Anyone move to Scotland from England away from family?

[arewescotlandbound]

Please tell me how it has been?

it’s a dream of ours to move to Scotland. We are looking at Aberdeenshire.

We know someone who moved there a year ago and is loving it, so we would not be completely without a safety net, but wouldn’t want to rely on them. Since they moved we have visited them a few times and it’s really stirred the feeling and desire to move.

We love the outdoors and if we move we can reduce our mortgage.

The only thing stopping us really is that we are close to our parents, and they look after our youngest so I can work part time. The childcare worries me less than leaving them behind - both sets of parents are retired.

Tell me about the good, the bad and the ugly.

Thanks for the tips ref weather - I actually found a page on Facebook this week with a good forecast and have popped the place in my weather app.

I have read about the harsh winters. I like the idea of being able to try skiing at Lecht - and that there is a ski centre in Alford.

Regarding the winter - do kids still walk to school etc (with the right outdoor gear stuff)? I think we would stay close to amenities so wouldn’t need to worry about buses for school. (Ie it would be walkable).

I personally wouldn’t if your parents/in-laws provide childcare as you will really miss that and it could impact on your ability to work. Personally I’d also appreciate your parents while you have them, as others have said (assuming you have a good relationship with them, not everyone does) it’s incredibly hard to support more from a distance as they get elderly.

On the weather. You comment you like the idea of skiing at Lecht. Most winters up here are wet cold and windy. All the time. For months. And dark. Very often below freezing for weeks on end but often not ‘snow’ conditions. It does happen but you need to manage your expectation that “bad winter” equals fun in the snow, it usually just creates chaos on the roads and the schools closing.

I did and I love it. Been here 20 years.

It can be hard. You do have to accept missing gatherings etc.

But I'm an expert in trains and can get back fairly easily (and cheaply if you book far enough in advance).

We regularly meet in intermediate places and my kids have a good relationship and know their grandparents well as meet up for holidays etc.

I would consider your location within Aberdeenshire. North of the shire versus south can add an extra hour of travel (though the by pass has really improved things).

Being within reasonable distance of a train station helps. Stonehaven and Montrose (into Angus but closest for south of shire) are on the east coast mainline. Some services also stop at Laurence Kirk.

Inverurie or Huntly require changing at Aberdeen.

Happy to answer questions if you want to PM.

be prepared for power cuts too if there's gales! My friends have been so badly affected in recent years that they've bought a generator.
Of course people walk to school, the fact you're even asking this suggests you are not ready for an Aberdeenshire winter!!

it is always miserable in the winter but rarely snowy. It's less fun than that!

We love it here but are in Edinburgh so much more accessible and easy to get around. And yes, children walk to school in all weather (at least mine do!)

And although I'm very positive about living here, I would caution on house prices.

Ours are very stagnant (not entirely a bad thing) and given what's happening in the oil industry I'd be surprised if this changes any time soon.

While it's good for buying, you do need to consider the implications of not keeping up with the market elsewhere if it doesn't work out.

Look at Aberdeen flat prices for a terrifying example of losing money. Houses have generally faired better but it is a real possibility you will be priced out of other places so be sure on your decisions before committing.

Well it does depend on school level. Certainly for primary but it's common to go 15 miles plus for secondary.

Snow isn't bad in the more coastal parts. Wind on the other hand....It's a very varied country and the weather can be a different world within it.

If you’ve gone for forecasts, chose a couple of places. Eg. Inverurie, Alford, Stonehaven ane Aberdeen get remarkably different weather. Coast is always warmer air temp in the winter.

As a serious suggestion - come for February half term.

Thank you.
We stayed a week between x mas and new year last year, and plan to do the same this year too.

As a reference point, December is milder than Jan and Feb.

Dark though.

If country walks are your thing, it’s ideal. If theatre and cinema are, pickings are fairly slim. Easy enough to get tickets though.

I lived just outside of Alford for the best part of 18 years. Seriously….do not underestimate the winters! The main route from Alford to Inverurie/Westhill where the big supermarkets are (Alford has a mid sized co/op, 2 convenience stores and a butcher so you’ll likely need to head out for your big shop) can be absolutely treacherous when it snows, and vehicles frequently get stuck or come off the road meaning you can’t get where you need to be. It’s a friendly little village but as you have kids I think Inverurie would be better as more to do there than Alford or Insch, but still close enough to get out more rurally and explore the outdoors. The ski centre at Alford is rather basic and you can only get to the Lecht in winter if the road is open…and getting up there (and coming down again!) isn’t for the faint hearted!!

Can’t talk for the school system as I don’t have kids, but a lot of the more rural schools have composite classes in primary and then you’ll be looking at Alford/Inverurie/Westhill for academy.

I’m now in Perthshire which has much milder winters (thankfully!) but I do kind of miss getting snowed in for days at a time. Also that area can get pretty badly hit by storms, a lot of the forested areas were wiped out by Arwen and the clean up is still happening. I miss it, it’s a beautiful area but I would definitely recommend coming up late January/early-mid February time as PP suggested, as that’s when winter tends to really hit so you’ll see the full reality of it. I miss my friends and family down south but I don’t regret the move north at all. I have a much better quality and pace of life up here.

Best of luck and feel free to ask any questions about the area if you want to!

