the studio where it all started, Sun Studios. If you like sports, you can take in a baseball game at the Redbirds stadium (an AAA St. Louis Cardinals farm team). For basketball lovers, catch some NBA action with the Memphis Grizzlies. You can tour downtown with historic Beale Street, the famous Peabody hotel and the Mississippi River all within walking distance from each other. There’s also great shopping at the Wolfchase Galleria in Germantown, a suburb of Memphis.

Closest Cities

Little Rock, AR (137.4 miles)
Jackson, MS (209.3 miles)
Nashville, TN (212.1 miles)

Getting to Memphis

Memphis can be reached from the north and south by the I-55 and from the east and west by the I-40.

Higher Education

University of Memphis
University of Tennessee – Memphis
Christian Brothers University
Rhodes College
LeMoyne-Owen College
Memphis College of Art
Southern College of Optometry
Crichton College
Union University, Germantown Campus

Two Year Colleges

Southwest Tennessee Community College
Mid-South Community College
Remington College
ITT Technical Institute

Population
Over One Million