To ask if anyone lives on a small Scottish Island?

I think 9 going on 10 is a tricky age to make friends.

I'm in rural NE Scotland op, only had a couple of holidays to the islands so can't comment on living there but i'd recommend looking here, there's lots of incomers in this area and it's generally welcoming. There's a good home ed community up here too or small rural schools if you decide to go that way. Winters can be bleak here too but summers can be brilliant and you have the transport links. Property prices have tumbled in recent years, have a look on the aspc website. Good luck!

I can't offer a personal view however a friend relocated last year and is utterly miserable due to the lack of socialising she is able to do, and she wasn't a terribly social person in the first place!

This is the very best, most accurate, perfect advice for moving anywhere to live permanently.
It takes the romance right out of it.
Thank you, @BuffetTheDietSlayer ❤️

Yes and looks lush. Just checked the average temperatures- 6deg C in Winter, 16deg C in summer. Very mild. 1500mm rain though, which one would expect.

Hi OP, I relocated from the SE to Scotland 5 years ago, we’re mainland in the north east so not island experience but would be happy to chat to you about our experience if you want to PM me 😊

Would you consider mainland? We moved to Aberdeenshire from midlands. Land and very rural, amazing views plus the sea. We are close to the Cairngorms as well. Good infrastructure and plenty of “incomers”. The locals are just lovely and friendly. Schools are teeny, mine has just 20 total, so no need to homeschool anymore as it is just like a home away from home for them.

The islands are beautiful but perhaps start out on the mainland and rent there?

I watch a young woman on YouTube Caroline McQuiston im sure she would be happy if you DM'd her to answer any questions. She has just moved house within the area and is renovating her new house on Isle of Skye.

I don't live on a Scottish island but my BIL lives on Mull and we've been visiting him for over 30 years over various seasons.

Ferries are one issue. Calmac have summer and winter timetables, with fewer crossings in the winter. DH visited his DB once and was stuck on Mull for 2 exttra days because high seas meant all ferries were cancelled. The only aircraft are privately owned as there's no airport. BIL had a medical emergency and had to be helicoptered from the school playing field to Glasgow.

This is fascinating!

Just re-reading what I wrote I've made it sound that it was Banjo AND his partner being commissioned but it was just Banjo so perhaps his partner was a cheese maker and decided to set up there.

Sorry for not being clearer.

ill admit ive not read the full thread and i must have missed the context etc
personally im intrigued because the winters are ment to be different, i can accept the isolation etc but its more the supplie lines that would puzzle me etc

Could you consider living on a remote coastal peninsula instead (like the Cowal peninsula)? Also what would you want to do with the land? If you’re thinking of crofting, sheep or crops lots of land just won’t be suitable, especially on the islands which are basically granite in the main!

Those details aren’t relevant to her question though, she’s already explained the other kids don’t need to be factored into her decision, it’s none of anyone’s business why and she’ll obviously have considered work and how she’s going to afford to live. Those aren’t the things she’s asking about. Why do people on MN feel the need to know every last detail about someone’s life when it’s not even related to the question?

I think you should really scrutinise your reasons.

Also what would happen if your son’s special needs got worse? If he did need lots of input from health services (physical or mental) or if he even needed supported living? What will he do for uni/ work?

Do you and your partner have strong mental health? Because to be frank you would need it. In terms of the winters they can really break people- actually lots of islanders aren’t outdoorsy- they go everywhere in a car. And the winters are absolutely brutal, it’s not the case of grey days and drizzle, think sideways rain, gale force winds and never getting properly light. Genuinely impossible to go outside properly on some days.

The other thing is that as incomers you absolutely can’t fall out with anyone. Ever. The most minor row can take on spectacular significance. Plus you will bump into your enemy about 6 times a day and they are probably the harbourmaster, owner of the local shop and drive the bus. So you and your entire family need to be tactful, prepared to adapt, not seek to inflict your ideas on others and also willing to build bridges with people who aren’t like you. And bear in mind that you might never be truly accepted.

I was watching an iplayer programme on with Miss Hoolie* and husband going Wild Swimming - this was on coastal mainland Scotland. Looked incredibly picturesque. May be worth watching if you're considering the mainland.

*Julie and Greg go wild Swimming.

We lived on an island for 20 years, and will always miss it…what brought us off was my DD going to Uni and this bringing it home that IF anything bad happened to her I would be at the mercy of ferry and aeroplane times to start getting to her. I had already had it in one way when my parents died on the mainland, and I had to wait. I knew we had to move. We’ve now lived rural Highlands for years and love it, but can always start travelling to loved ones at a moment’s notice and that is a huge relief.

It is very hard to give you proper advise if you don’t say what you are looking for.

You want some land, why? To run a croft, to grown your own veg, just to have your own space?

What are your plans to earn money? Work from home remotely would find integrating harder than a primary teacher.

You will get different answer if people understand your circumstances better. I am beginning to worry you are moving away rather than to something.

But there will be other children on the isle. All of my home educated children's friends attend schools. There will be activities where her child will meet the local children and make friends that way. A lot of communities on these islands are very close knit, and all it takes is a little effort from them to enable their son to make friends.

Y’know, to be honest, I think a homebody would fare better than an outdoorsy person in the Western Isles. The winters and to some extent the other seasons are not for being outdoors in if you don’t have to given the wind (and ever summer has three days of winter as they say). Daughter of a teuchter here. Why go so extreme, why not go somewhere on the mainland?

In my experience so long as you don't spend all your time trying to tell locals how to do things just like wherever it is you have come from, or spend your time complaining there isn't a McDonalds, or an M&S Food etc, you'll probably be fine. But you will almost certainly never be anything other than an incomer. It doesn't bother me, it is what it is - and I absolutely love living here and am very involved in lots of community groups - but it might be an issue for you and yours.

The problem with the winters isn't so much the weather - you can always dress for bad weather, but the amount of daylight. Typically in December you might only get 6 to 6.5 hours daylight.

We have family and a holiday home in Donegal in NW Ireland where things aren't quite so extreme and December days get over 7 hours of daylight but even so the short days, long nights and relative isolation can get incredibly depressing. Our widespread but sparse community (7000 people spread over about 120 square miles) generally experiences at least one suicide every winter including 2 of my husband's first cousins.

I think you should definitely try visiting out of season and staying for a few weeks at least twice before considering a more permanent move.

I would be more concerned about your son being extremely socially isolated . I think it would be very unfair on him especially as he's not even meeting other children at school .