Talk to me about Aberdeen

[MisfitsMous]

Travelled and worked in Scotland quite extensively but not familuar with aberdeen except as a place to get the ferry from. Seen a VERY good job opportunity for me there but it would mean relocation from northern england and taking 7yo DD away from her dad who i amicably share her with. She is a social sort of girl who likes activity and stuff going on, is she going to hate my guts for relocating or can aberdeen satisfy a tween/teen? What are the schools like?

Footdee is in walking distance from aberdeen city centre, and there are some beautiful houses like this there for sale. as for the city center itself, there is plenty to do. you are in the catchment area for havover street primary school and then oldmachar secondary x

Well stuff to do in aberdeen for the tweens:

Science Centre
Cordonas (amusement park with bowling, trampoline park)
Maritime Museum
Old Tollbooth Museum
Art Gallery (to be reopened soon)
His Majesty's Theatre has a fair bit going on so a panto every Christmas, Scottish National Opera/Ballet
The Beach - easily accessible lots of little cafes on it, a nice spot for an afternoon out
Swimming pool with a flume by the beach
Ice rink by the beach
Duthie park - great play equipment, indoor botanical gardens with turtles
Hazelhead park - again lots of play equipment, cafe, maze, petting zoo
Vue and Cineworld cinemas

As for activities there are plenty of ballet, brownie, scout, swimming classes etc.

Aberdeen is great for easy access to the countryside with plenty of castles near by and opportunities for dolphin watching.

Dundee is only about an hour by train so can make a great day out for V+A, discovery, etc.

I think Aberdeen is a great place to be a tween, big enough to have stuff to do but not so big as to be overwhelmingly huge/spread out.

One note of caution - Aberdeen is at the end of the universe. It is a good 2.5 hours drive down to Edinburgh so this adds significantly to any journey south you want to make.

We just moved back from SW London this week, I’m a native but DH and DCs are Londoners.

Good things:
Mostly great schools. You’d struggle to find a shit one.
The city appears to be trying to diversify and lots more focus on events such as cycling tours and art events nowadays
Plenty great independent coffee and food places
The oil collapse a few years ago has most definitely eroded the weird misplaced sense of snobbery that I definitely felt plagued the place in the 2000s.
There are plenty things to do for little ones, junior park runs, plenty Brownie troops, beach leisure centre, beach itself, amazing coastline 20mins away so you can go crabbing in Colliestone etc
The new bypass means the traffic in the city actually moves nowadays (amazing)
If you can afford a rent of > £750/month you would be totally spoiled for choice. Anything less you could still get amazing places.
I’m biased as I’m from Aberdeen South but that’s the best manor IMHO.

Bad things:
Just accept you will never be warm again. Always check the “feels like” on your phone’s weather report; the windchill can take off 5°.
Again when the weather is pish the greyness of the city can melt your head a bit and it can look a bit depressing
Days are v v short in winter
IMHO Aberdonians are a naturally chilly people, suspicious of the unknown and borderline unwelcoming. HOWEVER once the “icebreak” is made then this is the opposite of what is true.
The car is king

All in all I’ve come back after 13 years as the place has massively improved since I left as a slightly depressed 25 yo. Returning to a city which feels like it IS transforming for the better with more investment in services but also greater emphasis on art, culture, community - it’s quite a change from the place I left.

Good luck OP, DM me if you need more info

It's grey, forbidding and always cold. Traffic is a mare . But i dont live there so cant comment on the rest. I only visit for work regularly

Thanks for the detailed info! Beach, ballet and cinema def a plus for DD. I am unconcerned by damp greyness and being in the arse end of nowhere, its her im worried about!

House prices are a lot better then they use to be!! Look at ASPC to get a good idea!! Now that they new bypass is built the traffic is much better, good theatre Look up Aberdeen box office will give u a good idea of the arts!! I find it a very easy city to live in !! Fifteen minutes and you can be in lovely country side (Royal DEESIDE) The schools are ok a few outstanding and few not so!! Good for sports look up Aberdeen sports village, ice skating rink!! We are getting a brand new concert venue If the weather is good the beach is great . I don’t know how I would like to live here without family just with a child might be a bit lonely. But I’m originally from east London and I just love living in Aberdeen.

Your DD will be fine @misfitsmous. Truly there are heaps of options for her now, but for future considerations the teenage occupations of going to Clare’s Accessories, hanging round shopping centres, plus also hanging out in parks (and cafes for the older ones now) will endure she’s well served.

Ps: if she ends up displaying sporty tendencies Aberdeen really has come on in leaps and bounds in that regard these past few years

My daughters are 7 & 9 and are spoiled for choice in terms of activities... ski-ing at dry ski slope, gymnastics, brownies, park run junior. As mentioned before great parks, Aberdeen beach & nearby balmedie beach are both good. Lots of good primary schools but you might want to consider moving to Catchment for Cults or Grammar secondary if you see yourself being there longer term.

It is cold (but not much rain) and going on holiday usually involves paying more if flying from Aberdeen or travelling down to Edinburgh or Glasgow airport.

I wouldn't worry about your daughter settling in Aberdeen anymore than any other city.

If you like stunning countryside look at villages/ towns outside Aberdeen. Lots have great sports/dance/drama clubs.

I’m a toonser as they say in Aberdeen so I like to visit the small villages and towns but would only live in the city!!

Don't know about teens/Tweens but ds has just finished his 1st year at the Uni and loves it.

Sporting wise, he's been playing U18 rugby (so most of the other players are still at school) and he says it was the best, friendliest team with the best team spirit that he had played with. The few games that I managed to see, the parents seemed nice too.

We manage Glasgow to Aberdeen in 2.5 hours ( not speeding ) - but have always managed to avoid rush hours.

He didn't find it as cold as he thought it would be (after my experience of St Andrews, I'd warned him how cold the wind could be especially in February ) - but I think that this winter was milder than usual. I did knit him a nice warm Icelandic jumper for Christmas

Public transport is crap though

You'll find housing a lot more affordable in areas that were previously heavy reliant on oil workers - I know the Cults / Bieldside / Milltimber / Culter area pretty well and I reckon prices have come down around 15 to 20% over the last 2 or 3 years. Primary schools in that area are pretty good and feed into Cults Academy (watch out for the new development around Countesswells as that is likely to be zoned to other primaries / secondaries once it reaches critical mass). Bus service into the city centre isn't bad either, but a PITA if you want to go elsewhere in the city, you generally have to go into town and change.

My DCs spent their tweens and teens there and always had plenty to do - both sporty so swam, played rugby, hockey, tennis etc. Good bands come and play (Music Hall is a much better venue than the AECC), the theatre always had good plays, ballet etc.

But: the winters are long, you go to work in the dark, you come home in the dark, and it really is a long way from anywhere - it's a big add on cost if you want to fly long haul anywhere for instance.

That's ds' big complaint re bus transport: he had to get a bus in to the centre from Hillhead and then out to Groat's Road for rugby training/games, so 3 times a week. It's why he looked for a flat in the centre of town for 2nd year, so he only needs to get one bus, saving him both time and money

It will be easy to get from Aberdeen to Newcastle direct on the LNER train service, so that should be a positive?