I’m definitely overthinking!

[Huntingforhaggis]

We’ve made the big decision to relocate up to the highlands. We’re specifically looking at Nairn but open to other areas as long as we are in a main town/ big village. We currently live outside Milton Keynes. Our current house is semi rural and we live between 2 villages but with good links to towns with great shopping, kids clubs etc. We can’t walk anywhere and even have to drive to access public transport. On average we have to drive 20-25 minutes to get to clubs etc. I’m realistic with the challenges of the move and wrote a ridiculously long post with all the fears that I won’t subject anyone too 😂

I was really excited but have read a few threads of people saying don’t do it and I’ve panicked. My biggest concerns are jobs and the kids happiness and wellbeing (and a little bit Nairn traffic).

If we move we’ll be mortgage free and debt free, we’ll have savings for the future and hopefully be able to give our children a helping hand. My in laws who we already share a house/annexe with are coming and we are looking at similar house set ups so we have help with the girls and were able to help them as they get older. My MIL is Scottish and is ready to go ‘home’. The girls are 8 and nearly 5. My oldest is in Year 4 but would go down a year group in the Scottish system and be in P4 which I thought would help her with settling as she can concentrate on making friends without getting behind. On paper it seems like the perfect move and my heart is already there.

My family live fairly close to Luton Airport so it feels we can easily access them even if it does require planning.

I think I’m just hit with the fear of what if we’re making a huge mistake! I have a career I adore down here. I’m a play therapist with a MSc in child and adolescent mental health and I’m worried I won’t find a job in my field. I commute some days currently so travelling round for work isn’t an issue. I’m also happy to do anything for work when we initially move but I would like to keep my career long term. My husband is a sports coach and again he wants a career long term not just a job.

A few years ago my children got really poorly and my priorities changed and my biggest focus now is our health and quality time together. We love the outdoors and the kids are really active! Someone reassure me that the fear is normal and I’m not ruining our lives!

Oh love, I’m sure it’s just a panic because it’s a big move. It sounds to me like you have your priorities right.

Scottish threads on here tend to be weirdly very negative; it’s cold, there’s midgies, the NHS is shit, education is shit, the shops are shit, we’re all racist and hate English people. I don’t know why these people continue to life here tbh.

My partner is English and moved up here a few years ago and loves it.

I hope it goes well for you, it sounds like a great family adventure and you’re in a very lucky position to be able to make it happen!

We made the move when the DC were a similar age to yours. DD did YR in England, then "went back" and did P1 in Scotland. That meant that it worked well for her on the whole because a very different style of teaching. Because there was greater variety in the ages of the DC (some starting later which didn't happen in England then) she slotted in perfectly. The older ones found the different curriculum a bit strange to start with (Anglo Saxons v's Picts was one hilarious and memorable conversation when they got in one day) but it all worked out well in the end.

We eventually moved back, but that was due to DHs very niche job. No regrets though.

Sorry, just to add. The fear is normal.

Thank you 😊 I was so set we were making the right choice then I kept seeing all the negativity. I think there’s NHS issues all over the country and everywhere has pros and cons. We desperately want to live closer to the coast and have more opportunities for family time.

Nairn is a really nice place with a great community. Agree with@IDontCareWhatMyUsernameIsthat Mumsnet is weirdly negative about Scotland in general and moving here in particular. Scotland is actually a wonderful place to live and Nairn is lovely. It will all be fine!

I live 5 miles from Nairn and I’m sure it would be a great move for you all. My family all grown up but beautiful new Academy has just opened in Nairn. There are videos of the inside of new school on Nairn fb page.
Beautiful beaches, friendly people, lovely restaurants. Hopefully the traffic situation will be resolved one day soon. Good luck for whatever you decide.

I’m from further north but know Nairn well and it’s a lovely place to relocate to.

Yes the traffic can be bad at rush hour but you aren’t far from Inverness can you get the train through if you need to commute.

I moved from Derbyshire as a child. PM me if you want to chat about anything.

I live in Nairn, relocated 7 yrs ago from Cambridgeshire. Traffic is awful, can take 30 minutes to go 2 miles, the Scottish water works they are doing currently is going to take months. There are only about 8 decent shops, the rest are charity, vape and tacky phone shops. Huge new housing estate not yet finished and already 2,000 homes being put forward for Nairn. Schools over subscribed. People are fab , as are the beach's. Unfortunately the coffee shop at the park at the beach closes over winter so thats disappointing. If my children were not settled in school and nursery I'd go further round along the moray coast.

Nairn is lovely. I’m originally from Forres, but now live east of Elgin. The Moray coast is a fantastic place to live. We love the beaches, woods and mountains. The climate is great, much drier than the west of Scotland and far less midgies. Nairn is handy for Inverness and the airport. It also an excellent annual book and arts festival. We travel through every summer for a day out at splash pad and then the pick your own fruit farm.

I live in Inverness and love it here. Its relatively safe and easy to get to the beaches etc plus has a wider choice of schools and activities. I like Nairn but wouldn't live there ad the traffic is horrendous. I am sat in traffic for 40 minutes going through Nairn. Work wise you will probably have more opportunities in Inverness or Aberdeen. What is it about Nairn in particular you like?

I've lived in Nairn all my life ,it's a fabulous wee place, I would suggest joining the local Facebook group, its called Nairn Rocks
The high street is lovely with some nice shops, traffic can be bad but it's not the end of the world
The beaches and river are beautiful and it's generally very safe

Nairn is a wonderful place to live and bring up children. Easy access to Inverness, fabulous new school, gorgeous beach, lots of outdoorsy opportunities for hobbies. Yes, traffic is a pain but no more so than many other places. There will probably be a bypass built at some point.

