Would you choose to move to Scotland or Canada?

[Darlingyouvegottoletmeknow]

Would you move to Canada or Scotland? To a rural area in both. Eldest child in Y1, youngest a baby, we are in mid 30s.

Scotland

• Highlands village
• can both work part time
• buy a house outright with chunk of savings left over
• grandparent can visit every 2 months
• can move as soon as lockdown lifted
• keeps option of having another child open

Canada

• likely British Columbia, the island
• I would need to work full-time for the work visa, once Permanent Residency achieved could work part time (would take 1-3 years depending on factors largely outside our control)
• could buy a house outright once settled somewhere
• would take around a year to get documentation and visas sorted before we could actually move, and cost quite a few thousand, so only want to start this process if we are likely to actually move
• would see grandparents 1-2 times per year only (no relatives in Canada)
• would be harder to have another child as if still on work visa I couldn't take a full year of maternity leave

One option is moving to Scotland now and considering Canada in future when kids older, when I'd be happier to consider full-time work. Although maybe we wouldn't want to move then if children settled.

@Darlingyouvegottoletmeknow
I'm in Caithness :-)

On the political front - I deliberately didn't want to mention politics, but since it has been mentioned, my own political principles sit comfortably with the present set up here; not voting brexit, looking forward to an independent Scotland, etc so it very much depends on your personal perspective. (I think too, there will be turmoil UK wide for the next while, so won't just be here, so hope that doesn't put you off too much). Scotland is rich in resources.

Good luck with your decision. Exciting times ahead

I live in Victoria Vi, if you're a GP please move here, family Drs are rare as rocking horse shit. We've been on a waitlist for 5yrs & still waiting. The island has many wonderful things about it (Not Port Alberni ). Good links to Vancouver, lots of facilities for families, lots of lakes & beautiful places to hike & camp. Down side house prices are ridiculous and still rising, the rental market is slim pickings and very expensive, Big homeless community lots of drug & mental health issues I work Downtown & its sketchy after dark. The public school system is over populated & grossly underfunded we had a 5 wk teacher stike at the beginning of the school yr. Could you come on an extended vacation to get a feel for the place?

@NanaRant hello neighbour fellow Caithness dweller here.

@Acai7
Hello. Caithness rocks

Well there a bit differernt aren,t they and where in each country. And which Ialand in BC/ Vancouver/ Saltspring one of the others? In the city or the country. In many ways it is easier to go for walks in Scotland due to land ownership in Canada. Bears in cAnada too. I have family there. Also the logging industry in Canada is not good.
Have you spent any length of time in BC?

Sorry : when you say the 'island' which one do you mean?

@NanaRant can I ask about schools in Caithness? You mentioned good education in your list of pros.

I'm finding it hard to research schools as so few have a current HMIE report online, and the ranking by Highers grades is obviously a blunt tool. I have been looking at Parentzone for the comparison to the 'virtual school' and most seem to match their 'virtual comparitor', although the smaller schools can vary a lot year to year. Is there any other way to find good schools? I don't want the most academic school, but one where if you are academic you can reach your potential, and where the school has the resources to give a well rounded education (e.g. arts, extra activities, building confidence). Are there any other ways to find this out except for actually moving somewhere and hearing word of mouth?!

Also although the Highers rankings aren't everything there is a massive difference between those at the top and bottom of the list - for example in some around 70% of children weren't getting five Highers. Would a more academic child be able to succeed if the majority of the year aren't getting five passes? I don't know if my kids are particularly academic or not yet btw.

Stay close to family. When I lived abroad there were lots of people who had moved with young kids, grandparents visited regularly, all good.

Fast forward a decade (or two), the grandparents were too elderly to travel and needing to think about care homes, the parents were thinking about returning to be near the grandparents but it was complex, and the late teen kids were so settled in the new culture that they wouldn’t move.

I would consider moving abroad short term but not long term.

Having read Acai7's post, I agree with everything she said, except my daughter and son loved their teens here and don't miss McDonalds too much - but it is the first place they head when we go to Inverness

I love the dark winters in Caithness, although I understand they are not for everyone. In contrast the lights summers are breathtaking and some days it doesn't get dark.

I can say with a great deal of sincerity that the community spirit is lovely - we are very much quite reserved as a family, no immediate neighbours to speak of and generally keep ourselves to ourselves, but I have made lasting and cherished friendships and my local business is wonderfully supported by the entire county. We recently had an horrendous experience with COVID and I kid you not, there were casserole dishes on my doorstep, home-baking, all sorts - the most overwhelming messages and gestures of support. It took my breath away and I will never forget the generosity of spirit at our time of despair. People that give and think nothing of it, never expecting anything in return. It is that kind of place.

