Remind me what's good about living in Scotland?

[CoralPaperweight]

I moved to Scotland 25 years ago (central belt) and I've had a great life here but over the last year or so I've got increasingly itchy feet. May be a post-Covid or age thing but I'm not sure I want to stay in Scotland forever - it just doesn't seem to be as appealing to me, and even the cities seem a bit flat at the moment. Realistically, I can't disrupt DS education at the moment, he's very settled and happy so please remind me of everything that is fantastic about life in Scotland. I'm forever reading threads about people who are desperate to move to Scotland and I'm not really seeing why at the moment.

I spent four years there and all I remember is the cold.

We moved back south after 12 years. It was the darker days & weather that got us. Plus needed to be near elderly parents.

I miss the open spaces & the people but I was sensitive to the "are you on holiday?" comments, despite being there a quarter of my life.

Mind you, I'm neurodivergent so sensitive to everything!

You're never less than 20 minutes from countryside or 40 minutes from the coast if you live in the central belt.

The light nights in the summer.

Lower coast of living. (I did over a decade in London).

The people. The sarcasm.

The weather is shite, but the swearing makes up for it.

its the countryside for me. I think the north of England is friendlier than Edinburgh and certainly Glasgow. And the constant threat SNP threat to obliterate the country with independence. It’s wearing.

Nothing. The weather is such absolute crap (someone please tell my DP, and then we can get rid of the damn house up there).

I haven't found the weather noticeably worse than it is in England

There are many wonderful things about Scotland but I'm afraid I think this is completely delusional. The weather on England is so very much better and you only need to compare days of rain, hours of sunlight and average temperatures from weather stations to see that. I've lived in England for 15 years now and every single summer I'm amazed by how wonderful the weather is, despite English people always complaining about it. Little girls wear school summer dresses for months here, not the odd week like in Edinburgh.

Well I live there and that is all you need to know!

I live quite centrally but am from the highlands originally - coastal and I miss that. But love where I am, very pretty and close to Glasgow & edinburgh but also Loch Lomond, drivable back home for some beach 🏖 I used to spend summers on the beach but yes winters are v cold.

Not sure I would move tbh, family is here and yes weather is better down south but I wouldn’t move just for that.

@underneathleaf

I'd say that where I've lived in England has more "Ok but meh" days while Scotland has more "bit crap" days. Actual proper nice days feel equal enough.

Proper horrible days are admittedly more common in Glasgow (than Devon/Birmingham) but I actually don't mind that, what I hate is dull, grey, drizzly days where you could have done something outdoors but it was a bit meh so you didn't. At least on a crap day in Glasgow you can justifiably snuggle in and do indoor stuff without second guessing.

Will admit that I don't like hot and sticky weather very much...

Too true. Just watching something on TV about the Lib Dems success in England. People are wearing summer dresses. I have the heating on.
the weather is VERY different.

I have just returned from a work trip south

• so much traffic and fumes and noise and buildings and busy and no one smiles or says hello

No space no peace no dark Already getting too hot and humid

No doubt it depends on where you live and when, but I lived down south for many years, and it was very rainy. There were also very cold winters. This was relatively recent.
I accept that it's hotter in the summer down south, but that was one of my reasons for moving to Scotland - the heat is only going in one direction, and the cooler Scottish summers are rapidly becoming a selling point.

The audacity of people wanting to move somewhere where they know no one. Oh my Christ 🤦🏼‍♀️

And the constant threat SNP threat to obliterate the country with independence

I'm fairly certain Scotland will still exist post-Independence.

The weather is by far the worst thing. We don't get a proper summer, and we no longer get a proper winter either. Just 'meh' all year round really. Shackled to this ridiculous political union is a downer, but that's just a matter of time.

Apart from that, it's mostly good. No UKIP morons, no time for Britain First, Farage given short shrift. Loads of great breweries, great natural produce, amazing scenery, not difficult to get yourself somewhere green and pleasant no matter how central you are, the vast majority of people are friendly and approachable, and scenes like the Home Office being kettled and run out of town last night make it easy to maintain faith in the good of humanity.

I think that the relative friendliness of Scottish people is probably linked to the amount of space there is up here. If you're always stuck in a traffic jam, can't find a parking space, have to queue at the supermarket, are breathing in car fumes, go to the local beauty spot and hundreds of others are there, etc, etc, it makes people more stressed and angry.

There is a lot of unhappiness about the NC500.

I’d lived previously in Durham and enjoyed nights out in the Bigg Market when it’s -5° and everyone’s still in their skimpiest outfits in the queues.

The long endless summer nights are heavenly. Mind you, I live in lovely Perthshire and it is wonderful. Every country has its good and bad points but Scotland is my heart home. Fuck the SNP, I won’t let their vile nationalism spoil how I feel about my homeland.

I know we were supposed to be talking about positives but the midges are a bloody joke too.

and that home office kettling stuff, I really don’t get it. If people are judged in a court of law to be here illegally, I’m all for deporting them. There are plenty of genuine refugees that we could be making space for instead. What’s wrong with that???

The kindness of people and community spirit. Access to countryside and rural spaces. Free prescriptions, eye tests and dental check ups, plus free bus travel for many.

It's not perfect, a lot of inequalities, health/alcohol/drug issues, and urban deprivation. But I wouldn't swap it for England for all the money in the world.

I don’t find people friendlier. Quite the reverse. I also don’t see any community spirit. The countryside is very different. Wilder and harsher, but more beautiful in the Highlands. I do miss rolling hills and lush countryside. Good pubs. Being able to sit outside. Proper summers .
a less parochial outlook on life. Life in England is gentler and kinder in general.

The friendliness is a working class thing. Anyone will talk to you in Glasgow. Edinburgh’s not like that. Newcastle, Manchester and liverpool are from my visits.

it’s also a bit of a stereotype of the cheerful scot too.

The people, the dark humour, the light nights. I love that it's still light at 11pm in summer and choose to focus on that, rather than winter.
The beautiful rugged, unspoiled highlands. The outdoor sport. Everything that is available to my children, and within 1 hour's travel, be it a city experience or a fell run.
I love it.

Gosh a trip down to England always reminds me straight away how lucky we are in NE Scotland.

All I notice in England is how busy it is, people everywhere, cars everywhere.

It's so over crowed down there. We are very lucky in Scotland .

I like the mad weather, it can be sunshine in the morning then snowing after lunch in April! People talk to one another in bus queues, supermarket queues wherever. Wonderful summer nights in the garden when it doesn’t get dark, wild winter nights snuggled on the sofa under a cosy throw. I live in a city but can see the sea from my bedroom window and can be in the countryside in 20 mins driving, we have foxes and squirrels in our garden and so many birds. The amazing history and culture, castles and dark skies, gorgeous beaches to walk along.