Moving from Dorset to Scotland

[LalaShel]

Hi, I was born and raised in Dorset and had a few years living and working in London.
my best friend moved upto Scotland so spent a lot of time visiting up there.

my husband works fully remotely and we have two young children. Hopefully we would have two more.

We renovated our house and have made decent equity on it, my Dad lives with us in an annex.

We are really keen to move upto Scotland as we could buy the same as we have now but almost mortgage free or we could buy a property with income such as holiday cottages which feels lovely to take the pressure off my husband. (My Dad is keen on this move as well)

it’s just really scary and wondered if anyone had done it or had any advice. A lot of people have stated the weather is awful but it hasn’t been great in Dorset either the last 3 years. This move would give us the financial freedom to actually go on holiday.

Am I making a huge mistake? Is leaving friends terrible?

We feel like we have ‘completed’ Dorset that there isn’t much to do here anymore and Bournemouth is horrible. The beaches anre beautiful but getting to them in the Summer is an nightmare. Are we just being ‘grass is greener’?

we went up for two weeks to look at houses and stayed at a friends. We had the best time and explored all round Scotland. I have also worked in Glasgow a few times.

I'm just really divided as I know so many people would give anything to live in Dorset. It just seems soooo expensive now for not much.

Greatful for any thoughts.

Many thanks

It sounds like a great plan. Don’t underestimate how different the weather will be overall though. Dorset weather is so good compared to so many other places. If either of you get more depressed with winter etc then just consider it. My DH is from Dorset and he tends to think that skies ought to be blue as basic default. He is a bit tetchy when there isn’t much sunshine around. I wouldn’t want to take him much further north than London to live! But obviously I know plenty of others who would cope fine.

Whereabouts in Scotland? I'm from Edinburgh, which tends to be drier generally than the west coast. If you want a historic city, with restaurants, cinema, theatre, stuff going on, that's relatively safe and walkable, with plenty of green space then Edinburgh is perfect.
We have lived in the Highlands, in a Gaelic speaking area, for the past 5 years and love it. The weather is changeable - but you can get some beautiful stretches of dry weather. It's very light in the summer and gets dark after midnight where we are, but the opposite is true in winter. One thing about living in a rural community - as opposed to a city like Edinburgh - is trades people are in demand, So you have to be fairly practical. We are able to do minor repairs, plumbing jobs and roof tile fixing etc ourselves. We also fitted a kitchen, did all our own damp proofing and flooring, which helped a lot and saved us a ton of money.
Scotland is a different country - we have a different education system and legal system from England etc so when you do move give yourself time to settle in, learn about the place and the community you're in and you'll be grand. I'm sure you won't regret it.

Good plan.
I'm in Dumfries and Galloway which has a dryer climate than further north .
We have good schools, easy travel to cities and fantastic beaches and forests
The pace of life is amazing.
Def could do a holiday let here.

I think you would have to be really careful where you go and consider things like hospitals, amenities and provision for your Dad. The weather is much colder. I have lived in Dorset and Scotland and there is a significant difference. Many areas of Scotland are very run down and impoverished. If you’re looking for a mortgage free home consider house prices in the area you want to move to and remember it is an offers over system so you can end up paying far more than you may imagine.

We did it. Scotland has so much going for it, and it's so friendly, but I've never felt settled and we are leaving. For me the weather wasn't much of an issue, the East is sunny and dry, though it is colder of course.

No idea what your budget is .
This has a main house and a separate cottage
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158699030?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Scotland is a big place. The highlands are very different from the central belt. The islands are whole different ball game.
Would you be looking at living rurally or in/near a city.

You’ll definitely notice a temperature difference in summer and the further north you go the shorter the days are in winter. Property can be expensive in the popular areas.
But it’s a great quality of life

Where are you going if you don’t mind me asking?

@Startingoverandoveryour comment caught my attention.... Maybe my response will be helpful for OP too.

I was born and partly raised in London but then most of my formative years I grew up in Kent and met my husband, we have travelled quite a bit and then had our daughter in lockdown and decided to move to Scotland as we have family up here and we've always wanted to move north as we haven't felt like we "belonged" in the south. We've been in Scotland for nearly 5 years now and have two children here. We both have jobs and are generally "happy". We have a home we never could have bought down South with a garden and it's great but because of work we are in a poorer town which is quite rural. We don't see this as our forever home but also don't know where we would move to yet? Work is good so location feels tricky.

