Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

The logistics of relocating over three hundred miles away are a bit of a nightmare so how did you do it and are there any major pitfalls to be aware of that we may not have considered?

With a house to sell, a new one to buy and jobs to find it's hard to know where to start first so we're interested to hear of anyone elses experiences. I'm particularly interested to know the order you did things in and what you'd do differently next time.

The rough plan at present is to sell our current house in Yorkshire then rent for a while in Scotland due to the complete incompatibility of the English and Scottish house buying systems. If we end up having to rent here for a while too then I guess that'll just have to be. The move will be timed to fit around the jobs and once we're settled we'll arrange a new mortgage and start house hunting. It all sounds so simple

Cheers

Sal

Alas

House buying so much easier up here. Once you've put an offer in and it's been accepted thats it. No gazumping.
Moved around a few times and twice between Scotland & England. Distance not really an issue as its a pain anyway every time you have to up sticks
Good luck. If you're looking for any specific info just ask.

sti-04!!

Your not welcome.

HtH

The Chief

Why Scotland??? Why not somewhere nice and warm like Cornwall













Or Oldham

Miss Kinky

i've done it twice - woking to Devon then Devon to Woking...

When i moved to Devon, i had someone down then helping me... they found me a flat, and i found a job once i'd moved...

Moving back was much harder... stayed in Woking a couple of times and fortunately found a vacant flat very quickly... again found a job once i'd moved... borrowed a large sum of money to cover my costs... its all been worth it though

Brendan Hughes

Sal, you think THAT's a challenge? Pah!

Brendan Hughes

Seriously, I'd get the jobs sorted out first and then understand where you need to move to. Buying a house and then trying to find a job to suit seems a bit houseboat before horse.

RussBoy

I upped and left the UK altogether for Spain last October. I basically planned it for about 2 years with my wife - we sold the house in Tunbridge Wells a year before when we knew prices were peaking, we went into rented for 6 months which was a pain, but it allowed us to buy a house in Spain with our equity, get some building work done (it's a 400 year old village house) and then get ourselves over.

I run a web design and SEO business and simply moved it from UK to Spain overnight - some customers still don't realise I'm here in Spain all the time now! Thanks to VOIP I still have a UK phone number, in fact my telephone bill is now cheaper, and most of comm's to mates and that is through the web via emails etc. I can hop on a plane back to blighty really easily - an hour from Malaga this end and 20 mins from my old manor from Gatwick in the UK.

Distance is irrelevant to be honest after you're 20 miles or so out your normal comfort zone. I could quite easily move on again - the thought of doing so is a lot worse than the actual reality. Worst thing for me was the planning - I was going mad at the end and you tend to question your sanity as well (we had no electricity, bathroom, furniture and just minum clothing for a month after arriving!) Best thing? We've made some great new mates - expat Brits and Spanairds and to me, that's what you need to consider when moving anywhere in the world.


R

Am I pleased I moved? Yep, I miss my old stomping ground a bit from time to time, but my life now isn't comparable to a year ago in my old location.

amazinggrace

Yeah, er why Scotland? Do you ave some kind af attatchment there? Have you been before, and seen a town/village you like?

I watched a program once on some weird sky channel, this family moved from the South to Scotland, they had 3 kids, 2 had disabilities and the Mother couldn't drive. They bought a house (without seeing it) in the middle of nowhere!

We moved from Newcastle to Wales, then back again but we have family at both ends which made it easier.

First off I would say find an area you like, see what the housing is like, if there are plenty of rentals, and what the job front is like and the local shops and entertainment.

and good luck

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

If you guys need a hand with anything up here just give me a shout Sal.

Definitely a case of finding a job first, then sorting out accommodation there after. Worst case scenario you stay in a B&B, that's what I did they will give you a good discount for a lengthy booking (especially if it is off-season). Given you say 300 miles I can only guess you are planning somewhere in the highlands, so be sure you have reliable cars as public transport isn't good

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

And the prize for guessing our destination goes to Robertio - you're close, it's actually Moray we're going to but it's only just over the border so I'll let you have it

For the record we are familiar with the area and love it to bits, if you've ever been to Moray, the Cairngorms & Highlands you'll probably have some understanding why we want to live there. We currently take most of our holidays in Scotland so it'll mean we'll have less far to travel for our hols now too

There are a couple of job prospects in the pipeline but I don't want to go into them here. I also work for myself at present so can if absolutely neccesary, continue with it up there for a period of time although my frequent trips down south will have to be by plane and therefore fairly expensive but still doable.

I do have relatives in Scotland too albeit in Edinburgh but I haven't seen them in some while so it may be time to reaquaint myself with them

This isn't a new plan, we've been talking about it for over a year and have just come back from another recce of the area and decided it's time to go for it

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Actually Robbie I've just thought of something you can help us with. Does your local supermarket sell Hall's Veggie Haggis? I can't get it anywhere in England and we absolutely love the stuff although Bob would never admit to liking a vegetarian product on a BBS.

Oops

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

No idea Sal, don't eat veggies and would have to be paid a large amount to eat haggis (such cute creatures when out roaming free in the countryside ). If I remember I'll have a look at the weekend. I can't believe Bob would eat veggie stuff, can only guess you are saying that to try to get a double helping

Flights from Inverness to London are cheap, you'll be pleased to hear.

I expect you both to join us snowboarding on the cairngorms next winter if your relocation takes place

BOB.T

Actually, I was surprised just how easy it was to track and snare a Haggis, you guys make out like it's hard work! I should think I'll have Nessie bagged within weeks of moving up there.

Thanks for the help so far guys!

StickyMicky

One of our scottish contractor engineers is moving from Glasgow to Bogner Regis to run a carwash

he told me it was 600 miles from his home
the plan is to rent his glasgow house out to pay the the costs on something down south

madness

MarkO

I've already spoken to Sal via email, but we moved from the SE to Scotland about 3 years ago. Totally agree about the job/house comments - trying to find either from 400 miles away is entirely impractical.

Would highly recommend it though. Lovin' it in Scotland.

lightning101

How can you get vegetarian haggis ?

Kill it, catch it and then throw it all away again

deano

I was going to move to Scotland but was worried that I might have ginger kids. In the end, I went south and ended up in Devon.

It's a culture shock from Manchester - but hell was it worth it

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

You bet! I fancy a bit of snowmobiling too

Thanks everyone for your comments

Diablo

Good luck Sal - feel free to PM me for any info/help/advice.

We're looking at buying a place in Aviemore but its proving very difficult.

Moray is stunning - we were watching the dolphins from the beach at Nairn last month

MarkO

Make sure you get a mountain-bike too if you don't have one already. Loads of good trails up that way, and you could come and ride down here too.

BOB.T

I've already got a bike but it may need upgrading, the Scotish trails are very hard on bikes arent they... Full sussers are a must I gather

Alas

So they ended up with a gap in their teeth, playing banjo instead then?

The Chief

A culture shock i bet....No *******, scumbags and thieving gits or plastic gangsters - Stockport opens your eyes

MarkO

Absolutely right. The trails are notoriously difficult and would definitely require a full-susser. I'd recommend you get sign-off for a budget of at least £2k.

watto52

i moved from nottingham to cumbria. I rented a house out first then decided to buy. Also changed carere fom courier to bus driver.
Its easy if your if ou push yourself

BOB.T

Righto, Cheers Mark, I'll get on to that