Murray in a nutshell (Lexington, Bowling Green: 2009, apartments, rentals)

[kentuckydad95]

Since I was less than flattering about Murray in previous posts, I have decided to actually post something constructive about the city for those who are considering moving here or who want to know a little more about the area. I am going to list some places in Murray and I am sure I am going to leave off someone, so please forgive me in advance.

The population of Murray is roughly 16,000, with the population of Calloway County being roughly 35,500. The population numbers see an upswing 9 months out of the year due to the 10,500 students that attend Murray State University. The city of Murray is packed into only 10 square miles, with 1,600 people per square mile. That is more people per square mile than Lexington, Paducah, Bowling Green, etc. The crime rate in Murray is one of the lowest in the state and probably in the nation for an area of their size. Living here, I think there has been one murder in the past 5 years or more that I can remember. If you are thinking about a move to Murray, here are things you may be wondering about, such as ultilities and restaurants, places to shop, etc. NOTE: There are many more establishments than the one's listed below. There are numerous mom and pop stores and I cannot think of them all, so I will stick to the "name" chain places.

Hotels/Motels:

Baymont Inns/Suites
Best Western
Hampton Inn/Suites
Murray Plaza Courts
Days Inn
Country Hearth Inns/Suites
Holiday Inn Express

Electric Service:

West KY Rural Electric Welcome to WKRECC 's web site
Murray Electric System Murray Electric System -* Electric Power & Telecommunications for Murray, Kentucky

Telephone Service:

Murray Electric System http://www.etelofmurray.com/
West KY Rural Telephone West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Inc.
AT&T/Bellsouth Wireless, DSL Internet, satellite TV Services and Phone | AT&T

Cable Television:

Murray Electric System Murray Electric System:* Cable Services
Newwave Communications New Wave Communications
Mediacom Mediacom

Hospital:

Murray Calloway County Hospital (360 beds, 48 more being constructed) Murray Calloway County Hospital, Murray, KY

Shopping:

Wal-Mart Supercenter (24 Hours)
Krogers (24 Hours)
Lowe's
JCPenny's
Big Lots
Orscheln Farm & Home
Office Depot
Dawahares
Hibbett Sports
Cato's
Payless Shoe's
Dollar Tree
Goody's
Maurices
Dollar General
Sears
Food Giant
Fred's
Family Dollar
Sav-a-Lot Foods
Walgreen's (24 Hours)
CVS (24 Hours)
Rite Aid (Funny thing is all three mentioned pharmacies are at one intersection!!!)
Pella Windows Factory Store
Sherwin Williams
Goodwill Store (being built)
Fastenal
Auto Zone
O'Reilly's
NAPA
Car Quest
Advance Auto Parts
Radio Shack

Restaurants (Sit Down Service)

Coldwater BBQ
Martha's (Family)
Tom's Grille (Steaks/Pasta)
J.Edwards (Upscale Steaks/Pasta/Seafood)
Applebee's
Tumbleweed Southwest Grill (in construction)
Huddle House
The Keg (BBQ/Burgers)
August Moon (Chinese)
Cracker Barrel
El Tequilla (Mexican)
Asian Buffet
Nick's Family Sports Pub
Big Apple Cafe (Mexican/Deli/Bar Food)
Los Portales (Mexican)
Jasmines (Thai)
Tom's Pizza (Family/Italian)
Pagliai's (Italian/Family Fun Center)
Mr Gatti's (Pizza/Family Fun Center)
Bad Bob's BBQ
Pizza Hut
El Mariachi Loco (Mexican)
Holmes Family Restaurant
Hungry Bear (Breakfast/Family)
Roberson's Hih Burger Inn (Breakfast/Meat & Three)
Mugsy's Hideout (Pizza/American)
Vitello's (Italian)
Gloria's World Village (Eclectic)
Rudy's (Breakfast/Meat & Three)
Sirloin Stockade (Steakhouse/Buffet)
Ryan's (Steakhouse/Buffet)
HRH Dumplins (Sandwiches/Salads)

Fast Food:

