moving to the highlands

[Londonflatroofingservice]

Hello everyone brand new to this site so please be kind.
I am here looking for some advice and guidance really I am looking to move my family and I to the highlands of Scotland either Fort William of may be the Isle of Skye and would love a little feedback from people that either know the areas of live there we have 4 children 2 boys and 2 girls ages from 16-10 yrs old we currently live in Peckham south east London and i hate it its an unsafe area and do not feel i can let my children out with out worrying all the time how they are. Anyway I am a flat roofer and have also run my own small handyman business while my wife cares for the elderly but has also worked for many years as a teaching assistant.
What is the work situation like in Fort William & Isle of Skye ?
What is life like. e.g. slower or the same as london ?
and in general has anyone made the move from a major city and wish they had not ?

they all say they want to move up there where we can see the mountains, lakes, nature, and also experience all sorts of weather.

I'm sure many kids will say the same, presented with the dream of lots of outside space, mountain biking and mountains out of the bedroom window. It sounds amazing. However, chances are the reality will be very different, isolating, school friends no where near by, less opportunities for jobs, fewer shops etc. You may hate living in London but moving to somewhere like the highlands is going from one extreme to the other.

You really don't need to be quite so rural to get all of that.
Most is available within a 15 minute drive of me, plus the added bonus of everything being delivered and a cinema in town.
In the past couple of months Dd has been ice skating, to the cat cafe, an American burger joint, cinema, had a new piercing, city shopping, to see an international band etc, all either walking or on public transport, less than an hour from home.
I did the whole of Christmas without leaving the house and there were at least two shops and takeaways open on Christmas day, and this is a small town.

Have you actually visited scotland OP? Why have you narrowed it down to Skye and FW over (for example) Penrith or Peebles?

I don't rate the high school but others do and I got Dd into a Glasgow school, totally commutable.

In fairness Vet OP has probably ruled Penrith out due to it not being in Scotland

It will come down to budget? I'd love to live in the lake district but it's more expensive. Probably easier to get something in a nice area in budget in a lot of areas of Scotland. I'd see no point in moving from London to live in a rough area anywhere as you'd be able to see the mountains (when it's not dark and raining) but still be surrounded by people who'd steal your bike or who have drugs issues etc and there being bog all to do as well.

Give tovthe highlands in the summer before any move - you also need to check out the midge season before any permanent move.

Thanks Cumbrian i’m Aware of that! And that’s exactly my point - why Scotland? Penrith has great transport links, low crime, mountain biking and access to countryside so on paper it meets OP’s ‘criteria’

The OP seems strangely fixated on two (rather different) and quite remote parts of Scotland when there are a lot of places between London and FW that suit his requirements without the extreme remoteness, job-finding problems or midges!

My point is why those locations? OP Do you have any connections to them? Have you actually spent any time there?

I know one person who lives in Kinlochleven he owns his own business in fort william he has told me that its a beautiful place to live especially if you like the outdoors also that we would find work up there quite easy i didn't know i seem to be fixated on fort william lol but i just don't want to be near any city or built up area i want to be able to leave a bike outside in the garden and see it there in the morning i want to be able to let my kiddies go out and be young while they still can and i want the peace and quite of living out of a built up area

You don't get all sorts of weather in Lochaber. You just get rain. And midges. Lots of midges.
If you're the sort of people who are happy to get on with stuff regardless of the weather then there's heaps to do but if you're more indoorsy then there really is very little.
Housing is a huge issue here too. Would you be renting or buying? You'll struggle to find somewhere to rent, all the spare housing is used up as holiday lets.
It's not as remote here as you'd imagine, there's still crime and it's a nightmare to get stuff delivered.
I've been here 6 years now and I do love it but it's far from idyllic.

OP Fort William is the wettest place in the UK, and that's not a lie!

I love Fort William but don't think I'd want to live there. Especially if I had teens and was moving from London!

tbh, I grew up in that kind of area and it’s not like you can just leave your bike out. There’s still a massive chance it will get nicked especially if it’s there day after day.

What about Perthshire, somewhere like Crieff or Comrie. Lots of access to the great outdoors and lochs, but also not far from Stirling or Perth.

Fort William can be pretty bleak and the west coast is VERY wet. There’s also an underbelly of drugs which i’d Be concerned about for bored teens.

If crime is your main concern i’d Honestly look at safe areas in cities or larger towns/small towns that are better connected. For example depending on your budget you could live somewhere like Stirling or Linlithgow or even Aviemore as a PP suggested with easy access to countryside and cities.

