Hi there,

My husband and I are Australian but are moving to Aberdeen in May. He works in oil and gas and I am a lawyer. He is being transferred with his company and I will be working for one of the law firms there.

I just wanted to see if anyone had any feedback on life in Aberdeen. We visited there for a weekend a couple of weeks ago and we were pleasantly surprised. My initial impressions were that it was very pretty, although small, but with everything you could need. Also, given we are currently living in Moscow, Aberdeen is a nice contrast to the dirtiness, chaos and general horribleness of Moscow.

Any insider tips on where to live, restaurants etc?

Thanks!

Hi,
Myself and my OH are both from Aberdeen - born and bred and moved over here to Australia 2 years ago. I worked in the oil and gas industry for 6 years (ExxonMobil) and OH is a civil engineer. (Sometimes!)
Be aware that Aberdeen is very small, you cannot help bumping into the same people over and over - especially inthe oil and gas industry (cannot believe exactly how small it really is in comparison with Melbourne). It also has a large transient workforce due to the oil industry so it always seems to be busy with people jetting in and out from working offshore!
You also have very easy access to some of the most beautiful countryside in the world in the shape of royal deeside(ok maybe i am a bit biased).
Where to live will, as in most cities, depend on how much you are willing to spend and how much time you are willing to spend on commuting. You haven't mentioned family either - if you have kids your location may be determined by what kind of school you want them to go to.

Aberdeen can be very expensive but it has it's cheap areas too - very generally speaking the west end is the more expensive end of town. Have a look at the aspc.co.uk website - it has listings for all the solicitors in the area and can give you an idea of prices.
Areas I would really avoid are the ones with a large amount of council houses - Northfield, Tillydrone, Mastrick and Sandilands are probably the worst offenders.
There are also quite a few commuter towns/villages - Banchory and Westhill are about 40 minutes from Aberdeen city centre, although no train access. Portlethen is 20 minutes away on the railway line, quite reasonably priced and is very family friendly.

As far as eating and drinking go - most things happen on and around union Street. It has most of the pubs and clubs within walking distance. A bit of everything from working mens bars, theme pubs, clubs and casinos.
For a nice meal I can reccomend either Howies on Chapel street or if you like Turkish food you cannot beat the Nargile, Skene street just off union terrace.

Good luck!

My wife stayed in Aberdeen for a number of years, and loved it. One thing that will take a bit of getting used to is the accent. It is good to listen to, however understanding the broader speaking natives is near on impossible!! We are both scottish and find them difficult to understand.

good luck with the move and I am sure you will find Aberdeen a lovely place to stay. Try Union St on a Saturday night. Excellent fun in the pubs

Cannae understand you either min.

Fit like ma loon.

You'll have to learn to talk like this!

bcworld you have have made my day with that clip!

Honest we're not ALL that bad really but there are definitely a few that speak a bit like that. The further out in the sticks you go the worse it becomes that's for sure - and if you get two rural farmer scots together and they start talking in proper doric you probably would need subtitles!

im from aberdeen, its a great city very cold though but people are friendly i love it

Fit ye on aboot