crofting in scotland

juliescot

sad_dog_lady wrote: »

aberdeen i think.

It was indeed I found the story.

EDIT - as did you I see.

I would not trouble myself unduly, not that I am condoning any sort of violence but thankfully this sort of thing is pretty rare. And in this case I can't help but feel that at 2 am there may have been drink involved - the curse of the Scots

alyth

you must integrate into the community - I live in a small rural village in Perthshire, where at least 50% of the population are English, due to a large posh housing estate! This large posh housing estate has it's own community council, fireworks display, etc and as such the village is split into two.

My ex was English, was very aloof, didn't mix with anyone, wouldn't speak to the local shop-girls because they were only shop workers, we split, I stayed in the village, it's come back to haunt him as whenever he tries to get a local tradesman they won't even return his calls and he didn't integrate!

I truly admire what you want to achieve, depending on how old your kids are you may find that within six months they are speaking with a Scottish accent! Depending on your budget, look at websites such as Savills, CKD Galbraith, but also as other have said, spent say a month in your chosen area, perhaps rent before you buy. I lived in London for 8 years and came back to Scotland 7 years ago, I was horrified that people deemed to speak to me in a queue, now I am that shop-girl in the village that ex refused to speak to and that's how you find out gossip, if you want work done then I know exactly the customer to speak to, etc.

Good luck, you won't come across racism because you are English, many parts of Perthshire you're pushed to hear a Scottish accent, but you will come across hostility if you don't mix. If you want to have stock then you will need the help of local farmers if, for example, a sheep gets into trouble lambing at 5am - I live on an estate so I know how close-knit the farming community is.

goldspanners

sad_dog_lady wrote: »

aberdeen i think.

proves what i say then. big citys are breeding grounds for this kind of hostility.

alyth wrote: »

you must integrate into the community - I live in a small rural village in Perthshire, where at least 50% of the population are English, due to a large posh housing estate! This large posh housing estate has it's own community council, fireworks display, etc and as such the village is split into two.

My ex was English, was very aloof, didn't mix with anyone, wouldn't speak to the local shop-girls because they were only shop workers, we split, I stayed in the village, it's come back to haunt him as whenever he tries to get a local tradesman they won't even return his calls and he didn't integrate!

I truly admire what you want to achieve, depending on how old your kids are you may find that within six months they are speaking with a Scottish accent! Depending on your budget, look at websites such as Savills, CKD Galbraith, but also as other have said, spent say a month in your chosen area, perhaps rent before you buy. I lived in London for 8 years and came back to Scotland 7 years ago, I was horrified that people deemed to speak to me in a queue, now I am that shop-girl in the village that ex refused to speak to and that's how you find out gossip, if you want work done then I know exactly the customer to speak to, etc.

Good luck, you won't come across racism because you are English, many parts of Perthshire you're pushed to hear a Scottish accent, but you will come across hostility if you don't mix. If you want to have stock then you will need the help of local farmers if, for example, a sheep gets into trouble lambing at 5am - I live on an estate so I know how close-knit the farming community is.

good advice above!

borders_dude

I think racism in various forms exists not just in scotland, but in England, Germany, Italy, Australia and all other nation states.

davmail

goldspanners wrote: »

i dont think scotland has a racism problem.

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.

I have been visiting Scotland for over 25 years on holidays etc,I have never once experienced any racist or anti english feelings,have just come back from Shetland,and everybody was so nice and friendly,even complete strangers we met at different places.Just go as yourself.Enjoy Scotland and it's people.

poppycracker

I've lived in various different parts of Scotland and never had a problem even though I'm English. Like the others said you have to make an effort to integrate but be prepared for a bit of aloofness, especially if you are going to croft (especially in the Outer Hebrides where the land tends to be allocated to locals first).

sandiep

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.

What you are doing is pretty common, a lot of people do this. A lot of the locals you may think are being a bit standoff-ish, aloof etc, but you have to bear in mind that so many folk come with ideals like this, realise the truth about weather, communications, housing, transport, midges etc, and disappear within a year.

You may need to do some work to prove that your there for keeps and not like the hundreds of folk like my husband has moved (up one year, back down before the end of the first winter).

I used to live in an idillac village that used to attract the "get away from the rat race" people, and they had a 2 year burn rate. When the ideals of living the rural life finally hit home when the kids started secondary school and they realised that they spent over 2 hours a day just taking the kids to school and back.

You have to remember that the locals have seen it all Sooo many times before. Which will be a big contributory factor to any cynicism.

As an aside - do you have farming background/experience? I ask because sheep farming at the moment costs money, partic for crofters, as in you don't make a profit even after all your hardwork. And the reason that crofting communities have the protection etc that they have is because the land that they have is usually no good for anything other than sheep farming. (The farmers that make money are the arable farmers - no arable possible farming on crofts, you'll be lucky to grow enough for sileage).

sad_dog_lady

sandiep wrote: »

As an aside - do you have farming background/experience? I ask because sheep farming at the moment costs money, partic for crofters, as in you don't make a profit even after all your hardwork. And the reason that crofting communities have the protection etc that they have is because the land that they have is usually no good for anything other than sheep farming. (The farmers that make money are the arable farmers - no arable possible farming on crofts, you'll be lucky to grow enough for sileage).

well i wanted to plan a permaculture so the land would need to be a little better than just continued pasture. I am planning to look at what people are growing , but i have plenty of poultry experiance, rare breed sheep and lincolnshire curly haired pigs are something else i want to learn about.


thanks for all the advice

choille

Hi - I have a croft. I think all areas are much of a muchness. There are plenty of incomers in most places. I think it's attitute differences that cause problems - like different time scales on things. Don't expect things done in a rush & well.... just do it.
There's good & bad everywhere. We have an English neighbour & they really ripped us off, but our best friends are an English couple near by. It takes all sorts.
If I was you I would rent in area that you are interested in & see how it pans out.

littlereddevil

goldspanners wrote: »

proves what i say then. big citys are breeding grounds for this kind of hostility.

Aberdeen a big city ? Hardly, just over 200,000 people.
And this was a one off as far as I am aware. Loads more locals assaulted every weekend.