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?

“The highlands” is a huge area with very different communities and areas. Having said that I would suggest looking at the Scottish Borders or Argyll instead if you’ve not lived outside London, I think you’d benefit from being in reach of Glasgow or Edinburgh. .

Nobody is selling the "Highlands" to me on this thread. Sounds like a place to avoid living in.

Or Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen is a really interesting city. 25% of residents were born outside the uk. It’s noticeably ethnically diverse compared with the highlands. Most places in rural Aberdeenshire are in reach of Aberdeen city. (Although Aberdeen property is very expensive)

Re Anti-English feelings, well I'm Scottish and to be brutally honest reading about lots of English people wanting to cash in their London property chips and move to Scotland Post Covid makes me feel rather uncomfortable and a bit resentful, i would be perfectly nice to your face, im well brought up, but if you had a whinge too many about the way we do things, or even too often about the weather and especially if you mentioned property prices, you might find me avoiding you.
Its strikes me as a bit like treating Scotland as an untapped resource, almost colonial with an element of white flight thrown in. You'll be part of the Highland property price inflation that drives young people away.
I'm by no means a raving Scot Nat, i voted no in the referendum, but there's a fair amount in the Highlands who are.
I'm sure I've opened myself up, probably fairly, for criticism revealing these feelings, partly caused by jealousy. My own plans to sell up and move a little bit further North when the nest is empty in a few years will affected if too many people do what you do. We've also got people buying second homes as emergency boltholes and super rich people from all over the place buying estates to contend with. Not to mention the curse of Airbnb...
Oh and drugs are everywhere.
Well I said it... Maybe I'm In the mood for some controversy and this is anonymous so I can say what I really think.
Bit different if you're coming up to fill a real need like being a rural GP.

The most successful 'moves out of London' I've heard of, have been folks who have moved right out of the orbit of London to a smaller (but still culturally rich) city within easy reach of great countryside. I know happy people who made the move to Exeter, Cardiff, York, Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh.

We lived in Inverness for a year. It was stunningly beautiful but it was also the loneliest year I have ever spent. I didn't find locals particularly anti English but I guess that's because most of them don't bother to talk to you. Schools are limited compared with London. It's a long way to anywhere, even within Scotland. I would not go back. I would suggest parts of Yorkshire, the Lakes or Northumbria. All nearer to London and great places to live.

I live in rural ish Scotland, not the Highlands but I can get there quick enough for an afternoon walk. You're underestimating the weather (as someone said above it's not the quantity of the rain but the direction of it) and overestimating the quality of the internet connection.

I very strongly recommend looking at areas within an hour or so of Glasgow or Edinburgh - you can still get somewhere really lovely for your money but without giving up the ability to have a day out in a proper city. (If you think Inverness will give you anything like a city feeling, you haven't been to Inverness. I like it but it's a county town with a summer influx of every single camper van in Northern Europe.)

Ha, wow. Never realised the English were resented so much...

I might as well come clean, that I was planning to fill in a real need, like wbeezer said, by becoming a rural gp. I have visited many times, and colleagues who are local are very positive. Is it a case then that only some English are welcome?

Re anti English sentiment , for context I'm Scottish , currently live in the central belt. As a child/teen I lived in a tiny wee village in Sutherland population hardly any !! My family weren't from the area, moved for my dads work, and we were welcomed, but cautiously . English moving into the area were treated politely but with a fair bit of suspicion as there was a tendency for them to move in and act as 'billy big baws' trying to tell these poor simple highlanders how to live their lives. As you can imagine that went down like a lead balloon. If you do make the move don't be that person !

@PenCreed

Do you know anything about living in the Highlands or are you just fantasising?

People do not tend to ask questions when they already know all about the subject. This is why the OP has asked an online forum so that people with first hand experience can illuminate her.

Haven't RTWT

This is my dream too. Currently in London, can work completely remotely (DH can't) but we could live on my salary (put of London). Feels like such a big leap, but I hanker for it.

I'm English but DH's family are Highlanders... So we might just get away with it. If I NEVER SPEAK

Honestly, I don't know if this is a fantasy, or a real possibility.

On one hand it's a big change, on the other, life is too short to live somewhere that doesn't make you happy.

It’s a big jump and I’d be tempted to try something in-between first. Relatives relocated from Essex to Scottish Islands and it’s a BIG jump.

Moving as a GP would be a lot easier, you would have a position in the community and would be more welcome.

I would still worry about what your dc would do and the significant reduction in their opportunities compared to London.

Have a look at drink, drugs and education stats for the area that you are thinking about.

