From Dunedin to Alabama, biomedical researcher Tony Merriman traded long-haul conference travel for life in the American South.
Expat Tales is a Stuff Travel series featuring Kiwis who’ve made new lives for themselves overseas. If you’d like to take part, email us at travel@stuff.co.nz
I am a biomedical researcher and the trigger for moving was better funding opportunities in the US. My son Crawford and I arrived in October 2020, my daughter Jasmine in February 2021, and my wife Marilyn in February 2022. (Covid really messed things up.)
We live in the city of Homewood, which is immediately south of the city of Birmingham in Alabama. Very, very leafy—we have eight mature trees in our yard, which is a godsend in summer. Homewood has about 25,000 residents and has its own school system, police force, etc.
Not too long, we had great support from our new work community. People here are very, very hospitable; southern hospitality really is a genuine thing. We have made some treasured friends who would move to NZ at the drop of a hat.
