My wife is an expert on Scotland. She writes about it for a
living. Although born in the south east of England, she is a
Robertson through and through and has returned to her roots,
bringing me along with her. I'm very grateful!
And, I'm not the only willing settler in this great country. The
Scotsman newspaper recently reported that immigrants 'accounted
for 68 per cent of population growth in Scotland between 1991
and 2001'. At the time of the 2001 census, 168,142 people living
in Scotland had been born abroad. This figure, of course, does
not include people like me who were born in another part of the
UK.
Of those born abroad, Americans, Pakistanis and even Spaniards
comprise a significant proportion of recent immigrants, many of
them highly skilled. 37 per cent of those moving here hold a
higher level qualification and the number falling into the 'high
earner' bracket is almost twice the UK average, says the report.
"Can you explain this?" I asked my wife.
"Easy," she said, "it's just a great place to live!"
And here are her 8 reasons why it is such a great place:
1 There is elbow room. With less than 6 million people, and an
area of 30,420 sq. miles, there is room to breathe. Its
population is about one tenth of the population of England and
Wales, yet the mainland comprises over half the area of Great
Britain.
2 House prices are considerably lower than in many other parts
of the UK. In Edinburgh, the average is £170,342; in Glasgow it
is £120,361; and in the Highlands it is £111,693. In Greater
London, the average is £293,363.
3 Scotland's economy has fluctuated over the years as structural
changes have taken place. Heavy industry, agriculture and
fishing have given way to trade, financial services provision,
tourism and high-tech research. The internet has opened up vast
swathes of the country to computer literate workers who can
beaver away at all sorts of IT work as easilyfrom the comfort of
a Highland croft as they could from a stuffy city office.
4 The driving is easier, if not necessarily cheaper! Apart from
the major city centres (and even they aren't in the same league
as London for congestion), driving is almost a pleasure because
of the fewer number of vehicles on the road. Travel south on the
M6 until you get to Preston, and then compare!
5 The education system is far superior to England's. We know,
first hand. Our sons have thrived here in Scotland, from
juniorschool right through to university.
6 The environment is clean. The scenery is magnificent. The
wildlife is plentiful and not endangered. Take a tour by Loch
Lomond and the Trossachs, visit Wester Ross or the Outer Isles,
the Grampians or the Borders and tell me these things aren't
true!
7 And along with the healthy environment there is a full range
of recreational activities - Munro-bagging, walking, sailing,
fishing, stalking, to name just a few. And none of the usual
sports are neglected. Even the tiniest of Highland villages
contributes players to the local soccer team.
8 But, most importantly, the people are wonderful. They are, by
and large, friendly and civilised and cultured and welcoming of
'incomers', no matter what the occasional bad press says. I have
only one complaint: how on earth can nybody understand a Glasgow
east end accent?
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