Small town living can have the allure of Nashville and Memphis with half the cost | Opinion

I read with interest recently a story about more Nashvillians moving to Memphis, primarily because of soaring real estate costs in Nashville.

It made me think: Some people might want to go a little further, and come on down to my town, Madison.

Not Madison the Nashville suburb; not the West Tennessee County between Nashville and Memphis, not Madison, Ala. , and certainly not Madison, Wisc.. But Madison the City, Mississippi.

If you have not made the trip down I-55 from Memphis to our bucolic, historic town you may be missing out on one of life’s simplest pleasures – a planned, safe, proud and welcoming community I have had the pleasure of serving for more than four decades.

And our cost of living and home prices would be the envy of residents of Nashville and Memphis. Madison consistently rates as the “most successful” city in Mississippi and there are many reasons.

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I have been mayor of Madison for over 40 years

In my first term as mayor, we had a population of 2,000 and a budget of less than $500,000. Today, the population is pushing 27,000, and the current budget is $36.8 million, but we still have plenty room for growth. But not just any growth. We have always aimed for quality growth, and have instituted strict zoning, architectural and design covenants to shape and protect our master-planned community.

Sticking to our guns in the face of pressure from developers has paid off. We simply won’t compromise aesthetics just to grow tax revenues.

The result has been a public school system ranked best in the state and nation in academics and athletics, world class golf and other recreational amenities, beautiful planned residential neighborhoods, and a careful addition of targeted businesses to support the city.

My vision was influenced by visiting one of my favorite towns, Franklin, Tennessee, which has retained its historic flavor and feel in spite of massive growth surrounding it. Franklin’s work in reclaiming its downtown was the inspiration for Madison to take ownership of its historic Old School and begin the planned process of building out our city center.

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Aspiring for big things

Another community which deeply impacted how we went about building a destination community is Germantown, Tennessee, where city officials welcomed us with open arms and shared their local ordinances that allowed our city planners to emulate their quality, controlled growth to limit urban sprawl.

We deliberately made quality of life our No. 1 economic development tool. We knew if we built a place that people wanted to live and they felt safe and knew their property values were protected, then we would create our own market and businesses would follow even with the strict guidelines we had put in place.

I’m a great believer in the “Build It and They will Come” approach. We’ve built a great city. While you are thinking about making a move and lifestyle alternatives, we invite you to think, “Madison.”

We invite you to think come on down to our great little town.

Mary Butler Hawkins was first elected mayor of Madison, Miss., in 1981. She has been re-elected 11 times, and is the second longest-serving female mayor in the United States. 

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Madison, Mississippi can hold its own against Memphis and Nashville