Relocating to Aberdeen - anything I should take into account?

[MadAdopter]

I am hoping to relocate from Wiltshire to NE Scotland in the next 12 months or so with my 6 year old daughter. School choices (private) all seem to be in the city so need advice on commuting from villages as we don't want to live in the city, looking for a rural property as we have lots of animals.

Research seems to suggest driving into central Aberdeen is easy, but is this true?

Are there any areas that are better for commuting by car from?

All suggestions welcome as it feels a bit overwhelming at first not knowing the area well yet.

Thanks!

my family all speak Doric but for family parties with the “English relatives” they speak the English.
doric.dad on insta is good for a follow!

I’ll check that out - thanks!

Considering this too, need to find out more about Gordonstoun and area. Will start another thread and brace for the response!

Lathallan is a private school which caters for primary and secondary pupils . It has a diverse curriculum and international pupils.

I know of two youngsters who have absolutely thrived following a lot of bullying in a state school.Bullying is common in Scotland (probably the whole of Britain) It does have a bus to ferry children to various points.
If you lived near enough the school, community links could be developed and maintained.

There is a lot of anti-English sentiment in Scotland. Many people wish independence. However, I believe it is mainly an undercurrent. Scots are naturally polite to 'incomers'.

Scots generally have 2 languages and easily revert to something like the King's English if they are not understood .

From Perth upwards, the country is stunningly beautiful, from coasts to mountains with everything in-between.

The other difference I would mention is that the sense of humour has many variations, depending on the area . It might take a wee while to get used to .

Wherever you end up, I am sure you will love it

I commented on your other thread but to address a few points on this one specifically!
As a Londoner who moved to Aberdeen over a decade ago

• I've never experienced unkind anti English sentiment (yes there are jokes about the football team mostly but it has never felt harsh)
• It's darker in winter sure but that's massively offset by the long summer nights. Cold - it's never THAT cold as long as you're dressed properly.
• Never had a problem understanding the accent or the Doric I hear used
• The city is going downhill due to the oil industry decline. Guess that decline might be reversed for a time if Labour gets voted out of Westminster as their policy with regards to the oil industry is nonsense. It's a bit sad in (large) parts of the city centre. That said there are still lovely local shops, restaurants and cafes, a decent programme of events at the local theatres (and Edinburgh within striking distance for a lot more of that), absolutely masses going on for kids, the amazing countryside on your doorstep that you already know all about and the odd event like Spectra which is a free light show in the city centre in February which is very beautiful.

I've always been very happy here. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

Anti English sentiment is as common as anti Scottish sentiment in England. You will find narrow minded bigots everywhere, but if you have any sense you'll ignore them.

Scots don't generally have 2 languages! There are regional variations of course, just as there are in other parts of the UK, and some people speak Scots, but most don't - although you'll find a good range of Scots words in everyday life, and these add a lot of colour to our english. There are obviously differences in language depending on whether you're in a more middle class area or areas where there's more deprivation, but again that's typical of tge whole of tge UK.

Oh, and while many people want independence the majority of us don't - and that hasn't generally changed since the referendum.

Indeed they are VERY much for profit. Do a dig dive into finances and local reactions. There are organisations with much better credentials than them.

That’s a company with a shed load of interesting transactions going on.

i wonder if you might look at Dollar as a private school and living in rural Perthshire. I do also wonder if you might regret not having a community/local friends when your daughter is a teen though. I’m sorry she’s had such a tough few years, but you do seem to be making quite an extreme lifestyle shift.
I quite like Aberdeen by the way! And know it well.

This. As a teacher and a parent myself, private education is totally unnecessary when you have some excellent local authority schools.

ironic you say Gordonstoun is elitist when you come across as exactly that in your posts. You are being given valid advice and dismissing it, you clearly have no clue about the locality and have obviously made up your mind so why ask for advice?

aberdeen/shire has been plagued with “goodlifers” post covid. No clue on the rurality of the area, the weather (snow and flooding has been unprecedented this year), the Scottish education system or the challenges of living somewhere much less populated than England. I’m all for folks who integrate but too many expect the luxuries and convenience of where they have left. And they all want “wilderness” but then when reality hits they hate it. It’s been a revolving door at our local schools of goodlifers pitching up then selling up and leaving.

Granite City, that's right, where their bypass goes through the city rather than by it🤣

I’ve heard excellent things about Gordonstoun, really helped my friends dd who was struggling in state school and let her go back a year and start over. I like the Forres/Elgin area and it’s far more rural but there are local facilities that you need. Yes amazon delivers (even to Shetland) but some companies do not or there’s an extra charge north of the central belt. Inverness has general services you might need and an airport too.

i think Newcastle would give it a decent try, that’s a bitter wind.

the shortness of the day in winter…there can be weeks where if the weather is bad it feels like it hardly gets light.

Not in my experience. I moved to Newcastle for a few years - not comparable to even southern Scotland.

Aberdeenshire is beautiful. The city itself is uninspiring at best. Unless you have a reason to be near Aberdeen there are many many nicer places to live in the Highlands.

Eh no - that's nonsense

That poster's probably thinking of Anderson Drive. The AWPR's been open for donkey's now though.