Moving to Glasgow

Hi,

I think you will not be the only one with a midlife crisis if you move to Scotland this summer. I myself lived on several locations in Scotland, all up in the Highlands, near Edinburgh and now already for a couple of  years not far from Dundee. Especially if you like nature and outdoor activities I think that Scotland is a good choice, also for dogs

I do not know if you want to live in Glasgow or maybe somewhere between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Maybe starting to rent a holiday home could be a good option, that is something I did when I came to my second time to Scotland to work and live here, You then can get familiar with the area and give yourself time to find something to rent.

I think it is it not insane to take a step as you plan to do because it can be very refreshing to do something totally else and live in another country. It can give a new view on things and help you to relativize things.

I therefore wish you all good luck with your study, finding a place to live and a very good stay in Scotland!

Well I have a house available in Helmsdale.

Www.westlea cottage. Com I'm interested in house we swap also .. can work something out . Google kw86lq

Hey Bas,

I will actually be at the Garscube Campus, a few miles NW of Glasgow, so have been focusing my search to 10 miles around Bearsden, preferable between the Clyde to the south, Balfron to the north, and Cumbernauld to the east.


Thanks for the encouragement! There are going to be days I really think I need my head checked, but most of the time, I am just excited, especially when people remind me that this is going to be fun. The words are appreciated!


Ronnie, your cabin is gorgeous, but it is just too far away sadly. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Well, that is a very beautiful area, not far from The Trossachs, Loch Lomond etc. A site I used quite often when looking for something to rent in my area (Angus)  is primelocation.com. My estate agent is Wardhaugh Property and have until now a good experience with them. Not quite sure if the also operate in the Glasgow area.

I think that if you make the best of it it will be fun, meeting new people, fellow students etc. And if you will decide to take the dogs with you, you will have good company anyway.. Do dogs not have to stay in quarantine or has that been changed now? 

All the best with your preparations.

Thanks Bas, I will check that out! I have heard a lot of stories about the rougher areas in Glasgow and surrounds, so am hoping to find someone familiar with it, and what are the "better" areas. Where I live now id very odd, it is a block-by-block thing on the neighborhood character. The block I live on is good, but one block down is a bit rougher. Very odd.

Quarantine is a thing of the past, if you follow the government Pet Traveling Scheme. Coming from the US, the dogs need an ISO microchip, then a rabies shot, and a little bit of time for rabies to show up if infected prior to getting vaccinated. Since I have had these two for a few years now, and always current on vaccinations, that was no issue. Then they need a tapeworm treatment 1-5 days prior to travel and all of this to be signed off by an approved USDA veterinarian. That is it, the quarantine is not needed. Of course all that is simple, but the paperwork is monstrous! 

Thanks again!

Well, you almost sound like a vet.   But it is a good thing if you can take the dogs with you, better than many years ago when pets had to be in quarantine I think for about 3(to 6) months or even longer!

Yes it is always tricky to know where you are coming to live (and I should have known when I came to live in Newcastle, Northumberland  ), in what neighbourhood and with dogs it is also a good thing to live in a green area, so that you can walk with them unless one has a car of course.

I asked a (German) colleague today how he found a renting place when he lived in Glasgow. He told me it will not be that easy and advised to check among others gumtree.com (next to check advertisements in shops etc. but that will not be that easy for you to do of course...). It is a website for selling and buying things but seemingly also for renting houses etc. I can always ask around (mainly at the office where I work) what areas are good and which are not so good areas to live in. I myself am not that familiar with the Glasgow area despite of the fact that I almost worked and lived there.

Success with your preparations.

I will also try gumtree, thanks! I have been looking at rightmove and S1, but neither one is clear if dogs are accepted, or if it is a first floor or 3rd floor, if there is a lift.... nothing. My lab is 8, and has had surgery on his legs, so stairs are not really his thing. And he is a big boy, so carrying him up and down is not my thing!

I have also been trying to figure out what police stations go to what districts, and where the district borders actually lay. THAT has not been fun. Yes, I am a little anal retentive.

