r/MoveToScotland

I’m American. My husband is Scottish. I moved over a few months ago and I now live, work, and thrive in my community off the coast of Fife. I truly, deeply love it here.

Next year we hope to start our family.

This has got me thinking: for anyone else with a similar dynamic, did you ever feel comfortable enough to call yourself Scottish? Did it ever feel truly right to say?

How do any potential children identify? Would they feel culturally American at all while living in Scotland? Considering the fact we come from a nation of immigrants I don’t even know what this would really look like.

I chose Scotland to give my family a better life. I’m not a patriotic person but I’m proud of the hardworking people I come from. I want to instill the same roots in any children that we have in Scotland the same way we would if we had ended up in the US. I mean, my husband would’ve wanted our grandkids grandkids to know they were Scottish — immigrating is hard as f

Pretty much the title. Interested in moving to Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow). Not sure where to look or where to start, or if it’s even really possible. Thoughts? Thanks.

Good morning, all! Just looking for some input. I am Scottish and am married to a European, with a baby who has joint citizenship.

I have lived in mainland Europe for 9 years and we have a very comfortable life. My husband is bilingual and works for an area within the skilled worker list. Since the baby has arrived, I have made a small circle of friends but have very little family support from my husband's side, which is the complete opposite in my family.

As someone who hates the heat and much prefers the rain, we return to Scotland for two months every summer and have done so, thankfully, again this year. With the above familial situation combined with worsening heat, we're wondering if a return to Scotland could be better for us as a small family.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and any pointers that we should consider!

Thank you!

Hello!
I’m in Inverness right now for the first time in my life. I just wanna know how you guys think about living here, how is the life. In my first day it seemed a little bit desolate but I wanna know if it is just my prospective. Anyway, I wanna also know if there are some kind of tourism in this part of UK, and how much is big, if it’s a problem or an opportunity for local people.
Just curiosity :)

I live in Scotland and I’m going to Kerala for a holiday soon. So I’d like to take something nice for my family.

What are some affordable but unique Scottish/UK stuff I could take home? Looking for ideas that aren’t too expensive and are easy to carry in a suitcase.

I'm seriously considering moving to Scotland, as I'm extremely isolated where I am in England. I've never been to Scotland, but will do some traveling before moving. I don't know where to start though. I'm looking for somewhere queer friendly and definitely on the coast, woodlands or a forest too is a huge plus as I'm very drawn to nature. Easy public transport to a city like Edinburgh for events is a must. I'd quite like a town over a village, due to access to shops, travel, and building community. Thank you in advance!

Me m32 and wife f28 went to Scotland for our honeymoon and I absolutely loved it we've had some talks about moving there but I'd like to get all the info I need before making the discussion any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!?

Hello (I need help desperately!!!)

I've posted before about having A LOT of trouble finding housing as a mature student who wants to move from the states for my masters. I've basically lost all hope of this working because of how hard it has been to find housing and how soon my program is supposed to start (early mid September.) Im not in Edinburgh currently, so getting viewings that allow virtual are nearly impossible. Is the expectation literally for me to move there with no permanent housing and just hope that being there physically will help me secure a place??

I've contacted relocation agents (which have not responded to me), looked into all the agencies, the Facebook chats, nothing. The few viewings I am able to get always get cancelled because the property will get let out before I even have the chance to attend my viewing.

I do have two cats that would eventually join me, but for now, Im really trying to focus on even getting there in the first place. Is anyone able to attest to this moving over before securing housing? That to me is a big risk because financially this move is already tight, but I honestly would do anything for this to work at this point. I am just really worried that I move and am unable to find housing for myself and my pets. I know having pets is a limiting factor, but right now thats not even what's preventing me from securing a place, it is literally me not being able to get viewings because Im not there or because I do not have a UK number.

ANY and ALL advice is appreciated please😭

Would love to get some advice/guidance on becoming a teacher in Scotland.

My plan is to get my PGDE in Secondary Business Studies/Economics (Student Visa), then switch to the Graduate Visa to do my Probationary year. This should get me GTCS completed, correct? From that point, I would then have to try to get a permanent position at a school via a Skilled Worker Visa.

My questions are:

1. Is this feasible?
2. Can a Supply teacher get a Skilled Worker Visa since the employer is the Council, if the Supply role is permanent?
3. How competitive is the job market? Meaning that since I will have limited teaching experience, I’ll be passed up, especially since I would require a visa sponsorship.

My dream is to live and work in Scotland (preferably in the rural areas). I’m from the USA, and if there is anyone who has done this or knows someone who has, I’d greatly appreciate any insight.

