To want to move to Scotland

[WalkingBlind]

I'm actually part Scottish anyway and live literally on the border. I'm remain (I do NOT want this to be a huge remain/leave debate the decision was already made) and it seems that Scotland now intend to separate from the UK. Referendum is in the works.

I'm considering moving to Scotland before they leave to fit in with what I think will be better for my children (in my personal opinion).

Is anyone else considering doing this?

Will it be harder to do once Scotland have had their referendum?

Please no arguments about my choice of which campaign to support or "we must now all join together" comments. Thanks

[sandrabedminster]

The EU is cracking, France and Holland will be wanting refs next.

Doubt the EU will exist in its current form for Scotland to join.

[ArrestedDevelopment]

Walking I am considering the exact thing but wondering what rights or the legalties if we moved and whether we would be made to move back if Scotland joined the EU.

[Bailey101]

The way I understand it from the last referendum is that if you're a habitual resident of Scotland on the date of independence, you're automatically entitled to a Scottish passport etc. I'm not too sure how long you need to be here though, to be considered a habitual resident.

[hellsbellsmelons]

I'm thinking Ireland.
I have relatives there!

[WalkingBlind]

Sandra Even if Scotland doesn't join the EU I know that their political stance as a whole is very clearly more along my wavelength than England and to be honest I have no faith in English politics especially with our current prospects towards who the new PM might be :(

Arrested That's exactly what I've been thinking, will our birthplace effect things in the long run.... If only I was born a few miles away

[memememe94]

Scotland is in the shit. The crash in the oil market has resulted in thousands of jobs being lost. Somehow, this has not been widely reported. The housing market has crashed in Aberdeen. Car dealerships have been buried beneath the number of company cars being returned.

The universities are on the verge of collapse. I work at a Scottish uni and the situation is absolutely dire. It's going to get worse now we will be excluded from EU funding. The SNP had a MD40 project, which allowed unlimited recruitment of students from the most deprived areas of Scotalnd. They cut that funding earlier this year, but still expect universities to continue this.

The schools can't even afford stationary (nor can the NHS or the university I work for). Schools in my daughters' area can't get teachers. They class sizes are much bigger than the SNP claims.

Dundee, for example, has a 40% unemployment rate.

The SNP claim that Scotland is this great place, but it's bullshit. There are pockets of affluence, but the country is in a serious mess. Whoever you want to blame for this, moving here is somethibg to think carefully about.

I (very sadly) will he getting out of Scotland as soon as I can. I love it here, but Scottish higher education is in crisis--in a way that most people don't realise because, somehow, this has been kept quiet from the media.

[WalkingBlind]

meme That was extremely helpful thank you, wow that really has been kept quiet I had no idea it was in such a bad way. With two young children still to go through higher education that makes a great deal of difference towards my opinions

[purplevase4]

YANBU. I am also considering it. I don't know if I can persuade DH, and I'd be leaving mum and MIL in the south of England. I've no Scottish heritage.

I'm also conscious of what meme is saying. But I can completely understand why people would be thinking about it. A friend texted me today from Germany and said come to Hamburg. I would do it, I can do my job from anywhere. But would we get chucked out again because we'd moved post-referendum? There needs to be clarity on the position of Eu citizens in the UK and vice versa very quickly - but on another thread I said we need to wait and calm down before we get into negotiations. It's really difficult.

[teaandcake789]

don't do any knee-jerk reactions. wait and see what happens. my father is Irish so I can claim Irish citizenship and get an Irish passport. my UK is due for renewal in 4 years time, depending on the state of play I may apply for an Irish one. We may be ok. it may all end up for the best. but its always good to have plan b incase it all goes tits up

[Coffeethrowtrampbitch]

meme things are difficult in Scotland and have got worse, but they are worse still in some areas of England.

I'd question your stats on employment in Dundee- it's a very impoverished area, but my nephew works there in the technology sector, and secured a job above the national average wage as his first job out of uni.

There are a few really prosperous areas in Scotland and if you were moving from England you would probably choose these, rather than areas with poor employment or infrastructure.

I am in favour of anyone moving to Scotland if they wish, dh is English and has lived here for 17 years. Except pil, they live in the SE and I would be very unhappy if they moved any closer 😉.

[EdmundCleverClogs]

I'm considering everything from Scotland to Canada. It just depends on some job options. I bought a Euromillions ticket for tonight but I have a horrid feeling the jackpot will only be worth £1.50 by the time the numbers come through .

