Relocation - have we considered everywhere or do you have any other ideas?!

[nellyelloe]

Hello!
So for very personal reasons, we have planned to totally relocate (away from England). It's been a very long time coming, but the right time is next year and we are so excited.

We have a few essentials to consider, mainly universal healthcare because both me and our child are T1 diabetic.

We also want somewhere very pretty, with a slower pace of life.

I want to know if we are missing other places to consider. This is our once in a life time chance. So far, we have considered (and obviously have been to) these places:

-West Wales
-North Wales
-Isle of Man
-Channel Islands
-Scottish isles (inner and outer Hebrides)

We are happy to go further or consider literally anywhere!

But I would be very cautious relocating a child who is about to go into sixth form, particularly if you are swapping education systems.
Education in rural Scotland can be very limited to be polite.

West Wales is so beautiful but do you like rain?

The people I know who've relocated to Wales massively underestimated how much it rains here.

It's relentless.

And in a rural area where you can be remote and there's little to do outside, that's not great for teenagers . It's can be bloody depressing in the cities too, but at least we have indoor entertainment close by.

I understand anywhere in England may be out of the question but if there’s any flexibility in that, I’d look at Northumberland - easy access to hospital in Newcastle and it’s a truly beautiful area. Over the border and heading towards Edinburgh may also be an option but not sure whether it would meet the “pretty” criteria - it’s very attractive countryside though.

Scotland is gorgeous (I'm from there), BUT I would avoid it if you highly value nice weather. It's why I won't move back there! Honestly where I lived before, it rained so much, and even in summer it wasn't that warm. If you're not bothered about weather though, I'd highly recommend Scotland.

FYI - The Isle of Man I think has a scheme where you won’t pay Ni for a year if you move over.

A note on island living - it does add an extra layer of complexity as everything has to come on and off the Island.

For example today the IOM had no off island mail as the weather was too bad for the mail plane. People have had travel plans cancelled due to weather stopping the planes If your teen wants to go to a concert that involves overnight stays and travel. You can’t just nip in the car.

This is not to say that the benefits don’t outweigh the above. You just need to be prepared especially if where you live now is well connected and you enjoy doing “stuff”

If I lived in North Wales I'd want to be fluent in Welsh.

How about Pembrokeshire/Gower?

Agree about this. Also that many parcel companies won't deliver to islands or Highlands, or charge a lot extra to do so. An extra layer of expense, especially if you'd expect to overcome reduced choice of goods locally by shopping online.

Even though it's a different country, in a way the IoM is more accessible from England than the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. I've been for the day many times for work, and there's a regular ferry service (subject to the weather of course). I don't think that would be possible to the far reaches of Scotland. But IoM property is likely more expensive, although wages are probably higher if you can get work.

Thanks so much everyone, I'm busy writing lists of all the suggestions of where else we need to visit.

Just a quick reply as I'm about to walk the dog but I'd say our budget is about £400k which would allow us to be mortgage free. We'd need 3 bedrooms.

Have you read this AMA about the Isle of Man? It was interesting!

Do you want village/ town / city?

I second NI- free prescriptions, no water charges, cheaper University (think max 4K). With your budget you'd get something really nice. Education system very good. Beautiful countryside. Less traffic and generally a slower pace of life.

I'd rule out the Republic of Ireland. Our health care is shocking, there's currently a 2 year wait list to see an endocrinologist , gps aren't free and don't know much about diabetes. You'd have to apply for a long term illness card or you'd have to pay for insulin etc. No idea how long the card is currently taking. There's a huge rental property shortage and anything that is there is quite expensive, same for buying a property. Roi is just crazy expensive in general. Which is a pity because its a beautiful place to live and a more relaxed way of life. My English dh loves it here .

We definitely want to leave England, for our own peace of mind due to our adopted child.

Can you elaborate on that? Knowing the specific problem with England might help rule in or out other locations.

As Turtle says, your house budget would go a good long way in NI.

NI looks a real possibility and worthy of exploring! I've never even considered it. The benefits look huge!!

Ideally looking for village/small seaside town/rural rather than a city.

What is it you need change from? Are you in a town or city now?

There are big parts of mainland Scotland that would be very different to the south east for example.

I think east Scotland is much under rated. Aberdeenshire is lovely and decent employment. House prices are reasonable.

Further north, the Moray Firth is lovely and has its own little micro climate. Inverness, the Black Isle and surrounding areas also have much to offer.

North east Scotland has amazing light quality and is one of the driest parts of the UK. Yes it's colder but I much prefer a lovely sunny day wearing a jumper to slightly warmer constant drizzle. The sense of space is very different if you are used to built up areas

Our adopted child has birth family dotted all over England, and has long expressed a real desire for us all to find somewhere else to fall home where there is no risk to them whatsoever 😊 We are fully supportive of this and adopted child is such a well-rounded, stable person that we want to support it. Adopted child won't do it without us going too

IOM was a real possibility as we love it there and funnily enough looked to Ireland/NI for university options there

I love the Scottish islands - but I wouldn't move there until the ferry service is more reliable tbh
there's one of the smaller islands (Uist, I think) that has no service for weeks in the latest CalMac timetable because of the shortage of vessels

In that case, an expanse of water seems useful.

