Moving to Inverness from Lincolnshire

[WorthyReader]

Hello, I am looking for some advice and views. We are looking at relocation to the outskirts of Inverness from Lincolnshire. My parents already live up there and we have visited a lot on holidays prior to the moving. We love the area it is beautiful has anyone else done this move with young kids and how did they find it?
I think I am overthinking as my main reason to move is to be closer to my parents. I have a 7 year old and 2 month old girls my oldest daughter hates the idea of moving schools and away from her friends which makes it hard. But k feel the work life balance will be better up there.
Any advice? Is there enough for kids, days out etc

I wouldn’t. I had to move from Cambridge to Scotland around that time and it broke me. I was a couple of years older than your daughter. It’s so difficult moving that young and leaving your friends, then being the only one with the English accent.

I would probably say the same had both your daughters been younger anyway tbh. Living there is a lot different from just visiting and Inverness is very isolated and even the areas around it are sparsely populated. So it would be a bit of a culture shock.

Personally I would stay where you are and enjoy the holidays there. I don’t want to sound awful, but your mum and dad aren’t going to be around forever- does it still seem as appealing a place if your parents weren’t there?

if you’ve visited your parents there you probably know there isn’t a whole lot to do bar visit/ walks round the scenery.

There’s also not much in the way of jobs.

I moved DS when he was 14 to a different part of Scotland -it was great for him.
But look at secondary schools (if there is any choice) you don’t want to move twice.

A move from one part of Scotland to another is v different from going from England to Scotland.

From Home Counties to a different part of Scotland than Inverness -but also rural -it was a great success

surely can't know that your DD will be the only one with an English accent!

op doesn't mention what line of work so perhaps not an issue?

good luck if you decide to make the move x

I was in the central belt in a more cosmopolitan part near Edinburgh and I was still one of the very few with an English accent. Somewhere like Inverness that is so sparse, most of the kids at the school will be born and bred there.

I understand that and the accent does concern me however surprisingly it seems to be the opposite in the highlands there are more people from England living there and it’s a different attitude then closer to say Glasgow. We are aware others have made the move and said their children settled quite well. When I used to visit family in a more cosmopolitan area when we were kids people did comment on our accent when we visited which is in the back of my mind.

Thank you, one area we liked she won’t be the only English person in the school as it’s a new estate and we were told other families made the move from England. It does worry me how she will settle in and make friends.
job isn’t as much of a concern for my husband as he can transfer up there it’s mainly me that would need to find a job but I’m not too worried about that

I went to Inverness on holiday recently and it's a lovely tourist town, the people are so kind, and it's a great spot to start the NC500, or to go hill walking, or do sports on the local waterways. But it's the only major urban centre for miles around. Once you leave Inverness, unless you like hill walking etc, there's really not much to do. I asked my teenager if she would ever like to move to somewhere like Inverness and she said no, because of the lack of opportunities there.

Edited because I read Lincolnshire as Lancashire.

Gosh, seems to be a lot of people advising here who don't live in Inverness.

The only person with an English accent?! Absolute nonsense. So, so many people have made the move up. No one bats an eyelid at hearing that English accents in the classrooms as it's so common. It's really not true that most kids are born here. It's why prices have really increased since 2020 and I'm looking at £400,000 for a decent house.

Anyway, Inverness isolated? From where, Glasgow and Edinburgh? If you live here, have family here, there's no need to travel to a huge city and I can't think of anything worse than going back to Glasgow and never have!

You have all the amenities of a city-a great theatre, ice rink, pools, parks, cafes, beer gardens, restaurants, bars, shops, outdoor paddling pool for wee ones, plus beaches, stunning scenery within a fifteen minute drive.

It's hugely preferable to driving children for ages to reach somewhere- I actually used to drive from one side of Glasgow to the one for swimming lessons. What was I thinking?! Now, we walk five minutes (with another pool 15 minutes away).

It's great! Lots of housing estates but what do people want - tower blocks?! Even getting to the airport is so easy and onwards from Gatwick for further afield holidays. Again, no long drive in traffic.

Life is easier as there is more to do, within easy reach. It's great for kids.

