Possibly moving to Scotland areas for motorcycling and living worth checking out?

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Feb 6, 2011
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Hey everyone so as a few know I'm in the process of moving house advertising ours early next year then looking at moving to either around Honiton in Devon or Holsworthy or I've actually recently been thinking about a last minuite change of plans an looking at Scotland an was looking to pick the collective wisdom of any Scottish access norton members where would you look at an where would you avoid? Hoping to do some scouting trips week after next up around Inverness, Avimore, Trossachs and Argyll.

Thanks in advance :)
 
North of Inverness is completely brilliant. Lived here five years and love it. People are wonderful and scenery is spectacular. However, if you're in to the night life of any kind, forget it. I'm two hours north of Inverness and up here in the Highlands, its rural, and I do mean rural. One thing that is a problem is deliveries. It's difficult to get anything large delivered up here, for instance I just bought a compressor from SGS. They advertise free delivery to the UK but then demanded 148 pound delivery because I'm in the highlands. I had to pay it as I couldn't even get another company to deliver at all. Also tried to buy a log splitter online. Five different purchases went through and then were cancelled unless I paid hundreds of pounds delivery. But that's the only problem I've had here. Winter rides are great, although the A9, the only road north on the east coast, which is narrow and only two two lanes, can be dangerous in peak tourist season, its fairly well documented on line, and don't get me started on cyclists. When you're part of thirty-five vehicle queue, which includes heavy lumber lorries, crawling behind some idiot cyclist who decided that the A9 was a great place spend his holiday, wobbling up a steep hill, with everybody literally unable to allow him his legal passing distance because of approaching vehicles and hidden bends, you realise that not all two wheeled road users are good guys. And obviously really great for the environment. Still, wouldn't swap it for anything. (Not sure if this helped at all, but I had a good rant. lol)
 
Hi Just my two bobs worth, move to Australia, lots of open spaces, lots of long and short rides/roads plus as well as lots of sunshine, and if you are young enough you will fit in with the rest of uneducated young iditols I have to put up with each working day.
I could go on for ages, but I knew more than they did when I was 10 years old, I am talking about kids that are in their early 20s/30s as well.
Good luck.
Burgs
 
Dumfries and Galloway are a hidden gem, bypassed by the M74 so no one visits if they are on the way up to the Highlands so traffic free even in summer unlike the Highlands. I am just north of the Galloway Forest Park but have easy access to Glasgow, Edinburgh for civilisation plus the Borders region over to the right is excellent too.
 
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Thanks mate really appreciate the reply great info I've been up an around doing the borders loop a few times even in summer an it's not been mad busy beautiful place of the world that's for sure.
 
No delivery issues for me either, except for the usual Hermes problems common to all UK, I do not get any surcharges as south of Glasgow counts as easy to get to UK.
 
Not to be the proverbial wet blanket, but: wot about employment? Further away the less you get paid usually. When young you have to look ahead and try to aim at where you will need to be in ten, twenty years. You can always back off early but believe me it ain't no party having to get tough at 40+ like I did. Move to where the job opportunities are....
 
That is a very good point mate and a serious consideration I have got a few skills I can fall back on for being self employed though which suit remote working a bit. It is a weigh up to not be to remote though with the post and some other ideas I've got at the moment :) that's what did appeal with Honiton though easily commutable to both Exeter and Taunton but everything seems to have no garage's which is weird.
 
Beware if going too near the water. I seem to recall Frank Westworth lived not too far from the coast in that neck of the woods and reckoned the sea air played merry hell with his bike collection.
 
Oh yep I remember reading about that very good point, I'm looking at a bit inland if I can for that reason or near a nice Loch if it's up scotland.
 
Hi, I lurk mostly here, but dont post a lot ('55 featherbed commando, '59 featherbed ES2, '61 Dommi 650Std, in case you were wondering...!).

I grew up between Glasgow and Loch Lomond, and I think its still absolutely my favourite bit of the world. (Not favourite enough to live there admittedly. Currently N London).

A82 up Loch Lomond side is great, but also the Duke's Pass (Aberfoyle to Loch Katrine; A821). Scenery, geography, riding etc.

Trips to Glasgow do remind me how easy life can be in the Motherland, but the London wage always seems to win, for now anyway.

Cheaper cost of living is refreshing. Getting from the suburbs to town in 15 mins. Getting from the suburbs to wilderness in 15 mins. Great.

Poor public transport and "No, sorry, you cant bring your kid into the pub" or "Sorry the tea room is shutting (?!! Eh?! its 4-30?!), and early "last orders" are things that remind you that not everywhere is the same, and you just have to get used to it...!

Good luck. Go up and have a scout. The "frontierland" between the central lowlands and the highlands would be my bet.

Cheers, keep twirling the spanners!

a
 
Thanks Andy really appreciate you taking the time to comment ill take those areas into the planning, an epic bikes btw! Drawing a route up for a few days over the next couple of weeks to go scout about should be exciting and very interesting. I'm lucky in some ways that I've never drunk so the pub thing isn't something I need to worry about :) the Nortons get every penny.
 
Good point about working from home. If you can do this then moving to the outback reduces overhead. But facts are facts and if you have a Norton you need to support it and that means income. Look at the prices of bits now...sobering I must say. You cannot be looking at a retirement lifestyle at your point! I only bang on about this is because, well, I don't want to see you making the same mistakes I made!
 
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