I'm away....
- Thread starter Dougster
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Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
Ah well, maybe take heart in the fact that I know 2 teachers who are from and still live in the local village , one of whom can only find work an hours drive away and the other who cannot find work .... whilst the local school has one teacher from Ireland and another from England.
Well, if the job went unfilled then they clearly hadn't gotten anybody who fitted, and since you won't have been the only candidates that were interviewed, and disappointing though the result may have been, it's probably not the bias you think.
There are over 400,000 English people living and working in Scotland out of a population of just over 5,000,000; that a heck of a percentage.
I know of a village in the area where you are looking to buy, where there are only three of the houses in permanent use, every other single one is a second home. In that same area I know where the locals live in caravans all year round
Multiply that across the country and the problems are obvious. I have worked on islands where the Scots joke that if you want to hear a local accent you need to take it in with you, or listen to the stones in the graveyard.
I know of attempts to build eco villages that were totally taken over by foreigners who could afford to throw money at an 'ideal' lifestyle and not one of the local Scots ended up with any of the plots despite all their founding work on the project.
I do understand the underlying economics and I do understand the social logistics, but that you are bringing family to settle, live, and become part of the community (and as teachers you will become involved anyway) that should ease the way.
There are problems for those who do buy and then try to sell on the same kind of profit that they expect down south. It often doesn't happen, and like those who have moved to France, they find themselves stuck with either a house that will sell, but not at a price that they can afford to move 'home' from, or having to accept a greatly reduced standard of living if they do go back to England, or find themselves unable to downsize comfortably.
There is some bitterness at folks who sell up in the South, at overblown southern prices, and outprice locals just trying to find homes for their families in the area they have lived in for generations. However, nearly a fifth of our population is not Scottish by birth now, so the problem clearly doesn't deter folks.
I'm told that many English country villages have the same issues with, relatively speaking, cash rich incomers.
UK society is fluid: for some.
Best of luck finding and being happy in your new home
M
There are over 400,000 English people living and working in Scotland out of a population of just over 5,000,000; that a heck of a percentage.
I know of a village in the area where you are looking to buy, where there are only three of the houses in permanent use, every other single one is a second home. In that same area I know where the locals live in caravans all year round
Multiply that across the country and the problems are obvious. I have worked on islands where the Scots joke that if you want to hear a local accent you need to take it in with you, or listen to the stones in the graveyard.
I know of attempts to build eco villages that were totally taken over by foreigners who could afford to throw money at an 'ideal' lifestyle and not one of the local Scots ended up with any of the plots despite all their founding work on the project.
I do understand the underlying economics and I do understand the social logistics, but that you are bringing family to settle, live, and become part of the community (and as teachers you will become involved anyway) that should ease the way.
There are problems for those who do buy and then try to sell on the same kind of profit that they expect down south. It often doesn't happen, and like those who have moved to France, they find themselves stuck with either a house that will sell, but not at a price that they can afford to move 'home' from, or having to accept a greatly reduced standard of living if they do go back to England, or find themselves unable to downsize comfortably.
There is some bitterness at folks who sell up in the South, at overblown southern prices, and outprice locals just trying to find homes for their families in the area they have lived in for generations. However, nearly a fifth of our population is not Scottish by birth now, so the problem clearly doesn't deter folks.
I'm told that many English country villages have the same issues with, relatively speaking, cash rich incomers.
UK society is fluid: for some.
Best of luck finding and being happy in your new home
M
Its much less than the number of Scots living in England of course. But they don't seem to be faced with the same resentment
....In that same area I know where the locals live in caravans all year round
That would be one of my dreams; to retire to an RV/Motorhome and simply travel the continent. A few months here. A few months there as the whim takes me. I would still need to maintain a "permanent address" somewhere to be able to register to vote, get/keep my driver's license, etc, but it would be worth it.
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Yet the complaint was agin non Scots ...... ?
It's not right whichever way the bias goes, but it exists on both sides of the border, or rather on every side of the borders in the UK.
