Moving to Scotland Advice

[JBHB9]

Good morning, please be patient I know how forums can befirst day on here so this might be in the totally wrong place.

So we're relatively young-ish parents 24 & 23 with our newborn, came back from living in Australia to finish our career qualifications this year ( along with a baby lol). I'm in my last year of Uni which will gain me a degree in Midwifery, my partner an Auto Electrician.

Since our arrival back we have taken a liking to the look of the highlands in Scotland, so our questions are focused to people that live there, Nice places to live, good schools, relatively good selection for groceries etc and the places to avoid? Job prospects for us both as mentioned.

Before anybody starts "why did you come back" "why don't you go back to Australia", we spend most of our days debating this with family haha!

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I moved from South of England to Highlands recently and have a newborn. I have to say although the people who live her are absolutely lovely and the pace of life much better, I struggle to be happy here. Main reason is the weather. I poo-pooed people who said we would struggle before moving up here but I have found it an enormous challenge especially the winters. If you decided to move I would plump for a colder, clearer place such as in the east, then a warmer wetter place on the west coast. It's just the grey darkness that creeps up on you and when that fails to go away in the summer it can be depressing. However, like I say people here are absolutely lovely, chatty and welcoming but I'd really recommend looking at weather patterns and seeing if you can handle them before moving xx

Thanks for the response, I'm glad to hear that people are friendly as we were quite worried about this, some people have said that they can be unwelcoming to the "English".

Could you recommend any towns that are worth having a look at? We'll take the weather into account also.

The highlands is an absolutely massive area! I love it as a place to visit for holidays but could not imagine living there. I have friends who live in rural villages with no amenities and their quality of life seems to be mostly spent in the car driving children to places! If you're a midwife I think your main options for a hospital base would be Fort William or Inverness. A lot of the midwifery in the rural areas is midwife led birth centres and any more complex cases get transferred to Fort William or Inverness (or Aberdeen which isn't technically the highlands). There was a programme on channel 5 called The Highland Midwife which you might like to watch.

Which part of the Highlands? As others say, the weather IS a factor and can be very depressing during long, grey winters. Inverness has Raigmore Hospital but is run down and swamped with tourists every summer. I really like Orkney, Kirkwall is nice, but it may be too far for you.
On the mainline Elgin is an option

I’m from Nairn so lovely place to visit but now live south and would not move back, jobs aren’t plentiful in my line of work and it’s so far away from anything I’m used to now but it is a lovely area and yes the weather is rubbish in winter (highlands of Scotland!?!?)
But spring and summer can be lovely with the river and beach etc.

I now live in the forth valley area very wet but quite central for highlands and Glasgow edinburgh & m74 south to my mums. I wouldn’t go too rural as it’s a bit of a shock to the system then hard to move but somewhere more towny might suit with options to move into the countryside if you like the area and get on with people locally

Ooh look at this.

I had a friend who movved to Aiemore with her parents. She says how guilty sahe felt as it was because of her hat they all moved there and t din,t work out for them so they mooved. But thats may e becaese they din,t do their home work, wan,t right town for them. I would look to see what job opportunities are where.

I’d start off near Inverness as a stop gap to a very rural life.

Or the east coast is drier but not really the highlands.

Thanks for all the responses!

We are well aware of the weather factors (part the reason why the highlands attracts us). We are looking to be "semi rural", we have lived in outback Australia and know just how much of a pain it can be for even the simplest luxuries in life.

By the sounds of it, for us to find this semi rural life, in and around Fort William might be a good option? We don't want the big city life, like I said "semi" rural would be perfect, not too far from local schools, doctors, supermarkets etc.

I'm glad somebody pointed out hospitals, this indeed is a major MUST HAVE lol. We'll have a little google of Fort William and surrounding, keep the advice coming guys and be sure to let us know of things to avoid, apart from the winter!

Things to avoid...midges!! Do not dismiss these bitey little beggars. Worse in the West and near still water. They can make life genuinely unbearable.

