bigmamma Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 people leave shetland because there is nothing to do here unless you live in lerwick. kids have nothing to do here while growing up and most cant wait to leave to start living. its no wonder the young ones start drinking when your 16-17 in shetland there is no where for them to go untill their the age to go to pubs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 people leave shetland because there is nothing to do here unless you live in lerwick. kids have nothing to do here while growing up and most cant wait to leave to start living. its no wonder the young ones start drinking when your 16-17 in shetland there is no where for them to go untill their the age to go to pubs... Simply put but I couldn't agree more except that 16-17 is generous. most 17 yr olds are frequent drinkers. I'd say average drinking start age is about 14 here and that's a real shame. Been reading other views about the lack of women here. I think it's the lack of diversity that is more the issue. For me, as a 20-25 year old, I find there is no way to meet a girl, other than if you're in a sporting group or in the workplace. For me, meeting a girl does not constitute 'goin' oot' on a Friday night and pulling a half concsious lass in Posers or the Star. Also, there is no guarentee the girls in the pub are even 18 due to the lax attitude of underage drinking here. I do enjoy an excessive dram I must confess, I certainly did at university anyway. There seemed to be a vibrancy about socialising and just going out in general. For me, in Shetland, the going out scene is stale and boring. Chances of meeting someone new is very slim and most of the pubs are crowded with a ridiculously large proportion of wasted people. I also feel that I'm going out because I have to, rather than I want to simply because there is nowt else to do. That would certainly be why alot of people leave Shetland - boredom. Another reason, and this applies to graduates especially is the lack of jobs up here. Unless you are a teacher or a clerical assistant, there are few decent opportunities for you. I currently feel that in Shetland, I would've been better off not bothering going to uni and just starting at the bottom (which is what I seem to have to do right now anyway) - in terms of salary anyway. There is simply nowhere in Shetland where I could safely say - "this is gonna be a tough challenge which will push my boundaries". Some people are happy just going with the flow and making a wage. However, it's the young, ambitious youth we should be trying to keep here to develop our community rather than it becoming stagnant and stale in the job sector. This coupled with the lack of things to do in the town (I really don't know how I would cope outwith Lerwick) means I will def. move away from Shetland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 A very interesting post Mario. Never regret the degree though. I was about to start a psychology degree some years ago and pulled out because I did not want my family and I to live in abject poverty for years. The family no longer exist in my life due to a breakdown of the relationship, not because I buried them under the patio! I struggled to find a job again recently when my contract with a major Shetland employer came to an end. I have got myself an admin post and dreading it. I am capable of so much bigger/better things. The opportunites are few and far between here, but you will always be in front of me in the queue with a degree. My advice is get out whilst you are young. There is little for the young here in terms of employment. As far as entertainment (in the previous post) is concerned, and I don't want to sound like an old man here, but we always made our own. Alcohol doesn't have to be part of one's life, although I remember trying to secretly brew 24 pints of lager at home when I was younger. It tasted awful and I couldn't afford the filter papers so I strained it with my teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 people leave shetland because there is nothing to do here unless you live in lerwick. kids have nothing to do here while growing up and most cant wait to leave to start living. its no wonder the young ones start drinking when your 16-17 in shetland there is no where for them to go untill their the age to go to pubs... I think you'll find some of the happiest, healthiest kids/youngsters in shetland are actually in the most rural areas. Believe it or not there are still kids who do not rely on youth centres, cafes and such like. Many a rural kid is happier in a boat or on a quad in the hills i can assure you. Another aspect of this is the acceptance of personal responsibility younger, and even wage earning through creels, whelks or 'favourite' livestock. The most resourceful and clued up kids i've heard of in recent years are in Skerries. There ain't much 'amenities' there.TV also has a big part to play in all this, the grass is always greener, but the only hard and fast rule is 'each to their own'. It's not fair to say that there's nothing here etc as it belittles the pursuits of those who enjoy what there is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HacksawDuggan Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Indeed TV and cheap travel ruined the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 The weather. I've been reflecting on this lately. I remember thinking to myself back in October of last year that we were then pretty much into winter - and that was now 6-7 months ago . It'll be May before we even get a whiff of someting resembling spring which will leave us with just 4 months of spring/summer before we're on the slid again into winter. And remember last year's "summer". To be honest, I'm finding our cold/windy/wet/dark climate increasingly difficult to live with. And I'm increasingly enticed by the thought of living somewhere where you can actually feel all four seasons rather than the three we have which is pre-winter, winter and post-winter . Is that observation really so far off the mark though?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 saying that the rural communities are the best place to bring up kids i agree i have kids too, but i wouldnt want them roaming around the countryside on quads or out in the sea in a boat all the fresh air and rural community isnt going to stop wholesome kids from drinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 The weather. I've been reflecting on this lately. I remember thinking to myself back in October of last year that we were then pretty much into winter - and that was now 6-7 months ago . It'll be May before we even get a whiff of someting resembling spring which will leave us with just 4 months of spring/summer before we're on the slid again into winter. And remember last year's "summer". To be honest, I'm finding our cold/windy/wet/dark climate increasingly difficult to live with. And I'm increasingly enticed by the thought of living somewhere where you can actually feel all four seasons rather than the three we have which is pre-winter, winter and post-winter . Is that observation really so far off the mark though?.The Vikings had just two seasons, Summer and Winter, though not necessarily a 50:50 split. Maybe we should follow their example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowe Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 To be honest, I'm finding our cold/windy/wet/dark climate increasingly difficult to live with. Exactly. The weather in Shetland is hellish. It's so windy all the time it's a chore to do anything outside. It's the best reason to leave in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowe Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 p.s. Will you annonymous guests PLEASE at least give yourselves a name! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFly Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Don't just give yourselves a name guests, go and have a look at the forum faq to find out why it's a good idea to register. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 There are good and bad points about living anywhere and Shetland is no different. The things you consider to be good and bad change with time too and depend on what stage you are at in your life. My own experience is that biding away (as I do now) helps to highlight the positives which aren't always so apparent when you actually live there. There are of course many people who have quite happily lived in Shetland all of their lives and will continue to do so for the rest of their days. What does sometimes annoy me though is when I speak to folk who I was at school with when I'm home who complain non stop about the place, that there's nothing ever on, that they want to go south, there's nothing to do etc. Lets face it - we all have a choice (to a degree at least) on whether to stay there or not and whilst I'm not necessarily advocating that everyone should move south, those who decide to stay must have made a conscious decision at some point that the positives of staying outweigh the negatives. Whilst staying in Shetland all of your life isn't necessarily a bad thing, staying there and not being able to see the good things surely must be, not only for the individual involved but also for the health of the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouth Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 The best comment that I heard was from someone who said that they wanted to leave Shetland due to the weather. I said that I knew what they meant, the winters do drag on. Their answer was that it wasn't the winters that bothered them, it was the crappy summers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cellux Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 We are in the process of selling up and moving to glasgow, the reasons for this are many, but basically it boils down to the lack of opportunities for career advancement(unless you ken da rite fowk), entertainment for the 30 sumthings and da fact dat every bu**er kens wir business. And of course the chance to follow the mighty dons on more than once every 3 years!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 We are in the process of selling up and moving to glasgow, the reasons for this are many, but basically it boils down to the lack of opportunities for career advancement(unless you ken da rite fowk), entertainment for the 30 sumthings and da fact dat every bu**er kens wir business. And of course the chance to follow the mighty dons on more than once every 3 years!! Shame that you are having to move South - but the reasons you state I fear are the worries of many. (not the dons part !) Do still stay a member of Shetlink however, and pass opinion from your vantage point in Glasvegas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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