Move to Aberfeldy

[Engineeredit]

I’m considering moving to Aberfeldy from Edinburgh. Tired of city life, pollution and traffic. I’ve stayed there a few times and visited for the day. We are retired and our children live in England so we are torn between moving closer to them (more expensive to buy a house) and moving to a more rural area.
I am wondering from the perspective of anyone who lives there if you have done anything similar.

Im interested in yoga, book groups, walking, wild swimming.

I love aberfeldy. One of my best childhood memories is walking the Birks. I think it would be a lovely place to live in early retirement but if your children are in England I would seriously think of moving closer to them. My dad is 93 and lives in Newcastle, we are in Edinburgh, and it means I can't get to see him so often. I'd love to be within an hour of him (just like driving one side of Edinburgh to the other avoiding the pot holes!!)so I could visit several times a week. It was fine until mum died 4 years ago. They were very independent but now his friends are all gone and he doesn't get out much.
I'm sure there would be villages like aberfeldy(size and social wise)near your children.

Yes this is what worries me.Its the cost of buying somewhere near them which puts me off!

@Engineeredit yes prices can be insane! You'll pay less tax in England 😂

I know that one of the owners (I think) of Karelia House near Aberfeldy does wild swimming in Loch Tay @Engineeredit , I don't know if she's in a group to do it though.

There's also a river in Comrie where there's a good patch for swimming, The Lynn I think it's called.

I like Aberfeldy (although I haven't lived there) but for me it wouldn't be the best location if I was needing to travel south to visit, getting to the A9 might not be the easiest in winter.

Perthshire's a cracking area though, you're bound to find somewhere that suits you 🙂

We spent a week near Aberfeldy this summer and I swum in Loch Tay or the River Tay everyday. We also went to the Persian restaurant and independent cinema. Seemed like a really lovely wee town.

I lived in Aberfeldy for 6 months a couple of years ago when I was up there for work. Really friendly small town, good shops, cafes etc, I found the Doctors surgery to be very good. And the scenery is stunning.
However...
There is a major shortage of housing. I rented a room in a house as I was only there for a short time, but I'm still on the local Facebook group and there are constant posts from people looking to buy or rent and there just isn't anything going.
Public transport is very patchy, you need a car, and the nearest big supermarket is in Perth which means trolling up and down the single carriageway A9.
Also, I was there from late spring to early autumn, I know winter in the Highlands in a very different kettle of fish, and Feldy has had some very bad floods in recent years.

Going further away from family, healthcare & reliable public transport in retirement seems unwise to me. There must be plenty of places in England that are a lot closer to your children without being too pricey - even being an hour away is a lot easier than 4 hours.

Yes I think sense has prevailed.

I hope you will find somewhere that feeds your soul as much as you had hoped Aberfeldy would @Engineeredit.

Thanks so much!

What area do your family live ? Perhaps anyone nearby can suggest areas closely that are equally nice but less expensive .

I think we’ve decided to move South now!