To ask if anyone lives on a small Scottish Island?

[NewStartFamily]

Specifically Eday or Tiree but thoughts and opinions of any others very welcome!

DP and I are considering a relocation from the south coast to Scotland, somewhere with land we can use.

We have found a couple of properties that we like but we’d like to hear thoughts from people who live there about how life works in the smaller communities and places where not everything is on your doorstep.

We have one home educated son aged 9 so nearby schools not an essential consideration.

Thank you for your response.

I worked in a role where we regularly saw people from the Western Isles- people born there were generally happy, people who'd moved there for 'a better life' often were a bit miserable- socially isolated & not prepared for the very short days in winter. You should have a read about the Scottish ferry crisis - transport to the mainland is getting worse and worse.

This is helpful, thank you.

I’m not too worried about longer days in winter, we’re all quite hardy and outdoorsy so I don’t think this would be too much of a shock. But the rest is definitely worth consideration.

You really should spend a winter living there before making a permanent move. Winter on the islands is nothing like English winters.

Moved to a bigger island from Glasgow. Kids love it and had the best childhood/teens.. There is great community but don't go in as the big incomer telling people how to do things.
Also reconsider the home schooling. Your child will be hopelessly isolated.

Also.... the ferries are an utter catastrophe. Soul destroying and business destroying.

Keep in mind despite the beauty, its remote, a harsh landscape and very harsh winters made worse by the ferries being shit. Island holidays do not give a true picture of island life.

If you can hack it, its wonderful. Not everybody can.

I have so many thoughts.

1. Are you aware how long (far is a bit of a misnomer it's the travel time that gets you when travelling between the islands) it is to get to healthcare? 1a) Our ferries are currently an absolute shit show
2. When your son is older similarly, it will be the same distance to get to Kirkwall for Higher/Further Education
3. Are you familiar with the weather and the summers/winters? It's one thing to intellectually know it and quite another to experience it.

I have several Scottish friends who moved to small islands and didn’t last long before moving back to the mainland. Combination of harsh winters and struggling to make friends.

What about when your son is a teenager?

i don't know why any parent would isolate their child like that, to that extent, but each to their own!

Everything is much more difficult. Frequent storms, power going down, broadband going down. You might be hardy but nothing can prepare you for the harsh winters if you are used to the south coast. Limited employment opportunities. Have you ever been for any length of time?

We spent a lot of time with family in Berwick upon Tweed growing up and even the summers were pretty bleak there. I remember packing swimsuits and my aunt laughing saying you'll need a wet suit to get in that sea, hun! My uncle was a trawler man and they lived a lovely life there but that was mainly due to the community around them. And Berwick is barely over the borders.

Living on the islands sounds utterly idyllic but I would imagine incredibly isolating.

Exactly. Poor kid.

@NewStartFamily I think it sounds wonderful in theory, but how much time have you spent there? Have you spoken to your son about it?

All excellent points.

Also consider how you intend to transition into the community - knowing you'll have to integrate into a very small community and actually doing it are very different. It's not easy to avoid people you don't get on with and it takes strong boundaries to resist becoming caught up in conflicts or gossip.

Tiree becomes incredibly busy with tourists during the summer season - many islanders rely on this for their income but also find that the island becomes crowded and not all tourists are considerate or pleasant.

Life on an island is much more expensive, and you also need to consider how you would get to family members in an emergency should the need arise. Similarly, when your DC is older could they get home if they find themselves in challenging circumstances, or could you get to them?

Many of the islands are struggling with the availability of housing, and with locals being outpriced by newcomers selling properties in more expensive areas and driving up local prices. Again, consider this when you're thinking about how to integrate into the community.

Where did I say this?

I also never said I wasn’t open to school. In the right circumstances. And the fact that there weren’t any right circumstances before is precisely why I pulled him out.

Thank you to everyone who has shared valid points.

This is just something that is being considered, not decided on. All I wanted to do was get a rough idea from those with experience before we start making actual plans or decisions.

Life on islands means everyone depends on everyone else. I'd have more confidence in your idea if you'd started from the perspective of 'what can we offer to the community', and shown some understanding of how you might have to adapt, adjust your expectations, and work out how to make a contribution to where you are rather than isolate yourselves from your child's peers and their families. One key thing to get your head around is that 'property' in an isolated rural environment isn't just a thing to be bought and sold - land and belonging means much more than that to everyone around you, and your attitude to it will make or break your ability to settle in with them.

From a practical point of view, you will all need to drive. You will need a non complicated car that the local mechanic can handle, nothing requiring specialist main dealership attention.

You child will be OK when a child, but teenage years are hard on the islands. There's no work unless you know people who will take your teenager on in the local cafes in the summer.. "knowing people" is crucial for employment really.

Everything costs more as it's got to be imported... Counter that with minimum wages and you often have 'London prices' on minimum wages. You will need savings. Yes, work from home online can bring in better money, but Internet connections are very, very unreliable.

In winter, you'll need outdoor storage for wood, cars, anything not tied down that can be ripped from the ground in 100mph winds. You will need patience. It's very annoying constantly replacing guttering, roof tiles, window panes,... Did I mention costly???

The key to everything is people, getting involved with the community, helping out. When times are tough, you'll need others...

It won't work if you keep yourself to yourself and don't have mega money in the bank to give you child opportunities to leave, work, study later... :(

This is helpful as a viewpoint, thank you.

Again, I will say that home education is a choice that has been made for where we are now and does not reflect my intentions for the future of the circumstances are right.

I’m not planning a mass isolation.

Eday and Tiree are very different. Tiree has proper villages, a Coop, a school campus with Primary and secondary schools so there are kids a
of all ages (homeschooling would be extremely isolating for your son on an island). It has regular flights to Glasgow and other islands. You get the benefit of the gulfsteam so it’s relatively warm. Eday has a primary school but no village - the residents are scattered. The community store has limited opening hours. It will be dark for most of the day in winter. To get anywhere else you have to travel to the main island.

The islands are insular. The locals are very used to people arriving to live The Good Life and then heading back to the mainland after finding it too difficult so they are cautious about getting too involved. At the same time everyone is in your business! It’s VERY difficult to make a permanent home there without any existing connections.