Moving as a lone parent to Scotland with DS (6)

[Sunnier]

Just looking for advice really. How to go about deciding on schools, areas to live. I have one family member in Inverness, so whilst it would be nice to be within an hour of there, this is not a deciding factor. I am self employed and much of my work online so transferable.

I will be selling here and should have a budget of around 300k, more with a small mortgage which will be a nightmare without being in employment so pref just under 300k.

Would look to rent first probably but am horrified at renting prices, yikes.

Anyone moved a 6 year old from English to Scottish school? Would like to hear experiences.

I have moved back to Scotland with an 8 yo. What month is their birthday, in fact MM/YY would be useful for us to tell you what school year your child would move to.

My granny lived in Elgin which has a big mix of housing but I've not been in a while so not sure what it's like now.

I’m a single parent of a 4 year old in Elgin and it is a nice place to raise kids. You would easily be able to get a very nice house for less than £300k in the local area. I have just bought a 3 bedroom house for £210k. I also work completely online from home with internet speeds of 36mbs. Forres and Nairn are also very nice towns. Renting somewhere might be harder as there is a shortage of rental housing.

DS is 06/2015

@HappyPumpkin81 Elgin is lovely, was there last month and its definitely an area I'm looking at. What are the schools like? I do worry about 'anti English' views... is that a thing in that area?

I think your budget would buy you something pretty much anywhere in Scotland. I think you should start with envisioning what kind of life you want. Rural/countryside, seaside, cities, small town, village? What prompted the move? What do you hope to get from it? What activities do you want to be involved in or do you want your DC to? State or private education? Do you want to be somewhere where there are suitable employment opportunities that aren't work from home/self employed? How much stuff would you want delivered as there can be added charges once you to the "highlands"?. Do you want to use public transport? What about hospital facilities?

I think if you could have a think about this kind of stuff and drop back with more info people will happily give you more recommendations either within your hour or further away but still accessible to Inverness. For example, the train takes about 3 hours from the central belt so if you are talking about visiting for the occasional weekend then I think that's fine. Really for me, you will either want to be popping by weekly/fortnightly in which case I think an hour is too far, and if it's less frequent then being within an hour or being 3 hours makes no odds.

I moved from London to the highlands with my (then) 4 & 3 yo DC 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. I find the Scottish school system so much more chilled and child-led than the English and in our small village state school there’s actually a real mix of Scottish, English and international kids so no anti-English sentiment as far as I can tell!
There’s a fair amount of towns and large-ish villages in the central highlands which feel much less ‘remote’ than you might imagine.
Prices in some of these places can be bonkers though! Swish 2-3 bed flats in the west end of Glasgow are cheaper than cottages in our village!

Your DS will be due to start P3 in August. I would be aiming to start him with the class then.

@PerpetualStudent

I moved from London to the highlands with my (then) 4 & 3 yo DC 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. I find the Scottish school system so much more chilled and child-led than the English and in our small village state school there’s actually a real mix of Scottish, English and international kids so no anti-English sentiment as far as I can tell! There’s a fair amount of towns and large-ish villages in the central highlands which feel much less ‘remote’ than you might imagine. Prices in some of these places can be bonkers though! Swish 2-3 bed flats in the west end of Glasgow are cheaper than cottages in our village!

Sounds ideal, do you mind sending me a DM with the location, or approximate?

@Sunnier my mother is English and we never experienced any anti English sentiment growing up. There are a lot of English families in the area due to the local bases.

@BinBandit

I think your budget would buy you something pretty much anywhere in Scotland. I think you should start with envisioning what kind of life you want. Rural/countryside, seaside, cities, small town, village? What prompted the move? What do you hope to get from it? What activities do you want to be involved in or do you want your DC to? State or private education? Do you want to be somewhere where there are suitable employment opportunities that aren't work from home/self employed? How much stuff would you want delivered as there can be added charges once you to the "highlands"?. Do you want to use public transport? What about hospital facilities?

I think if you could have a think about this kind of stuff and drop back with more info people will happily give you more recommendations either within your hour or further away but still accessible to Inverness. For example, the train takes about 3 hours from the central belt so if you are talking about visiting for the occasional weekend then I think that's fine. Really for me, you will either want to be popping by weekly/fortnightly in which case I think an hour is too far, and if it's less frequent then being within an hour or being 3 hours makes no odds.

Hi, these are really helpful things to think about, thank you. I want to move for two reasons, life long ambition and in love with Scotland, and to be far away from abusive ex.

State education. DS being assessed for ASD. Preferably by the sea. As long as I have good internet connection, workwise is fine. He likes outdoor stuff, climbing, walking, beaches and animals.

Smallish town is what I am thinking rather than too rural but very open minded. Schools will be a main priority for me. Somewhere that caters well for additional needs and pupils that are different.

My elderly mother lives up country and will likely relocate too, but not to live with us.

Is there anywhere to research schools more? I feel like its needle in haystack at the moment!

I drive

Look at towns in Fife. It has lots of beaches and is easy travel into Edinburgh. Or north Berwick, again easy to travel to Edinburgh and has beautiful beaches.
All primaries are pretty similar OP so I wouldn’t get hung up on that, I would look closer at high schools and the best catchment areas

In Scotland you don’t choose secondary schools, but just go to the one in your area, so that really does affect where to choose. The Times list of best performing schools gives you an idea of exam success, but not pastoral care or anything else. As pp said, primary schools are much of a muchness.

I think the Moray coast ticks a lot of your boxes. The secondary schools there tend to be smaller too which may suit your son better.
You could also look at Fife or Angus if you want coastal but not too far from family in Inverness. You won't have a problem with English accent in those areas.

As PP mentioned in Scotland your child goes to the catchment school attached to your address.
Most primary schools are good so it's important to think about secondary and make sure you move into catchment of school which will suit your son.
If you are considering specific towns come back on here and ask about the schools

We made the move to the west coast of Scotland when the DC were p2/4 and we did it at the May weekend. This allowed for a month to settle in, and make a few friends to have play dates with over the summer breaks.

OP Inverness is nice and you can drive to a beach within 15 minutes. It’s has nice outdoor spaces, parks, leisure centres, Go Karts, cinema, ice skating, trampoline park etc.

If you work please look at schools that have breakfast and after school clubs as not all do. I noticed you mentioned your 6 year old is being assessed for autism. Inshes Primary school has a lot of autistic children in it and a good number of staff whom are experienced with autistic children. It also teaches kids from a young age about disability, hidden disabilities and inclusion. However it’s a busy school so you may need to be in catchment to get into it. I think you would get a house in your budget in Inshes though.

Hello,

I'm an Italian, living in London.
Not longer feeling safe here...
I'm a single mum of 2 yrs old.
I'm on UC and job seeker.
I have pre-settled status expiring next year so able to have a Settle status soon.
Whats required to move in Scotland in my case?

Help please 🩷

Hello,

I'm an Italian, living in London.
Not longer feeling safe here...
I'm a single mum of 2 yrs old.
I'm on UC and job seeker.
I have pre-settled status expiring next year so able to have a Settle status soon.
What's required to move in Scotland in my case?

Helpppp please 🩷