Reasons NOT to move to Scotland

[AprilHeather]

Hello all, have come across Scotsnet from some google searches - didn’t know it existed! And after some advice please. DH to be and I have considered moving out of England for a while and never taken the plunge. We originally looked at Denmark a few years ago but couldn’t afford at the time. Now my DS’s (11 and 13) are worried about the language, especially with getting behind at school and making friends. Scotland was our next choice. We like the scenery the outdoors and the more left leaning politics. We wanted to move to Kintyre or Arran, possibly Ayr, though we would like to be more remote really. My mum would be moving up with us too and we will build her a granny flat. I am an early career academic so I will be keeping my job at my institution in England (8 hour drive from Kintyre) and stay over at my Dads when I need to. Majority of the week and all weekends and holidays I will be in Scotland with my boys, OH and Mum. I’d like reasons NOT to come to Scotland - especially the areas I mention. The cold hard reality please! It’s so easy to see the life we want (Remote, peaceful, outdoor walks and not too many people to get to know, a small community) versus the reality of the life we will have. Also, can someone please please point out where I can go online to work out what year groups my sons would be in as my eldest would start/have started study for Nat 5s if he was in Scotland I believe? I can’t work it out! Thanks all xx

Midges

It's a good time in your sons education to move, depending on birthdays I would assume 1st and 3rd year in the academy so right at the start of the year (kids have moved up early this year so my 14 year old has already started working towards his Nat5s

Do your DSs like any particular activity as I would not assume that they can continue it it you are rural ?
Weather is rarely idillic
Choose the wrong rural location and you will get eaten by the midges
Wouldn't bother shopping for summer clothes some years.
Get a car with good fuel economy, public transport can be close to non existent- do you like taxiing the DCs around cause you will have to?

I live in the north of Scotland and wouldn't move but I am used to driving 4 hours (one way we leave at 06:00 & have breakfast on the road) for a day out somewhere slightly more exciting

North sea winds mean you have to wear a jumper and coat even when it’s 20 degrees out

Yeah. Midges.

its june ,freezing cold, pissing down and i have my heating on

It can be really pretty wet on the West Coast.

Midges are pretty bad but only for a few months.

That commute would kill me. And in the winter months (or even the spring) could be a nightmare due to weather.

If I could move back I would in a heartbeat.

Have you considered the Loch Lomomd area? You could be pretty remote especially the Balmaha side bit relatively easy access to Glasgow and motorway south.

the roads are shocking, esp on the west coast...I'd lay money your "eight hour drive" will be ten, on a good day when you do not get stuck behind tourists, tractors or have to divert cos the Rest&BeThankful is closed AGAIN....

Scots can v negative

Rain. Lack of sunshine. Rain. Midges. Rain.

And the independence question rumbles on in the background

It’s kind of like being stuck in limbo politically

No supermarket delivery

If you're considering Arran the ferries are often cancelled when the weather's rough.

You do get supermarket deliveries in most parts of scotland

Dark.

Do you? Oh, that might be helpful info actually.

Rain. Lack of sunshine. Rain. Midges. Rain.
its june ,freezing cold, pissing down and i have my heating on
@chipsandpeas
@lidldonkey
got it covered.

Midges.
Very short winter days (though offset by long summer days).
Outside of urban areas you will probably need a car.
No Ocado.
Uncertainty over independence.
Kintyre is really remote - I know remote sounds wonderful, but depending on age etc you might want to be closed to a hospital / things to do for your mum.
Your kids are getting to the age where they won't be appreciate a rural idyll and the only thing for them to do will be take drugs.

Having said all that I wouldn't leave Scotland.

Depending on where you are coming from Scotland may well feel a lot emptier. It may be worth considering leaving on the outskirts of a city? From Glasgow you can be up in the hills on an hour.

Living not leaving

English kids used to cop it in the 80s in my
School (Glasgow) bit on the east coast I imagine no problem

The Rest and Be Thankful is often shut for landslides etc. So a 4 hour drive can easily turn into a 6 hour drive with the 60 mile b-road detour.

Medical facilities are not great, if you need to see anything more specialised than a GP you'll need to go to Glasgow.

Poor Internet, phone signal, postal charges.
The axe of Independence hanging over our heads....

I love living here. I'm Scottish but sound English, so get occasional shite from idiots, but not often. West coast has beautiful and awful weather in equal measure, nothing a good waterproof jacket can't handle.

I agree about the Arran ferry. It does get cancelled a fair bit in bad weather. I live in Scotland and I like a lot about it but do get fed up with the weather.

Midges and the weather. I worked in Glasgow for a period, and the difference in climate between the West coast of Scotland and the south of England was enough to put me off living there. Winters were a bit worse, but the biggest difference was the summer. Glasgow doesn’t have summers in the way people in the south of England understand the term.

I'd look around to see what opportunities there may be for employment. as Kintyre has lost a couple of employers in the last few years. I'd also look up the school league tables to see where the schools are on them.

Midges can be terrible. And the rain and drizzle can feel never ending.

Relentless bad weather. Also, maybe your children don’t want to live remotely as they enter their teenage years. It just seems like a huge change that can’t easily undone.

I don’t know those particular areas... but remote rural areas elsewhere have massive drug and alcohol issues...much worse than some deprived inner city areas.