To feel like moving to Scotland might be a bad idea?

[Dontsquashthechocolatemousse]

Currently we live in South West England.

DH has just landed a new job, and it's fully remote - which means we can live anywhere in the UK.

This sounded amazing at first and we let our imaginations run wild as to where we could live. We've sort of settled on Perthshire in Scotland as our dream location.

However, my parents live in the south west (about 1.5 hours away currently). They're late 70s, currently in good health, with busy, independent lives. My other, older siblings live much further away than we do, so we see them the most. They're very close to our young children.

I think it would break their hearts if we moved that far away from them. I know it's only a short plane ride away, but really, how often could we afford to make that journey? And what happens if they get ill, or need looking after?

On the other hand, they could chug along just fine for another 15 years. And they moved all over the world themselves when they were younger - only settling after I was born.

My DH would be so disappointed not to make the most of this opportunity, and to start a new adventure. But I can't help but feel a weight in my chest at the thought of being so far away from my parents.

WWYD?

I have nothing against Scotland at all ... but why are people denying that it is cold and wet? That's a bit daft. My dd just spent a year living in Glasgow. She loved the city but decided not to settle there because of the weather. It is an actual thing to consider.

Why is Perthshire your dream location though? And how will living there work in reality? There are lots of parts of Scotland I’d live to live in but can’t realistically as it’s not practical. Apart the parts that are dark 6 months of the year obviously 👀

Falling for the MSM brainwashing.

I am a Scot who has lived in England for many years. I am positively cringing at the level of ignorance about Scotland (of all places!) on this thread. I can honestly say that I have never met this type of ignorance in real life in England. Does Mumsnet must have its own special creed of insularity?

We went to visit her in June and spent a day trudging around in 12 hours of solid rain with coats on when it was 30 degrees in London.

Can you not rent up there for 6 months/year?
See how you get on and also your parents?

What levels of ignorance specifically?

Care to elaborate?

We moved to Scotland for DH's work. Lived in Edinburgh, was lovely.

DM got ill and so I travelled up and down a lot (6+hrs one way). Was ok. Time goes on, we all get older and less able to travel. Lots of good intentions but if you have lots of competing time sucks, then adding two days onto every quick trip adds up.

Loved living in Scotland but got homesick ish and moved nearer DM. Still hard work but lots of illness later, it was the right decision. Harder for DH but better for me.

It is darker in the winter by a margin but not that much. Weather was often very good indeed. Getting to really understand how culturally/legally different it is was very interesting. Loved the people and places.

Try it but it's not always easy depending on how things turn out with health stuff.

Yawn, god this gets so dull so quick. It would be compensated by a couple of free prescriptions a year. It's hardly slash n burn.

Wetter than Manchester?

Most of central and east Scotland has less rainfall than west of England.

@LindorDoubleChoc RTFT - higher taxes, Scotland 'of all places', dark six months of the year....need I go on?

Dont forget that fully remote still narrows you down to "anywhere with super fast broadband".

That said, I've always desperately wanted to live on Dartmoor....

My arse.

Yes it's a little darker quicker from Oct to March but we still have daylight as normal ffs. We aren't Svalbard.

And then we have longer lighter summer nights, perfect if you're outdoorsy. I've been up a hill at 11pm with great visibility.
And we get to see the Aurora, the Northern lights. Gorgeous.

Thank you!

Surely these comments are tongue in cheek!

Yep.

Regardless of the relative merits of any location, I would not move anywhere off the back of a new job - unless I knew it would be easy to find a local job if the new one didn't work out.

What do you base that on?
Scottish NHS is a mess too.

Glasgow and the surrounding area is a lot wetter, on average, than cities on the East Coast (Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen).

