View Full Version : Moving from Africa to Thurso
Hello everyone,
I am leaving Africa after nearly a decade long adventure (working in wildlife conservation) and returning to the United Kingdom. A friend, I think as a joke, suggested I go to Thurso to recharge my energy and write my story. I laughed at first but then the idea took hold and I am seriously considering moving up North for a year or so to a friendly environment where I can start to build a new life!
The very fact that you have this lively and interesting forum appeals to me and makes the place all the more attractive. Will you welcome a stranger in your midst?
I look forward to getting to know you a little over the internet and I have hundreds of questions to ask...
Alex (currently sitting by the Zambezi river)
The Caithness natives will give you a good welcome-they like a tasty stranger. I strongly suggest you avoid any barbecue parties. [lol]
Hello everyone,
I am leaving Africa after nearly a decade long adventure (working in wildlife conservation) and returning to the United Kingdom. A friend, I think as a joke, suggested I go to Thurso to recharge my energy and write my story. I laughed at first but then the idea took hold and I am seriously considering moving up North for a year or so to a friendly environment where I can start to build a new life!
The very fact that you have this lively and interesting forum appeals to me and makes the place all the more attractive. Will you welcome a stranger in your midst?
I look forward to getting to know you a little over the internet and I have hundreds of questions to ask...
Alex (currently sitting by the Zambezi river)
Well Alex now that you have become an orger you are no longer a stranger. Welcome to the org. Good to see you are thinking about moving to Caithness. I'm sure all your questions and more will be answered on here. Happy posting.:)
Go for it Alex,after all if you can survive living in Africa with lots of dangerous animals Caithness should be a walk in the park for you,up here the most dangerous thing there is are gossips ;) Welcome to the org and I hope you find somewhere you will enjoy living!x
riggerboy
19-Mar-09, 08:57
be very careful if thinking of moving up here, the wild life is something else, will partys to well past 8 pm,pubs open at 11am and close about october for a 3 hr clean, if your sure you can handle the fast pace of life then im sure youll love it, infact if yer good with a pen youll be able to write a better story about caithness after a year here than you could about 10 years in deepest darkest africa lol
teena bowlies are worse than midges
welcome to the org
Thanks for the warm welcome, you're obviously also early risers! I am two hours ahead of you out here. I've already written two books. One got banned by the Zambian government and the other was ermm.. rubbish!
I guess my first question would be what's the rental market like up there? I see a few properties to let on the web pages at reasonable (to me) prices so I'm hopeful that I'll find something decent and central as I won't have a car, at least to start with.
As for barbecues (they call them braiis out here) I can be pretty quick on my feet when necessary :) and gossip; nowt new there :(
teenybash
19-Mar-09, 09:16
Alex, Welcome to the org...the next best thing to actually being here.
Hope you enjoy exploring the different forums and posting your opinions ..... I am sure you will enjoy the uniqueness of Caithness as many of us 'incomers do.':Razz
Rentals should be quite easy for you to find Alex,and a lot of them are very central so not having a car shouldnt be a problem,I take it it is Thurso you plan to move to?Seems to be quite a few properties for lease in Thurso at the mo so you should have a good choice!Hope it goes well for you and you enjoy Caithness living!Let us know how the book comes along! x
Melancholy Man
19-Mar-09, 10:15
Mwapoleni, Alex. I am looking at a piece of Zambia on my shelf, bauxite straight from the copperbelt.
As for barbecues (they call them braiis out here)
What d'you call robots? There's a monkey's wedding on just now.
Mwapoleni, Alex. I am looking at a piece of Zambia on my shelf, bauxite straight from the copperbelt.
What d'you call robots? There's a monkey's wedding on just now.
Greetings to you too! Zikomo kwambiri!
I call "robots" robots - they call traffic lights "robots" which really confused me for a while but when I find out that obeying them was only optional anyway I got into the spirit of the thing. Road rules here are biggest vehicle always has right of way! I got myself a Landcruiser with bull bars front, rear and sides (and a toughened roof rack just in case) :lol:
You lost me with the "monkey's wedding" I'm afraid...
Melancholy Man
19-Mar-09, 10:42
You speak Bemba! Una ungua kiswahili? D'you like ghosts' breath?
A monkey's wedding is when it's rainy/sunny at the same time. Must not have progressed further north than Zim.
