Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Rural living

Looking to relocate to the countryside? Find advice in our Rural Living forum.

Original poster

Scottish Highlands

13 replies

winterbabyrose · 25/05/2023 11:27

DH and I are in the very early stages of potentially relocating to the Scottish Highlands. We love it up there, the way of life, the locals etc and want to bring our DC up with an 'outdoorsy' lifestyle. Current house valuation is booked for next week, so first of all to get an idea of what our house is worth!

Just wondering if anyone has also relocated from England to the Highlands and how did you find it? Any tips etc? We know if we did it in one go we would have to get two solicitors as the property laws in Eng vs Sco are very different. Or we might sell here and rent up there for 6mo-1y until we secure jobs and find our new house and then start the buying process when we are already up there.

Hoping to be able to continue at my current job (already WFH, so shouldn't be an issue, although too early to have the discussion). DH would need to get a new job - engineering.

I am 27, DH is nearly 31 and our DD is just over 1.

Just wondering if anyone has done anything similar and has any tips / nice areas / advice etc.

OP posts:
YouAndMeAndThem · 25/05/2023 11:36

The Scottish Highlands is a vast area so it depends what you're looking for really. How long a commute? What kind of area of engineering is your DH in? Is it easy to find jobs rurally? Have you got/can get 2 cars?

The weather out west is very very wet, that's one thing I would be a bit hesitant about. Can be very windy, can be very busy if near tourist areas, midges are a nightmare too as it's so damp.

Original poster
winterbabyrose · 25/05/2023 11:39

We are looking at Inverness-Shire mostly, including Skye. Don't really want to be any further south than Glencoe, maybe Oban. But are open to looking further North if the right area comes up.

We are very early in our planning, so just putting the feelers out there before we narrow down areas and put serious thought into it all.

OP posts:
skilpadde · 25/05/2023 11:48

If you're planning to WFH, be mindful that there are still many rural areas of Scotland without fast broadband speeds.

DuckyDaffodil · 25/05/2023 11:49

The area around Aviemore is lovely, and reasonably close to Inverness. I live around 30 miles north of Inverness, and would recommend looking as closely at the negatives as you would the positives. Public services are in a shambolic state.

BanditsOnTheHorizon · 25/05/2023 12:15

My friends did with their two dc, one primary and one secondary age.

They are just outside Fort William and absolutely love it. They aren't finding living rurally an issue, delivery take a little longer and delivered take aways are a thing of the past, but fort William is only 30 min drive away and has everything they need. Glasgow and Edinburgh are 2/3 hours drive away so they don't feel isolated. They said the locals have been ever so friendly and the dc have settled well in school.

ismu · 25/05/2023 16:41

Bear in mind that the Highlands is massive and that Oban and Glencoe are in two different council areas - Argyll and Bute and Highland. There's also Aberdeenshire before you begin to look at the islands!
Don't underestimate the vast distances you will need to drive to get healthcare and to shop for more than daily essentials- and also to visit family or if one of you needs to be in hospital. Having moved from a Scottish city to a very rural area I would recommend making sure you have good public transport links, a local school and surgery and that you aren't too far from a secondary school as it can be quite common to have a 2 hour morning and afternoon bus trip. Many people do live in the larger towns or villages as the more isolated places are sadly mainly holiday lets with few services, so think about what you are prepared to put up with especially in the winter when it's dark at 3 and doesn't get light till 9.30 !!

YouAndMeAndThem · 25/05/2023 22:37

Also if you're thinking of islands, most dont have maternity services if you're thinking of more children and there's a lot of travel to get to consultant led care in Inverness.

outdooryone · 03/07/2023 15:14

I moved up with family 15 years ago as an 'outdoory' family. It is utterly brilliant for that - weekends spent climbing munro's, paddling lochs and rivers, riding bikes and hopping on ferries. Ace.

You do need to think about how remote you want to be - it is easy to look at a nice view and think 'that looks idyllic' - but then have to live with the same 63 people year round, with one school of 28 pupils, slow broadband, shop 15 miles away, no mains gas etc.

I would suggest you need to find out more about where employment might be, and narrow down where.

As someone who did a wee village in the Highlands, I much appreciate now being in a town with shops and a wider range of people. The hills and wilds are only a ride or drive away - and besides which, I have climbed all the local hills and paddled all the local rivers and ridden all the local roads and trails, so now find I have to travel for the weekend away anyway..! I would suggest unless you have lived rurally, finding some towns to live in is a much better start.

Mum2Fergus · 14/08/2023 15:16

Hi OP, how are your plans progressing? I'm in similar boat hoping to move in the next 12 months.

jolies1 · 14/08/2023 16:35

It’s not highlands as you talk about them but there are some beautiful, rural, remote parts of highland Perthshire that have the best of both worlds - outdoorsy lifestyle, beautiful scenery - but when you need it you’re pretty accessible for services in Perth or a couple of hours from Glasgow or Edinburgh

Original poster
winterbabyrose · 15/08/2023 09:23

@Mum2Fergus all good so far! We are planning to make the move up in summer 2026 as that's when our current mortgage runs out (and the early repayment fee is extortionate and can't port it). Also it would be the summer before my DD starts primary school so wouldn't disturb her too much as she will start the same time as everyone else!

We are edging more towards West coast, and looking at Fort William and Oban and surround area in particular as there are a few engineering firms around that area which is good for DHs job prospects.

So between now and then we are just saving up as much money as we can, and doing our research on the process and housing market.

What are your plans? x

OP posts:
Mum2Fergus · 15/08/2023 09:40

@winterbabyrose I'm literally just unpacking from our week jaunt to Fort William!

We looked at 2 houses on Skye while up that direction and also in discussion with R-House on a plot they have available. I'm very tempted to offer on one of the houses but it would mean keeping 2 homes running in the short term so just weighing up all the costs.

Alansmith101 · 06/09/2023 22:57

We moved up in Feb and it's been great so far.

Would recommend that you book a holiday at Grannie's Helian Hame and explore the local area. We're based in Tain, it's got everything we need and in a great location for accessing Inverness, beaches, walks, lochs and forests.

We are renting at the moment and the only issue is a lack of property for sale that we have been interested in, but I'm sure we'll find something eventually.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page