Fort William (a little pricier and wetter) has its own hospital the Belford. Elgin, Nairn, Forres, Lossiemouth on the east coast and fairly near to hospital in Inverness all could be options? Elgin end flatter, fort William end more mountainous and quite touristy can cause traffic nightmares in summer. There's Oban as well but I'm not sure about a hospital. I would say then if you think the weather is actually more of a good factor and you are not to bothered with city life then north Scotland is a lovely place to be. Xx

@dementedma, I can imagine! The mozzies used to dine out on my partner it made his life a misery at times, so yes we will definitely be avoiding the midgeys haha!

Thanks for the town suggestions, having a look now and a quick scan at house prices etc.

Oban is nicer than fort William- it’s a pretty grim looking town.

Inverness isn’t a big city either- just a big town.

Fortrose Academy is good. Be wary of rural schools that have a very limited subject choice. Also consider GME- it’s growing in popularity atm.

What about Skye? It’s got a bit of everything but the bridge means you aren’t cut off.

Take a look at Perth, or that region. It’s right in the middle , commutable to, for example Ninewells hospital and is less bothered by Midges. It’s a straight run up the A9 towards Aviemore & Inverness, or the A90 to Dundee , Aberdeen, or south to Edinburgh or Glasgow., & within striking distance of Glenshee for skiing.
I have a friend who just moved there from Aberdeen and loves it for its location.

Just a quick thought- lots of houses up here have old electric storage heaters these are rubbish and eat your money esp when heating needs to be on pretty much all year to prevent damp so I would avoid these!!

Perth or the surrounds is definately worth thinking about, or the Angus area. Dry ish, handy for a better choice of shops, but very close to lovely countryside. West - wetter but warmer, east - colder but drier. Aberdeen - the oil bubble is still tehre , but diminishing - so still expensive.
Inverness - expensive for some reason.
Argyll - popular for retirement.
The flat bit between Inverness and Aberdeen - a few military bases, and Elgin is in the news for a number of NHS reasons.

Dumfries and Galloway although not Highland is very often overlooked - Dumfries area???

Try posting on Scotsnet, you might get more information there

There are a number of lovely villages within a short commute of Perth. No midges to speak of and lots of wonderful countryside on the doorstep.

Don't worry about being not-Scottish, there are loads of non-Scots everywhere and usually a very welcoming attitude - people don't like obvious middle-class cliches or arseholes but otherwise it's not even an issue. (There will always be one professional Scot who lets the side down, sorry if anyone has had a run-in with one.)

Thanks for the heads up about the heaters, we would be making sure all heating/insulation factors are relatively modern👍

Perth sounds just right... within striking distance to ski also, awesome! Thanks again for the insight of where is commutable from each town it's a big help. We'll do some more digging!

I'd look at Aviemore, Elgin, Lossiemouth. Easier weather-wise than fort William and the west coast

Dundee might be worth a shout if you want a city. Some v good schools, lively arts and culture scene, and just a few minutes away from great walks and the countryside. Not the Highlands exactly but if you are considering Perth, then give Dundee a look. Very good hospital at Ninewells.

Been looking around, realised that near Perth there's a town called Pitlochry where my partners Grandads family is from, never realised it was this part of Scotland!

Dundee area is kind of getting out of the highlands for us, which defeats the purpose of us wanting to move, everything about the Highlands appeals to us hence us doing our research now to see if it is realistic for "modern" living.

Definitely considering Perth or surrounds, Nairn, Elgin and Aviemore all good suggestions that we can consider too. So far nobody has warned us about places to avoid which is amazing... do they highlands not run into many "troublesome" areas? I know all places have their good and bad but the fact nobody has even thought to mention it means even the "bad" spots can't be that bad?

Pitlochry is beautiful but very touristy so can be very busy even out of peak times - therefore expensive. Crieff is nice but somewhere less touristy around those regions might be perfect. Avoid I'd say the west coast and islands - you get eaten alive by midges in summer, and anywhere too rural. We holiday in the northern highlands and the logistics of living there with a dc is mind boggling... an long drive to a swimming pool can be a long way to a primary and the logistics of getting to the nearest high school each day ... sounds like you are looking for something closer to a large town or city anyway though

I’m marking this thread to remind me to come back I’m getting ready for work now but I live on the east coast of the highlands and have some suggestions too. Be back tonight.