I think I have figured out the whole mess that goes with bringing the dogs, but am paranoid I have forgotten something, or missed something. So I keep digging and reading, and gathering more and more info. It is nuts. I had been to Norway in 2004, and had tossed around the idea of moving, but at the time, I had 13 and 10 yr old dogs, so when I heard they had that 6mo. quarantine, I dropped it fast. I figured the UK would be the same as far as rabies was concerned. Thank goodness they trust the vaccination now!

Uh oh on the "should have known", did you wind up in a bad area in Newcastle? No fun! Though I have to say, coming from here, going there, I am not as worried about "bad areas", simply because there are way fewer guns there! I know that is probably a bad idea to think that way, but...

Thanks so much for sharing all this with me!

Hi,

I know that bigger dogs get issues with the hips/back legs the older they get. Maybe you can look for a bungalow? Do you especially want to live in Glasgow, or more rural? Is Stirling too far for you? It is a nice but not too big city.

I asked (again) a colleague of mine and he told me that the more north east you get in the Glasgow area the 'worse' (industrial?) it gets. That does not mean of course that you can't find good areas. It is more like you wrote before that it really depends on in which block you live. Bearsden and surroundings is a probably more expensive and luxury (posh?) area, but well it all is relative of course!

Can't you contact a governmental organisation to clarify if you can definitely take your dogs with you and that you haven't mist anything? Does maybe the RSPCA has this information for you? Did you check a website for emigration? That's something I did, not for bringing a pet with me but a motorbike....    Did you check gov.uk/government/publications/bringing-pets-into-the-uk-after-1-january-2012  ?

Yes, I lived in one of the worst areas of Newcastle (Gateshead) and then especially in the worst part of it, without knowing it but I found out myself   One of the reasons I did not stay. But well, one does learn by making mistakes  and learning from those mistakes; that is what live is about.... And now I am living in a very quiet and beautiful part of the UK

If I can do anything more for you just let me know, because I am living already in Scotland and you (still) far away, but internet makes live in these cases much easier now a days!

Bas

Hi, me again: if you google on 'what are good and bad areas of glasgow' you get quite some results. And by the way, they have also guns over here, but then for shooting grouse, haze and dear....   

Thanks Bas,
I will avoid the NE! I am not sure Sterling itself would be a good choice, but I am looking more rural. I know I will have to buy a car, no way I can afford anything close in to the campus. Garscube campus is between the west end and Bearsden, so very posh. Sigh. If only I were rich.

I have gathered all forms from DEFRA and USDA, and once I have everything filled out, I will send it to them, make sure I have it all completed correctly. I also have the Delta and Glasgow airport info, which I will fill out and send to them as well. It is a lot of paperwork! I had to wait for the new regulations to be published as of 29/12/2014. Crazy.

Thankfully shotguns and rifles are harder to hide than handguns. Hunters do not make me too nervous, unless soused, they shoot well. What kind of trouble did you encounter in Gateshead?

You said you came from the Netherlands? How are you finding the differences in cultures? I did not find it much different when I was there before, but I never stayed in one area very long. Had VERY different reception in Greece, but Scotland seemed pretty familiar. Curious if different over the long run?

Thanks again for all the help! I will keep you posted on how this goes. I am HOPING to be over there around first of September, but even that is in the air right now.

Hi there!

Reading your post, I felt that I could have been writing it. I'm currently applying to U of G for a second Master's and if accepted (I have one more document to finish and submit this week), I will be moving from California to Glasgow this summer with my husband, dog, and cat.

I'm also older and very settled with a  lifelong career and federal job, but found a program at UG that studies exactly what I've wanted to do for ages...a little bit of a shift from my current research focus, but still very related (hence the second Master's before hopping straight to a PhD). It's a small field, so I was surprised to find it.

I'm feeling that it might be a bit crazy too, but my husband keeps me on-track most of the time. He's a dual citizen, so will hopefully be able to find a job soon - he's started applying, but has only heard back from one company. This makes me nervous, too - as I know that job prospects anywhere nowadays are rather slim.

So anyway, here I am, ready to help with support if you can send some back, ha ha!

Jen

Hi Jen! Yay! Another nut! Makes me so happy! There is another from here in WA (Biken) moving as well, and I have already had correspondence with a nice man living there, so there is quite a lot of support on this site!

