Hello,
I moved to Scotland from Italy in August 2009...That's basically an account of all the biggest (not all) bad experiences I had so far:
- Crappy accomodation: I first took accomodation for 2 months in a small town near my workplace. Basically a flat on my own, old but functional...unfortunately, after a few days I realized the place was infested with spiders (some of the biggest I had ever seen, and I come from a place where we have big spiders and snakes) and woodlice/slaters.
The old landlady didn't move a finger to help me solve this problem, either because she lives in London, and because the law doesn't force her to do anything (if they were bugs, mices, or other kinds of pests, maybe she would have been forced to, but woodlices are not considered pests, so she just told me that "spiders and woodlice are not dangerous"..."even when you find them on your bed in the morning?" I might add...).
So I had to resist and try to solve the problem on my own. In the end I was able to find where this nice little animals came from, and isolate it with tape, but this didn't solve the problem 100%, so I started soon to look for a new accomodation in civilized Edinburgh...
- All alone in the dark: In the two months I've been in the small city, I wasn't able to make friends with the locals, so my life was basically work-lunch/dinner alone-go to sleep. During the weekends I went to Edinburgh, but this didn't improve my social life very much.
- Broken heart: In Edinburgh, near the train station (I'm a commuter), the average quality of housing is quite bad (old and dirty houses, where it's considered normal to have mices), although I saw some good rooms...But now comes another sad story...
I saw a room near the Murrayfield stadium (Roseburn place). The flat was good (although it had basically no Internet...2 GB/month cap, for me, being an IT guy, is like nothing), and the location ok (although a bit far from the Haymarket train station), but in the end I took another one cheaper, with en-suite bathroom, unlimited broadband, and a lot closer to the train station.
But, the young landlady (in her late-20s) remained in my mind...she was attractive (not a top model, but still cute), quiet, reliable, not a "party animal", but also friendly and polite. So, after a few days I told her I had chosen another room, I sent her a long, polite and non-intrusive e-mail, asking if she was interested in going out or taking a coffee together, since I still hadn't any friends and was bored of visiting Edinburgh alone...I asked for a 'Yes' or 'No, thank you', because I understood she might have not been interested.
Results? No answer, I was left in a limbo.
After 2 days I sent her an SMS, asking if she could reply to my e-mail, but still no answer.
Only when I asked her if her room was still available, she answered, but without mentioning my previous request to go out together...In any case, the room had already been taken in the meantime, until March.
I didn't directly phone her, because I didn't want to look like a stalker, or push too much, but probably it would have been better to do so, at least I would have got an answer.
In any case, this left me with a broken heart, because I would have preferred a 'No, thank you, I'm not interested', to a long silence.
I still think about her...
Note: I tried the same thing recently with a Swedish girl that I knew while looking for a new room, but in this case...she told me she had moved to London the day after I sent her an e-mail asking if she was interested in going out together/taking a coffee. Bad luck, or are people (both Scottish and non-Scottish) here simply unreliable?
- Better go by feet: Expensive public transportation, and idiotic payment system on Edinburgh buses, where you need to have the exact amount of coins and pay it to the driver.
- British politicians: I consider them all thieves (Labour, Tories, Liberals...all). Not that in Italy we have great politicians, but don't think that in the UK they have geniuses or masters of honesty (the bankers basically run this country).
- Let's not talk about my bad job, otherwise I might add too many bad elements to my Scottish experience.
Good things about Scotland: The highlands, which seem like another different country.
Working in Edinburgh
Buying property in Edinburgh
Accommodation in Edinburgh
The work culture in Edinburgh
Edinburgh's labour market
Popular neighbourhoods in Edinburgh
Studying in Edinburgh
Student life in Edinburgh