Hello everyone,

​I'm looking for some advice on moving to Scotland from Sweden, mostly due to feeling severely isolated and after actively trying to integrate and failing. I need honest advice on moving to Scotland in our situation. We know quite a lot about Scotland and nearly moved there but then Brexit happened and it didn't feel smart

We are both from Bosnia, and we have a 2 yearold. Husband and son are Swedish citizens. We're English speakers both at an academic level, he works in IT (10+) and I had a bit of a stringy carreer but will have a degree to work as a lab technician (industrial laboratory). We have a house in Sweden that we bought cheap and we might save enough money to facilitate a move in some 3-5 years.

The reason why we want to move might sound stupid so please be kind.

While we love Sweden dearly and identify ourselves with it at some level. The social - cultural discrepancy between our culture and Sweden is something we cannot bridge. We're a bit toned down typical Bosnians: friendly and inviting, we like good food, endless discussions with good company, and we'll genuinely go up and beyond for our guests and friends. Mostly because we find pride in it. We also are capable of tolerating a lot of things, stress and conflict. We give people time and space to see how they behave towards us but are absolutely not afraid of being direct or taking critique. By toned down it means that we are a bit more reserved, and definitely suck big time at being spontaneous as your average Bosnian. We really like our structure, and privacy rather than a large network and spontaneous hangouts with relatives.

Sounds good enough to live in Sweden but we still have no social circle. While finding friends is hard as an adult, we were ready for it but 8 years is ridiculous.

We have people we know but no close friends. So, nobody to call when you would have a cup of coffee, or invite for important events like birthday or dinner party. Or to share good news with. We knew it would be like this, we were outside of Sweden for 10 months when out baby was small and knew what we are going back to.

But, knowing that our son is 2 and does not have one single friend from preschool, because the parents simply don't interact with each other (not just us it's towards everyone) made us really miserable and reconsidering our choice.

And this is not for the lack of trying. We speak the language, we are polite and respectful and try to establish contact with people without being pushy. We are active member of organization, volunteer for an organization that works with water protection. We do have hobbies and tried all and every tip in the book. We noticed that some people like to meet us and enjoy the "balkan ambient" but will not actually reciprocate and ghost you once we become uninteresting. Every time we tried to raise any issues we had (such as notoriously punctual swedes constantly being late whenever meeting us), the discussion meant the person just drops us. Conflict, even when you genuinely have a point is seen as a reason never to talk to you again.

I did start pushing and asking people about why and was basically told: " we already have friends from school, most of us won't miss losing you as a friend. It's sad but it's how it is" And "well most people will gladly participate in an activity or visit hur sadly the effort to maintain it and build a new relationship is too much ".

It means that besides the emotional connection we also don't have any emergency contacts or the like, we cannot actually rely on any help even with the smallest things. We did have international friends but most moved back or away. Our option is returning to bosnia after retirement but we don't know if our children would stay here or not.

We genuinely do not wish to return to Bosnia at this point as the opportunities in the EU for work and education as well as life quality is simply better.
The question is with our profile, work and family situation would moving to Scotland be a good idea? Would we actually be able to find a job and find a community or some sense of belonging at any point?

More practically: Is finding jobs hard especially industrial laboratory (not a chemist)? Do employers consider foreign applications now that visa is a requirement? We're also open to living in the countryside and have experience with local/rural development (through citizen volunteering). Finally if we'd be moving this late, can we be able to afford to buy a house/flat? Would childcare be an issue?

Thank you very much for any help and advice. This had been really hard to write and I apologize in advance for the long post.

Is Fraserburgh a nice place to live? Is there a strong sense of community?

Thank you.

Hi! I am an LCSW from NY who works in private practice, specializing in DBT, primarily working with queer and neurodivergent adolescents and young adults. I have worked in a hospital, both in the emergency room doing assessments and providing group therapy on their inpatient unit. I used to live in Glasgow and would love to move back! I am throwing things at the wall at the minute, but I know all the opportunities that are meant to be come from putting yourself out there and meeting new people.

I am not necessarily looking for visa advice, but I am hoping to connect with therapists in Glasgow or open the floor to any information. Are there any Americans who have done this? I am also trying to learn the landscape as much as I can, so if there are any amazing therapists or resources that you love in general, having to do with therapy in Glasgow, please send!!

Thanks for reading this,

K

Hi friends. I need ur help, I’m Ukrainian and wanna move to Scotland, Glasgow

I saw that there is a program in Scotland “Homes for Ukraine”. Don't know if there is any other programs but I want to know what I should do and what I need for that?

Hi all,

My wife and I plan to move to Scotland in the next few years and I have posted previously, but I was wondering, for those who live and work here, what is home working like?

I work currently for my local council and would be looking to go into a similar role in adult social care. Is home working encouraged/common? I also have ADHD so office working is very difficult for me. What are Scottish employers like with that also? Is there a good understanding of neurodiversity?

I'm aware that's a very big question, I just wanted to try and get a general idea.

Thank you.