Moving to Caithness

[stevep]

Hi i'm a new member to the forum and have been using the website as a valuable tool in understanding the area and its community. We are looking to escape the rat race and have fallen in love with Caithness.

I would welcome any information/comments and all the good reasons for choosing Caithness that would help us with our move as our friends keep trying to put us off.

Many thanks

[pultneytooner]

Hi i'm a new member to the forum and have been using the website as a valuable tool in understanding the area and its community. We are looking to escape the rat race and have fallen in love with Caithness.

I would welcome any information/comments and all the good reasons for choosing Caithness that would help us with our move as our friends keep trying to put us off.

Many thanks
If the crops fail and you see any wicker men being built, hide.[lol]

[badger]

Hi i'm a new member to the forum and have been using the website as a valuable tool in understanding the area and its community. We are looking to escape the rat race and have fallen in love with Caithness.

I would welcome any information/comments and all the good reasons for choosing Caithness that would help us with our move as our friends keep trying to put us off.

Many thanks

Don't let them put you off - it takes a while to get here but it's well worth the journey. Clean air, beautiful countryside, hardly any traffic jams, friendly people, amazing beaches, lots going on, no drought (!!). What more could you want?

[stevep]

Sounds perfect. Thank you for the reassurance.

[footie chick]

Bring plenty of midgie cream :lol: plenty of alcohol:lol: an umbrella and you cant go far wrong the locals will welcome you with very open arms

[Billy Boy]

Don't let them put you off - it takes a while to get here but it's well worth the journey. Clean air, beautiful countryside, hardly any traffic jams, friendly people, amazing beaches, lots going on, no drought (!!). What more could you want?

where do you live lol:eek:

[stevep]

Currently living in Hawkhurst a town near Tunbridge Wells in Kent and it's driving us mad. We cannot wait to get away.

[percy toboggan]

Currently living in Hawkhurst a town near Tunbridge Wells in Kent and it's driving us mad. We cannot wait to get away.

Another one.
What's happening to Kent?
What's happening to England?
Good luck. North is a challenging direction in some ways but always a
rewarding one.

[Kingetter]

Hi i'm a new member to the forum and have been using the website as a valuable tool in understanding the area and its community. We are looking to escape the rat race and have fallen in love with Caithness.

I would welcome any information/comments and all the good reasons for choosing Caithness that would help us with our move as our friends keep trying to put us off.

Many thanks

So long as it won't be too much of a culture shock! Best come and have a good look first.

[stevep]

I think the culture shock maybe what we are looking for.

[pultneytooner]

Yee'll hev till get yersel a horse an kert for the travellin'.
Div ye ken any tunes on e' banjo?

[percy toboggan]

I think the culture shock maybe what we are looking for.

am I alone in thinking this man is thinking what most of the rest of us are thinking?

[Kingetter]

I'm thinking there's probably people thinking "What's he thinking about?"

[Woolie]

OMG Stevep we moved from tunbridge wells in kent five years a go and have never looked back it is the best thing we ever did, i can highly recomend it the poeple r fine and the area is great u will never look back i know u won't. I hope u get to move here real soon.:)

[pultneytooner]

OMG Stevep we moved from tunbridge wells in kent five years a go and have never looked back it is the best thing we ever did, i can highly recomend it the poeple r fine and the area is great u will never look back i know u won't. I hope u get to move here real soon.:)

Translated........

OMG Stevep we moved fum tunbridge fines in kent five years a hoof it an' haf nevah looked back it is th' bess thin' we evah did, i kin highly recomend it th' poeple r fine an' th' area is great u will nevah look back i knows u won't. ah hope u git t'move hyar real soon, as enny fool kin plainly see.[lol]

[stevep]

Any hits tips or suggestions. We are looking to buy a plot of land to do a eco self build project. We are so excited. Where are you?

[pultneytooner]

Lots of areas between dunbeath and wick, maybe something for sale there.
Have a look around the org website, maybe there's something that takes your fancy.
P.S
Welcome to caithness, when you arrive, good choice of place to settle down.:D

[Rheghead]

Any hits tips or suggestions. We are looking to buy a plot of land to do a eco self build project. We are so excited. Where are you?

Builders are hard to get and I haven't heard of any that do eco-builds. Plots of land are available but make sure that they are connectable to services.

It is so easy to get caught up in this eco thing as on Grand Designs but you must do your planning carefully. Also I would make sure you have a good location for a windturbine and/or ground source heating.

I rather like the subterrainean design on Grand Designs which might go down well with some of the local's who have an edict that says if white settlers have to move up here then they should do it quietly and out of sight...
:Razz

[percy toboggan]

if you're putting your eco eggs in one basket choose wind ahead of sun.