What did you do to upset that nice Bwana Mwanawasa?
You speak Bemba! Una ungua kiswahili? D'you like ghosts' breath?
A monkey's wedding is when it's rainy/sunny at the same time. Must not have progressed further north than Zim.
What did you do to upset that nice Bwana Mwanawasa?
I speak enough to meet and greet but not enough to have a conversation. Like most english speaking ex-pats I'm very lazy about language particularly when most natives speak english anyway.
Ah right, I've got to go now. The moving boats have arrived and it's time to knock off the satellite... I'll check in tonight with more questions.
Welcome to the org, Alex!
I'm sure you'd love Caithness -it's certainly a great place to write and the folk here are very friendly. There are quite a few writers hiding away here already and the sociable ones have formed themselves into a writers' group to share their work and get some feedback. If you decide to come to Caithness, pm me and I'll give you contact details for the local writing mafia.
I think the weather here's probably not what you're used to, but if you like change, it's good - I love it!:)
Hi Alex,
I was living near stellenbosch, south africa for 3 months volunteering at cheetah outreach. I'm returning the end of April for 7 weeks. I actually want to relocate out there once i've finished my education. Africa certainly got under my skin. Caithness is a beautiful place and peaceful if you live in the country but its not a place i see myself settling, its so far from a good shopping centre (not that i like to shop regular). I've been living up here for nearly 16 years and still feel like an outsider (maybe haven't met the nice people yet) and the weather isn't all that great. So i'd say come up to Caithness for a restful break but not long term. I'd be off to africa tomorrow if I could. Just trying to show the other side.
No offence intended just giving an honest opinion.
Tugmistress
19-Mar-09, 11:47
Well you can't have picked a more extreme change that's for sure! hope you decide to end up here, it's great!
welcome to the org family where fallouts often happen but so what's different to a real family?
Melancholy Man
19-Mar-09, 11:51
<smashes beer bottle>
Bar fight!!!
Valerie Campbell
19-Mar-09, 12:00
Moving to Caithness to write about your adventures is exactly the kind of area you're looking for. Peace and quiet. Just might take you a week or two to get to grips with the accent and a few of the odd words, but once you've lived there, you'll never want to be anywhere else. Your heart will be stolen forever!!
Bad Manners
19-Mar-09, 12:12
Hope you enjoy your move I have travelled extensivly round the world and have to say you get a very warm welcome when you come to caithness.
If you come with the view to blending in you will be fine.
Welcome to the org. You will never regret coming here. It must be good, as I left and came back.
Yes come up to caithness it will be a decision you wont regret. Welcome to the org .
OOps' there goes another pig with wings !
butterfly
20-Mar-09, 02:01
Welcome to the org Alex,Caithness aint a bad place to be and i am sure you will like it.:)
Thanks again for all the welcoming replies. I guess I can look forward maybe to meeting some of you soon in person.
I was thinking maybe of staying at the Station Hotel while I look for a rental. Does anyone know the owners or managers as I'd like to get in touch with someone to discuss logistics? I am going to have a few crates of personal stuff that'll need to be freighted over and stored for a while so will need a safe place to deliver them.
Any ideas on that would be welcome...
When these things happen the happen fast. At least to me!
Hi Alex here is a link that might help to put you in touch with someone. Good luck in your new adventure.;)
http://www.stationthurso.co.uk/
This company offers storage facilities. I've used them in the past and they are very reasonable and secure.
http://www.wdross.co.uk/
Hi Alex here is a link that might help to put you in touch with someone. Good luck in your new adventure.;)
http://www.stationthurso.co.uk/
This company offers storage facilities. I've used them in the past and they are very reasonable and secure.
http://www.wdross.co.uk/
Thank you, I have mailed both so let's see what happens...
Melancholy Man
20-Mar-09, 13:08
There are a good few properties in town for rent (although with your experience, you may be willing to go as far as Bettyhill). I'm sure there are South Africans and Kenyans and Nigerians in town, but I don't think there are Zambians.
Alex, welcome to the org. Caithness has some magical qualities. I hope that you are able to enjoy them.
When I was preparing for my four month stint in the county the best words of advise came from rich. It was summer, but he still warned me to take my 'thermals'. And he was right. I wore woollen stockings until the end of July. August and September were quite pleasant though.
I cannot believe that was 5 years ago. And now I am a Canadian living permanently in Scotland. Caithness does have a great affect on one if you go with an open spirit.