Even where you are now, fitting in well, settled, working hard, you're still not local and never will be, and that's within your own country.
Ignore it, make life good, help your neighbours when you can, improve things all round. The alternative is to bleat and complain and generally put backs up.
Doesn't mean we can't understand the roots of it all.
M
It's not right whichever way the bias goes, but it exists on both sides of the border, or rather on every side of the borders in the UK.
Even where you are now, fitting in well, settled, working hard, you're still not local and never will be, and that's within your own country.
Ignore it, make life good, help your neighbours when you can, improve things all round. The alternative is to bleat and complain and generally put backs up.
Doesn't mean we can't understand the roots of it all.
M
Aye, well here it's less a dream and instead something called being homeless ...
.......and in our climate caravan living is often a miserable option; read Tengu's post for further evidence of the realities of it.
M
M
The point was she hasn't experienced it in England (not in any of the many counties we have lived in), but we as a couple have in Scotland.
As with all prejudice - it needs to be confronted = as we would if we saw it here
Ive lived in Scotland for 18 yrs in three differant locations eg , west,central borders and now south east coast, and only once have i had something directly bigoted said to me, and that was here when i first moved to village 8 yrs ago. Along the lines of taking houses from locals,although can now sort of see point to a degree as there are lots of empty holiday homes, and only three parents at the school who are originally from here.
Prospective incomer number one to local: "What are the locals like?"
Local: "What are the people you live among now like?"
Incomer one: "A miserable, bigotted lot of selfish, unfriendly ******** always out to twist you!"
Local:" You'll find them exactly the same here!"
Prospective incomer number two to same local: "What are the locals like?"
Local:"What are the people you live among now like?"
Incomer two:" Friendly, helpful and co-operative on the whole, mostly ready to please and to be pleased."
Local:" You'll find them exactly the same here!"
Local: "What are the people you live among now like?"
Incomer one: "A miserable, bigotted lot of selfish, unfriendly ******** always out to twist you!"
Local:" You'll find them exactly the same here!"
Prospective incomer number two to same local: "What are the locals like?"
Local:"What are the people you live among now like?"
Incomer two:" Friendly, helpful and co-operative on the whole, mostly ready to please and to be pleased."
Local:" You'll find them exactly the same here!"
Part of the attraction is that with that lifestyle you get to choose your climate. If it isn't good right here, right now, just drive somewhere else.
Besides, people living that lifestyle tend to have much bigger, better built motor homes (remember you can afford to spend a lot more on it if it's your home and replaces a mortgage)
Being a Welshman, sharing my happiness at moving to Scotland, I'm glad I started this thread.
I am starting to remember why I didn't for a while.
For the record, my wife was verbally offered the job at interview, we started on the process of moving. The depute who offered her the job went off for an operation and the replacement refused (so we believe) to send the contract. We drew our own conclusions.
We have never openly faced bigotry, we want to move there and are excited we are going, working hard to attempt to join in a community. I'm going to leave this thread and I'm not going to check in for a while.
I am starting to remember why I didn't for a while.
For the record, my wife was verbally offered the job at interview, we started on the process of moving. The depute who offered her the job went off for an operation and the replacement refused (so we believe) to send the contract. We drew our own conclusions.
We have never openly faced bigotry, we want to move there and are excited we are going, working hard to attempt to join in a community. I'm going to leave this thread and I'm not going to check in for a while.
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Again, you are inserting your concept of a dream retirement option for wealthy individuals on a huge continent into a discussion of young local families struggling to find either work or affordable housing or both on a small, wet and crowded island. Your dream "lifestyle" bears no relation whatsoever to the reality of people here struggling on low pay or benefits to find a home, schooling and family life in the area where they were brought up , who are forced into living in 30 year old one room tin boxes on a family member's drive or a local field where last night it was -3 and snowed. That is what is meant by living in a caravan, not touring around balmy National Parks and eating in restaurants from the safety of a £200000 Winnebago RV.
