Guest Post: New Zealand Is Great and All, but It’s No Memphis

Ed. note: As someone who's lived away from Memphis before, I can relate with just about everything in this guest post from Mary Tairua. She left Memphis for New Zealand last year, and there are a few things she wishes she could have brought with her.

I'm a Memphian currently living in New Zealand. It's lovely here but I’ve learned you never know what makes Memphis so special until you leave it.

Here are a few things in Memphis I’m missing while living in a foreign land:

1. Central Barbecue:  Everyone in Memphis has a favorite barbecue place and Central Barbecue is mine. Even if you don't eat it often, you miss it tremendously while living in a city with no barbecue options.

2. Muddy's Bake Shop: Despite trying cupcakes in every city I visit, Muddy's still manages to be my favorite. I miss their perfect cake-to-icing ratio cupcakes.

3. Overton Park: Who doesn't love a public city park with a zoo, a museum, a college, an outdoor concert venue, a lake, two playgrounds, a golf course, a dog park, an old forest and plenty of open space?

4. Court Square:  When I was working in Downtown Memphis, I grew to love Court Square. It's a great place to eat lunch or just relax outside and sometimes, there are food trucks, visiting TV  shows, and fun summer lunchtime events.

5. Basketball: It’s impossible to not get caught up in the excitement when our teams are doing well. Memphis goes crazy and basketball bonds us all to each other in a special way that you miss once you leave. (Plus, I still don’t fully understand rugby or cricket.)

Mary Tairua currently lives in Auckland, NZ. She still works for a Memphis web design company and plans to move back to Memphis later this year.