Jump to content

Visiting Shetland in October with a possible view of relocating


IanD
 Share

Recommended Posts

.One final observation is I wish the SIC etc would be honest enough to publish the figures for how many people arrive and leave Shetland each year.It "slipped out" one year on Radio Shetland about 7 years ago and it was staggering. From what I remember I think it was basically 600 arrived and 600 left.I just feel that this tells its own story. :)

Doom and gloom! For heavens sake, this suggests that everyone that arrived left again. If this was the case we wouldn't have the large numbers of ' non natives' on the islands. Shetland is full of incomers, people who have moved here and decided to stay and make it their home. In fact every second house near me contains non natives, many who came for work and married a local spouse, and many who settled and have had families.

 

Yes the winters are long, dark, usually windy and rainy but we also get the occasional mild winter. We get very few days snow, and you can expect some gales in the winter, usually at least one where damage is reported. Of Course you never here of bad weather anywhere else. There are plenty of stuff to get involved in both summer and winter and we have excellent leisure facilities to keep you indoors in the worst of the weather. It's what you make of it yourself.

 

Summers are hit or miss and the temperatures are considerly less than you would get down your way, but I have tanned arms as I spend a lot of time gardening.

 

Cost of living is a good bit higher, but that has to be weighed up against what I believe to be a far better quality of life. Like most, I need a trip south for shopping at least once a year as there just isn't the choice here.

 

Shetland is not for everyone and most either love it or hate it, personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I live in a good community with many friend both locals and adopted locals.

 

As for health issues, we have people all over the Isles with health issues and they continue to get a great level of care from the health services.

 

Your doing the right thing by coming here and having a look around. Shetland has a great reputation for being friendly and welcoming, but we have our idiots like everywhere else.

 

I hope you enjoy your visit and like what you see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not "doom and gloom" at all.

 

I just want to see an honest picture given by the authorities rather than the rose tinted one constantly pumped out by the likes of Promote Shetland.

 

As to the level of care, I wouldn't consider having to wait one/two months to see the doctor who was dealing with you and knows your case as a good service.

 

NHS Shetland is struggling in every way(financial, retaining/recruiting staff etc) with funding slashed by the Scottish Government.

 

And dental appointments......?. The appointment I had for August(after waiting 2 months) was cancelled three days before it was due and the new one is October!.

 

And the "points based" housing allocation?. Try telling that to the hundreds of decent, hard-working young people who don't qualify for all these points because they're not a druggy, alcoholic, expecting child number 5 or "long term unemployed".

 

Welcome to Shetland ahaha!.

 

:)

Edited by Kavi Ugl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not "doom and gloom" at all.I just want to see an honest picture given by the authorities rather than the rose tinted one constantly pumped out by the likes of Promote Shetland.As to the level of care, I wouldn't consider having to wait one/two months to see the doctor who was dealing with you and knows your case as a good service.NHS Shetland is struggling in every way(financial, retaining/recruiting staff etc) with funding slashed by the Scottish Government.And dental appointments......?. The appointment I had for August(after waiting 2 months) was cancelled three days before it was due and the new one is October!.And the "points based" housing allocation?. Try telling that to the hundreds of decent, hard-working young people who don't qualify for all these points because they're not a druggy, alcoholic, expecting child number 5 or "long term unemployed".Welcome to Shetland ahaha!. :)

Come on Kavi, every time someone comes on here suggesting they are considering a move to Shetland, your "negativity" stands out considerably. You just need to read past posts on the subject.

I'm all for giving a non "rose tinted" view, but let's not run the place into the ground.

 

Everyone's experience may be different, so I'm just trying to give my opinion. It may not be the same as yours. I don't wear rose tinted glasses, but I've always been a glass half full person.

 

The OP clearly stated they were looking to buy a property, so your reference to housing is irrelevant to the issue. Of course non of these issues exist outside Shetland, do they?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys, even the negativity is appreciated.

I guess there are pros and cons with everything we choose to do, we all fell in love with Orkney but I would imagine there would be some negative opinions if I queried the place before having gone there.

If it's any consolation, where we currently live in Devon, it took my wife 9 months to have a 5 minute appointment with her dr followed by another 12 months the following year! So to be honest I'll take 2 months!!

We'll see I suppose. I know visiting for a week in the autumn won't give a complete picture of Shetland but it'll be more than we have now.

We will definitely be making the transition to the islands, if it isn't Shetland then it'll be Orkney. As a family, we are all certain of that

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The day-to-day healthcare here (i.e. run of the mill GP appointments or outpatient appointments at hospital) is excellent, and you shouldn't have to wait too long (Lerwick residents may disagree here, but even they don't have to wait as long as many places on the UK mainland). Dentists are a different story but hopefully set to improve over the next few months/years with one new practice opened and another in planning. I think if an emergency visit is ever likely to be on the cards though, advice to stay within reasonable reach of Lerwick is important. 

