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.

You should definitely visit before buying.
I have visited & the other Outer Hebridean islands.

I believe lots of islanders do more than one job.
Or one job & lots of volunteering.

Tiree is beautiful, but a long way from the mainland.

It is very windy

Look up Tiree music festival

Do you speak Gaelic ?

I recommend reading books about the history of the Hebrides

Have a look at This Farming Life on BBC Scotland, which has followed several farming & crofting families on N Uist, Papa Westray and Lewis.
The Papa Westray family were incomers, but their kids being on the roll helped keep the local school going, so they got involved and respected in the community that way.

Island life is much more claustrophobic than you might think, everyone knows your business and while this can mean lots of help and support, it can also come with a fair amount of scrutiny. Are you up for that?

Not exactly a small island but we relocated to Orkney from the south East, we lived there a year (it was a year work placement). We absolutely loved it

Have a read of a book called I am an Island by Tamsin Calidas. Certainly enough to put me off such a notion.

Eday and Tiree are very different culturally too, and in terms of language as well as landscape.

Why on earth are Mumsnet deleting posts that point out how tough it will be for the child? Surely that should be a serious consideration? Are we only allowed make positive comments now?

You could do worse than read through Rhoda Meek's back catalogue of articles looking at island life and its challenges.

https://www.thenational.scot/author/profile/320782.Rhoda_Meek/

https://rhodameek.co.uk/

Oldie but goodie: https://x.com/wodieskodie/status/1204090011634802688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1204090011634802688%7Ctwgr%5Ede0a03d4aac07610b8e1d9706084a45411cc9116%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbellacaledonia.org.uk%2F2020%2F01%2F06%2Fcoming-off-the-cultural-fence%2F

It was an unsettling read, wasn't it? I've been to the island in question and it was the least pleasant island I've ever visited.

I honestly appreciate the viewpoints and opinions that have been shared and obviously have things to consider.

I think if home schooled your DC would soon become isolated from his peers. He'd have no friends and no chance to make any if you keep him at home all day away from the other children.

I mean this is just ignorance, but thank you everyone else.

On Jobs front, nepotism is a big thing on islands. Family comes first, people employ their family, long standing friends... Then, and only then, offer the job on the open market... Most of the time the best professional jobs - teachers, police, local govt, fire service, doctors, ferry workers, are taken by people in their 20s or 30s who never leave... They do those jobs til they retire... So the turnaround of employment 'opportunities' is nothing like the mainland...

You could wait a loooong time for the single class entry primary school to have a vacancy for the Yr 6 class teacher... Mrs x began there in 1995 and is still going strong at the top of the (national) teachers pay scale, on one of the best wages on the island... No one blames her for holding on with grim determination!!!!

If she does retire, there will be 100+ applications for her job, 90 of them from the mainland and people looking for a Bon Fogle inspired "new life" in the wild...

It may be a 'done deal' with the head already knowing someone -(who they like) so any 'advertised job' is just going through the motions, ticking the legal boxes... It's not really, truly available...

Essentially, employment, non seasonal minimum wage employment, is a bugger to find.

I lived on Tiree as a child & have extended family there although I haven't been back in over 20 years now. I honestly loved it, lots of freedom, beautiful beaches, cosy winters & a lovely community. But I am also aware I was born into it, I'm not sure how easy it would be to integrate as a total new comer. Similarly I'm not sure my kids would enjoy it as they're used to living on the mainland & having lots of activities etc. It's a beautiful place with wonderful people though! Lots of people still talk gaelic so might be worth looking into that (I personally remember very little & its a shame as I have fond memories of sitting in the pub while everyone spoke it around me with music playing)

Tiree is amazing but have you ever spent time there? The wind is wild in the winter and it's very isolating when there's a few days with no boat managing to get in and you are looking at fresh food in the co-op slowly go down. It's much better now things like Amazon deliver (not next day usually) when I was little and we spent most summers there internet shopping wasn't a thing so it was really limited in what you can buy. Now you can get most stuff but anything big still needs a bit more planning. I'm in Argyll and Bute but on the mainland now and even here deliveries can be difficult. It sounds lovely being far away from the world but the reality can be difficult.

