The logistics of living in Northern Scotland
Discussion
I am in the fortunate position of being able to earn a living from sitting on my arse all day in front of a computer screen so long as I have an internet connection. As I get older the appeal of living somewhere quieter/peaceful is increasing. I'm in northern England now on the suburbs of 2 cities and several towns but I did live in Glasgow off the Gt Western Rd for a while which gave me the opportunity to do a lot of driving around northern Scotland and I could see myself living there.
What is the reality actually like? I have up to £150k at my disposal and there are a lot of detached properties in N & NE Scotland with an acre or two of land and no neighbours for miles that come within that budget, albeit most require some degree of modernisation. But I wonder about the logistics of things like ordering stuff online as many companies operate a delivery blacklist for northern Scotland postcodes. Is there some kind of middleman you can get your stuff sent to you instead and then you have to go and collect it from them or is it simply the case that you can't buy stuff from that particular company? What do you do if they are the only company that sells what you need? How do you get the stuff to your house?
Also what do you do for your grocery 'big shop'? If you're living up in, say, Caithness or over in, say, Banff, your local Tesco Express store (or whatever) is unlikely to stock all your favourite stuff so do you have do a 100 mile round trip to the 'big store' in Inverness/Aberdeen or do you just make do with whatever is available in your local village store? Naturally, living on the edge of a city here I have no problems ordering stuff online for delivery and have a good selection of full size Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrisons and the German supermarkets all within a 10 mile round trip so moving to ruralshire would be quite the culture shock in that respect.
I'm not set on Scotland btw, it just happens to be that this seems to offer a good package of bang-for-buck, especially in the NE areas, but Cumbria is another area where you get a lot of property/land for your money. Before anyone says it I have already ruled out western Scotland because of it being a no-go zone due to midges. I'm also quite content with the weather when it's 10C and drizzling or -10C and blowing a gale so the Scottish weather doesn't bother me
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I've no family considerations now (all dead) and friends are now all under the thumb with kids, wives. daily work commute/grind etc so only ever see them once a blue moon, so it's time for a change, new pastures and to please myself.
Anyone living up yonder care to share their experiences and other things I should perhaps consider?
What is the reality actually like? I have up to £150k at my disposal and there are a lot of detached properties in N & NE Scotland with an acre or two of land and no neighbours for miles that come within that budget, albeit most require some degree of modernisation. But I wonder about the logistics of things like ordering stuff online as many companies operate a delivery blacklist for northern Scotland postcodes. Is there some kind of middleman you can get your stuff sent to you instead and then you have to go and collect it from them or is it simply the case that you can't buy stuff from that particular company? What do you do if they are the only company that sells what you need? How do you get the stuff to your house?
Also what do you do for your grocery 'big shop'? If you're living up in, say, Caithness or over in, say, Banff, your local Tesco Express store (or whatever) is unlikely to stock all your favourite stuff so do you have do a 100 mile round trip to the 'big store' in Inverness/Aberdeen or do you just make do with whatever is available in your local village store? Naturally, living on the edge of a city here I have no problems ordering stuff online for delivery and have a good selection of full size Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrisons and the German supermarkets all within a 10 mile round trip so moving to ruralshire would be quite the culture shock in that respect.
I'm not set on Scotland btw, it just happens to be that this seems to offer a good package of bang-for-buck, especially in the NE areas, but Cumbria is another area where you get a lot of property/land for your money. Before anyone says it I have already ruled out western Scotland because of it being a no-go zone due to midges. I'm also quite content with the weather when it's 10C and drizzling or -10C and blowing a gale so the Scottish weather doesn't bother me
.I've no family considerations now (all dead) and friends are now all under the thumb with kids, wives. daily work commute/grind etc so only ever see them once a blue moon, so it's time for a change, new pastures and to please myself
. Anyone living up yonder care to share their experiences and other things I should perhaps consider?
If you need a good broadband connection it's worth checking out that it's possible, I'm not especially remote, 6 miles to the nearest town, 15 mins to the M74, but satellite broadband is the only option round here, it's fine for a bit of surfing, but not for a work connection or downloading much, also have to go down the garden for a mobile signal, and the land line is barely useable, so working from home isn't really an option.
Lemming Train said:
I wonder about the logistics of things like ordering stuff online as many companies operate a delivery blacklist for northern Scotland postcodes. Is there some kind of middleman you can get your stuff sent to you instead and then you have to go and collect it from them or is it simply the case that you can't buy stuff from that particular company? What do you do if they are the only company that sells what you need? How do you get the stuff to your house?
Also what do you do for your grocery 'big shop'? If you're living up in, say, Caithness or over in, say, Banff, your local Tesco Express store (or whatever) is unlikely to stock all your favourite stuff so do you have do a 100 mile round trip to the 'big store' in Inverness/Aberdeen or do you just make do with whatever is available in your local village store?
I think you've mostly answered your own questions tbh. I've seen additional delivery charges more than I've seen 'we don't go past Perth', but inevitably you're not going to have the same level of access as elsewhere. Likewise the food shopping, you pay your money and make your choice.Also what do you do for your grocery 'big shop'? If you're living up in, say, Caithness or over in, say, Banff, your local Tesco Express store (or whatever) is unlikely to stock all your favourite stuff so do you have do a 100 mile round trip to the 'big store' in Inverness/Aberdeen or do you just make do with whatever is available in your local village store?
