Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just below the mouth of the Wolf River. Its population of 670,902 makes it the largest city in the state of Tennessee and the second largest in the southeastern region, only to Jacksonville, Florida.


Memphis is a charming Southern city with a rich and colorful history. It�s a city that enjoys a stable economic base, low utility rates, and wonderful, friendly people. Those who appreciate that sometimes elusive ambience called excellent quality of life will no doubt find that Memphis has it in abundance.


The city�s central location has led to much of its business development. Located on the Mississippi River and intersected by two interstate highways and seven major U.S. highways, Memphis is ideally located for commerce among the transportation and shipping industry. The city is also home to the world�s busiest cargo airport, in terms of tonnage, which serves as the primary hub for FedEx shipping. Due to its location, more major metro areas can be reached overnight from Memphis than any other city in the central U.S.


Memphis has also developed as a major manufacturing center of textiles, heating equipment, pianos, and automobile and truck parts. Memphis Light, Gas and Water is also one of the largest municipal utilities in the United States.


Memphis is home to a growing number of nationally and internationally known corporations, including approximately 150 businesses from 22 countries. Two of them, FedEx and International Paper are members of the Fortune 100. Memphis has four members in the Fortune 500: AutoZone, ServiceMaster, and of course, FedEx and International Paper. Two other businesses, First Horizon National Corporation and Fred�s Stores are in the Fortune 1000.


Other corporations with a major presence in the area include: Back Yard Burgers, Belz Enterprises, Buckeye Technologies, Guardsmark, Hohenberg Brothers, Harrah�s, Hilton, and Morgan Keegan & Company. Northwest Airlines also operates a major hub at Memphis International Airport, with daily nonstop flights to Amsterdam.


Memphis has historically served as a commercial and social center for western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas, and is considered by many to be the true capital of the Mississippi River delta. The city�s rich history includes eighteenth-century French and Spanish forts, colorful riverboat traffic, and a driving economic force � cotton. The city counts barbeque cooking among its contributions to the national culture and calls itself Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock�n Roll.


A five-time winner of the �Nation�s Cleanest City� award, Memphis boasts a high quality of life enhanced by pleasant climate, top-notch schools and abundant recreational opportunities. Already a distribution hub and headquarters for leaders in services such as hotels and package express, Memphis proceeded through the end of the twentieth century with a technological focus on agribusiness and health care.


Today, its Memphis Medical Center and St. Jude Children�s Hospital are leaders in research and medical care. 1996 Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty conducts research at the world class St. Jude�s. Despite its development, Memphis retains an unhurried approach to life and remains close to its musical roots.


Memphis is the home of founders and establishers of various American music genres, including Blues, Gospel, Rock �n Roll, and �sharecropper� country music, in contrast to the �rhinestone� country sound of Nashville. Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and B.B. King were all getting their starts in Memphis in the 1950s. They are respectively dubbed the �King� of Country. Rock �n Roll, and Blues.


The first African American-formatted radio station, WDIA, was founded in the city in 1947 by Bert Ferguson and John Pepper, and included a young B.B. King as disc jockey. B.B. King�s moniker was derived from WDIA nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, a reference to Memphis� Beale Street on which many nightclubs and blues venues were located.


In addition to a rich musical heritage, Memphis also boasts several annual celebrations. One of the largest is Memphis in May. The month-long series of events promotes Memphis� heritage and outreach of its people far beyond the city�s borders. Each year, Memphis in May honors a different country, highlighting various aspects of the honored nation�s history and culture. Since its founding, the economic and educational impact of Memphis in May has given a significant boost to the city each spring.


The celebration includes a diverse mix, beginning during the first weekend of the month at Tom Lee Park, the site of the Beale Street Music Festival. Other signature events of Memphis in May include the World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest, the largest pork barbeque cooking contest in the world. The closing event of the month is a performance of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra on the river called the Sunset Symphony.