 

On balance I think somewhere around Scalloway would be great for you. It has an excellent health centre (recently moved to new premises, but the main upside is that the GPs are very good), but more importantly a couple of good pubs where rugby is readily shown!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks hjasga!

That sounds great advice, we want to live in the country but have access to amenities (ok the pub lol) mainly for the sake of my sons and it not being limiting for them at all.

We're praying that my wife is on the road to recovery after the 2 heart attacks she had, a stent having been fitted and medication which is now stable that she will have to take for life.

As well as the usual healthy diet, it's our stressful lifestyle owning a business which needs to change.

It's the old cliche where you think it's going to happen to someone else and to be totally honest, at only 43 years old we thought heart attacks generally occurred after retirement age, so we feel it's happened to us about 20 years too early!

That being said, it could have been a lot worse and so we no longer want to procrastinate regarding life and want maximise our time from now on

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I think pub access might be a little limited in Yell. There is one bar but I'm not sure how often it is open, or what sort of facilities they would have for watching sports. I'd be surprised if they have subscription channels but a resident could correct me there. 

 

Whereas Scalloway has an excellent hotel where you could watch rugby, as well as a few other choices. The Scalloway Boating Club is particularly good for watching anything as they have recently installed a huge projector screen and have all the pay-per-view channels. 

 

Your eldest son might thank you for staying within reach of faster internet connection too, which is generally limited to Scalloway, Lerwick and the South Mainland at the moment!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SIBC news today went into great length about population statistics and one point was that this is the first year in a decade that more people left than came to Shetland - a difference of 5! So that doesn't quite match the earlier prophecy of doom! :-)

 

The football playing Son should find plenty to keep him busy here and as someone said, make sure you have good broadband as it can be pretty poor in some areas, although superfast is being rolled out now.

 

Shetland can be a great place for bringing up children with good leisure and education facilities. If they are likely to use buses, check out the bus timetables for the area you choose or be prepared to do a lot of taxiing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Thanks Capeesh, was also wondering if there was a semi decent pub or hotel etc where my 14 year old son and myself can shore up and watch the rugby while we're up there??

As far as I am aware most pubs here don't allow anyone under 18 in.

 

Not true at all. Certainly before around 9/10pm it isn't an issue in the vast majority. In many cases 14+ are allowed in at any time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is important that all the family members are happy, the current properties I'm viewing are 3 on Yell and one above Brae so maybe i need to find somewhere in the country southwards.

I look almost daily on Dowle Smith and Rutherford website and the properties seem to be snapped up incredibly quickly so that must say something positive!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

please remember your a long way away from your family. if you have any elderly family consider carefully the time it will take to return if your needed. we missed 2 very close family members deaths. dont if you move up to either island group think your moving away from your troubles. education is very different if your wife need urgent heart support your looking at a medivac to at least aberdeen. you dont mention you occupation. is there an opening up here for you. moving costs are expensive and finally remember the house buying system is different in scotland. your looking at paying at least 10% over the asking price.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks paulb,

Neither of us have close family members other than our two sons who will be coming with us, my wife has some family in the south east of England who she will visit probably once a year and we've looked into the costs for that.

I certainly take your point regarding the need for a medivac and we have discussed this at length beforehand. As I mentioned before, we are hoping that the danger has now passed and as long as she looks after herself there is no reason she can't run marathons and out live us all lol (medical professionals have stated that).

So, it comes down to the 'just in case' attitude which frankly we won't allow to dictate to us.

As regards to work, we own an estate agents which we're currently selling, along with a number of properties we own. We're fortunate therefore to be able to retire although personally I'd like to do something part time as i think siting with a fishing rod all day will soon do my head in lol.

The point is though, we won't be under any pressure financially.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is important that all the family members are happy, the current properties I'm viewing are 3 on Yell and one above Brae so maybe i need to find somewhere in the country southwards.

I look almost daily on Dowle Smith and Rutherford website and the properties seem to be snapped up incredibly quickly so that must say something positive!!

It is important that all the family members are happy, the current properties I'm viewing are 3 on Yell and one above Brae so maybe i need to find somewhere in the country southwards.

I look almost daily on Dowle Smith and Rutherford website and the properties seem to be snapped up incredibly quickly so that must say something positive!!

You're perhaps aware already but just in case, there are some other solicitors who list properties not on the DSR site:

 

http://www.neilrisk.com/

http://www.tait-peterson.co.uk/

http://www.anderson-goodlad.co.uk/

http://www.inksters.com/propertylisting.aspx

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...