[Kingetter]

Have you actually been up here? If not, do you not think it would be an idea to do so? You are talking a real major investment here!

[stevep]

We are planning a visit very soon. Scotland was our first choice and we had to narrow down the area somehow. The company we are proposing to use for the project is actually based in Caithness and recommended the area. Hence the choice.

[Kingetter]

Does that imply we would not be welcome?
Does what imply?

[stevep]

Sorry

there was this in a message posted earlier

I rather like the subterrainean design on Grand Designs which might go down well with some of the local's who have an edict that says if white settlers have to move up here then they should do it quietly and out of sight...

[Kingetter]

Sorry

there was this in a message posted earlier

I rather like the subterrainean design on Grand Designs which might go down well with some of the local's who have an edict that says if white settlers have to move up here then they should do it quietly and out of sight...
OH Ignore that stuff - someone with not enough else to do with their time.
Where it would apply is if those white settlers came up her full of how good it was elsewhere etc etc - get my drift?
The first Prime Minister of Canada was a Scotsman - a white settler? you see the implications?

[stevep]

Thank you for the reassurance. It's scary enough as it is. I appreciate what you are saying. We would just like to move to an area where we could become a part of a community rather than the seemingly money & self obsessed south of england.

[crashbandicoot1979]

I don’t think the person who made the comment is anti-“white settler”, he was just making a general comment about the attitude of those who are (which is a VERY SMALL minority).

You will be more than welcome in Caithness, we’re a friendly bunch!!!

[Kingetter]

I don’t think the person who made the comment is anti-“white settler”, he was just making a general comment about the attitude of those who are (which is a VERY SMALL minority).

You will be more than welcome in Caithness, we’re a friendly bunch!!!

I'd agree and also add that if you wish to add or give to the community that's great - if not dinna bother coming. You said you wished to become a part of a community - that's all that matters.

[Errogie]

Good luck with the venture Stevep,

My advice to anyone from far outwith the area is try and leave any cultural bagage far behind and keep an open mind on our local customs and attitudes. I resolve disputes over access to land for a living and one of the things I have seen cause more problems than anything else, is, for want of a better word "colonialism" unbeknowingly exhibited or otherwise by new arrivals.

We have a different basis for land ownership from the south and have just had cutomary responsible public access rights confirmed by our new Parliament (one of their better acheivements) so keep out signs, no tresspassing and the like go down like a lead baloon. The locals are not averse to good new ideas and most rural communities have more need of extroverts rather than socially challenged hermits but if you stay with the Org your not likely to fall into that category!

[pultneytooner]

I'd agree and also add that if you wish to add or give to the community that's great - if not dinna bother coming. You said you wished to become a part of a community - that's all that matters.
Here here, kingetter, you will be made more than welcome by the majority and that is all that matters, forget the rest, no matter where you go you will get those that will not make you welcome but they are in the minority.
I hope you settle here and have many happy years enjoying the peace in the lifestyle that we all enjoy up here

[Kingetter]

Very well expressed.



Good luck with the venture Stevep,

My advice to anyone from far outwith the area is try and leave any cultural bagage far behind and keep an open mind on our local customs and attitudes. I resolve disputes over access to land for a living and one of the things I have seen cause more problems than anything else, is, for want of a better word "colonialism" unbeknowingly exhibited or otherwise by new arrivals.

We have a different basis for land ownership from the south and have just had cutomary responsible public access rights confirmed by our new Parliament (one of their better acheivements) so keep out signs, no tresspassing and the like go down like a lead baloon. The locals are not averse to good new ideas and most rural communities have more need of extroverts rather than socially challenged hermits but if you stay with the Org your not likely to fall into that category!

[stevep]

Many thanks for all your advice. It's the community spirit we are after and the feelings we are getting back from this forum are fantastic.

[BLACK DOG]

You could always try the good old atomic energy for inclusion in your eco-self build. Plenty of radioactive particles in the beaches up here. Sandside is particularly good.:lol:

[Kingetter]

Many thanks for all your advice. It's the community spirit we are after and the feelings we are getting back from this forum are fantastic.
You won't find any better!

[Maclady483]

We moved here 9 months ago, we bought a little cottage, beautiful, views, people, and even the weather is not as bad as we expected. Come with an open mind and live the dream, we are (but builders are rarer than hens teeth):(

[Kingetter]

And weather's only weather - there's more to life than that - there's so much more.

[stevep]

I agree. Anyway everybody here has been complaining it has been too hot. Once again many thanks for all the positive feedback we now know we are coming to the right place. Just looking for the land and we will be on our way.

[Scout]

Is the company you using called woodco?