And no midges!! (and an excellent cheese shop not too far away at Connage)

If you're seriously worried, invest the surplus from the house sale in case you feel that you have to move back south. I bet you'll love it!

PS the Nairn Rocks page is hilarious @MartinBishopsbum !

The Moray schools are surprisingly bad, but I think Nairn is in highlands so won’t be as bad hopefully

I’m so excited for you, we made the move to the moray coast 7 years ago from Hampshire and never looked back. Nairn traffic is rubbish but it won’t be forever. It’s worth it for the coast line! Best of luck with it, I honestly can’t think of anywhere else I’d like my kids to grow up.

We are considering a very similar thing and just waiting on our house selling, we have been spending quite a bit of time in that area and are just back last week from Nairn. We are moving from west coast Scotland which is around 5 hours away. It’s a massive risk and we have 3 young children. I won’t have a job either. We actually decided that we preferred forres as they have the most stunning parks and more houses that were more suited to our needs and a good family vibe.
If you’re interested in having a private chat let me know, I think we have a bit in common!

Fair to have a few moments of panic at such a big move but it sounds like a great opportunity for your family - best of luck to you!!

Also, there was an episode of Escape to the Country on TV yesterday, based in Moray and Aberdeenshire. Might give you a flavour of life on the Moray coast!

Highly rate Nairn! The weather is pretty good. There's a good sports club so your husband could look there. I don't know about your job but there is a small hospital with lots of social care functions and may be worth looking into what you could offer them.

there are some nice restaurants now but the retail offer is mediocre. But Inverness isn't far away. Thee community centre is full of activities and does film nights etc. Summer is the best with the Highland Games and the Nairn show.

it's a lovely place to bring up kids and the accent is gorgeous. The wee airport is very handy for Nairn too and quick to get to London.

you will be able to get a big house but just be wary of the Scottish system. It's offers over so you need to go above the asking price. Tax is also higher - especially stamp duty. So you think you are getting a bargain but lower earnings plus paying over asking plus taxes will hike the price up. Also be wary of how long things take to get to the highlands and the highland pace.

We moved when I was 7 from the city we were all born in and had family, to a rural town hundreds of miles away. Our situation was slightly different as we moved due to my dad being promoted at work, but then needing to relocate.
In terms of school/making friends etc me and my sister had no problems despite me being really shy. As a kid, I missed seeing extended family regularly and I missed 'home'. The town we moved to is quiet and boring and as a teen I feel I missed out a bit as there's literally nothing to do here.
As an adult with my own family now, I'm very glad we moved. This little, boring town is a far nicer place to bring up kids than the city I am from. It's taken many, many years, but I do truly feel at home here now and although at difficult times in life I have considered moving back so I am nearer family, when I look at the pros and cons, there's far more pros to staying here.
I say go for it! There will always be opportunity in the future to move back if you really can't settle.

Scotland is beautiful (but then I’m maybe a biased Scot). It has its issues but nothing like it is portrayed on here (probably by people who have never been north of Watford)! I work in London half the month and I enjoy the hustle and bustle but I can’t wait to get home when my stint is over. My sisters husband is English and has never had any issues and is glad he made the move. Good luck

We moved to Nairn at the start of this year from city centre Edinburgh - absolutely no regrets. I also work in NHS in similar field - feel free to PM me with any questions.

Thank you everyone for your responses! This is my first time posting and I can’t figure out how to reply individually to people but I’ll have a look over the weekend. We have a potential buyer for our house and hoped they would make an offer at the start of the week but (very reasonably) have come back with a few questions about our house. Between this thread and how disappointed I felt when the message that came through was more questions not an offer I think we’ve made the right choice. Just have to hope the sale for our place goes through stress free 🤞🤞

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about where to end up and while I’d prefer Inverness or further round the Moray coast to maybe Lossiemouth my in laws would rather a smaller town than the city and my husband may have to travel down for work for a few months so being close to the airport is important to him (and also it makes me feel more comfortable knowing I can see my family easier) so Nairn makes sense for us all. Plus for me being walking distance to a beach is a huge plus!

We’re heading up for another visit next week with hopefully a firm offer on our house so we can make the next step 🤞🤞

Nairn is lovely and has a comparatively mild climate due to the Gulf Stream as you probably know. We once chose to holiday there due to the area, amenities and lovely beach.

im sure it will be great after a little adjustment. All the best.

If Nairn isn’t right, have a look at Perthshire or Stirlingshire and prioritise good schools. Perth Royal and Ninewells Dundee are good hospitals. Broughty Ferry nearer to Dundee and most of Stirlingshire are ‘upmarket ‘ with a high quality of life and trains to edinburgh or Glasgow for when the kids are older.

I have spent a reasonable amount of time in Nairn as I'm from the Highlands. It is a lovely town with great access to the beach and lots of lovely walks.

In terms of kids activities and things to do indoors, I think you would be going into Inverness a reasonable amount - not sure if there is a cinema in Nairn? And Inverness has Inoflate, Bowling etc.

We ultimately had to leave the Highlands as we couldn't progress in our chosen fields. It might be different if you work in the NHS but if you are set on staying in your lines of work, I would really research this. I would say the NHS and the Council are the biggest employers. If you can do your job as a Freelancer that might also make it work better than it did for us.

We ended up moving between Glasgow and Edinburgh and have never looked back. So much for the kids to do outdoors and indoors, we live in a small town with easy access to the train line and airports. I have to say as well the school has been so much better here too (I know the 'best lists' aren't nice/always the best interpretation but Highland schools never appear near the top). It has opened up so much more work opportunities for us and activities to do with the kids.

Good luck with your move. I don't mean to sound negative but I know the reality of hoping life in the Highlands would work but then having to leave again for work fulfilment