We moved from paris to Aberdeen in 2003 and stayed til we moved to singapore in 2008. Dh is Scottish but from west coast and I'm English so we had no family in the area and we didn't see it as going home.
We really enjoyed our time in Aberdeen. The city is granite so people say its very grey. Adding in the Scottish weather (horizontal rain, grey skies, biting cold) can make it miserable but the days when you get clear blue skies, stunning oranges and reds in autumn trees and decent walks make up for it. Be aware that dawn in the summer is ridiculously early and we would walk the dog without a torch at 11pm ... The flip side is dark until about 10am and again at 2.30pm in winter. We used to have a long haul holiday to somewhere hot in February to break up the winter.
We really enjoyed Scottish culture and hospitality, ceilidhs, burns nights etc. there is plenty of walking to be done either through woodland or up hills, there are castles to explore and skiing can be done in a day. Golf is a big thing too....
I did find that we were far from other places. We were 2.5 hours from Edinburgh and a bit further from Glasgow, which is nearly too far for a day out. I did miss the big city feel (museums, shops, restaurants) but think that Aberdeen has grown since we were there.
Most people in Aberdeen work in oil and gas so it's a small world and there is a fair expat community (Esp French, Dutch, American, Danish, Norwegian). House prices are pretty stable because of this. You can look on www.aspc.com for house rental and sales.
I don't know if we would ever return to the uk but if we were relocated to Aberdeen, I wouldn't be unhappy. Let me know if you want more info.