Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Is Scotland a nicer place to live?

118 replies

Mrsemcgregor · 14/07/2020 09:23

I think I’ve had it with England. The whining and moaning, the selfishness the entitlement.

I don’t want to live here anymore, is Scotland any better? Or is there a corner of England where things aren’t as horrible as where I live (middle class up it’s own arse town in the southwest)?

I’m so sad Sad

OP posts:
derxa · 14/07/2020 11:18

I'm in Edinburgh. It's a lovely place to live I hated it

Original poster
Mrsemcgregor · 14/07/2020 11:19

@Branleuse

Id move to glasgow in a heartbeat if it wasnt for the weather
I loved Glasgow, lovely city. I’d happily live there, or near abouts.
OP posts:
HaudMaDug · 14/07/2020 11:19

Scottish Borders here. 6 months of the year you are wrapped up like an fish supper and the beautiful views are hidden in the mist, the other 6 you are battling blood sucking midges, apart from that Scotland and us Scots are fab.

RaraRachael · 14/07/2020 11:20

Nope - I'd move anywhere else if I could afford to. I'm in a fairly large town where everybody thinks they know your business and will accost you in the street about something to do with your work.

The schools are going rapidly downhill thanks to Curriculum for Excellence. Weather is rubbish and transport links poor if you don't live near Glasgow or Edinburgh. Our nearest airport is Aberdeen and Tui have pulled all their summer flights and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't start up again.

And don't get me started on the SNP and their obsession with independence let's keep going with another and another referendum until we get the result we want

Original poster
Mrsemcgregor · 14/07/2020 11:23

@HaudMaDug I feel like I missed out on a true Scots experience, I visited in summer and went to forests, lochs and hills and didn’t see a single midge!! I was wondering if they were invented to keep people away! Grin Grin

OP posts:
frog22 · 14/07/2020 11:28

sometimes there's a sense that life is to be endured rather than lived.

I laughed at this but I totally agree with it. As someone who is originally from Scotland and currently living in Scotland there is much more of a defeatist attitude in Scotland. All my London based friends have more career and life goals. The people I know up here are much more likely to settle for what they get.

feelingthefearbutnotdoingit · 14/07/2020 11:28

Oh no, midges are very much real!!

I've been on camping trips where I couldn't even SEE out the tent window for swarms, plagues, of midges.

They are not a problem in cities as far as I know.

Crispsnatcher · 14/07/2020 11:32

I find it funny that people don't enjoy a good moan. I love a good moan and rant sometimes, it's good to clear the mental cobwebs Grin. Nothing to be ashamed of but I get where you are coming from OP. I've gotten less fond of England as a whole, I didn't realise how selfish people could be until the last few years ago.

Scotland is beautiful, I would love to move there. I particularly like the highlands. The people are very friendly in Scotland. I have family friends up there so that probably helps. Job wise I'm not sure what there is. There used to be demand for work on the oil rigs but that's probably not what you want.

If I had the money I would move up there in a heartbeat.... or i'd buy a plot of land and build a house on it and I'd grow my own veg and be self sufficient. I can dream....

Breckenridged · 14/07/2020 11:33

I’m English, lived in England for the first 25ish years of my life, Scotland for the last 10.

I LOVE Scotland. I cannot ever imagine moving back to England. The weather doesn’t bother me, so that helps. It does take a very long time to get down south, should you want to, from where I am. But I have on my doorstep amazing beaches, mountains, forests, rivers. Really great restaurants, albeit not a huge variety of cuisines. Lovely local shops and cafes. My kids are at brilliant schools and nurseries. I LOVE the fact that they haven’t had to start school until age 5 rather than 4 in England.
I’ve never experienced anti English sentiment personally - though I am well aware that it exists. I’ve made the most wonderful friends.
And I’ve never been happier to be here than during this pandemic!

HaudMaDug · 14/07/2020 11:36

You must not the right flavour Grin My last camping trip up in the Trossachs was spent running like a mad woman back and forward to the toilet block where they were loitering like teenagers at the light in the doorway. Back in the tent though it sounded like it was drizzling with rain but just the wee beasts flying into the material looking to eat my poor dog who was not impressed.

Timeforanotherusername · 14/07/2020 11:38

Mideges don't tend to bother me. Well as in bites. They are a pain when there is millions of them flying about.

But sometimes it is so bad that even I am covered in bites.

My DH on the other hand.....they absolutely love him Grin

pinkcarpet · 14/07/2020 11:49

OP I wouldn't idolise Scotland as a whole, at least not any more than Wales or Northern Ireland or Ireland. They are all different from England in various ways but none is better or worse. I have lived in the East, West, North and South of England, London and Scotland. There are pros and cons of each area and its a huge move to make on a whim. By all means do your research but Scotland is not some utopia where everything is brilliant and we all love Nicola. Our education system is woefully neglected. Unions and local authorities have a lot of power and don't always use it wisely, there are some serious areas of deprivation, sectarianism, crime, violence and so on. But there are also lovely areas with stunning countryside, friendly welcoming and genuine people and a lot of community spirit as well as world class facilities in the larger cities. It really depends on what you're looking for in life!

