Would it be foolish to consider moving to Scotland?

[HRHLadyG]

In the current uncertain climate, would it be foolish to consider moving from England to Scotland. I suppose I'm thinking in terms of what your status would be in the event that Scotland votes for independence especially in terms of Healthcare, Education, pension etc.
Any thoughts appreciated! x

I wouldn't move here from anywhere else in the UK atm. Until Mr Salmond starts giving us real answers as opposed to his wish list then my suggestion would be to stay put and wait to see whether or not Scotland would offer a better deal were it to become independent (and may God have mercy on our souls...)

Thank you! Very wise...... you're spot on, he doesn't seem to have a presented any clear ideas in terms of planning for Independence, it still seems to be a campaign about emotion rather than facts and detail. I'm not sure how objective the reporting of his plans are in the English media though.....
Do you think it will happen? x

It depends on what your reasons would be for moving. If you would not want to live here in the event of independence, don't come. Your status would probably not be hugely complicated or disadvantageous, though, if you did.
Scotland won't, if we choose independence, suddenly become a slum. There are plenty of small nation states around to demonstrate what's possible.
Despite what both sides say, I tend to think the changes wouldn't be drastic (either good or bad).

The changes will be drastic, depending on your perspective and whether or not you're in favour of independence or not.

I totally agree...... Scotland is so very beautiful and offers a wonderful environment to raise a family. My concern lies more it what my status would be ie would we become foreigners if Scotland is not in the U.K. My husband was born in Scotland..... would that make any difference .....maybe I'm overthinking! x

Lots of people move to lots of places and then at a later date decide that it is no longer for them. Whatever decision you take is a risk.

I doubt either government would go out of their way to make life difficult for Scots living in England or vice versa. Why would they? There is nothing to benefit from being awkward. The govts can have whatever sort of agreement they want about movement between the two countries.

I'd like to think so.....

SirChenjin, why should that be so? I reckon life will go on with some bad and some good things just as now.

No matter what the outcome, whenever something bad happens, the losers will say it wouldn't have happened if the decision had gone the other way and the winners will attribute any victory to the "right" choice having been made.

There's no reason why life should be unreasonably difficult for anyone if we go independent. In any case, no one should relocate to somewhere new if they can't afford to change their mind.

As the arctic ice melts, the Gulf stream will be forced further south. Ultimately, this will mean that areas on the western European seaboard will end up with a climate like those with equivalent latitudes - Labrador or Alaska for example.

I suggest moving south, not north.

my best friend made the move and she's happy

Do you have strong feelings about wanting to live in the UK? Do you have strong feelings that Scotland will struggle terribly if it becomes independent? Or do you think we are a country full of capable grown-ups who could cope with running our own country at least as well as the UK is currently run?

We run quite a lot of Scottish affairs already, rather well I think. And if we do get independence, I have confidence in our ability to take on the remaining responsibilities.

I'm sure that both Scottish and RUK governments will be capable of reaching some kinds of reciprocal agreements if they don't both end up in the EU, so I don't think your conditions would suddenly be different because you arrived relatively recently.

Healthcare and education are already devolved, NHS Scotland has been a legally separate entity for a long time, so there won't be any sudden changes to the provision of either.

It you move here, no one is going to stop you from moving back to England if you decided to do that at a later date- you won't be trapped here by independence (if we vote for it)!

I don't think you would be considered a foreigner, 3 of my closest friends are English and they love living here. My cousin is a Surgeon from London, she will be moving to Scotland in the hopeful event of a yes vote.

Life will be just as before.

scotland wont vote for independence... no one believes what salmond tells them.

A vote for indepence is not a vote for Salmond. He will go, like all politicians, indepence is a separate issue. He is just the SNP guy.

As for moving.. it depends on why you want to move and what you are looking for.
Education.. as for higher education you will be better of in Scotland, cost wise. Healthcare as well, Scotland seems to me less riddled with chaos compared to NHS England. But I don't know much about that.

There's no chance you'll become a foreigner at all. Loads of people from England are here already, and many of the most vocal pro-independence voices are English! If independence happens, anyone from the UK will be able to become a Scottish citizen (some areas need more people) and there's likely to be joint passports for a fairly long time anyway.

So if you're thinking about it I'd consider everything else first and politics/constitution way down the line. It has some gorgeous scenery, and cheaper living. You could get a pretty amazing house in some places for what a pokey flat in London would cost. The NHS isn't being privatised and prescriptions are free.

I do miss some things about London up here, and sometimes consider heading back for a while. But the cost of living down there is mind-boggling. And the places you can take day trip cycles to from Glasgow are also mind-blowing :-)

If you have children of senior school age, then yes, it makes a lot of sense to move to Scotland. You need to be living there for three years (I think) before they'll qualify for no-debt higher education, the system we used to have (and will get back one day, I hope).

Actually there are other things, too...not sure if it applies all across the country, but Scots get their pensioner bus pass at sixty. In my county at least, it's now dependent on retirement age (in transition, going up in stages for women).

Generally speaking, social care seems to be better in Scotland than in England; that's my impression.

Try finding a Scottish website and ask these questions again to Scots people?

No.

If you are living in Scotland on Independence Day in March 2016 then you can have duel Scottish and UK nationality.

If I was living in England I'd move up.

I've chosen to live in scotland rather than England, I prefer the way we do things (health, social care, education) up here.