For small seaside towns, working your way along the train line that runs from Belfast to the newly-made-city of Bangor would probably be the best place to start over here. Holywood or Bagor if you want some town facilities like shops and cafes within walking distance; the halts in between (or carrying on past Bangor by road) if you want to be more rural.

I'm from Jersey and the hospital care is free once you have been there for 6 months.

Depending on your role there are also shortages of healthcare workers and you can get essential employment status as one.

Your 400k budget would no way get you Mortgage free though.

I would go to Northumberland or Monmouthshire or even some bits of south wakes over anywhere you suggested if I'm honest- but that's me, I do know someone who lives in the Orkney's though and likes it. Northern Ireland is well worth your consideration

Places like north wales vary hugely between say wrexham and abersoch. I agree with others that you need to spend time really exploring. Have you looked at places in Anglesey or Conwy area? Personally I would avoid Isle of Man, Scottish islands etc if you may need to get to major hospitals quickly.

Definitely be prepared for non-stop rain if you choose Wales, lol! We loved visiting before we bought here five years ago and - even though we had one holiday where it rained relentlessly whole holiday which should have told us something - hadn't really considered how much of an issue the weather would be for our wellbeing and happiness.

The countryside is stunning both inland and the coast with its fabulously empty beaches....but the constant rain has killed it for us as it's not really possible for us to enjoy the outdoors when the rain is so persistent. We're keen gardeners and we've been creating a garden from scratch, but it's soul destroying when you spend thousands and the majority fails to survive. It's unfortunately put me off gardening completely.

We plan to sell our slice of rural SW Wales soon in order to move back to the south of England, preferably somewhere drier and with more going on- even though our mortgage-free status won't buy as much there - it's just not working here for us.

Some of the other placed you're considering sound lovely though and I hope it all works out for you and your family.

You have no chance at all of finding a three bed place for 400k on the Channel Islands so I would cross them off your list now. Unless you went to Alderney but you have to go to Guernsey for hospital care, and it’s so tiny.

I may be will be flamed for this, but I believe I am just being realistic. May I also point out that I
generally hate generalisations, so I am having to force myself to say the following:

Most of Northern Ireland is very pretty, and the North Coast is spectacular, but it can often still matter if you are a Protestant - CoE, Methodist, Baptist etc, or Roman Catholic. If your belief system falls into either of those religious distinctions then please do your research before you pick a town or village to live in. Most individual N.I. people are absolutely lovely, very kind, very ditsy - sorry, but they just are, and I love it, and often very funny too! But something happens to a community when it is 'overly' religious in N.I. particularly on one of the sides, but I am not going to say which - I just think you should consider the reality of the situation, when choosing where to live.

I will probably be even more flamed for this, but unless you are Welsh, and/or speak Welsh fluently, I cannot recommend Northern Wales to you. Of course there will be some lovely and welcoming Northern Welsh inhabitants, but the overwhelming feeling in shops, pubs, even their hotels, seems to be that if you are, or sound, English, you will be initially considered untrustworthy, and at least slightly hostile, and the natives will all start talking to each other in Welsh, if they weren't already when you came in.

However, I don't know if it is the same in Anglesey? I have never been there, but from the pictures I have seen of it, it is very attractive, and fairly remote, so it might be a good choice for you. Maybe, if there is a Mumsnetter who honestly knows what the general population on Anglesey is like, and how living on the Island is in reality, they could give you some helpful advice?

If you want somewhete really remote, and stunningly beautiful, then the Isle of Skye might have been made for you, but I would seriously consider renting a croft on Skye in January or February next year, before making any commitments. Oh, and you would need to be very tolerant of midges for much of the rest of the year!

Again, when it comes to being welcomed anywhere, there may be a strong likelihood of you being treated like strangers for the first 30 years or so, especially in the more remote and/or smaller places - I am of course not joking...

If I were able to move to somewhere else in the UK, my first choice would fall equally between Northern Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. Having said that, my inner voice is screaming at me, NO, PLOCKTON, you - meaning me - want to live in or around Plockton! Plockton has the relative ease of being on the mainland, while overlooking the Isle of Skye.....

This is so interesting, thank you!

So we don't have any religion at all - how would that fit in NI ?! Any chance of a PM if you'd prefer?!

We definitely felt very welcome in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, but not so much in North Wales 😬 which is why although we considered it, it was unlikely to be our relocation of choice!
Anglesey we've never actually been to but it it worth a visit!