Is your husband a native to UK? Pretty cool! Are you all ready for hauling the critters? I think I have finally sorted out all the paperwork, part of the problem was waiting for the new regulations to come into effect on the 29th of Dec. Such a pain! I have a book full of tips and websites, let me know if you would like any of the info.

Are you planning to move house, or travel light? I can't decide, it is so tough!

I bet you will be accepted. If it is an odd program (mine is very specialized), I bet they get back to you quickly.

Glad to know yet another west coaster is headed to Glasgow! Keep me posted?

Sheryl

Hello Ivrorx,

Did you get a viable solution for your dogs?


Shaazia
Expat.com Team

Hello Sheryl & Jen,

Just wanted to jump into the conversation... Funny how we mention getting our heads examined for deciding to make such  a big mid-life change, but have you noticed that when you tell friends/co-workers of your moving plans they look at you with envious eyes and tell you that you are brave? Then the next words outta their mouths are, "oh goody, I'll have a free place to stay when I come visit..."

I am in the process of getting my UK nursing license and will start looking at jobs in Ggow soon (I was basically offered a job in Edinburgh in December, but wasn't far enough along in the cumbersome process to feel comfortable in acceting a position then). There is a new hospital being  built in Ggow: South Ggow Uni Hosp - that I want to apply to - it will be the largest hospital in the UK.

I am selling most of my worldly possessions and house to make the move. Am also bringing my dog. Once I get a job that will determine the general area that I will reside (I won't have a car, only 3 bikes...)
So some of my enquiries are:  Dog friendly flats for rent, neighborhoods, yoga studio, where-oh-where to get my hair done(!) and most important, the nearest friendly pub : ) I have been  to Ggow a couple of times on my bike, loved it and it felt "like home".
Appreciate helpful tips and look forward to hearing back.
Kimberly

Hi Sheryl (and Kimberly!),

So glad for your and others' responses - Sorry it has taken me a bit to get back to you all! I had some more things to do for my application to UG, and am now in the waiting phase. I'm applying for a second Master's degree (in Criminology), but in a different discipline than my first (which is archaeology). What will you be studying, Sheryl?

My husband was actually born in California, but spent his youth overseas in several places because of his father's job. His mother is Scottish/English so he applied for dual citizenship. Both of us did our Master's work at UK Universities (he at UCL ,me at Leicester). I'm currently gathering materials to apply for dual citizenship as well (through my Irish mother) - hopefully I can have it all go through before school starts so I can pay the UK rate. 

I have spoken with my Vet about the animals, and she assures me that the process is fairly easy - but this was before Dec 29th - what has changed?   I would definitely like some info on all of that that I can share with my Vet to make the process as smooth as possible. The only issue I'm worried about is the airline schedules - I'm hoping that my husband gets a job sooner rather than later, because the Vet said that shipping animals in late summer/early fall is a no-go from warmer places and even NY.

We are not planning to move the whole house yet - as I'm just applying for a 1yr MRes - If I can go on for a PhD, and my husband gets a good job, then we'll consider shipping everything. My only issue is that we have a full house with not much we can get rid of, as both my parents are deceased, I'm an only child, and so I have all of the family heirlooms - including a lot of furniture and artwork. It will be tough to put it all in storage - even for a year, as I've never had to do anything like that in my life, ever, but we just can't move a lot when we're not sure where we'll be after next year. What are you thinking at this point? Have you decided?

Kimberly, even though it's only a few months away, we haven't told many people about our plans yet - just waiting until things are more certain. We'll spring it on them at the last minute and give them all a heart-attack! haha!

Jen

Hi Jen,

I saw your previous email exchange with Sheryl and nice to see that more people form the US are so interested in Scotland and also want to take their dogs with them. That are real animal lovers!  ..

I myself have no dogs but my parents always had dogs and I walked them most of the times. I live alone so having dogs despite of the fact I am living in a beautiful part of Scotland, is not an option for me.

The reason why I respond to your message is that I wonder what sort of job your husband is looking for. I am working in Dundee for an IT based company and we have on a regular basis vacancies as is the case at the moment. I know that it is not close to Glasgow but for some roles it is not necessary to work (all the time) in Dundee.

I wish you and your husband good luck with all your preparations for moving to Scotland.

Bastiaan