What young professionals want -- Education, public safety top survey by MPACT

Memphis isn't high tech, doesn't treat all races equally and isn't environmentally friendly. At the same time, Memphis has a community feel to it and is a good place to raise a family, according to the city's young professionals.

Some 1,500 of Memphis' 18- to 44-year-old professionals sounded off in a recent survey just released by MPACT Memphis, a nonprofit group that works to get young professionals engaged in the city.

"We wanted to know what young professionals wanted in a city, what attracts them," said Penelope McDowell, MPACT communications coordinator. "They often pick a city and then pick a job ... and are working to live - not living to work."

The "Voice of MPACT" survey queried its 688 members but also sought out young professionals at numerous public events like the Alley Jams concert series.

The survey found that 75 percent of young professionals feel strong connections to Memphis and 94 percent of them try to patronize locally owned businesses as much as possible.

Most of them also believe Memphis has a close-knit professional community, but would move elsewhere for a better job.

"Memphis lacks major opportunities for young people leaving college, and furthermore lacks the quality of life of people in other major cities," a male respondent said in the study. "The only thing that makes living in Memphis bearable is living in Midtown."

While nearly three-quarters of respondents said they were proud of Memphis, nearly half said they didn't feel safe and said the best ways to change that feeling was to increase education and police force numbers.

The majority of respondents said Memphis did not have a reasonable tax rate and that government services weren't adequate. They also said government leaders did not act in the best interests of citizens and that they did not spend tax dollars wisely.

Instead, they said, more money should be spent on education, fighting crime, economic development and public safety.

In fact, government topped the list of things that young professionals would change about Memphis, including race relations, crime, education and the city's image.

"Memphis has an inferiority complex," wrote a female respondent. "People who live in Memphis need to start being positive about Memphis."

McDowell said the survey is the launch pad for June's Feedback Project, which will connect MPACT's members with local leaders who have the power to make changes in Memphis.

"Young professionals can drive up to 58 percent of the economy, and they need to be tailored to," McDowell said. "We already tailor things to companies with tax breaks and other incentives, but nobody had really ever asked what these younger, eager (professionals) what they want. So, we did."