Burger King
Captain D's
Sonic
Pizza Pro
Domino's
Dairy Queen
McDonald's
Matt B's Main St Pizza
KFC
Fidalgo Bay Coffee (Like Starbucks...but not quite lol)
Wendy's
Hardee's
Quizno's
Arby's
Subway
Taco Bell
Taco John's
Back Yard Burgers
Culver's Burgers & Custard (being constructed)
Papa John's
Sammon's Bakery
Victor's Sandwiches
White Castle (being proposed)

Banks:

US Bank (1 location)
Region's (3 locations)
The Murray Bank (2 locations)
BB&T (3 locations)
Heritage Bank (2 locations)
CFSB (being built)
MSU Credit Union

There is a bowling alley, 7-screen movie theatre with stadium seating, roller skating rink, a 9,000 seat special events center that has played hosts to Kanye West, Garbage, Tim McGraw, 3 Doors Down, Barnum & Bailey Circus, Larry the Cable Guy, Disney on Ice, Nickleback, John Mayer, and many more events/concerts.

There are many more things I could mention and if you have any questions about infrastructure (parks, police, fire, etc) let me know and I will answer any questions you may have. Here are a few pics of Murray:



Inside the RSEC



Murray State's Fine Arts building



Roy Stewart Stadium



Murray Middle School



A portion of the MSU campus



Part of the court square



New 5-story addition the Murray Hospital, currently underway



Entering Murray from the north, showing a portion of MSU

[censusdata]

Murray State has the 3rd highest ave. ACT scores in the public system, after UK and U of L

UK 25.1, U of L 24.3, Murray 23

[Diamond Dee]

Kentuckydad95-thanks for the info.how about info on why a person living or working in Murray has to have a window sticker on their car?Hows the housing like for renting a duplex?when will hwy 80 be completed between Mayfield and north of Murray?

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by Diamond Dee

Kentuckydad95-thanks for the info.how about info on why a person living or working in Murray has to have a window sticker on their car?Hows the housing like for renting a duplex?when will hwy 80 be completed between Mayfield and north of Murray?

The city charges $35 for a sticker to everyone who works and/or lives in Murray. They do that instead of an income tax. Paducah has an income tax of 2% and Benton has a 1% income tax. That is my biggest beef with the state of KY. We are taxed to death here!!!

The new KY 80 will be open probably by the end of the year. They look like they are about 75% done with it.

As for renting, that is a major issue in this town. Murray has to have the most apartments per capita then any town in KY. The problem is that the vast majority of them are targeted and rented to college students. I have lived next to college students. It's not fun if you are a working Joe. You have to really look hard, but rentals can be found in good neighborhoods away from the bustle of the university.

[Davart]

That is my biggest beef with the state of KY. We are taxed to death here!!!

Which is the primary reason Kentucky as a whole does not see the growth that surrounding states do, tax cuts creates job and business expansion opportunities. Taxes, raising taxes, creating taxes does nothing but stifle growth and the economy. It's economic 101.

This is why Paducah looks like a 150,000+ town and only has 26K living there, it's cheaper to buy $3 gas and drive in there to work than pay the taxes to live there.

OH and KYDad good post on Murray, I hope it wasn't painful, LOL.

[Ghost Hunting Gal]

City stickers are going up next year. I must say, Murray has well maintained city streets. Always paving something. The downtown area storefronts are always around 90% filled. Compare that to Paducah. Mainstreet Murray is working hard to keep it clean, and attractive.

[kygman]

Good job, Mr. Wikipedia, er, I mean Kentuckydad! My son started at MSU this fall. He loves it! Working at a grocery store there and will be working during concerts at the Exposition Center or whatever it's called. lol He wanted to see Kansas and 38 Special in concert Oct. 3 but didn't know if he could spare the ticket money. Now he gets to go and get paid for it! lol
I used to drive or bike out whatever the road is that 16th St. turns into going south. About 5 miles out there is, I think, the Sinking Springs Baptist Church. You turn right across from the church and there is a watershed out there. Great fishing! Used to go there a lot!
Davart, talking about gas prices there is a gas war going on between Morganfield and the Ohio River between 2 gas stations. One just reopened last week. Last report I heard was $2.16.9!
Union County Advocate
Anyway, Kentuckydad, thanks for a good report on Murray!