Whereabouts in England are you moving from op?
The reason I ask is honestly Jan-March can be absolutely brutal and that’s coming from someone who has lived in Scotland their whole life.
Also your children, when they become teenagers may feel quite isolated and it may be you have to do a lot of travelling to Edinburgh/Glasgow for concert/shows etc.
Also you may need to travel quite a distance should your DC’s require hospital treatment. Although there is the children’s hospital in Aberdeen a lot of children still have to travel to Edinburgh/Glasgow for specialist care.
Finally if you want to go travel abroad the odds are you will have to travel to Edin/Glasgow for decent flights, Aberdeen airport isn’t great.
I would look at other areas in Scotland before you decide op

No they don’t. Secondary schools are called academies but they are council run, not academies in the English sense. Schools named ‘grammar’ are just an historic hangover, they aren’t grammars.

Only a 3 month project difference - after a few years teaching it will mean nothing. Plus some teachers are from England with their PGCE and all!

Just on this - there are no half term holidays. You get two weeks in October, Christmas and Easter and 6/7 weeks in the summer, but only a day in February plus a couple of in-service days to make a three-day break. Not really enough to travel to England. And just one bank holiday (May day) in the summer term. The summer holiday is earlier than England - beginning July to mid August. Which again can be an issue if wanting to meet up with English cousins (or moving up over the summer). Though it can mean cheaper holidays.

Also when they hit exams these fall straight after Easter - this year starting just nine days after the start of term. So you won’t be wanting to go away much at Easter. Again an issue if you want to visit family.

On the point of visiting family - this will eat up a significant amount of your annual
leave each year. It becomes your holiday rather than going camping/beach abroad etc.

I meant the north of England!

This is helpful to know - thank you.

The no feb half term thing is dependent on local authorities, Aberdeenshire and some other areas have shorter at half term in Feb then 2 weeks in October as it’s traditionally “tattle picking” holiday and the kids were needed to help with the harvest. Other areas have a week in Feb and a week in Oct. But there’s no May half term like you get in England because the year starts and finishes earlier. Also watch out for areas that do a half day on Fridays!

Also - depending on your tastes in fruit and veg, international cuisine, niche dietary requirements etc.

If you’re a meat and two veg type household, quality is knock out. Local beef and tatties cant be beaten.

If you pop to Waitrose for stuff you can’t get elsewhere or is better, then you won’t be getting it. Fruit and veg sections in Scottish supermarkets are noticeably smaller than their English equivalents.

Differeneces i notice compared to when down south:
Range of options for eating out, and ‘cheap’ options. Quality round here is excellent. But there isn’t much in the cheap and cheerful category, and there's just far less choice.

I wouldn’t move back south. We’ve got space for family to come and stay, we know that’s done in less frequent but longer meet ups. We rely on commercial childcare, with friends in similar positions as the emergency back up. We’ve got all season tyres on both cars. We’ve got ice grips for shoes because pavements Dont get cleared. We know once daughter is at school we’ll see it shut reasonably regularly on an unplanned basis for weather issues.

We can also walk in proper countryside, from our front door. And walk to the station. And the pub, and Lidl and M&S and the butcher. A 5 bed house with garage costs less than a tiny 2 bed in Clapham. The summer days are endless. The beaches are stunning and walking along the coast makes me feel alive. We’ve got good winter wear, and good sun hats, and long trousers for avoiding ticks in the summer. I know what helps me manage dark winter nights. Im variable on whether i actually do it but theres plenty that works.

The Feb in service/occasional days run from the end of one week into the beginning of the next. It varies a bit but usually Thursday/Friday and then Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.

I find this a useful time to travel south as it avoids weekend travelling and gives me a weekend with family.

There aren't fines in Scotland for missing school so although I try to avoid it, while they are at primary I've not worried about travelling say Friday before half term where if they miss an afternoon of watching DVDs it's not really impacting learning.

I would agree with a PP about Alford though. It's nice but there's not a lot there and it's not that convenient for heading south.

I think it can be a bit of a culture shock that there's very little to travel to in terms of amenities. By that I mean you've got Aberdeen or Aberdeen. I was used to a main city and substantial satellite towns (all probably bigger than Aberdeen) and being able to get to other cities quite quickly.

That doesn't really apply which is where being near a train line is good. We can get to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Stirling directly.

Inverurie has a train line but it means changing at Aberdeen and it adds a fair bit more travelling time.

Have a look at the Mearns area as well as Garioch. Stonehaven is great little town and has much more in terms of transport, swimming pools, things to do.

Ah, I assumed you meant up north

We know once daughter is at school we’ll see it shut reasonably regularly on an unplanned basis for weather issues.

Actually they close much less than you might think. In bad winters with lots of snow you might get a couple of days of closure. You are expected to walk through the snow. What does stop quite quickly is school transport from country areas. This is a result of a case a good number of years (few decades) ago where a child was dropped off at the end of her private lane and died of hypothermia before she reached home.

Also since Covid they don’t get a snow day, they are told to look at google classroom.

This is so helpful thanks.

I think we are definitely outdoors people and are bored of our local outdoors! Since tots my kids have had a set of waterproofs and wellies/ snow boots so we can venture out in any weather.

We are actually pretty boring! We rarely go out for dinner, have takeaway, go into the city, go to the cinema etc as we are happy getting outdoors or pottering at home.

Kids love swimming so a pool local is a must.

We don’t have a local Waitrose, and tend to online shop. We might pop to Lidl or Aldi but they have only opened relatively recently for us so we weren’t used to having them.

Would you mind sharing with me how you cope with the dark winters? I was thinking I would need to take a lunchtime walk to get out.

This is helpful thank you. I will take a look at those areas.