We Choose Collierville
Melanie and I left family and friends in 1994 and moved from Richardson, TX (Dallas) to Collierville. We had a strong network of close family in Dallas, tons of friends from our SMU days, and a strong group of couples from our Sunday School class. It was a tough relocation. I was in the plastic packaging business and the company I worked for in Dallas was acquired by Memphis based, Bryce Corporation. Everyone in Dallas told us “Germantown, Germantown, Germantown,” and that is where we naturally and instinctively looked for our new home. But, everything in our price range in G’Town was older, and we desired something newer. “What’s out there?” I asked the realtor, pointing east towards Collierville. “Oh, that’s Collierville (population around 17,000 in 1994), I don’t know much about it…” said the realtor. “Take us there,” I said, and as they say, the rest is history. Why are you here? What brought you to Collierville? A recent survey of our citizens and some additional research shined some light on the various reasons why people have chosen to plant their roots in Collierville.
Working For a Living
Collierville has a burgeoning corporate headquarters component to our economy, with close to 3,700 office oriented jobs in our community. FedEx World Technology Center, Orgill, Helena Agri-Enterprises, JuicePLUS, MCR Safety, and Mueller Industries occupy over 1.5M square feet of office space. Many of the employees of these great partner companies made the decision to move to Collierville in order to be only minutes from their place of employment. It is estimated that over 700 of the 2,500 FedEx WTC workforces live in Town. I am positive our other corporate friends have similar housing dynamics. Also, the Memphis MSA boasts some of the shortest commute times in the nation, with Collierville having a 25 minute average commute time (1/3rd of Chicagoans have a 35+ minute commute). With SR-385, Poplar, Winchester, Shelby, and others, travel time to work from Collierville is minimal, thus making it an attractive residential location.
Corporate Relocation
When an individual or family begins the corporate relocation process to the area, one of the first things they will do is Google / Bing / Yahoo, “Best Places to Live in Memphis.” Collierville jumps to the top of many if not all “Best of” lists. Collierville is highly ranked in a variety of categories, to include best schools, lowest crime, best town for families, best place for young professionals (YES! Look it up…), best parks system, tops in housing appreciation value, and so on. Collierville is proud to welcome many from outside the area who have done extensive research to determine Collierville is the right place to relocate their family.
MeeMaw and PawPaw
One of the most interesting components of our survey was the number of respondents, ages 60+, that said their primary reason for moving to Collierville was, “to be closer to family and grandchildren.” By 2023, it is projected that 25% of our population, or about 14,000+/- people, will fall in the 55 – 74 year old age bracket. So, is Collierville in certain respects, a retirement community without the beach? You can certainly make the case that our central location, moderate climate, access to health care, parks & trails, upscale amenities, golf, safety & security, and proximity to grand babies makes our community attractive to the aging Baby Boomer.
Our Next Chapter
From 2013 through 2017, Collierville welcomed over 1500 Millennials, primarily those that were newly married or couples with young children. As has been previously reported, many Millennial families desire the same things they grew up with, ie: the safe neighborhoods, excellent schools, open space, access to amenities, and a sense of community. This trend is projected to continue through 2022. We have also discovered that families from Cordova, Bartlett, Germantown, and the other surrounding areas have moved to Town for a bigger or newer home and access to our award winning school system. As many of our empty nest citizens approach their mid-late 50’s and early 60’s, some are making the decision to remain in Town, where they can continue to enjoy their friends, neighborhood, church, clubs, amenities, and lifestyle they have become accustomed to… some call it, “aging in place.”
Be it a job, or proximity to a job… a highly researched corporate relocation decision… nearness to family… or, that next chapter of life, there are a variety of reasons why people choose Collierville.
John D. Duncan
Director of Economic Development
500 Poplar View Parkway
Collierville, TN 38017
901-457-2200 General
901-457-2213 Direct
901-457-9325 Cell