[stevep]

Yes it's Woodco.

[Kingetter]

What are your (collective) hobbies/interests?

[stevep]

Both my partner and I would like a plot of land were we can enjoy keeping a few animals chickens etc. We are both keen on walking and enjoy the outdoors. I'm a bit of a sports fan and like playing football, cricket and golf (is there much of a cricket scene in caithness?). In essence we both want to enjoy a simpler way of life without the stresses and strains of the money orientated area where we currently live. And as I posted earlier we want to be part of a community.

[Kingetter]

Both my partner and I would like a plot of land were we can enjoy keeping a few animals chickens etc. We are both keen on walking and enjoy the outdoors. I'm a bit of a sports fan and like playing football, cricket and golf (is there much of a cricket scene in caithness?). In essence we both want to enjoy a simpler way of life without the stresses and strains of the money orientated area where we currently live. And as I posted earlier we want to be part of a community.


http://www.caithness.org/sport/ball/cric/index.htm

[paris]

Currently living in Hawkhurst a town near Tunbridge Wells in Kent and it's driving us mad. We cannot wait to get away.
OMG i used to live there ! My cousins hubby was the local bobby. I lived at Hall House , cant remember the rd but it was the one that went straight over from the crossroads. Small world .

[stevep]

that's really quite scarey. How loing ago was it you lived here?

[Kingetter]

Both my partner and I would like a plot of land were we can enjoy keeping a few animals chickens etc. We are both keen on walking and enjoy the outdoors. I'm a bit of a sports fan and like playing football, cricket and golf (is there much of a cricket scene in caithness?). In essence we both want to enjoy a simpler way of life without the stresses and strains of the money orientated area where we currently live. And as I posted earlier we want to be part of a community.

http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=13225
See? Other folk have similar interests.

[TRUCKER]

There is 3 good golf clubs and a lot of amatur football clubs not too sure about the cricket scene. Hope you will come to stay in caithness ye canna beat it.

[katarina]

Cricket????? never played it but did play a similar game - it's called rounders....

[Kingetter]

Cricket????? never played it but did play a similar game - it's called rounders....
or Tip and Run?

[MadPianoPlayer]

well caithness has lovely landscapes and it does get bad weather but the summers can be so nice!so dont let our weather put you off! ;) Wick has recently gotten new shops and also geting tescos and also thruso is getting Asda. We have fun events. So what im saying is that you should really come to Caithness.:)

[Kingetter]

And bring your sense of humour - it may be handy!

[footie chick]

[ We have fun events. So what im saying is that you should really come to Caithness.:)[/quote]

You should try all of the local galas in June/July times see which area you want to settle in :lol:

[Woolie]

Steveb we live in wick but used to live in southbro tunbridge wells i know you will be happy here its a great place to live hope you fine somewhere real soon.

[Wish]

Wishing you much luck with the move and build:)

[paris]

that's really quite scarey. How loing ago was it you lived here?
I was just 16 so 30 yrs ago now, and grew up in maidstone kent !

[paris]

Steveb we live in wick but used to live in southbro tunbridge wells i know you will be happy here its a great place to live hope you fine somewhere real soon.
Hi there woolie....I lived there aswell what a small world we live in, i was in a childrens home there if i can remember i think it was called oakhurst, it was a long time ago now. I grew up in maidstone, lived in caithness and now back in lincs. wish i was there though. jan x

[mr do dar]

we moved up to caithness a year ago from cheshire and its the best move we ever made its a totally diffrent life you get the best of both worlds if you want the quiet life you can get it but if you like a drink and a bit of noise just go in to one of the towns and let your hair down anyway good luck in your decision im sure you will make the right one just follow your heart see ya soon bye ;) :Razz

[Woolie]

hi paris i am from deal kent orignally but ened up in tun wells when hubby got promoted in his job i love it here and would never go back south was the home in southbro cause was still one there when i was there which was five years ago .

[paris]

hi paris i am from deal kent orignally but ened up in tun wells when hubby got promoted in his job i love it here and would never go back south was the home in southbro cause was still one there when i was there which was five years ago .
Yes . all i can remember was i got of the bus and walked to the top of the road and the place was on the right, a big grey house. we used to go to school in the house and trips in an old ambulance and to a place called rusthall rock climbing. If it wasnt oakhurst it was park house as i was in one at hildenborough aswell, cant remember which one was which now. It wasnt very nice though at either one HA HA . jan x

[Camra]

Always park your car into the wind !

[stevep]

Just a quick note to say thank you to everybody for their encouraging comments. We have now hopefully found a plot of land and hope to see you all soon.

[TRUCKER]

Good Luck With Everthing.