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Scotland: Situation for Cloud/Devops contractors?

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    #11
    FK1, I have to agree with northernladuk. Very nice post indeed!
    My expectations for the "worst case" (having to commute to London) match pretty much exactly the situation you are describing from your experience.
    I'm reasonably certain that my current contract with my main client (in which I work almost exclusively remotely, even though the office is just an hour away from where we live now) will be extended another 1 or more terms (half year rolling, for a few years already), and other clients which I have been working with on and off over the years might not rule that out either. That, and a battle chest which would see the family comfortably through at least a year of bench time, gives a bit less to worry about initially.
    Eventually it would be nice to find contracts in the area, though. But if that's not possible, your approach would work for me, and we get the benefit of much better quality of life at lower cost. (We just can't see ourselves raise our baby daughter around here; London is a place to work, but not a place to live. Maybe I'm just getting old )

    We are aiming to live somewhere in the middle between Glasgow and Edinburgh, maybe Livingston, Bathgate or Linlithgow. While we've been in Edinburgh several times (the wife's got family there, which is one -but not the most important- factor why we are considering), we have yet to have a closer look as to where exactly we can see ourselves settle. Always open for recommendations from somebody like you who knows the area

    At any rate, thanks for your posts, which have been helpful and encouraging!




    SueEllen, that's correct. Less than half an hour on both sides, measured by where we would like to live and where my current and recent clients are. Not intended to be done on a daily basis, but rather for a couple of days each.

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      #12
      Move to Bathgate! https://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardl...kvb#.fqB9aZwPY

      Kidding aside, the area between Edinburgh and Glasgow is all very quiet and a bit dull. I can see the jump from London to an area so in the middle of nowhere being a big shock! Have you considered Stirling? Equally distant from Edinburgh and Glasgow, beautiful to live in and small but still a city

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        #13
        Originally posted by TestMangler View Post
        Don't forget the packing department in the fudge factory. We usually have to get migrants in from England to work there though.
        I hear the native population is overworked now in the munching departments of the Scottish pillow manufacturing industry.

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          #14
          Originally posted by MattZani View Post
          Move to Bathgate! https://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardl...kvb#.fqB9aZwPY

          Kidding aside, the area between Edinburgh and Glasgow is all very quiet and a bit dull. I can see the jump from London to an area so in the middle of nowhere being a big shock! Have you considered Stirling? Equally distant from Edinburgh and Glasgow, beautiful to live in and small but still a city
          Fair point regarding the shock, although for me it's probably going to feel quite liberating! I grew up in tiny towns and villages, but might be different story for the missus (who I will not share the cake link with! ). I will include Stirling in the list of places to check out when we're up there next time. Thanks!

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            #15
            Originally posted by Kraut View Post
            FK1...
            We are aiming to live somewhere in the middle between Glasgow and Edinburgh, maybe Livingston, Bathgate or Linlithgow. While we've been in Edinburgh several times (the wife's got family there, which is one -but not the most important- factor why we are considering), we have yet to have a closer look as to where exactly we can see ourselves settle. Always open for recommendations from somebody like you who knows the area
            Livingston, Bathgate or Linlithgow are all good choice to find a reasonable place for you.

            I lived for 6 years in Falkirk (FK1) in a good modern flat (2-bedroom, 2 bathrooms for £450 )
            (P.S. It is now for £495.
            http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-...-42278340.html)
            as a balanced compromise between all factors. If you will travel by train you will often find that all seats taken when you get a train from Linlithgow.

            But after I got a driving licence 10 months ago we started looking around to buy a house and just have moved to Fintry G63.

            We have a local primary school with 50 pupils and local nursery with 5 children. I found living in a decent semi-rural village are completely life-changing.

            It is very personal to find your comfortable area. Personally I like towns and villages as Dunblane, Balfron and similar. And the High schools ratings prove my sense. Linlithgow has a good High school as well.

            Scotland is amazing for family living, I still discover more and more places where I could go to enjoy it. So again good luck in your discovery
            Last edited by FK1; 28 June 2016, 12:28. Reason: PS

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              #16
              Originally posted by FK1 View Post
              Livingston, Bathgate or Linlithgow are all good choice to find a reasonable place for you.

              I lived for 6 years in Falkirk (FK1) in a good modern flat (2-bedroom, 2 bathrooms for £450 ) as a balanced compromise between all factors. If you will travel by train you often you will find that all seats taken when you get a train from Linlithgow.

              But after I got a driving licence 10 months we started looking around to buy a house and just has moved to Fintry G63.

              We have a local primary school with 50 pupils and local nursery with 5 children. I found living in a decent semi-rural village are completely life-changing.

              It is very personal to find your comfortable area. Personally I like towns and villages as Dunblane, Balfron and similar. And the High schools ratings prove my sense. Linlithgow has a good High school as well.

              Scotland is amazing for family living, I still discover more and more places where I could go to enjoy it. So again good luck in your discovery

              FK1, thanks again for your input!
              Even though this is going to de-rail my own thread even more, just one more question: School ratings. I've found educationscotland.gov.uk, which appears to be publishing inspection reports and other useful information, somewhat comparable with Ofsted for England&Wales. Is there any other good local info I should be looking at to determine quality of schools (and possibly nurseries) in the area?

              Thanks again!

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                #17
                Originally posted by Kraut View Post
                FK1, thanks again for your input!
                Even though this is going to de-rail my own thread even more, just one more question: School ratings. I've found educationscotland.gov.uk, which appears to be publishing inspection reports and other useful information, somewhat comparable with Ofsted for England&Wales. Is there any other good local info I should be looking at to determine quality of schools (and possibly nurseries) in the area?

                Thanks again!
                https://www.schoolguide.co.uk/

                School Education Statistics

                Revealed: Scotland's best 50 schools for Higher exam passes (From Herald Scotland)

                P.S. Rightmove has the catchment area function
                http://www.rightmove.co.uk/schools.html
                Last edited by FK1; 28 June 2016, 16:45. Reason: PS

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                  #18
                  Again very helpful! Thanks a lot!

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                    #19
                    Originally posted by MattZani View Post
                    Move to Bathgate! https://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardl...kvb#.fqB9aZwPY

                    Kidding aside, the area between Edinburgh and Glasgow is all very quiet and a bit dull. I can see the jump from London to an area so in the middle of nowhere being a big shock! Have you considered Stirling? Equally distant from Edinburgh and Glasgow, beautiful to live in and small but still a city

                    I am in Stirling and it's not a bad spot to live and for contracting - Not a huge amount of local work - hsbc / prudential but it's easy to get the train to Glasgow or Edinburgh and 35 mins to the airport.

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