Original poster
Mrsemcgregor · 14/07/2020 12:06

Thank you pinkcarpet I think I am perhaps being a bit of a fantasist. I need a bit of a dose of reality. I think this whole pandemic has got me grasping for something different.

OP posts:
Orangeblossom78 · 14/07/2020 12:20

Op I'm from Scotland but moved to quite a 'full of itself' small city in the SW...I love it here...

I like that is has positivity and it is a bit more inclusive..people strive to have aspiration...the Scottish town I grew up in was pretty 'dour' and if you were different and not from there you were not very welcome.

Not saying all of Scotland is like that but for me, it is like escaping. Plus the weather is much better.

I do think the cost of living is much higher here though. If I go back to see family the trains and buses are so cheap! And I miss the wilderness a little. But more for a visit than to live.

Wo der if it is a case of 'grass being greener' perhaps.

Orangeblossom78 · 14/07/2020 12:21

It also as a whole has not very good health outcomes and a bigger drug problem than the US

Orangeblossom78 · 14/07/2020 12:22

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48938509

newyearnoeu · 14/07/2020 12:25

Not Scotland but just to say I know what you mean OP - I did find things quite different when I lived in SW england compared to growing up and then moving back to Wales- I think one thing (as you mentioned middle class snobbery) is that there are no grammar schools and very very few private schools in most of Wales outside of cardiff (and I think similar in Scotland actually) so the whole angst over what school your kids will go to and their future opportunities, need for tutoring to pass entrance exams and so on just doesn't happen, as 99% of kids just go to the school closest to them. That might not be ideal in some ways (I went to a crap comp and would have loved the opportunity to go to a grammar) and of course there are still issues but it means that the poorest kids from the council estates mix with the fairly well off middle classes every day so you don't get such a divide.

My parents live in one smaller town in south Wales (and i grew uo in a dfferent one) and people are so friendly in both - everyone chats in the queue for the shop, says hello and smiles when you pass on a walk etc, whereas when I lived in the sw it was more like London with people not making eye contact. This was the same whether in a city like Bristol, or exeter , or even in somewhere rurual like st ives....people were usually polite when you spoke to them directly but I just never got that instinctive general friendliness.

I think to some extent it could be due to just having a bit more space - although we are crowded in some areas you can get to huge swathes of green open space within twenty minutes of anywhere in Wales. A lot of the populated areas are very close to the sea too, and although we have beaches that get busy they are nothing like the heaving masses at Brighton etc. (Apart from occasionally Barry island!)

So to some extent I do think there are areas you can move to that aren't as "middle class up themselves" as where you currently live. But it's not so clear cut as Wales/Scotland = lovely, England = horrible.

derxa · 14/07/2020 12:38

Orangeblossom Scotland has its faults but I know if I needed help of any kind I would be able to find it in my wee Scottish town or in the farming community round here.

tattiehat · 14/07/2020 12:49

I'm from Scotland, lived in Cumbria for a few years due to work, absolutely hated it and came back to Scotland as soon as an opportunity arose. Found the people very unfriendly (I realise that's a generalisation), the people I worked with were fine but they really liked to moan about everything, it was so depressing!
I understand where you're coming from and from my experience Scotland is generally a friendlier place.
Best of luck whatever you decide!

Orangeblossom78 · 14/07/2020 14:02

That's good dexra maybe it helps if you are from the wee town, rather than moving there. I was bullied badly at school as came from Aberdeen, called a 'choocter' and oddly, a 'snob' being an outsider is never fun. Such lonely memories growing up, but at least not half as bad as the English girl with a disability who moved after me.

BoxAndKnife · 14/07/2020 14:57

I know where you're coming from, OP. I live in southern England and I am starting to really hate it. Things do seem to have changed over the last few years - it just seems somehow brittle and angry. People seem very self-absorbed, intolerant and much more fixated on shallow, materialistic things. Maybe I'm just getting old but I frequently feel quite depressed about the state of England.

We spend a lot of time in Scotland, mainly Glasgow and Aberdeen and I love it. I know it's not perfect but I would still move to Glasgow like a shot if I could.

GallusAlice79 · 14/07/2020 15:09

I'm from Glasgow and wouldn't live anywhere else. And I have lived in other parts of the world, including England.

I wouldnt live in a small town though, as I think most of the issues mentioned by PP's are exacerbated in small towns.

I just find that on balance, the suburbs of Glasgow are a really pleasant place to live. We have loads of green space, places like Loch Lomond are less than an hour away, houses are cheaper (than England), there's a lot more space. I am no SNP supporter (or a "unionist") but I can't deny that there isn't a more pleasant, neighbourly atmosphere here compared to England. People in general genuinely do care more, are friendlier and happier. Clearly not everyone, and possibly not outside of Glasgow suburbs, but inside them that's my honest opinion.

Plenty of English people in and around Glasgow so can't see the alleged anti-English being that bad.

If you don't have string ties to your current home I'd move if I was you. I doubt you would regret it!

Original poster
Mrsemcgregor · 14/07/2020 15:27

@GallusAlice79 oooooo you are tempting me!!!

OP posts:
GallusAlice79 · 14/07/2020 15:31

@Mrsemcgregor

Get on Rightmove and check out places like Newton Mearns, Giffnock, Clarkson, Eaglesham...