What connections do you have to Perthsire. Have you stayed there for an extended length of time? What about it does your dh love? Being in a rural area, getting produce from a farm shop or quaint village shop may be amazing when you are on holiday but if it takes 30 minutes or more to get to the nearest supermarket you'd either adjust or get frustrated very quickly. How well connected is the specific area you would want to stay in? How long would it take to get to the nearest airport or train station in case of an emergency. What is the schooling like what about the amenities as your children get older. l? Do you really want to be ferrying them about everywhere if you live in an area where public transport is awful?

I made the move and we live 4 hours away . My dad (61) had cancer and I have primary school aged kids, a toddler and a job. I couldn't be there physically to give moral support or be of any practical use. I took time off on the weekends as I am self employed and have a degree of flexibility but I still couldn't visit as much as I would have liked. He has had the all clear now but it has put into sharp focus that I live too far away to be of any use to them practically on a day to day. I was able to help financially and will continue to do so whilst dad is off work. It is hard, my parents are wonderful grandparents and would have offered practical support with my kids should I have lived closer as they do for my sister and I would have been able to reciprocate. My uncle died and I couldn't get to him in time and had to say my goodbyes over the phone. I would love to be able to see my parents at least weekly. Here I have no family support but dh and I work around each other and always have, we have good friends that can be relied upon in an emergency. He lives 10 minutes away from his own mum who we see once a fortnight. I wouldn't say the education overall is any better but 2 of my kids are primary school aged so I haven't experienced the secondary system yet. The healthcare system is just as woeful as the rest of the UK. I had poor postnatal care and the nhs list for gynaecology issues was 2 years when I needed the service. We had bupa through my dhs work and I was seen within a month and treated.

On the plus sides the weather is often wet and cold but I'm used to that, dress appropriately and get out every day. The air is less polluted, much less traffic, I live in a nice area, people are in general friendly and house prices are reasonable. It is a beautiful country. I live in a small town and it amazes me that I see such beautiful scenery every day.

I live in an urban part of Scotland but I have family and friends in rural areas. Rural areas appear idyllical but think of the practicalities of living in the countryside. Buses can be few and far between; would you be happy driving your DC around everytime they want to go to the cinema, swimming, shopping? Are you organised enough to not be driving miles because you have run out of toilet roll (my stepmum had to go to my SIL's rescue with this one)? Are you willing to potentially be miles from the nearest hospital/A&E?
Ignore the "Scotland's cold and wet" comments; that's the reason Scotland is so green and beautiful.

If you are healthy and not on benefits though, how do you gain from these? Many Scot’s find themselves barred from university places that are available to those with equivalent qualifications from rUK. It’s just a fact.

I'm in Cornwall. My parents are near Glasgow. Similar ages to yours. I see them once a year at most.

I will not be doing any caring responsibilities and they know that, although I've offered for post-surgery in the short term only as a housekeeper, not personal care.

I've had to make the "oh shit" run home three times - twice for my gran (survived the first urgent hospital trip but not the second) and once for my dad having a heart attack. Each time was stressful, involved complex travel arrangements for flights (getting to airport, getting picked up at the other end etc) or long drives when not in the best frame of mind.

I'm not looking forward to the next however many years, as they are only early 70s but both are failing in health rapidly.

I would imagine it's best to wait and see how your husband's job pans out before jumping in at the deep end.

I also have parents in that age bracket who live far away and this year has seen rapid, catastrophic declines in their health. This has been nothing short of traumatising for me to deal with - I am not exaggerating, it's cost me my a large chunk of my own health and wealth.

I am in Scotland and the quality of school education is plummeting. The Curriculum for Excellence is an out and out disaster and levels of literacy and numeracy are crashing. I speak as a teacher who has worked in schools here since 2004. The increase in pupils with ASN in mainstream has not been backed by appropriate training and staffing levels. There is a new emphasis on play in schools, again with no proper foundations. Behaviour is seriously out of control, with no sanctions available to staff.
Posters are correct about the decreasing availability of university places for home students here.
The SNPs policies are , in my opinion, I'll thought through and we're suffering the consequences.
For the avoidance of doubt, this does not make me a Tory, Scot-hating, insular, narrow-minded bigot.