But surely that's part of the attraction? If you could get the same levels of service and connectivity as elsewhere you'd have more people, higher house prices...
I'm looking at something similar, albeit getting away from Scotland to warmer climes. Semi rural living. I have accepted that I won't be able to go next door to a Tesco Express for a lazy ready meal. Nor have Just Eat available. Or Amazon on the spot delivery. If you're doing that sort of move I think you have to be prepared for a slowing of pace and a change of lifestyle.
Sorry, that sounded harsh but was only meant as a flippant joke!
You will have to check out before hand (and it is pretty easy). Call the relevant firms and just ask them.
You won't necessarily change their stance, but you can establish this and then move forward with more certainty regarding the points that are important to you with this major decision.
It is a beautiful part of the world, there is no doubt about that. If you are happy with the relative isolation (I would be) and can still get the supplies (services and goods) you need then it is a bit of a no brainer as far as I can see.
You will have to check out before hand (and it is pretty easy). Call the relevant firms and just ask them.
You won't necessarily change their stance, but you can establish this and then move forward with more certainty regarding the points that are important to you with this major decision.
It is a beautiful part of the world, there is no doubt about that. If you are happy with the relative isolation (I would be) and can still get the supplies (services and goods) you need then it is a bit of a no brainer as far as I can see.
Edited by JulianPH on Saturday 1st September 16:51
You really will need to make sure the connection speeds are ok. I am a couple of miles outside the nearest city but the broadband is standard, not fast. No upgrade coming. Upload speeds are particularly poor.
I cannot do any database work from home as these are all hosted in the office. Even large PowerPoint files become a problem unless I move them onto the desktop from network drives before leaving the office. I have the option to use a remote server which would reduce the level of data transfer but unfortunately the few seconds lag makes it unworkable.
I cannot do any database work from home as these are all hosted in the office. Even large PowerPoint files become a problem unless I move them onto the desktop from network drives before leaving the office. I have the option to use a remote server which would reduce the level of data transfer but unfortunately the few seconds lag makes it unworkable.
Something I'd definitely like to do. I do love my Netflix/Prime Video though, so need decent BB.
BT's checker is your friend
BT's checker is your friend
FredericRobinson said:
If you need a good broadband connection it's worth checking out that it's possible, I'm not especially remote, 6 miles to the nearest town, 15 mins to the M74, but satellite broadband is the only option round here, it's fine for a bit of surfing, but not for a work connection or downloading much, also have to go down the garden for a mobile signal, and the land line is barely useable, so working from home isn't really an option.
Yes, naturally I would be checking this before making any offers. I used to do a lot of travelling to rural areas (Wales, England and Scotland) through work which often required overnight stays and I was surprised to find just how good the mobile data coverage is now in these remote hamlets that are miles away from anywhere. It was quite common for me to see 30+ Mbps with my EE Mifi box so long as there wasn't too much terrain in between me and the mast.A decent 4G signal will do. I'm in rural Lincolnshire with 2Mbs on a landline on a good day and very unreliable to boot thanks to lots of overhead lines next to the sea. So I have ditched my landline completely and gone mobile. Ten times the speed at a lower cost and much less stressful.
It may come as a complete surprise but there are super markets in the highlands.
One word though, rain. Do you like it? Do you like it a lot? If not, then don't move there.
Personally, there are far more appealing places in the world I would choose to live if I was working remotely compared to north Scotland but then I grew up there so perhaps I am tainted in that respect.
One word though, rain. Do you like it? Do you like it a lot? If not, then don't move there.
Personally, there are far more appealing places in the world I would choose to live if I was working remotely compared to north Scotland but then I grew up there so perhaps I am tainted in that respect.
DoubleTime said:
It may come as a complete surprise but there are super markets in the highlands.
One word though, rain. Do you like it? Do you like it a lot? If not, then don't move there.
Personally, there are far more appealing places in the world I would choose to live if I was working remotely compared to north Scotland but then I grew up there so perhaps I am tainted in that respect.
My research has shown me that while there are supermarket names up there in some of the smaller towns, they aren't much bigger than Express stores and so have extremely limited range. For a proper shop surely you would have to go to Inverness or Aberdeen? Is this incorrect?One word though, rain. Do you like it? Do you like it a lot? If not, then don't move there.
Personally, there are far more appealing places in the world I would choose to live if I was working remotely compared to north Scotland but then I grew up there so perhaps I am tainted in that respect.
I am cool with rain. I prefer rain to sun, although obviously when I need to do stuff outside, not so much..
I like the UK for the most part. People are quick to slate it and complain, saying you should move to x, y or z country because reasons but as evidenced in the numerous "should I move abroad?" threads on here, the majority of people have discovered that these far-flung paradises and utopias are nothing of the sort and soon come back to the UK where they come to realise it's not so bad here after all.
Out of interest, what didn't/don't you like about Scotland that caused you to move? (apart from it being full of Scottish people, of course
)Edited by Lemming Train on Saturday 1st September 18:07
smifffymoto said:
I think GetCarter lives in the type of place you are wanting OP.
He is on the west side in a remote area. Probably in a good position to comment on the logistics of buying stuff online and getting it delivered though. I might ping him an email if he doesn't show up here.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff