Relocate from Surrey to Scotland

[Fishhhandaricecake]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone since having kids has decided to bravely escape the commute to London rat race and moved away closer to family etc?

Me and my partner both live and work in Surrey full time, our 2yr old is in full time nursery as we have no one locally who can help out.

We are renting a small 2 bed currently in Surrey are looking to buy, close to buying a family home in Surrey which would reduce our monthly cost by £1k due to the nursery being.cheaper and mortgage being cheaper than current renting, however we are both exhausted and burntout from the rat race, we both have very full on stressful intense jobs which require 3 days in London (1.5hr each way). Even with this moving to buying a house in Surrey, our costs will still be really high at least until our son goes to school.

We are now therefore considering moving to Aberdeen in Scotland where we have grandparents available to child sit 2 days a week, costs will be hugely reduced and we can get a much slower calmer life with more family support. In terms of costs if we bought a place in Aberdeen we’d save a further £2k a month vs the option of buying a house in Surrey. We don’t want to rent as that is throwing money away and the uncertainty of not being or feeling settled by renting is also a huge cause of our stress so we will either buy a family home in Surrey or in Aberdeen.

We’d be leaving some family and friends down here but not loads and tbh we are both up for a change to make our lives easier as we’re just living day to day at the moment with no time or energy to do much of what we want and we are both so stressed.

We will go to Aberdeen next week to see houses and areas and weigh up the decision but based on pros and cons, money and our gut feels everything points to it being a good move to escape the rat race.

We are also not worried about the weather as neither of us like hot weather so a milder summer in Scotland would suit us nicely and tbh yes it’ll be colder and wetter and windier and darker during winter but really in the south of England most people go into hibernation from Nov -> March anyway so don’t think that’ll be that different.

In terms of jobs there are options we can both move to in Aberdeen especially because we won’t need anywhere near as large a salary as we both require to keep finding this current set-up.

Just wondering if anyone else made a similar change to a slower more affordable life vs the Surrey -> London burnout rat race.

We’re at a later stage of life, close to retirement, but relocating to Perth. We’re between the two places atm moment waiting for the family home to sell. Can’t wait to move permanently to our flat, absolutely love the city.

We made a similar move to you though when our first child was 1. From SE to coastal SW where husband was born and grandparents lived. Looking back, was a great decision. Unfortunately, my FIL passed unexpectedly after 3 years but my husband and daughter got to spend a lot of time with him prior to that. Felt very precious when he’d gone.

Do it. You won’t look back. If you do, you can always move again.

Thanks so much and great to hear someone else made a similar move and sorry to hear about your FIL.

My partners Uncle passed away unexpectedly and suddenly recently and that plus costs and lack of support down here as well as my partner nearly losing their job have all made us think life is short so what is the point in being so constantly stressed when we could change our situation to be much less stressed, have a much more comfortable financial set-up and be closer to grandparents to spend precious time together and plus they will be helping us a lot and saving us money by reducing our nursery days from 5 to 3.

Just seems like a no brainer tbh but obviously any change is scary especially when we are both so exhausted it’s hard to think straight and clearly sometimes.

Thank you for your helpful input and all the best with your move to Perth, Perth is a beautiful place to live/retire.

I'm from Aberdeenshire,my family and friends are still there the reason I won't go back is how far away it is from everything compared to where we are now. The whimsical side of me would go in a heartbeat but its become increasingly difficult to go back due to costs of trains/planes so consider that if you need to travel back to Surrey.

House prices have really fallen there so you'd get a great property but the city itself is going backward, very unpopular council, theres a significant loss of leisure facilities, cost of living is high (but where isnt).

I know you said you're not worried about weather bit winters are long and bleak and shouldn't be underestimated. Summers are meh but it's got beautiful coast.

Are you thinking city or shire? Have you been there before?

Thanks for the info and we are thinking maybe Westhill, Countesswells, Cove, Kingswells, all areas that are 10-15 mins from Grandparents in Petercuter and all 20mins from city. Do you know much about these areas? And yes I’ve been up before and really liked it, much slower pace of life, very pretty, green, rivers, sea, friendly people etc.

Appreciate your insights, although I suppose everyone’s circumstances are different and for me and my partner this move would seem to tick a heck of a lot of boxes.

Also you say cost of living is high but we’d be saving £2k a month on costs up there so the difference for us would be massive and we’d have grandparents, auntys, uncles, cousins all nearby for support and community and we are both so over the London commute rat race.

@Fishhhandaricecake I did this at the start of the year, moved from the SW to near Edinburgh.

I have 0 regrets! We bought a house for 1/3 of the price we'd have paid before, double the size. I LOVE the people, the friendliness, the chattiness and the sense of community in the town we're in. I love being surrounded by beautiful places, beaches, lochs etc and knowing I have a whole country to explore in holidays now. OH commutes into Edinburgh occasionally for work and enjoys it but is mostly WFH.

PM me if you'd like to talk more.

Did your DH grow up there?

For me, the most important thing would be the jobs. Not just the money- is there definitely going to be equal job satisfaction and career fulfilment in the options open to you in Aberdeen?

A 1.5 hour commute three times a week (so 3 hours in total) London sounds pretty grim. We live and work in London but deliberately chose not to have a commute of more than 40 mins door to door and easy to cycle when weather permits. To achieve that we live in a house that some would consider small, but it works for us. If you are already as close as you can afford to be, and the job prospects in Aberdeen are similar, sounds like a no-brainer.

Is there another set of parents/grandparents not in Aberdeen though? You might need to plan carefully to nurture that relationship, but I guess until now you have been dealing with a set who are very far away anyway.

Both my kids are at Uni in Aberdeen, it is a fantastic wee city. Loads going on and rent is much cheaper at least half the price of renting in Glasgow or Edinburgh. House prices are reasonable too so you might be surprised.

It sounds like a great plan, good luck x