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

depending on date of birth 7 year old will be about P3 in august if she was born in second half of 2017 and is nearly 8 she would have started school in August 2022 and would be going into P4( roughly Y3) this August, if born in 2018 ( strictly on or after March 1st but in reality most jan or Feb birthdays would defer)would probably have started in 2023 and would be going into p3 ( roughly Y2) this August
remember there is no YR

I moved to Scotland from, yes, Lincolnshire. It was years ago but the basic premise hasn't changed. My kids all fitted into schools here (plenty of kids with English accents even then) and later benefitted from the no-fee Scottish university system. I mean, it's not as if Lincolnshire is the peak of civilisation, and Peterborough (I was born there) is pretty grim. Seems to me you have the right attitude OP. If you want to make it work it will work.

Chapstickmammy - i forgot about HouHouMei and the river house - both brilliant options. Maybe thats the difference, we only go into town a handful of times a year!

Try IV10 if you don’t mind a trip to Fortrose, it’s so nice. Bakhoos is always busy for croissants/coffee too if you go in the daytime.

We go to the tapas place quite often and really enjoy it. Hou Hou Mei is of course great but I cba having to book 6 weeks in advance 🤣 Unpopular opinion but I’m not a fan of Rocpool! And the Mustard Seed is nice but so samey.

There are nice places but nowhere really has that certain “vibe” you want for a special night out.

I really really really miss a good brunch too.

So I may be biased as I have family in Rutland and Ely who dislike Peterborough, but fuck me, I’d move from Peterborough area to Inverness area in a flash 😂

Dont get me wrong, having visited Peterborough for 40+ years it has lots of positives that people who slag it do not recognise and I’ve always enjoyed visiting it . But other than Waitrose there is nothing you won’t find in Inverness. The area around Inverness offers a range of advantages but it also has similar disadvantages to the rural areas around Peterborough.

Life is what you make it - it’s a beautiful area, great communities and if my parents had moved from Peterborough to Inverness I wouldn’t hesitate to move. It’s too far to enjoy their retirement with them, and hellish when they really age and need support or you need to keep an eye on them for your own sanity.

Absolutely - as long as you like the area yourself, it gets harder and harder to travel long distances as people age. We live a similar long distance from my parents and I wish when we were deciding 15 years ago we’d chosen the closer option.

there are no perfect places to live, and moving kids is never without hassle or downsides but having a supportive family close by has to be a major factor for most people, over and above a lot of other things. You have to weight the most important factors and then make other things work. Good luck!

Just from a benefits to kids pov, the more sensible
and caring adults they see regularly, the better off they are. My kids have never had a grandparent watch a school concert or come to anything they’ve done because of distance - saying well done as you’ve seen a video doesn’t amount to the same thing.

Due to the bases in Kinloss and Lossie there is no way the child will be the only one with an English accent in their class in Inverness.

I live 'down south' but have spent quite a bit of time near Inverness. Don't underestimate the weather - we usually go in summer and have to remember to pack extra jumpers, coats etc. I've been known to be wearing a woolly hat in August... The days are also very short in winter, last time I was there in midwinter it was still dark somewhere around 8am. On the other hand I would love to be closer to family so I can completely understand your reasons for wanting to move. Depending where you are some online deliveries will charge extra or take longer for delivering round there. School system is completely different as you probably know (no GCSEs/A levels) but at 7 I'm sure she will adjust fine if no specific needs or anything.

Actually we had the hottest temperature in the UK last weekend (33) amd it's a really dry climate.

Yes, it can be cold but overall the weather is very good up here.

The winters are tough with hardly any daylight.

Nothing you won’t find other than Waitrose..? Except you won’t find many good jobs in Inverness. There just aren’t the opportunities for further education and careers here that you get down south. Yeah it is a nice place to live but most young people move away and can’t ever move back.

The ones from the army bases usually go to special schools for students who move around a lot/ have family in the army. My cousins did this.

They don’t up here, just the regular local schools. There might be some in boarding schools or what not but 60% kinloss primary is forces kids. Even outside of the forces and more towards Inverness they won’t be the single English voice, Inverness has loads of English families.

@simsbustinoutmimi. I can assure you the children of military families in Moray absolutely go to their local school. Of my friends based in Lossie, every single one, bar none, go to their local school, an English accent would not be given a second thought up here

I don't think DD will be the only one with an English accent ! There are Army bases and RAF bases up here. Lots of folk choose to stay up here when leaving the Armed Forces. There is plenty to do and housing is cheaper.
It's only in Winter it gets darker earlier. Compensated by long light days in Spring/Summer.

Moving at those ages is fine, kids adapt easily and it’s really common - the trick is for parents to sell it to primary aged kids as an adventure and positive experience. We moved ours at 8&6 (also at 3&5) for work reasons, no choice really and they adapted well.

They don't in Inverness. They normally go to local schools in primary.

While Queen Victoria school in Dunblane is a boarding school prmarily for children of servce personnel most children of personnel will be in local schools, though many at secondary age chose a boarding school as moving every 2-3 years is not good post age 12-13. Sometimes in armed forces with teenage childreniti is possible for the family to stay put to go to local school while the parent in the forces travels whether or by this stage the family moves out of forces accommodation to buy or rent in the locale they chose

The University of the Highlands and Islands is based in Inverness.

Yes but it offers very few courses.

And it's been known for students to do part of a course then for whatever reason - probably staffing - to not be able to compete it.

I live in SW Scotland we specialise in a warmer (apparently) but wetter (no one would dispute that) climate here but have DC in Morayshire and go every month to visit them and I feel the cold really badly. I just don’t recognise your description of requiring woolly hats/jumpers in summer although you’re never going to get the sort of high temperatures anywhere in Scotland that you'd find in say the SE of England . They definitely get more sun in Morayshire than we do in west/south west Scotland in fact I’m sure I’ve read the area around Findhorne Burghead Hopeman is the sunniest place in Scotland.
I do agree about the short days in winter it’s very noticeable and the wind blows very cold in the winter when it is cold there it’s COLD

OP, what does your husband think of the idea? Does he love the idea of moving to a remote part of the UK to be close to his in-laws? Where are his family and is he concerned by the distance to them?

I have seen this too a few times.

I wouldn’t call Inverness remote, it’s pretty far north in the UK but by no means isolated. The weather is colder than down south obviously but it’s a sunny and dryish climate. There is loads to do, thriving communities all around and has amazing access to some of the most beautiful places in Europe. It’s also a great place to bring up kids.