Moving to Scotland

[TheCrouchFamilyMK]

We are a young family with 2 children 8 and 1. We currently live in Newport Pagnell a small town just outside of Milton Keynes. My husband is hugely passionate about Scotland and it's always been his dream to live there. Due to continuous financial hardship we have made the decision that we would like to start afresh where house prices aren't astronomical and where non materialistic communities still exist. We would like to live someone very rural but in realistic distance to amenities. Good schools are obviously a priority particularly secondary school for our son. We want to be somewhere where it's easier to integrate with the local community and have a more self sufficient affordable way of life. We have an extremely vague knowledge of Scotland, my husband would move to Glenoce or Fort William, because of his passion with walking, but I worry those areas may be a tad remote for us as a family. Any advice anyone can offer on locations etc would be greatly received. We want to move sooner rather than later so need to start understanding the areas a bit more. Thanks for taking the time to read my post :-)

[Rubyslippers7780]

Have you had a chance to narrow down where?
If your husband is a keen walker there are loads of areas to consider other than glencoe.
Personally not a fan of Fort William but totally depends what you are looking for.
Please consider social isolation as rural buses etc can be sporadic ( especially if ferrying kids to groups / clubs )

[Snowmouse24]

We moved from the Home Counties to Scotland 2 years ago to give our children a better quality of life. Like yours, my husband would have loved to move to the Highlands to indulge his passion for climbing, hiking, etc. I love that stuff too but was worried about ending up being too isolated. In the end we compromised with a move to the south of Edinburgh. It's a great area with a lot of hiking and mountain biking, but we're close enough to Edinburgh to enjoy all it offers too - and the Highlands are only a few hours drive when we want bigger hills or skiing! We settled here so quickly and were made so welcome - it's a great active community with loads going on - was definitely worth the expense and upheaval of the move!

[Snowmouse24]

Sorry, just noticed the date of your post. Was pushed to this page by a Mumsnet email and assumed it was a current query.
Have you decided to go ahead with your move? If you are planning to but haven't yet and I can be of any help, let me know!

[Bardin1]

Moved back up recently to Dunkeld and Birnam after many years in London. There are many friendly communities off the A9 up from Perth to Pitlochry and I’d recommend this area as being quite welcoming but also good transport links - rail bus and road.not sure about the schools but certainly primaries will be mostly good

[mumto3inbda]

@snowmouse24 I know this is an older post but I was wondering where about in south Edinburgh did you settle? I am originally from Edinburgh but have been living abroad for 15 years, now looking to return and settle. We have three active boys (7, 6 and 3 years) and looking for a good area with lots of activities, and a lovely community feel.

[Snowmouse24]

mumto3inbda we moved to Peebles. Feel free to message me if you want to know any more about the area - from what you've said, it could be a great option for you.

[Broadsword4]

Hi everyone, hope you can help. We’re moving to Perth and Kinross. We like Dunkeld. Does anyone know if there are children travelling from Dunkeld to Morrison’s Academy in Crieff, if so how long is bus journey?