Net migration out of England to other parts of the UK is at its highest in 20 years, according to the Office for National Statistics. 58,000 people moved to Scotland last year and 65,000 moved to Wales – in total, a 66 per cent surge since 2005.
Meredith Gallop, 32, first moved to Glasgow for university in 2011, but has stayed ever since graduating in 2015. They explain that the combination of improved quality of life, affordable housing and sense of community has made the idea of leaving a non-starter.
I chose Glasgow for university because I wanted to study English literature and theatre in a city that had its own theatre culture. I’d been here once and thought it was nice enough, and fancied a big change from home in London.
After I graduated, I didn’t really want to leave, and it’s now been well over a decade. I’ve found this a common theme – I have friends from England who studied in Scotland, went back to England and have now moved back here.
When I graduated in 2015, the idea of job-hunting in London wasn’t that appealing – I would have had to move back in with my family. And the start-up innovation culture felt strong – I wanted to try stuff out to see what fit me. I was also in a relationship with a Scottish person at the time who had no interest in moving to England. But one of the main reasons I’ve stayed is the quality of life. I’ve now trained as a software developer and my salary is lower than it would be in London, but it goes much further up here. You can do more with less and have a better time.
Property is much cheaper. I come from a very financially privileged position, as I had inheritance from my gran for a flat deposit. I’ve been able to buy a lovely one bed flat in the south side of the city – for the same amount in London, I’d only have been able to afford a shared ownership flat in an area I don’t know. Here, I live close to my friends and my job. Along with a living room and bedroom, I have a separate work space.
Like everywhere, there are downsides. You see all the things you’d see in any city in the UK: rough sleeping, instances of people using drugs in public, people being racially abused in public. Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, has a historically difficult relationship with drugs and alcohol. There is an effort to address that but it is a concerning part of the culture.
The weather can be a lot, too. I really feel it in the spring – days tend to be shorter and colder up here. Come April, it’s hard seeing people down south posting pictures about the daffodils and wearing lighter coats. It does get here eventually though!
One of the downsides of Scotland is the weather and colder daysOur buses are also the most expensive, while also being incredibly unreliable. There are three different private bus companies who compete with each other and don’t always turn up. Our public transport is also all disconnected, especially compared to London, which is frustrating. And the options for travel from Glasgow airport are rubbish.
It is far away from my family and friends down south, but the few times I’ve needed to get down to London I’ve managed it – it’s not like being in Australia. And my parents have actually bought a property in Glasgow as part of their retirement plan and that has played host to so many family and friends, and people travelling for work, which has been really nice, too. Provided the trains are running, I can get pretty much wherever I need to be.
I don’t think that access to the NHS is particularly better or worse than in England. I live in an area that is quite densely populated with a lot of poverty, and that means our GPs are incredibly overworked and oversubscribed. But on the other hand, my prescriptions are always free. I will say that the waiting list for gender-affirming care in Glasgow is literally years-long (they are the worst waiting times in the UK) and that’s frustrating. It has a big impact on the queer and trans community here, particularly kids.
However, the southside of Glasgow, where I live, is very trans-friendly – the community is really strong. There is a huge, mixed population here from all walks of life: a big Pakistani community, a big Romani community, the heart of the Queer community, and then people who have lived here for over 50 years, like my upstairs neighbour. Scotland feels small – one thing I love is that you see the same people all the time, so along with your friends, you make acquaintances to say hi to or have a quick chat with.
The GPs in Gallop’s area in Glasgow are overworkedWhenever I’m job-hunting, London is always on the radar and I was recently considering moving to Manchester. But honestly, it’s hard to consider moving to somewhere where I couldn’t get an Empire biscuit or a tablet (a Scottish confection a bit like fudge).
The Scottish will be mad at me for encouraging more people to move to Scotland – in a gentle, good-humoured way. You’ve got to be aware that the teasing of the English is the Scottish sense of humour and there’s no vitriol in it… most of the time. There is a bit of a wariness of the southside filling up with English people, but I think the fact that university is free in Scotland for Scottish people keeps far more Scottish people up here, meaning the dynamic is more balanced. As long as there’s the sense of you adding to the culture, community and economy, rather than just coming here because it’s cheap, it’s all good – most people can tell the difference.
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