I’m Sure there are lots of similar places that are less remote - Derbyshire, Peak District/Sheffield, Yorkshire and Cumbria spring to mind. Lots of safe rural spaces without the dreadful weather, midges or job issues of FW.

I live rurally, and we see a lot of people come for the ruralliving dream and leave within a year or two. I’d say I’ve seen more families fail to assimilate than succeed. They all cite lack of facilities and distance to a city as the deciding factor. Oh, and high fuel prices when you are totally dependent on a car.

In my experience those relocating from urbanareas don’t always appreciate the practicalities of bing in the arse end of nowhere.

Childcare, clubs, activities, buying a pint of milk, or a stamp, you will need a car, probably two cars. Getting to school? A car and bus journey. One person out at work all day, then without a vehicle the stay at home Person is knackered. Need to get the kids fitted for shoes? An hour or two drive to the nearest place. Teen wants to go somewhere? Someone’s got to drive them. It all adds up and wears you down if you aren’t prepared.

Ive lived like this most of my life, with the exception of a couple of miserable years in a city.. I love it but in my experience it takes a lot of adjusting.

Also the north of Scotland is a bloody long way from anywhere. If you want rural living and outdoor stuff , why not trial the Peak District or North Yorkshire?

Oh, and villages aren’t crime free either,

We a combination of local bad uns indulging in petty crime and professional thieves coming in transit vans from the nearest cities looking for stuff left unguarded. High value farm machinery draws them in, but thy aren’t above raiding a few sheds/ back gardens when they get chance.

My advice would be to come up for an extended holiday and travel round Scotland to see as much as you can. I am Scottish and love Scotland with all my heart but I couldn't live in Fort William or Skye. Nice for a holiday though. I like to be nearish to a city so I can escape rural life easily if I need to. My DDs fled as soon as they could. The eldest is now in Peckham and loves it!

Good advice to travel around a bit. Perthshire or Stirlingshire would give you the lifestyle you crave, but less issues with deliveries, transport etc. The handyman side of your job will go down better up here than the flat roofing!

If I were you I'd consider places that have better/quicker public transport links to Glasgow or Edinburgh. It would be a massive culture shock to your teens no matter how much they like the idea. Maybe somewhere in the Borders?

I don't live in the Highlands but my BIL lives on Mull, which is a similar size to Skye. A lot of the work is seasonal and many people have 2 or more jobs. A prime example of the difference is that the cinema turns up on the back of a lorry.

i want to be able to let my kiddies go out and be young while they still can

But your children are 10-16 years, they're not little children who will enjoy muddy puddles and nature walks. They're either at an age where they want to go out with friends, get part time jobs, go to the cinema or meals out or will be in a few short years. It's a great place to get away for a holiday, but living rurally often isn't much fun for teens and young adults.

we live reasonably near Fort william it is the wettest place in uk it rains 200+ days a year average rainfall 2800mm plus for reference london is less than 1000, it rains slightly less on isle of skye and maybe slightly warmer in the winter than FW but it is windier, FW is the largest town for miles and miles but it is still small and it's more than 2 hours drive to Glasgow and 90 minutes to Inverness
my DH works outdoors he is from Inverness and the rain here compared to inverness gets him down our lawn slopes and it was too waterlogged last year to mow grass for over 6 months
there are midges and then more midges
we are 50-60 minutes from glasgow there are plus points of rural living in Scotland but I think you have rose tinted spectacles it is not Hamish McBeth, come up February half term for a week and test out the cold wet and rain because Spring in Scotland is not till April at the earliest
the long summer nights when sun doesn't set until 11 and it is not 100% dark till after midnight are wonderful
all couriers charge extra for highlands and islands so its £9-15 instead of £4 you need a car maybe 2 cars everyone apart from those living in central FW or Portree will take school bus from age 5
I lived in isle of Lewis for a long time but I flew to the mainland for courses or work about every 10-12 weeks mostly to Glasgow, I would have got cabin fever without regular escape could you afford trips to city that often
you would probably be better in helensburgh Largs Stirling Perth

You really need to go and visit properly first. Winter is cold with lots of snow and little work, it's very isolated, some areas only got electricity in the 1980's.
I go on holiday there a lot and I visit good friends who live there and jobs are not plentiful, you will need access to places like Inverness for any real work.
It is Rural with a capital R. if I was younger I'd do it in a heartbeat rather than live in London but you need to do your research first.

OP I have PM'd you back although I don't know why you couldn't have just asked me that on the thread.

How about north Glasgow or just north of Glasgow? Close to the city, but you can see proper mountains that are only about 30 mins away?