[FlyingElbows]

You're too late, we've already been out with a big saw and cut ourselves off

Nah, c'mon in, you're welcome. It's not quite as dire as mememe would have you believe.

[HamletsSister]

Depends if you are worried about their education. The SNP have buggered up education good and proper and teachers are working to rule over assessments. It is (as a result of the last referendum) a deeply divided country which has not healed and where the scars are being re-opened by Salmond and Sturgeon.

On the positive side, we have had really great weather here in the West recently and Scotland failing to get into the Euros has meant not as much football bollocks being talked as usual.

[memememe94]

coffee, that 40% figure is correct at about a year ago. Dundee has pockets of affluence within gaming, medicine, and life sciences. However, the majority of the city is in great poverty. There's a ten year difference in life expectancy between the most affluent and poorer parts of the city.

I don't want to move to England. I have good reasons to want to stay here, but there are really serious economic problems here. There are obviously problems facing English universities, but nothing as bad as up here. I could say a lot more, but don't want to out myself--I'll just say there are some universities on the verge of bankruptcy. That's just unheard of. I will be amazed if there are still no tuition fees by the time me DD's are 18. It just can't continue.

My DH, sister and BIL have all lost their jobs in the last year as they all work in the oil industry. I'm facing the possibility of redundancy, too.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't consider moving to Scotland, but I'm really frustrated at the fact these problems are going almost entirely unreported. I live in a very affluent part of the country, but (as you can see from this post), our lives have been seriously affected by these problems. Houses aren't selling, DD's school has very big classes due to the fact there aren't any teachers (& this is in one of the very best schools in the city), and my job is hanging by a thread. Two years ago, my DSis and BIL had an income of £180k a year. Now they're down to about £15k as my sister manages to get bits of work as a contractor. They're trying to leave, but they can't sell their house

Sorry for a bit of a rant!

[mrsfuzzy]

some serious knee jerk responses here, why all the panic ?

[PresidentCJCregg]

Meme I simply do not recognise the Scotland you're talking about. And I live in Dundee!

[memememe94]

flying, it depends where you are! It is utterly desparate in a large swathe of the country--including people who were living in luxury a couple of years ago. You just haven't heard about it.

[Auti]

I'm an Irish/British dual national, I'm staying in the UK.

OP I'd wait, Article 50 won't be invoked until October at least. It will then be a couple of years of negotiations to disentangle from the EU.

As others have said in that time the EU could unravel itself.

It's up to you, but I will watch and wait.

[memememe94]

president, so do I. Did you not see the recent report about life expectancy between the Ferry and Lochee? And all the oil/gas companies who have withdrawn from Scotland? Only yesterday, subsea 7 announced the loss of another 1200 jobs from Aberdoom Aberdeen. As I said, there's a small population who live a sheltered life, while others are in desparate poverty.

[memememe94]

My post sounds a bit more attack-y than intended--but the place is in a bad way for a lot of people. If you live in the ferry or west end, and work in the life sciences/gaming/medicine, a lot of the poverty is invisible.

The collapse of the oil industry has had a tremendous effect. A lot of people commuted up to Aberdeen and were very well off.

[Auti]

meme why does the SNP want to leave the UK and stay in the EU?

With the UK out of the EU, the EU only has 2 strong economies left.

[memememe94]

Having said all of that, if Boris Johnson becomes PM, I think I might become an avid fan of Scottish independence. Can you imagine Boris Johnson and Donald Trump together?

[HuskyLover1]

I also don't recognise the Scotland that meme talks of? I think it depends on the field you work in, and where you live. I am English, but have lived in Scotland for the past 13 years. NO WAY would I return to England. The area where I live, has low crime, low unemployment, there is (believe it or not), no council housing at all (small town), we have really good schools, FREE University, we are only 30 mins from Edinburgh, 60 mins from Glasgow, my town is built along beautiful coastline, so access to several beaches and lots of homes have a sea view. Can't rate it highly enough, tbh. I am trying to persuade family members to come here. There are loads of really beautiful towns and villages around here - loads! And all commutable to Edinburgh for work.

[memememe94]

auti, I'm not entirely sure, but would point to Scotland being generally more to the Left than England & maybe to piss England off
I think Scotland does quite well out of the EU, too (but not entirely sure about that).

[PresidentCJCregg]

I live in Lochee. I don't know a single unemployed person!