A. Caithness does have a great affect on one if you go with an open spirit.
Good advice always take some "open spirits" with you and you will be accepted by all of Caithness;), and we will hev ya takin lek trix in a wee whilie!!!![lol]
I don't know how many times it's polite say thanks withiut sounding trite, so I think I'll end here and just chat from now on.
Must admit I'm more a pint of heavy than a wee dram but I can learn, I guess.
It's been raining here non-stop for days so I'm already getting climate adapted except for the temperature (24 celcius which is kind of chilly for these parts).
It looks like I'm flying from here on 2 April so I could be with you sooner than I expected! Wow!
Well Alex weather wise we have had some sunny spring like days lately but last night and this morning we have been blessed with thick freezing fog. Even the grass is white. The sun is trying to come out so looks like another fine dry day ahead. I'd definitely pack my thermals if I were you. You never know what the March lion and the May gobs might throw at you in Caithness.;)
Always a good idea to dress in layers here in Caithness, discarding and adding as weather requires. You will love it here as the scenery is spectacular and changes each time you visit depending on the weather. Your move is not far away now. Hope you got accommodation organised. Georgesons in Thurso are very helpful and they usually have some property to let. There was one near us recently with beautiful views of the bay, but I see the board is now a "sale" one, but there may be possibilities. Good luck with the shipping!
Melancholy Man
21-Mar-09, 11:41
It looks like I'm flying from here on 2 April so I could be with you sooner than I expected! Wow!
Oh, we could all meet you by the railway station and shake you by the throat!
Oh, we could all meet you by the railway station and shake you by the throat!
I'd best keep my actual arrival quiet then. I got this image of the American kids walking in to the remote moorland pub at the start of American Werewolf in London - vintage...
(Thanks for the PM's quiet members which are very helpful ;))
Melancholy Man
22-Mar-09, 20:25
There's a stranger is the village. He won't get far!
~*shotgun click*~
The Caithness natives will give you a good welcome-they like a tasty stranger. I strongly suggest you avoid any barbecue parties. [lol]
I will let you know that on 25/12/2005 I sucessfully braiied 3 rump steaks...... in WICK (KW1 5AG).
I will let you know that on 25/12/2005 I sucessfully braiied 3 rump steaks...... in WICK (KW1 5AG).
Please tell me Christmas '05 was not the last time it got warm enough to cook a steak outdoors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It wasn't...I was just in the mood for a south African Christmas (where I was born). However, it was snowing lightly that Christmas.... the neighbourrs thought I was nuts. She sold the house shortly after.....was it a hint?
I had problems once insisting on a barbecue in February in Clapham.
It didn't go so well ... there was a greenhouse involved that wasn't there the morning after. Big problems with the neighbours. But I was young and talked my way out of it.
The barbeque in Clapham, EVEN in Febuary....ok.....but the greenhouse was a step too far..... it would have ruined the meat! ;)
The barbeque in Clapham, EVEN in Febuary....ok.....but the greenhouse was a step too far..... it would have ruined the meat! ;)
Good plan - badly executed! The food was great we just neglected to douse the fire once the eating and drinking commenced. Actually in our elated state I think the party kind of celebrated the destruction. Aussies, Kiwi, Afrikaans all present and to blame - I think I was the only Brit there.
And I was the cook
misty woman
22-Mar-09, 21:16
Hello everyone,
I am leaving Africa after nearly a decade long adventure (working in wildlife conservation) and returning to the United Kingdom. A friend, I think as a joke, suggested I go to Thurso to recharge my energy and write my story. I laughed at first but then the idea took hold and I am seriously considering moving up North for a year or so to a friendly environment where I can start to build a new life!
The very fact that you have this lively and interesting forum appeals to me and makes the place all the more attractive. Will you welcome a stranger in your midst?
I look forward to getting to know you a little over the internet and I have hundreds of questions to ask...
Alex (currently sitting by the Zambezi river)hi alex,welome to the org,just one question why do you want to leave africa?
Alex, another great Caithness.org tradition is the Sunday evening quiz, 8:30 Caithness time.
You are welcome to drop into the chat room (click on FlashChat at the top of the screen) and get to know some of the org gang. To go to the quiz you need to enter the quiz room from the general room. Warning though: the winner of the quiz gets to be the quiz master for the next week.
hi alex,welome to the org,just one question why do you want to leave africa?