It's all been great, very grateful for our house and opportunities for the kids, things to do etc ...BUT I have found it incredibly hard to connect with people and have started feeling unsettled. I feel wary of talking to my husband about it at the moment because he's so busy and think he could find it overwhelming at the moment.

We literally just came back from London for a family event, haven't been down for ages and I suddenly feel homesick even though that's not home?

Sorry OP that's my current experience but to answer your question a bit more if you have friends up here that is brilliant! It's an amazing place BUT it is very different, some good some not so good. Beaches are AMAZING when the weather allows, and so much quieter than down south. Having connections here already will help a lot. I hope you figure it out!

I know Dorset well. I’d suggest you look around St Andrews for similar vibe or, if climate is a concern, look at Nairn area on the Gulf stream so nicer weather.

It's hard to explain isn't it. I've made some really lovely friends but it just doesn't feel like home. Love the mountains (can see them from our house), love the sea as has been said, but neither of us feel it's where we belong.

I agree that some places are quieter than England but we found it hard to find somewhere in the area we wanted that wasnt either in earshot of a really busy main road, or up a track on the top of a hill.

Weirdly we're actually moving overseas, so not back 'home' in one sense, but we've spent a lot of time in the place we're going and it feels perfect.

Good luck OP, whatever you decide.

How about Moray? It has a wee micro climate and is drier and warmer than most of Scotland. Reasonable travel links by road, rail and air.

I am the opposite - I moved to Stirling / Perth area about 15 years ago and love it. The balance of lifestyle, particularly outdoor activities, job opportunities, quality of education, (fairly) affordable house prices, great community and friends means I am never leaving. I love the area I am in, have a great job, good house, great friends, good neighbours, have not thought about crime since leaving Manchester, in an evening walk around lovely riversides or hills, at the weekend hop on a ferry to the Hebrides, and have a week in the Cairngorms for holiday.

I would question a few of you if you said 'moving to England, would you do it?' - when Scotland is as diverse and 70% as big as England....

Scotland is a huge place, and living in the Gorbals is rather different to living on Barra, staying in Edinburgh rather different from Muir of Ord. You need to be more considerate of which area of Scotland, look at jobs, houses, transport, education etc etc, and be more specific. You need to look at your life priorities and needs. And then the places which meet those needs - because 'Scotland' is not specific enough.

Did you find somewhere? I've been in Dorchester around 17 years, and know most areas of Dorset well, having worked around the county during this time. Also mid to late 50's and on my own, with family in another area of the country. About to move again for various reasons, and you are wise to post and ask about where works - all comments resonated on various levels! Bridport boho, cool, arty - no train and minimal public transport (maybe useful later years); Weymouth I like for all reasons already stated but wouldn't want to live there for all reasons also stated - so easy to pop down to beach though; Portland beautiful and rugged, also isolated, can be bleak in winter and a bit run down; Blandford - bland (sorry Blandford): Poole ok but it's 'east dorset' and too many people, less of the beautiful hardy country around here; Lyme Regis too busy in summer and touristy; actually Poole a bit the same and town a bit rubbish; Bournemouth no; Swanage sweet and a possibility but no train;l Sherborne la de dah but is lovely just a bit further to beach. I'd ideally like to be slightly out of town - and while Dorch fab it can be noisy depending on where you live,. it's also about to get 'bigger' with a lot of development very possibile in next 10 years. It has local authority and hosptial, train links - so a no brainer for the authorities. Poundbury would be ok if the houses were not built in '5 mins' - almost everyone I know has had issues of some description or another - otherwise it's a possibility. Think outlying villages are probably where I'll end up next - Sutton Poyntz, Broadmayne (*or just out of it), piddle valley possible, upwey (depending on which bit).
Have been thinking about starting to co-rent with other older professionals, if going slightly out of town. Seen some beautiful properties for rent - around 5 bedrooms - big houses, garden, fab location - so with 2 or 3 of you, it's possible to share costs, feel more secure if living remotely - and all have space from each other. not even thought about this until someone mentioned it is becoming popular in some towns and working well !

I used to live in Sherborne and agree that somewhere out of town is best. It’s a long time ago I’ve forgotten the names of the some of the villages , but a friend of mine lived in one and it was utterly gorgeous. I didn’t find people at all friendly though.