Where would you live if you worked in Rothesay?

[Teenwithnoidea]

Teen ds is thinking about leaving school at the end of S5. So basically in a month's time. He's got no idea what he wants to do next but he's definitely not wanting to do anything else academic. His school is quite academic with not many practical options so I understand why he's not keen to go back for S6. He's 18 a few weeks.

He's been applying for all sorts of random jobs so he is at least trying to think ahead, although very scattergun approach which puts me all on edge.

Today he's decided he'd like to be a stonemason. Historic Scotland are looking for stonemason apprentices. In Rothesay. We live in Aberdeenshire. He's very enthusiastic. Although last week he was enthusiastic about working in Edinburgh for Network Rail as a train engineer.

Can anyone suggest where an 18 yr old lad would live if he was working in Rothesay, with time spent in Glasgow at college and working there sometimes?

I'm guessing it wouldn't be practical to live in Glasgow and commute to Rothesay? I thought he could maybe live in Glasgow with school pals who'll go to university there'd but I think it's too far to commute regularly. He can drive but doesn't have a car. I guess he would save up and buy one but he won't be able to afford anything straight away.

He's filling in the application form for this job right now, that's how enthusiastic he is today about being a stonemason. So I said I'd help him think about some logistics. Although in a few days no doubt he'll be dead set on hat-making. He also has absolutely no experience with stone masoning.

He's driving me crazy.

Thank you

Greenock? He'd be an hours commute to Rothesay, and 30 mins to Glasgow (via train). It has one of the West Scotland College sites, so there would be people there his age, and if he's lucky he'd be able to join a house share if he found people on Facebook (often students will post that they are looking for x number of people to join a house. I'm not sure which groups they'll use but there might be one specifically for the college).

The ferry with a car is quite spenny to Rothesay, so commuting via car daily would be expensive. I would imagine living on Rothesay for a teen would be fairly boring as there isn’t a great deal there. Maybe Greenock and foot passenger it over?

From personal experience it’s difficult to get an 18 year old on a train in the morning never mind a ferry.

The thought of commuting on a daily basis from Greenock is giving me shivers.

Pleasant enough journey in the summer once or twice a year but to do it every day through winter would be far too much.

In reality the only option is staying on Rothesay, he’ll either love it or hate it.

Yeah, it sounds a bit of an odd place for a teenager who doesn't know the area. Maybe they're hoping for an older apprentice who lives more locally, or at least in the south or west.

I suggested he contact the employer and ask what they think. They must have some idea of who they would recruit and how the living and commuting arrangements would work. But ds thinks this is the most stupid idea ever.

Living on Rothesay is definitely the best option. These apprenticeships are fantastic btw, a great opportunity.

I wouldn’t want my child to live in Greenock if I could help it, so either it’s a long commute, or living in Rothesay.

It does sound like a fantastic opportunity, I do think he'd love it. And I guess with it being such a huge organisation there will be lots of future opportunities for him.

But I think the location is going to make it too hard. I can't imagine him living on his own on Rothesay for 4 years. Maybe he'd love it, but it would be a risk.

Hopefully he'll find something new he loves next week.

Careers in restoration services Stonewest have an apprenticeship scheme in several different areas, including stone masonry. They have several different sites, so might be worth a look

There’s a lot of worse places to stay than Rothesay to be fair.

Scotsnet and Mumsnet as a whole tends to sway to the urban middle classes, most of whom experienced city life in their late teens at Uni and as such seem to struggle to understand that that life isn’t for everyone.

Bute no doubt has a small community, but getting the chance to work with the locals and blend in would be a great experience.

Depending on what he’s into he could take up loads of watersports like outdoor swimming, windsurfing and sailing.

Great for running and cycling too.

There will be people around his age who live on the island who will probably be happy that there’s someone new.

It takes a certain type of person to live in an island and isn’t for everyone, but if it is for him then he won’t regret it.

Greenock to Wemyss Bay for the ferry to Rothesay involves a change of trains at Port Glasgow and takes 43min so that's quite a commute. I'd look at places that are on the direct train line between Glasgow Central and Wemyss Bay but none of them are particularly inspiring!
He could also consider Largs which is just over an hour into Glasgow Central by train and a short bike ride or bus along the coast to Wemyss Bay for the ferry.

To be frank here, he won’t be earning a fortune, especially in the first couple of years.

Not only would these commutes be hellish, they will also be expensive.

Often, especially in winter, the ferries will get cancelled and he won’t make work at all.

The earliest he could get to the ferry terminal would be around 8am (approx), which I would imagine is also the likely start time for a stonemason.

So unless his depo is across from the ferry terminal then it is unlikely he would make work on time at all.

The job is clearly designed for someone living on the island.

What a fantastic sounding job. Your son has done really well to get this apprenticeship...what a chance.

I know a couple of teachers working in Rothesay but living in Largs . The journey from Largs to Wemyss Bay is easy enough but I don’t know how regular or costly the ferry is. It works for the people I know.

Thanks for all your ideas. We've talked about it and looked at a map and the logistics and I think he agrees it wouldn't really work for him.

He's not the sort of kid who would be comfortable throwing himself into life in a small community where he knows no-one. I would, I'd love it. I'd join the local church and join some sort of volunteer group. Ds would go to work then sit in his bedsit by himself with a ready meal.

And the commute from somewhere with a student population where he might fit in better is just too much I think.

It's 4 years, so a big commitment if he's not sure.

I hope some young person from the island grabs this great opportunity.