crofting in scotland

goldspanners

im guessing you've met one scottish person who is a bit racist, or do you just beleive everything you see on the tv?
i dont think scotland has a racism problem, we certainly not with the english,maybe polish or asian but ive not seen much in the way of hatred towards english. you will need to have a sense of humour though and expect some jokes,folk will pass remark,but they wont assault you for being english.
you might encounter some intolerance in city centres but i doubt it in the countryside.

dont go around with st georges crosses on your car though or have flags up at your house,this would turn folk against you.

i generally find if english folk dont make a big deal about being english then scots wont make a big deal about you being english either.

where do you see yourself moving to? have been to visit yet?

cherrub

sad_dog_lady wrote: »

as for the racism , i just want to go to an english tollerant zone, i dont want my kids hurt.

I don't honestly think it's racism you need to worry about at all.

What is probably much more relevant is whether your family has the ability to adapt to living in an extremely rural and close knit society and can fit in. Although you have not said where you currently live, your concerns about racism suggest you may be coming from a big city where there are racism problems. You need to be worrying about the overall cutural changes and not race issues.

We have lived in Scotland for the last five years and nobody here gives a stuff about the fact I'm from Northern Ireland and my partner is English.

Errata

Move to Cumbria and you'll be treated as an offcomer to the 5th generation. Perhaps this might happen if you move to Scotland ?

sandiep

Scots communities, partic the smaller ones but it pretty much applies to the big cities too, are much more open than english ones. For example, I am half scottish, half english, lived in england until ten years ago, now have children and a family in scotland.

In England, you go to a new housing estate and you'll be pushed to see children playing out. In scotland kids play out a lot more, football in the streets, in and out of each other's houses, bikes in the roads etc etc. The difference is very noticeable.

In Scotland, if you go in a shop to buy a mars bar the checkout assistant will talk to you. And if you visit regularly will call you by your name and ask after your kids (and by regular i mean about 5th visit). Downside of this is that queues move slower because people are simply chatting.

Pubs in England mean Food, new decor, Sky Sports, Music and Darts. Pubs in Scotland mean Drink, Dominos, Old decor.

The best way to fit in in Scotland is to join in, simple as that. Fitting in is about making the effort. And even small efforts usually get noticed quickly. For example make sure you use local suppliers/tradesmen where ever possible. Buy some stuff from the local shop regularly. Contribute to the social events.

A lot of the English Towns now are made of a lot of people who have moved there for work, and hence have a very small network of friends and family that they actually know in the town. In Scotland, everyone tends to either stay local, or make a big move. For example kids tend to go to the local university and communte. I lived in Didcot, in a new estate with about 10k houses! But no-one there knew anyone else. And it's these kind of social skills that make a difference in Scotland.

chopperharris

Think about dumfries and galloway , plenty of engerlanders everyone i have met has been pretty decent , but then again none have been from further south than brum...perhaps thats the reason , the whole north south divide has a grain of truth in england as much as in scotland.

Heelander folk dont think the strathclyders are scots , edinbrugh and glasga can at times have no love lost.Again plenty of english rat race escapers oop ere.

Wherever you choose if you integrate then you will be accepted , if you dont and perhaps have a chip on your shoulder thats only invisible to you then blame it as anti english sentiment.

Big tips -dont fly a union flag or st george cross , def never walk about in england tops , english division tops are ok unless its during games against the big two...or a long history.

As for the kids most will hate moving anyway after a certain age , the younger the better for integrating , it works two ways they become popular because they are different or targetted for the same... schools wont allow bullying , you may even find english teachers that are actually english up here too.Do the usual , cubs , scouts , clubs , guides , brownies , sports etc the more friends they make the easier it is for them and the more backup for any small minded bullies.

Check out smallholding schemes like carsphairn , rural property sites , and visit in all seasons.Some areas are just useless for anything other than growing trees ...ie in the shade for four months of the year like east ayshire and its hills.

ailuro2

There are plenty people from all over the world who have sold up and come to Scotland, you won't be the first, even though you seem to think you will:p


You're right to expect resentment, but it's not a racism thing, more of an "our youngsters can't afford to buy somewhere of their own because the 'moneyed' incomers push the house/land prices up." Put yourself in their shoes for a moment and you'll understand they don't want their kids pushed out to the city to work while strangers come in and take over.....;)

It happends in Cornwall and Devon etc too, you really can't blame folk for not welcoming you with open arms, especially if you turn up with an attitude like yours - i.e. expecting to be hated.

btw, sassenachs aren't just the English, so it might help if you do a bit more homework on the area before you arrive, just to help you believe it's not an 'ingerlish' thing.

If it were me, I'd come for a holiday in the middle of November, so you can see what it's like in the cold, rain and freezing cold, it's pitch black outside and a 10 minute drive to the nearest paper shop. Then imagine one of the kids has need of a Dr. but the nearest one is 40 miles away. Is it still the kind of life you want?

Yes, it's a beautiful country, but it's dark by 4 in winter so the kids will be playing inside, and the cost of petrol is awful - easily 10p more per litre, and of course, the shops - local shops will charge more, so a once a fortnight run into the big town for a big shop will be needed. You need to take all this into account before you move, can you afford the increased costs realted to living up North?


One last story - I was camping in a little field just outside Golspie many years ago, the smallholder let people use his field and the loo for about 50p iirc, got talking to him and he said the incomers had ruined the place, no one could afford to buy a house anymore, the ones who were living there had got onto the golf club commitee and come up with all these daft rules about women were only allowed to wear skirts, and all sorts of nonsense.
The other half were hardly there so weren't even a part of the community.

sad_dog_lady

we want to give something to the community, we can tolerate being shunned, but recently a girl who'd lived in scotland most of her life was punched in the face as she sounded english, i lived in scotland for a year as a child and i had the odd joke, that i dont mind but i hear that anti english is on the rise, thats whats i concerned about. i was looking at shetland, orkney , hebredies and i will try to do more homework, but this is part of my research... asking all of you has been an eye opener, i dont want to price someone out, i am not looking for a holiday home, i want to work the land bloody hard and produce some good stock and get away from the rat race, whilst my hubby wants to do wildlife photography whilst using his conservation skills. thanks for all the advice.

juliescot

sad_dog_lady wrote: »

we want to give something to the community, we can tolerate being shunned, but recently a girl who'd lived in scotland most of her life was punched in the face as she sounded english, i lived in scotland for a year as a child and i had the odd joke, that i dont mind but i hear that anti english is on the rise, thats whats i concerned about. i was looking at shetland, orkney , hebredies and i will try to do more homework, but this is part of my research... asking all of you has been an eye opener, i dont want to price someone out, i am not looking for a holiday home, i want to work the land bloody hard and produce some good stock and get away from the rat race, whilst my hubby wants to do wildlife photography whilst using his conservation skills. thanks for all the advice.

I was in Harris earlier this year and there seems to have been a well received influx of people, from other parts of Scotland and also further afield. The locals I spoke to thought that anyone coming in and trying to be part of the community and increasing the population was a good thing

Where did the incident with the girl who was punched happen?

sad_dog_lady

aberdeen i think.

sad_dog_lady

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7826264.stm