Dear Jammin - are you mental?!

Exactly - the cost of living here is atrocious - (real world) inflation is currently running at 30%, fuel prices are extortionate, there are more speed cameras and CCTV in this country than any other in the world, yet crime (particularly petty, anti-social, and even serious violence) continues to increase... and don't get me started on the petty bureaucracy and countless laws that have been introduced that seem to only affect/restrict/oppress the law abiding...

If you do decide to come to the UK, for goodness sake live in the south east so you can get to the rest of Europe quickly...

Seriously.

xxx

with respect, he'd have to be mental to live in the south east. it's only 8 hours to france from edinburgh, and less from most parts of northern england. and the north is even closer.

classic british/english association, from today:

LONDON (Reuters) - Young Britons are to get the chance to go to the theater for free in a bid to drum up new audiences, the government said on Tuesday.

The 2.5 million pound scheme, which will run from February 2009, will involve 95 venues across England with a proportion of tickets given away free to anyone under 26.

Oh I agree, which is why I moved from Sussex to Wales... but I'm sure you appreciate I was being somewhat facetious... x

Mind you, goodness knows how you can get from Edinburgh to France in 8 hours? - unless you fly...

xxx

throttle to the stop, and inside the channel tunnel train before the door closes (or it goes on fire!)

Hee hee - and at 2am I reckon... that's gotta be some going fella!

xxx

The media have never been too worried with accuracy. According to ABC news in the US last week, Lloyds of London was taken over by a bank in Scotland, in other words, wrong Lloyds, wrong way round, but for 200m Americans, who cares?

I think Jammin is over-researching the issue. As mountainboy suggested, look for a job, check the salary, check local house prices or rents, go on a few tourist sites, local forums whatever, then decide if it's somewhere you want to live.

I too love mountains and the coast but I don't live near either and I'm not planning to uproot the family just to improve my quality of life by a few degrees. Compared to the US, the UK is tiny and you're never too far from anywhere. From Leicestershire, I can get cross-country to Wales, the Lake District, or the West Country in a few hours. And roads around here are okay for biking too.

Having said that, if I had a blank canvas like Jammin, I'd think seriously about Scotland too. Don't mind the weather, great roads, scenery, less crowded, and as somebody mentioned on another part of the HUBB, a new ferry service starting up to Holland soon so you don't have to suffer riding down through England (which will keep both sides happy!)

Indoors,

I live up in the north east coast of scotland just north of aberdeen, there is a huge shortage of engineering staff in the oil industry so plenty of jobs at the moment.
Weather is not as nice up here as it is in central scotland or england it is colder but we get less rain than the west coast of scotland. Its not like hot countries that have set seasons and the weather gets very random all year round and can change even a few miles away with all the micro climates from the small coves, glens ect.

gaelic language is mostly west coast and islands of scotland, not really highlanders and even then very few speak it there.

Roads are ok not any motorways up here at best you will get a 2 lane dual carriageway and theres not many of them north of aberdeen. Most all year bikers are considered mental as lots of ice in winter so you may want a car for oct/nov-march. OH and they favour the throwing lots of loose stones on a bed of tar method on a lot of roads up here[ letting the cars flatten it] so beware.

House prices vary, a bit expensive in aberdeen and maybe upto 30 miles out then drop a huge amount 140k will get a nice 2 bedroom semi 45 minutes drive from the city centre double that for one in the city suburbs, nothing compared to english prices though. Rental of a nice 2 bedroom flat/apartment in centre of town is around £600-750 houses in the suburbs are around the same rental.

Aberdeens not really a big city 20 minutes your in the countryside, plenty of bars and clubs, a few casinos and all the usual attractions. Royal deeside is a very popular ride with bikers and it is a very pretty part of the country. Lots of nature reserves and glens to investigate as well as large amounts of trails[no bikes on them though]. The whisky trail and castle trails are also nice runs.

Scotlands not that big a place the major cities are only a few hours drive apart.

Sure, maybe I'm over-researching, but that's how I like to do things and it's worked out well so far. And as I've said before, always being an immigrant wherever I go, I can't easily just pick up and move. A lot of thought has to go into it.

If there's a ferry service to the Continent from Scotland, that's putting the cherry on the choice of heading to Scotland.

Thanks for that detailed reply. Just the kind of info I'm looking for. Sounding like Scotland might be the choice and maybe a stint in the oil business might be financial fruitful right now (especially since I'll be almost broke when I move over after my trip). Office job is nice, but a change would be good.

Not having motorways is a plus in my view and yup, they do that gravel treatment to my favorite twisties nearby in Wisconsin too.

And Scotch - blimey, that's another great reason to move up there. I really enjoy single malts over any other alcoholic beverage.

Hmm, so many good reasons to move to Scotland besides the weather, which I think I can handle (the Midwest here is known for it's unpredictability, but I'm sure not as intense as Scotland).

__________________
J A Y | Riding a 98 Suzuki DR650
Current ride thru Latin Am and Africa > Jammin thru the Global South

I've lived all over the UK (or whaever we're calling it now!) and I love the south east.

Londons close enough to visit, but best of all I get up and can be in France within the hour from where I live hence we travel to france/ belgian for an evening out, meals etc.

There are loads of plus sides about most regions of the UK and once your here your find a place that suits you.


Personally I can't wait to leave the UK permenantly next year but thats another story......

Come on now, I get asked that almost every day by my regular friends
Wait till they hear the plans for South America...
Trust me, I know it sounds crazy, but being a 3rd world citizen, I have no other choice of country to move to if I want to do this South America trip. If I was just moving straight from the US, then I think I might go for Germany. I know the UK's probably not the best, but it can't be all that bad. Besides, I'm looking forward to the increased access to Curry (which I hear is becoming standard fare over there).

Fantastic, the govt's paying for movies. My kinda place (let's not go into wasteful govt spending here)

Yeah, that's what I'm realizing too now. Just trying to get an idea of general climate patterns. And oh yeah, weather-proof gear - I've got a good wet weather setup now, so not an issue hopefully.

Regarding history, which I've lately taken a great interest in, it's definitely very complicated and am looking forward to learning more about the UK.
But firstly, I've got a lot of reading to do about all of Latin America for next year.

__________________
J A Y | Riding a 98 Suzuki DR650
Current ride thru Latin Am and Africa > Jammin thru the Global South

Hi Jammin,

To answer your question about the weather: the rain here doesn't really fit into any particular 'type' - we get all sorts! Being close to the ocean and all that entails means our weather is very unpredictable. The last couple of years have been quite poor weather wise, but we do sometimes have good years, you just have to be philosophical about it. If you go out often enough you'll have soon crappy days and some good, and even some fantastic ones. The weather is undoubtedly better down south but, personally, I feel our poor weather is outweighed by the other benefits of living in Scotland. One thing you'll learn if you come here is the importance of good weather-proof gear!

Regarding British History: it is enormously complicated and open to interpretation. The main thing to realise is that, save for a tiny minority of small minded bigots and half-witted football fans, we all get on pretty well.

Matt

__________________
http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!