To up sticks from inner London for the Highlands?

[hibbledibble]

I've lived here all my life, but am increasingly finding it unpleasant. Too many people, too much pollution, too much crime, too little outdoor space. Since lockdown it's just got worse, as crime has increased, and the amenities have been closed. House feels too small when we are cooped up in it, but I could never afford anything bigger here, despite working in a professional job. I'm already in a not ideal area. Schools are also a concern, especially secondary, as they are rough and full of gangs.

The Highlands seems idyllic in comparison, and I could get a huge house, for less than the cost of my modest London terrace. The children would love the outdoor space, and it would be great for them to have freedom they couldn't in London, due to the crime here.

My concerns are the cold (but surely just need to wrap up warm?!) And feeling isolated. My job is portable.

Aibu?

Why dont you start with Yorkshire so you're much better connected and you dont have as much of a culture shock? If you get on well there then move on to the highlands a few years later

GPs are in short supply in Cumbria ( especially West Cumbria )
You have the coastline on your doorstep and the hills 20 minutes away.

@shrodingersbiscuit of course there was Scotland versus England wars throughout history. From your post you were talking about the highland clearances which was not the direct result of an England versus Scotland war.

Yeah you are right Scottish people have a right to think that anyone not Scottish who wears a kilt is carrying out cultural appropriation, is being insensitive or racist, but you’d be a dick.
What’s the legal criteria for being Scottish anyway...place of birth, how long you’ve lived here, accent, hair colour, does your face fit?

It’s not fair that men get a kilt with a sporran anyway what about Scottish women?

Yeah it’s England’s fault, it’s all the Roman’s fault, the bloody Celts with their Druids, it’s the primordial soups fault...

Best of luck (genuinely) OP. If you do move up here, I hope you and your family will be very happy. Inverness is a pleasant wee city and, as others have said, areas to the north and east (Black Isle, Nairn etc) are great places to live. Areas to the west and south west (shores of Loch Ness etc) are very scenic but much more likely to be cut off by snow in winter. And the A82 is not a nice (or safe) road to commute on.

Jodri I'm sure you know this, but just in case others are interested:

Traditionally, women wore an earasaid (long woollen cloth/cloak/wrap, belted round the waist, often striped) sometimes over a long linen shift, or later a plaid (like a big shawl, often checked) over their dress.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earasaid

Short, tightly pleated kilts as presently worn by men are a fairly recent invention - created by an Englishman. www.lochcarron.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-the-kilt/

@florascotia2 I did not know what highland women wore during the 18th century so thank you.
Historical and geographical dress is very interesting.
I have read that the Victorian Sir Walter Scott was very good at the invention of Scotland as we perceive it today.

Can I say that we only get midges for around a month!

Jodri Indeed he was! Scott even persuaded King George IV to wear the kilt for his historic visit to Edinburgh - with pink wool leggings underneath, to preserve the royal modesty:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visit_of_King_George_IV_to_Scotland

Re the anti English feeling etc.

I've moved into many English rural villages in many counties and encountered resentment I 'bought property a local could have had', it's a narrow rural attitude and encountered everywhere. I'm a Scot, but didn't take it as anti Scottish - just anti 'incomer'. Ultimately it's never affected my relationship with people. (move to Cornwall, The Lake District etc you'll get the same attitudes)

It's the whinging Pom thing that gets people - check out attitudes in Oz.

Joining in with the community is key - and as a rural GP you will get to know people quicker than most.

Surely if the weather is so bad for so long your children will just be cooped up in a house. Just a bigger house than you have now so less freedom.

Also not everywhere that is commutable to London is a commuter town. There are villages and hamlets all over the south east that are within an hour door to door of London based work.

My dc are adult teens now and think they had the best of both worlds. Living in a nice house with a big garden yet 35 minutes and they could be in central London.

If you are a GP then you could work anywhere but I think the emphasis on choosing should be with your dc in mind.

Whilst they think the Highlands sounds great would they need a lot of ferrying around for schools, friends or ECAs or later would there be work for them on leaving school.

I suppose the practicalities need to be thought of.

You could always go abroad. Somewhere the weather is nice and you could have a pool as opposed to bad weather and 3 hours of daylight.

It's worth repeating that the weather in the east, eg the Black Isle, is very different from further west.

For example, annual rainfall Cromarty (Black isle) 780mm. Annual rainfall Ullapool 1560 mm.

From Cromarty you can drive the beautiful road to Ullapool on the west coast in less than an hour and a half.

And yes, the winter is darker but the summer is lighter.

3 hours of daylight? Hardly.

No - Ullapool should have around 6.75 hours of daylight today - sunrise 8.49, sunset 15.34, according to Met Office.
And Scotland has many absolutely beautiful beaches and lochs, much nicer than any pool.

Re the Clearances, there has been a lot of new research recently and an excellent myth-busting book by one of Scotland's top historians.
Almost everything that most Scottish people believe about the Clearances is open to correction - for instance, there were Lowland Clearances, too, and they affected more people ....