@Wbeezer

Re Anti-English feelings, well I'm Scottish and to be brutally honest reading about lots of English people wanting to cash in their London property chips and move to Scotland Post Covid makes me feel rather uncomfortable and a bit resentful, i would be perfectly nice to your face, im well brought up, but if you had a whinge too many about the way we do things, or even too often about the weather and especially if you mentioned property prices, you might find me avoiding you. Its strikes me as a bit like treating Scotland as an untapped resource, almost colonial with an element of white flight thrown in. You'll be part of the Highland property price inflation that drives young people away. I'm by no means a raving Scot Nat, i voted no in the referendum, but there's a fair amount in the Highlands who are. I'm sure I've opened myself up, probably fairly, for criticism revealing these feelings, partly caused by jealousy. My own plans to sell up and move a little bit further North when the nest is empty in a few years will affected if too many people do what you do. We've also got people buying second homes as emergency boltholes and super rich people from all over the place buying estates to contend with. Not to mention the curse of Airbnb... Oh and drugs are everywhere. Well I said it... Maybe I'm In the mood for some controversy and this is anonymous so I can say what I really think. Bit different if you're coming up to fill a real need like being a rural GP.

Exactly how I feel, but said better, .

I lived in the Highlands and adored it. Weve had to move south for work again.

I dont know why the Op is getting such a hard time!
Friends of mine that still live there just fly down for big family events.
It's the Highlands not Australia.

I'm not a Highlander (am a Scot). But I would have thought a rural GP would be welcomed with open arms,? I've plenty of friends in the far NW and the islands, and as long as incomers are friendly, decent folk and have something to offer, they're more than welcome. Some parts of far NW are almost entirely incomers because the Clearances drove so many original families off the land. So you wouldn't be the only one! Maybe best not to mention house prices though, aye?

I currently live in Edinburgh, but spent much of my teen years in the south east and worked a couple of years in London.

Edinburgh is a wonderful halfway house. Close to the highlands, but with London perks. Small enough that the commute and work life balance is less of an issue.

But I would suggest Stirling, Perth, Glasgow or Edinburgh. Close to the most gorgeous countryside, lots on nice restaurants and shops. Not so small as to be parochial.

Oh and ref: the English 'invading' I was told to go there (armed forces). So didn't have much of a choice. I didnt want to go but after 2 wonderful years didn't want to leave.
I also helped protect Scottish airspace. I didn't choose to go and then leech and inflate property prices and not contribute.
The selfish English narrative was just getting a bit stale on here.

Also, places like Stornaway would love you, but you might find the islands claustrophobic in the winter when you are trapped with not electricity, no fresh food and no way out for weeks.

My friend is from Uist. She said until she went to Glasgow aged 18 for Uni she had never been on an escalator or in a lift. That was a huge learning curve for her!

@hibbledibble

Does anyone enjoy living in the Highlands, or is it such a great place to live that you don't want to share it?!

It gets dark early in London during the winter too. I can cope with that!

I'm thinking within commuting distance of Inverness. So not the back of beyond.

I live in a part of London where everyone knows everyone. A bit like Eastenders. The countryside is not unique in that set up. It is ethnically and socially diverse here though. Are people trying to tell me that the Highlands aren't, and 'outsiders' aren't welcome?

Me! I enjoy living here. The weather isn't as great as it is down south, but there are many positives. Crime is way less, it's a great way of life for bringing up your kids. They have more freedom to roam, huge spaces to roam in. There's no immediate access to concerts, big sporting events etc, but that doesn't mean you don't go - you just plan a bit more. Yes there is a lot less daylight in winter, but there's way more in the summer. It doesn't get dark until around 11pm in June, that's hours of being able to do things. Locals may well be a bit set in their ways in some places, but times have changed and they are also willing to embrace positive change too. Come for a visit in winter, if you can stand it then, you'll find summer another slice of heaven.

Moving to a rural area as a gp would help to avoid the anti english sentiment, as you would be 'contributing'

Its the english that move looking for an idylic retreat and then moan about any negative things that were clear from the outset (roads, weather, dark all the time etc etc) that are more of an issue. Or the ones that retire to the area to live out a fantasy and stop people who want to live and work and raise children in the area from having affordable housing as its all sold as holiday homes.

I used to live in Winchester, it’s way colder up here.

It's difficult to explain but basically, moving from an area with lots of resources and a different culture and therefore potentially having more resources and a different culture to the locals (obviously cultural differences between Scots and English can be exaggerated but they do exist in lots of everday things) is never an entirely neutral thing to do and therefore you might come across reactions good and bad you wouldn't get if you just moved boroughs in London. Some people will view it negatively, some positively, some neutrally although you're unlikely to have anything said to your face. Being a much needed GP the reaction would undoubtedly be positive and you'd be a part of the community if you wanted.
I don't mean to put you off exactly, I'm not exactly proud of harbouring slight resentment. I think it's because Scotland is in a weird position with England, so often overlooked, ignored and belittled until suddenly lots of articles in the papers about people wanting the one thing we have that you don't - space!
My children are resentful about spending their teen years in a very small rural Scottish town, although I like it and I've lived in Edinburgh and London.