Carnival Memphis, formerly known as the Memphis Cotton Carnival, is a series of parties and festivities staged each year during the early summer, similar to that of Mardi Gras. Carnival salutes various aspects of Memphis and its industries, and is reigned over by the current year�s secretly selected King & Queen of Carnival.


An arts festival, the Cooper-Young Festival, is held annually in September in Midtown. The event draws artists from all over North America, and includes art sales, contests, and displays. It has grown into one of Memphis� most anticipated events, with thousands of guests enjoying a mix of art, music and crafts presented by over 300 artisans from around the country.


Well-known writers from Memphis include Civil War historian Shelby Foote and playwright Tennessee Williams, who wrote the first play on Snowden Street and saw it performed on Glenview Street.


Memphis has also had a significant impact in the world of photography. William Eggleston, the pioneer of color photography as a serious artistic medium and considered one of the greatest photographers of all time, still lives and works in Memphis. A number of younger photographers, including Huger Foote, are Memphians. Some other notable hometown photographers are fashion photographer Jack Robinson and civil rights-era artist Ernest C. Withers.


In the last decade, the art scene in Memphis has exploded. The independent art scene has centered primarily in South Main, located in downtown Memphis on the trolley line. More than a dozen art galleries have moved into the neighborhood, fueling a redevelopment boom that has expanded into new residential construction. Perhaps the most interesting conversion has been the Power House, a former power plant near Central Station that has been transformed into contemporary art space. The Cooper-Young neighborhood in Midtown is home to several art galleries. The Edge is a nascent arts neighborhood, located at the edge of downtown near Madison Avenue, Marshall, and Union Avenue. The Edge is home to Memphis� Black Repertory Theater, world-famous Sun Studios, and Delta Axis, among others.


Memphis is home to several professional sports teams. The Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association is the only one of the �big four� major sports leagues in the city. Several minor league teams also call Memphis home, including the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League, a Triple A baseball farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals.


The Memphis RiverKings are a professional hockey team of the Central Hockey League. The Memphis Panthers are a football team that play in the North American Football League. Memphis is also home to the Memphis Blues, a professional Rugby union team, which plays at Tobey Field in Midtown.


The esteemed city also has a fertile history when it comes to pro wrestling. The sport�s greatest name to come out of Memphis is Jerry �The King� Lawler. Other greats who started out here include Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, �Macho Man� Randy Savage, and Ric Flair.


Just north of the city on the outskirts of Memphis and Millington is the Memphis Motorsports Park. The venue has a 3/4-mile paved oval track that annually hosts 2 NASCAR-sanctioned events, a Busch-series race and a Craftsman Truck series race. It also has a 1/4-mile drag strip that annually hosts the NHRA POWERade O�Reilly Mid-South Nationals, as well as locally-sanctioned events that run from February to November.


The area, while subject to frequent changes in weather, experiences few temperature extremes. Precipitation is fairly distributed throughout the year. Because of this weather nirvana, golf is a very popular form of recreation in Memphis, which has eight municipal courses. There are over 30 public and private golf courses in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. Memphis is home to the annual Stanford St. Jude Championship, a regular part of the PGA Tour.


If you are planning to move to the Memphis Area, you will soon find that Southern hospitality has not been lost in the cosmopolitan growth of the Mid-South. Memphis is unique in that we have found a balance between the amenities, diversity and tolerance of a big city while keeping true to the comfort of our small town history.


The median age is 32 years old, while the annual household income is estimated at $33,244. No matter where you are in the Area, you are never far from where you need to go. While Memphis is one of the larger Southern cities, our infrastructure allows for easy transit times for work and play.


A mosaic of vibrant communities, Memphis has grown from a sleepy port on the Mississippi River to an exciting urban center. From the cosmopolitan atmosphere of downtown to the stately homes of Midtown and the quiet, tree-lined serenity of the suburban towns that surround the city, Memphis has a neighborhood that appeals to every lifestyle.