Moving to Germantown: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Germantown means moving into a genuinely older, more settled Memphis suburb than Collierville -- incorporated in 1841, a decade before Collierville's first incorporation -- with real, larger-lot housing stock and a distinct retail identity built around the Shops of Saddle Creek, and wholly unrelated to Nashville's separate, similarly-named neighborhood.
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Learn moreA real, documented history a decade older than Collierville's
The area began in 1833 as the hamlet of Pea Ridge, was renamed Germantown in 1836, and was formally incorporated December 28, 1841 -- a decade before Collierville's first 1850 incorporation, built alongside this record (Germantown Historical Preservation Association, retrieved 2026-08-22). By 1850, the town had 250 residents and the second-largest postal business volume in Shelby County.
IMPORTANT: this is NOT Nashville's Germantown neighborhood
This Shelby County city shares its name with an entirely separate, unrelated place: a walkable in-town Nashville neighborhood in Davidson County (covered elsewhere in this project). This research pass explicitly caught and corrected a raw search-result mix-up where a housing figure for Nashville's neighborhood was initially returned alongside data for this city -- always confirm any online source is describing THIS Shelby County Germantown before relying on it.
A real, larger-lot, more settled housing character than Collierville
Established Germantown subdivisions such as Bedford Plantation commonly sit on one-third-acre to acre-plus lots, with mature trees and curving streets -- a genuine, qualitative contrast with Collierville's more varied lot sizes and newer-construction, higher-density pockets, documented in that record built alongside this one (Mia Atkinson, Reid Realtors real-estate-blog coverage, retrieved 2026-08-22).
A distinct retail/dining identity: the Shops of Saddle Creek
The Shops of Saddle Creek is described as the FIRST shopping center developed in the nation specifically as a "lifestyle center," with roughly 70% of its 40-plus tenants unique to the Memphis market, and voted Best Shopping Center in Memphis by Memphis Flyer readers every year from 2017 through 2025 -- a real, distinct anchor from Collierville's historic Town Square.
Key takeaways
- Germantown was incorporated December 28, 1841 -- a decade before Collierville's first 1850 incorporation, giving it a genuinely older, more settled character.
- This city is wholly unrelated to Nashville's separate, similarly-named Germantown neighborhood -- a real mix-up this research pass caught and corrected in housing data.
- Established Germantown subdivisions commonly sit on one-third-acre to acre-plus lots -- a real contrast with Collierville's more varied, higher-density newer construction.
- The Shops of Saddle Creek -- the first lifestyle shopping center developed in the nation -- anchors Germantown's distinct retail identity, separate from Collierville's historic Town Square.
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