Hi, does anyone live in or around Inverness and/or know the area? I am from Fife originally, but have lived south of London for the last 30 years, and am looking at moving to Scotland. I have looked at houses all over Perth and Tayside recently but am drawn to moving further north. Inverness and the Black Isle seem to have everything going for them - remote but not isolated, communication links to get south as and when and a reasonable climate.
We will be looking to buy a semi rural detatched property with large garage/workshop and plenty parking.
Looking forward to hours and hours on all the highland roads in the MX5 and on the bike.
Not from Inverness, but SWMBOās bloodlines all came from around, including her Mum, one of 8 kids working a farm. We do, or rather did, visit her Mumās ancient rellos a good bit till last year.
Your problem is one of being spoiled for choice.
Check Alford out for one. Yes, itās Aberdeenshire but a driving stoneās throw. Expensive, but without expecting you to divulge your personal financial clout, hopefully you may be in a position to lift someoneās leg down there to offset this.
Plenty rather driech villages too. Inverness itself never hit my āplace to stayā hot buttons muchā¦each their own and itās completely subjective.
Definately get registered with quality agents in a few post codes to get a feel for prices, local amenities etc. As we get on in years, thereās a wisdom in not getting too far out into the sticks.
Black Isle is nice and the Moray Coast then if you go a bit further north Tain, Dornoch (nice area quite desirable so could be Ā£Ā£Ā£), Golspie, Brora though starting to get a little more remote though well provided for in terms of services.
East along the Moray coast then there are lots of villages, personally I quite like Cullen as a place, has a nice vibe and enough going on in the village.
As suggested Alford is inland from Aberdeen and at the start of the higher bits, good place to launch over the Lecht in the MX-5 and up into lots of interesting places, at the other end of the Lecht road is Grantown on Spey and Speyside, another really nice area.
Lots of choice, if youāre able to then worth spending a bit of time touring/looking around when conditions permit.
Iām just jealous you are thinking of moving up there.
We want to but with ties in the East Midlands we find it would be difficult and getting on in years too.
Good luck in your search, as a virgin traveller to Scotland weāve been in and around Inverness around 3 times now, it didnāt float my boat much but what do I know being an eenglish bloke.
I grew up in Inverness, lived on the Black Isle for ten years before moving further north to Kildary. Feel free to contact with any questions or advice.
Properties are moving very quickly up here at the moment so if you find something you like then donāt linger.
You will also have the advantage that you can join the Hi-5ās that will take you and your 5 to explore roads that others can only dream about.
Thanks everybody. Properties are moving fast up there - I have even heard of a house being sold without the buyer even seeing the property. Just someone who knew where and what they wanted and grabbed it quickly knowing that no matter how bad it was, it could be rebuilt/repaired and still be economically sensible compared to house prices down in the south.
I need my house to sell before I can buy up north - speaking to a solicitor; as long as I have an accepted offer on my (english) house I can put an offer on one in Scotland with a contract clause saying the purchase will be dependent on the completion of the sale of the english house. So at this stage all I can do is narrow down areas and refine my āmust haveā lists. I have seen the outside of around 25 properties from Inverbervie across to Kenmore, and this has been really useful in working out priorities. And what we can afford - as you know a house can look very different in person, than on the agentās web site.
My budget is in the low Ā£400ks, and I have seen no place that ticks all my boxes - some come close, but the further north or west you go, the more affordable they become. I am not going west because of climate and midges, so north it is!
Inverness gets lots of ābest places to liveā type reviews on line, but feelings seem mixed from the comments above. I donāt want to live in a town, but do want to be able to walk to a pub or local shop. I want space to park cars - and sheds to work on them in. I sort of imagine an old farm, or a new build with an oversized plot. I donāt want the house to look like a scrap yard with wrecked cars on the lawn, so want the space to āhideā the various āwork in progressā projects I hope to have.
I only know the area as a visitor but itās a favourite. For holidays the Black Isle is lovely but perhaps a bit out on a limb when it comes to facilities, there being nowhere you could call a town - but of course youāre never very far from Inverness so maybe it doesnāt matter. One of the best pub meals Iāve had was at the Anderson in Fortrose.
As a location I like Nairn, across the firth. I know you donāt want to live in a town but there is no shortage of rural surroundings. And for travel to/from the south, the Cairngorms beats the A9. Too much choice would be my problem! Sadly I donāt think I can reconcile a move to the the area with grandchildren in Cambridge!
Any area a wee bit north in Scotland seems to attract a lot of second and holiday home purchasing so it is hard to get a place, relatives recently spent about 2 years before they found a place!
We are in the Borders, loads of great roads for MX5s and cycling!
Have thought about Northumberland coast, lots of nice roads not too far away. Plus I have just inherited a share in my parents house, and this then puts an purchase in Scotland into the āAdditional Dwelling Supplementā 4% tax, in addition to the stamp duty holiday in Scotland not being as generous in Scotland as England means a Ā£400K spend in Scotland will cost nigh on Ā£40k in tax compared with zero cost in England (the ADS cost in England only applies if you own more than 50% of the shared house).
Any legal eagles out there who can confirm my understanding of ADS in Scotland? I believe it applies if you have āany shareā in an existing property, while in England it only applies if you own more than 50%.
Like you weāve had similar thoughts. While Iāve lived within 5 miles of Lincoln all my life my wife was born in Aberdeen. She has relatives in Inverness and we have visited a couple of times. To be honest Iām not 100% struck on Inverness itself.
Scottish Borders is a lovely area. We hired a holiday let there a few years back and loved it. Melrose is a beautiful little town with the bonus of a shop selling the best Butter Tablet ever. The mass produced Thorntons version is nice but the Melrose stuff is so much better.
Iāve always said that we would want somewhere within walking distance of a good pub and somewhere that stocked a loaf of bread, pint of milk and a newspaper. However these last few months have proved that as long as you have internet access and fall within the Tesco home delivery area we can manage perfectly well without.
We were planning to do the NC500 this year but that got put on hold for obvious reasons. Having done a lot of research on the subject the route does get a lot of traffic and local services can be stretched because of it. If you are going to go North of Inverness might be worth checking that the route doesnāt go right past your door.
Iāll look forward to seeing that, but hope to be moved in and enjoying haggis suppers long before then. Do reach out when you are marketing just incase we have fallen on our face and still looking.
In my case itās the reverse - Iām āDish of the Dayā! When the little bu**ers know Iām around they get their friends and relatives from miles away over for a feast!!! And Iāve got the scars to prove it!!!