Easier to move at that age than as a teenager. I’d do it

Thank you so much I needed your message. My parents live towards Beauly but we liked the look of Tornagrain area, not the price though so we were looking around there. Between Nairn and Inverness I think. Would you recommend this? Open to suggestions if you think there are better places.
we would be looking for somewhere with good schools, my daughter does swimming lessons so would like to continue that and she does dance as well which she enjoys.
We are going back up in a couple of weeks for my sisters wedding then back up the end of August so if there is anywhere you think we should visit please let me know ☺️ we are planning on going to Landmark. We have been on loads of beautiful walks. I like the idea that there is the beaches, mountains, forests all on your doorstep.

I think the main issue is the reasoning. The main reason for OP wanting to relocate there is because they want to be closer to their parents. I don’t know how old OP is but her parents aren’t going to be around forever and her kids will turn into teenagers. The outskirts of Inverness really doesn’t have much, unless her kids turn out to be the outdoorsy type. And when they grow up (yes I know it’s far away) it’s very possible they’ll want to move to be somewhere more urban with more jobs and more stuff to do, then OP will be in a similar-but-opposite quandry than she’s in now where she might be left living hours away from her kids.

I just think doing a huge move like that without more than one solid reason, especially one like to be near older parents, is something that needs to be thought about longer, especially as one of the kids is actively against it.

OP- if your parents weren’t in Inverness, would you seriously consider moving there or moving in general?

I would also suggest @worthyreaderlooking at
the job market in your industry in invernessshire, seeing what there is, and maybe firing off a few emails to see if anyone would possibly be looking for someone to start in a few months time before you start seriously looking at property. It can’t hurt.

Edit: Just to say, Inverness is gorgeous, my auntie and cousins live there. I just think it’s more of a “holiday” town and it might be a bit of a culture shock living there all the time going from Lincolnshire, especially for your little girl. Maybe take a long trip in the school summer holidays for a month or so and see how you feel after 4 weeks there? It means you get more experience than just a week long holiday and your daughter will get to see how she feels without her friends.

Thank you for your replies, out of interest what things do you feel it’s doesn’t have other than theme parks that we would miss? So I can consider everything. We live in a small town outside of Peterborough. Peterborough is not a great place to live and we would want to move away from here anyway.
Job wise is fine my husband is in the police and I work in education- not a teacher but pastoral so I think we would be fine looking for jobs. My husband would transfer anyway so it would just be me.

We did the move more than a decade ago now. There are tonnes of kids with different accents and languages here. All the businesses and the NHS rely on people moving here. Almost all our friends and our kids friends have either moved here or are kids of people who have moved here.

Avoid Tornagrain, looks pretty but its nickname is Village of the Damned. It’s like a TV set. Living between Inverness and Nairn means you will be a min 15 minute car journey to anywhere and you’ll need a 4x4 in the winter.

Pros: Lots of lovely countryside on your doorstep, the traffic is nowhere near as busy as living in a city, takes a few minutes to get to anywhere. It feels very safe here, there’s really no crime.

Cons: There’s not really any culture. Eden Court is fab and there is a small cinema, but if you like gigs, shows, comedians or musicals it’s a three hour drive to the Central Belt.
Restaurants, very little choice, very expensive, menus hardly change, packed with tourists May - September. It’s also rare anything new opens, no high street chains or anything fashionable!

There are 2 bowling alleys, 1 big cinema, 1 trampoline park, 1 inflatable park and 1 soft play. The leisure centre is ok but kids classes can be booked solid.
This is miles better than 10 years ago.
You will be bored of them all very quickly.

SHOPPING - I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. Non-existent. There is an M&S that never has any nice choices or sizes for women & kids. H&M, same. Everything comes online in this house.

Swimming Lessons - The list at the council owned pools was always long and the only time I was ever offered was 7.30am on a Saturday. The is a private swimming coach but I’m not sure if she is still operating.

The A9 dualling is a joke, so don’t expect the 3+ hour journey to the Central Belt to take any less time in the next decade or so!

House Buying, good luck. Anything decent sells on the same day it’s put up for sale. It’s also offers over the home report valuation here. That’s got to be funded by you.

There’s very little stock of 4+ bed houses in the area.
Rentals are extremely difficult to come by due to the Air BnBs. I am struggling to find even a 1 bed for my new hire.