Please don't rely on what ANYONE (and that includes me) says on this page, but have a read here:
www.amazon.co.uk/Scottish-Clearances-History-Dispossessed-1600-1900/dp/0141985933/ref=sr_1_1?hvlocphy=9046987&hvnetw=g&keywords=tom+devine+clearances&hvadid=310666230905&qid=1607273267&dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAn7L-BRBbEiwAl9UtkP1iZ1-a_O4lhZWHWMmPSKROd2LnSVEtycIg1WbKZy0yziOKMR47ShoCS2cQAvD_BwE&hydadcr=11668_1781955&hvdev=c&hvqmt=b&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-565104302389&adgrpid=62162256216&hvrand=5826859799489858437&sr=8-1

The first review (scroll down) gives a short summary of the book's argument.

If anyone doesn't want to use Amazon, there is a useful article here:

www.heraldscotland.com/news/16901827.historian-sir-tom-devine-really-happened-clearances/

There most definitely was a Scotland vs England war - The Wars of Independence (kicked off by Edward I trying to seize control while we were arguing over who was our King). We allied with the French and were sacked particularly horrifically in Berwick, massacred and invaded.

That was in 1314! Some of us have moved on a bit on the last 706 fucking years. It's just the nationalist numpties who keep dredging up Bannockburn.

Jeezo.

I had also read some of the new research on the clearances and it simply isn't a matter of English v Scots.
It also isn't particularly helpful to think about Scotland as one block, it has historically been several different zones none of them being more Scottish than another, language and religion have also played a role.
Neither is it helpful to always think of the Scots as the oppressed group as the complicated legacy in NI shows.
The role of Scotland in the slave trade also shouldn't be underestimated.

And not forgetting our failed attempt at becoming a colonial nation, which did nothing more than bankrupt ourselves.
But still we tried to join in with all the other more successful countries.

I live in London, a fairly gritty area, condemned by many MNers, anyway.

My teens have so much more freedom than their cousins who live in a rural coastal idyll. Public transport everywhere, free til 18 and many late night routes, cheap ubers, loads to do, great state schools (remember on average London secondaries outperform the national average), and all their friends are close by because of small catchments.

Skate parks and BMX tracks in local parks, when they are open they do go to galleries and museums. So many out of school opportunities.

And then in the hols we go camping and fell walking and birdwatching....

The rural cousins have to rely on Mum and Dad Taxi, they do a bit of surfing, but there is a lot of teen boredom that leads to as much drug use as in London.

If you haven’t been born and bred to the life, I would think long and hard.

But even I secretly fantasise about being that woman in Our Yorkshire Farm. (But I do at least have some farming experience)

I'm from up around Inverness and moved away as it's not for me.

But I think it's doable, of course it is, but I would really think about what you enjoy doing and then see if you can easily do those things in your new location.

• Cinema, 1hr drive
• Holidays, two flights or a long drive south to a better airport
• Kids activities: you'll be fine for football, highland dancing and brownies but other more unusual hobbies might not happen
• schools, no real choice. If it isn't working there isn't a switch

There is also a strong sense of community, beautiful scenery, a different pace, a much stronger connection with nature, for me more calm and peace (apart from when driving behind tourists in the summer)

I think if you're moving to be a rural GP and you're willing to muck in you'll be fine. It's not all doom and gloom

OP why don't you head over to Scotsnet and have a wee look there. You will see that there are a few prominent anti independence posters. That's not representative of most of Scotland, there are some numpties on both sides.
Generally we are welcoming to everyone especially if you have an essential skill. I would say though that it's a challenging move and you can't imagine the things you take for granted until you do it.

As you say op - it's pretty dark morning and early evening everywhere in the UK. The balance is the extra amount of light you get in the summer. Village life anywhere has its challenges - but usually compensates through a strong sense of community.

As you say op - it's pretty dark morning and early evening everywhere in the UK. The balance is the extra amount of light you get in the summer.

Mathematically perhaps, but if you find it hard going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark, and it’s gloomy during the limited daylight hours then you’ll find winters long and hard.

Sunrise here today was almost an hour earlier than where we lived in Scotland, and sunset 30 minutes later. Longer Scottish summer days with simmer dim at 11pm doesn’t really make up for 5 months of cold damp weather and limited daylight,

As you say op - it's pretty dark morning and early evening everywhere in the UK. The balance is the extra amount of light you get in the summer.

The difference is during the longer daylight hours you can get out and do loads wherever you are 8n the country...

On gloomy days when it barely gets light...there’s no where to go apart from your house. No sports centre, shops, cafes....that aren’t a long drive away and you’ll have been to them a million times.

As a Gp though you’ll be welcomed.

Thank you for all the replies. So much to think about. I am torn currently, and may go see some places to get a better idea of what is out there. It's a really tough decision, but seriously considering it. On the plus side, all my colleagues who live there, and English people who have moved up, who I have spoken to, absolutely love it. None seem bothered by the weather either, but perhaps Inverness has a microclimate.