I am a Canadian and I moved over here to Scotland. I've lived in Scotland for 18 yrs and brought two children up here. Both countries are fantastic and I am very proud to be Canadian, but I'm happy and settled here in Scotland now. DH and I toy with the idea of moving back to Canada every so often, but I think I'd really miss my new homeland.

Easy. Canada.

I would love to move to Vancouver one day. Pipe dream! Your kids will have a nice upbringing there it's a wonderful place.

Family could hopefully visit and flights back aren't extortionate.

I would move to Banff or Jasper, both gorgeous. Though of course depends on your line of work.
Maybe Vancouver, lovely city and near the mountains

Me and my husband have always said we'd move to Canada if we didn't have family here. It's absolutely stunning and such an amazing place live/grow up

@snappybitch

I am a Canadian and I moved over here to Scotland. I've lived in Scotland for 18 yrs and brought two children up here. Both countries are fantastic and I am very proud to be Canadian, but I'm happy and settled here in Scotland now. DH and I toy with the idea of moving back to Canada every so often, but I think I'd really miss my new homeland.

Awwww 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 👩🏻‍🦰

If you are thinking of Caithness then there’s only two high schools in the area . But I though your oldest was only P2?

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/4020266/scotland-secondary-schools-results-chart-worst-best-glasgow-edinburgh/

I live in Scotland and have spent the last couple of days googling places to live in Canada grin probably because the midges have made their appearance and we are all covered in bites

Two things:

1: They have midges in Canada
2: Skin so Soft

For Nana and Acai, 40 (tongue in cheek) reasons why you should never visit Caithness
www.northcoast500.com/2018/04/40-reasons-why-you-should-never-ever-ever-visit-caithness-ever/

Lots of lovely villages in the highlands but I wouldn't want to live in them

Drugs and drink are big problems rurally

You said you are mid 30s and would but outright. Be careful where you look for a home as there are lots of very resentful locals who are unhappy that they can't afford to buy as "incomers" have pushed prices up.

Maybe a small town with a more diverse population might be better

I'd choose Canada like a shot

Be careful where you look for a home as there are lots of very resentful locals who are unhappy that they can't afford to buy as "incomers" have pushed prices up.

And understandably so - my young rellies, born and bred up there, struggled to get rental properties even with two solid salaries and professional jobs, because holidaymakers were pricing them out of even the rental market. It was only by having a family whip-round that we managed to get together the money for their deposit on somewhere to buy.

I haven’t RTFT but although you’ve mentioned recruitment B.C. is much more expensive than Scotland.

Not sure why you’ve specified the Island but there are plenty of places around Vancouver that are stunning but still have options for recruitment and your family later.

Scotland is a rare place that has more rain than parts of B.C.

Obviously Scotland sounds like it’s going to be easier for family links but it’s manageable from my experience (5dc here and we didn’t know anyone when we moved to Vancouver).

I'd be pragmatic. It's very likely both will be different to how you imagine. I'd move to Scotland first, with a view to moving to Canada if it doesn't work out

Rural BC can be very very cut off. I have a friend who is a long way from any sort of community and it can get lonely and any medical event can mean a major effort to get treatment. Plus the rain. She says it rains a lot and it comes down in torrents. She likes it, but she wouldn't want to grow old there without a family to provide a support network
.

Have you visited either op?

I'd be pragmatic. It's very likely both will be different to how you imagine. I'd move to Scotland first, with a view to moving to Canada if it doesn't work out
Yes that's probably the plan, that's sensible. It would give me an opportunity to work part time whilst kids little, and keep another child open as an option.
I guess negative is if something changes in meantime to make moving to Canada harder. e.g. if one of us develops a medical condition that precludes immigrating there. But then we would have bigger things to worry about than where we live!

Be careful where you look for a home as there are lots of very resentful locals who are unhappy that they can't afford to buy as "incomers" have pushed prices up.
Excellent point, I hadn't really thought of that.
We would be buying something modest and actually living in it and I'd be working in the community, so I hope there wouldn't be resentment towards us personally. I understand why people would be angry though, some of these areas are so expensive relative to earnings, and so many of the properties available are previously holiday lets. But yes definitely a point to bear in mind when choosing our area. I definitely don't want to move somewhere we would not be able to integrate.

@snappybitch can I ask you about your experience of raising kids in Scotland rather than Canada? Do you think that either country has particular advantages for raising kids over the other?
I am a Canadian and I moved over here to Scotland. I've lived in Scotland for 18 yrs and brought two children up here. Both countries are fantastic
One reason we thought of Canada initially was hearing from friends who have moved there how they think it is a much better place to grow up than England. Although friends living in Scotland also say the same

@NanaRant your area sounds lovely