The schools are ok, suffering like many others in Scotland by underfunding and councils who have got rid of classroom assistants and aren’t taking on perm teachers.
I don’t know of anyone who raves about their local school. There’s no outstanding achievement here.

The secondary schools are not great either. UHI is not a University, despite its claims.

I have teenagers now and they both hate it here. No shopping, nowhere to head to hang out and Uni will need them to both move away from home. They are desperate to get out of here and I don’t blame them. They take advantage of the free bus pass and get away whenever I will let them. It’s been very hard since they reached age 12 or so.

We will probably follow them south when they do go.

Lastly, jobs. I’m not sure what your experience is but there isn’t much outside of retail or hospitality. Vacancies are rare.

Glad to be of help op!

Tfx performing arts academy gets a great reputation but there are a few dance companies so have a look if you decide to move up.

I would stay away from Tornagrain - I don't think there's much of a community there and not walkable to anywhere.

They are currently building a development adjacent to Nairn, might be nice as lots of new families will be moving in at the same time. Children could possibly go into Nairn on their own from it.

Have you thought of The Black Isle? Rosemarkie is beautiful, cafes, beach, less than half an hour to Inverness. Fortrose Academy gets a good reputation and is possibly the highest attaining school in the area and very sporty.

I second this Rosemarkie is lovely and Fortrose
would be the school I put my kids to if we ever did it again 😀

Ooh I know Peterborough very well, I used to live in St Ives in Cambridgeshire before I moved to Scotland so not too far away!

Public transport is a bit lacking at times in speed and reliability at least it was six months ago so a car is definitely necessary if you want to get about. Unless you live dead in the centre (you say around Nairn) it’s a good half hour or more drive to any amenities such as the cinema, ice skating, bowling. The main shopping centres aren’t very good (imo), nothing like the choice of shops at Queensgate. The outdoor space is however a lot nicer which is maybe what you’d prefer.

its a nice place but somewhere I’d see more as a holiday town than a permanent home, unless you were retiring or had been born and bred there.

Chipsticks has given a way more detailed answer than me!

I would consider going a couple of weeks early before your daughters wedding and seeing what it feels like for staying there more than week or so.

My iLs moved from Glasgow to a village near Inverness and lived there for 50 years. They were always considered as incomers.

I was treated like this when I moved from England to near Edinburgh (without being outing) and was treated like an outsider. It was surprising as I always felt Edinburgh was meant to be cosmopolitan but there is definitely a tight knit community of “originals” for want of a better expression.

My family have moved and emigrated for generations.

I am a proud incomer, but I’ve never been called that to my face. I’ve never heard it said to anyone here either.

I think it sticks though unless you’re a 16th generation Highlander 😂

I’ve moved from England to a small rural Scottish village it’s a very small mainly farming community everyone English and Scottish are friendly and welcoming. All my colleagues bar 1 are Scottish born and bred in the region again a small community in the grand scheme of the things no issues I have never been “treated like an outsider” in fact at times I’m slightly overwhelmed by how friendly people are.
My DC lives just south of Inverness (so I know it well) he doesn’t have a Scottish accent again no issues with colleagues neighbours etc. If you like the outdoor life walking water sports etc amazing wildlife it’s a great place to live, more sun and significantly less rain than on the west although it can be a very cold wind. The only downside IMO is the days are noticeably shorter than even where I live in Scotland.
The major advantage is good transport links down to England you can fly very cheaply and easily to both London and Bristol from Inverness. And I suspect better public transport in general than the part of the west Scotland I live in, it’s pretty crap here. I regularly travel on the A9 frankly I dont think you’ll find it any worse than any major A road you find in England.
Personally I prefer the west side, yes we get lots of rain but the coast line has rugged beauty that you dont quite find on the east certainly not south on Inverness but there are more people than where I live so I do think there’s more going on.
Finally my DC and partner recently bought a house saw it on Rightmove and paid the asking price.

I agree teenagers could be a problem but your dc are 7 and 2, and your parents aren’t old yet, and it sounds ideal up to the point when they hit about 15-18 and need the bright lights. I’d do it. Small towns are otoh great for that in between age when they’re not small and they’re building independence, as are outdoor activities.