That is the hardest question to answer I have ever been asked. How do you leave a woman you love with your heart and soul but doesn't love you?
That's a parallel by the way no woman involved
misty woman
22-Mar-09, 22:04
It must be a really difficult choice you are having to make about leaving africa,good luck with what you decide to do,dont think i could leave if i was you!
You rotten lot. Not one of you have told alex you need electrically heated underwear and about the problems with hungry polar bears lurking round. ;)
Alex, if you survive the first winter you will love it here. The nights are very long for about four to six weeks around Christmas, but we make up for that in summer when it doesn't get fully dark all night. Then there is the wind, which tends to always be there at one speed or another, but you soon get used to it so much so that when you go somewhere that there is no wind you really miss it.
That is basically the down side but the rest more than makes up for it. I’ve been up here for about 15 years and have enjoyed every minute.
Oh, and the natives are OK as well.
I agree with the others Alex, few people come here and leave again; it has a lovely 'off-the-beaten-track' feel with a very high standard of living unless you're unlucky enough to be out of work and penniless. I'm renting in Halkirk just 6 miles from Thurso; a nice village with a very nice shoppe and decent pub, paying £400 a month for a nice modern wee hoosie.
I know Zambia pretty well too after working on the Copperbelt (Mufulira / Chililabombwe / Kabwe) for 2 years on and off in the late 70's early 80's. I've still never tasted beer as good as the (single brand) Zambian stuff (ex Lion I think), if you got one without floaters that is. I also travelled around what is a very interesting country - Victoria Falls / S Luangwa game park / Lake Tanganyika etc. I met KK too while working at one place. I'd like to go back one day - what's the political situation like these days?
Why is it every time I read the title of this thead I remember the spitting image song?[lol]
I am sure alex is nothing like the song!!!! you will love it up here except for the cold,its a lovely place really.
When in Caithness will you be doing any comparisons......Could be interesting!
The internet here has been moving at the speed of day old porridge since Sunday. Probably a tech revenge from the ISP for my attempting to live chat on the quiz :D so I'm cutting down on my use a bit.
Zambia is very different even from when I first visited in the nineties. Lusaka is full of shopping malls and 4x4s and looks to all intents prosperous but it's all a front as this is all funded by aid. When I arrive sit me down in a pub and ask me how the overseas aid industry works and I shall swear in words that you won't have heard before and the ice will melt from the hills with my anger! On the plus side it has meant you can get everything and the beer comes mouse free nowadays (davidd spoke the truth!)
I'm racking my mind for the Spitting Image song but unless they've relaunched in the last ten years, that was so long ago...
I think comparing Africa and Scotland is like comparing apples and oranges, pointless. I wonder if I'll become an Africa bore? "When I was in blah blah ZZzzzz" The old drunk guy on the Fast Show (do you remember that?) That'll be nice.
I'm now down to selling my car and hovercraft (heart rending) but I can't bring them with me because of the freight and duties. As soon as that's sorted I'll be sorted and ready to go.
When I arrive sit me down in a pub and ask me how the overseas aid industry works and I shall swear in words that you won't have heard before and the ice will melt from the hills with my anger! On the plus side it has meant you can get everything and the beer comes mouse free nowadays (davidd spoke the truth!)
Any chance you are doing a stop over in Edinburgh on your way to Thurso? I would love to hear what you have to say about overseas aid. If not, I'll maybe get a chance to catch your presentation when I am up to Caithness.
Any chance you are doing a stop over in Edinburgh on your way to Thurso? I would love to hear what you have to say about overseas aid. If not, I'll maybe get a chance to catch your presentation when I am up to Caithness.
I don't know the way the night train goes but after my essential business is done in London I'll be headed straight North. There's plenty of time to vent my spleen. I'm looking for a fresh breeze and decent folk talking rubbish about things that don't really matter :D
Whitewater
24-Mar-09, 23:06
You will be made very welcome in Caithness, unfortunately our wild life only appears late on Friday and Saturday nights.
You will be made very welcome in Caithness, unfortunately our wild life only appears late on Friday and Saturday nights.
Thanks, but seriously though I have been working n conservation for a decade so would like to get involved in waht's happening in the region. I'm posting an enquiry in Biodiversity as I guess that's the right place for it.
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