Tv makes the islands look amazing, fantastic scenery, sun set and everyone friendly. Harsh reality, weather is extreme. Summers are not warm usually. Rain and wind that batters your very soul. Incomers are always that.

She is a very good example of what can go wrong - she profoundly upset and angered people, and was completely unable to understand that her own blinkered assumptions and perspective caused most of the problems. It's a kind of arrogance that people are unfortunately increasingly exposed to, and have correspondingly diminished tolerance for.

OP I don't know Tiree but I do know it's neighbour Coll - the entire (tiny) population is what people are so scathingly referring to as "incomers" - it would be uninhabited by now if not for them, it's not like there's job or industry.

Agree either way a lot of what others have said. Islanders have seen lots of people arrive from SE England with all sorts of notions and ideas about island life and they don’t stay more than a year. Yes the ferries are a shitshiw, yes the weather is wild at times and it’s very dark in winter. However good your clothing it’s not going to make it any lighter. Anything v seriously wrong with you and you’d have to be taken to Aberdeen or Glasgow.

primary schools can be tiny - fewer than 10 pupils. So a very limited pool of friends for any child. In Orkney the kids from the outlying islands weekly board in Kirkwall.

You don’t mention jobs. If you are going to add value as a GP or dentist they will be very welcoming. Another web developer, graphic designer or project manager working from home and not adding into the local community - not so much.

I know a family that are many generations on a small Scottish island - they send their DC to boarding school on the mainland. (Also a family we know from the Isles of Scilly - same problems, hundreds of miles apart).

If you get the Scottish family talking about the CalMac ferry scandals you'll be there for hours.

I'd add to some points.

• The weather and winters should not be underestimated. Outdoorsy and hardy on the south coast, or even central belt Scotland, really doesn't translate to island life. It can be incredibly mentally and physically isolating depending on where you are, so if you haven't spent a winter there I'd recommend that.

• Local community is huge: what you can offer, how well you integrate. Its more than saying hello and chatting to neighbours, its having a network for support when the ferries are off/the cargo ferry cant sail etc. You need to consider what you can offer to the community.

• Healthcare provision really is no joke. Consider that for what you might think of as basic emergency healthcare you might need to wait until stable/the weather allows to be airlifted and for ongoing treatment you'd be based in a hospital hours and hours away from home.

Its a life that has a huge amount of benefits, but its not easy, there are drawbacks and its not for everyone.

At the same time there's no excuse for men letting themselves into her home to harass and intimidate her, and killing her sheep.

I have seen his work at museums in Perth & Outer Hebrides
There are books too

An amazing story & artist

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/art-extraordinary/angus-macphee/angus-macphee-gallery

@GenieGenealogy yeah in Shetland as well, the high school in Lerwick has halls for 90 or so students from the outlying islands to weekly board.

A friend of mine lives on Coll, the neighbouring island to Tiree. She loves it...most of the time. The things about island life that she likes include the great sense of community, people often help each other out, low crime, of course the beauty of the island and the nature. She is a painter so that helps. Things she dislikes is the cost of everything and most amenities are off the island needing a lengthy ferry trip, including most health care. If you have any problems with someone else on the island it's a small community and can be gossipy. In the summer there are loads of holidaymakers which is a mixed blessing. In the winter the wind and rain can be relentless and depressing. The winter is long. In the winter there are frequent ferry disruptions. It can feel very remote sometimes, and a bit lonely. She loves it there in many ways but she is weighing up how long she thinks she wants to remain there.. she is thinking in her older age she will move to the mainland.

A friend had an accident on a Scottish island.
They were air lifted to the mainland for surgery & recovery.
They decided not to retire to an island
They have recovered & are doing well