fountaini

Oops... got my wires crossed.

iain061

Hello,
I've just discoverd this forum and saw your post. I've been in Canada over 30 years and we are seriously considering returning back. My wife (who is Canadian) loves Scotland and is really pushing this. But I am intereted in hearing about your experience of returning back. In particular, what's been some of the best things about returning, what do you miss about Canada, any unexpected surprises (good or bad), how did you adjust and any words of wisdom about the process of moving?
Best,
Iain

calandcat

Hello Iain

Well we did it. It was stressful, my husband went ahead of me to find a rental. Rent prices are much more expensive than I remember but equal to Canada I pay £1000. Per month nice area 3 bedroom then council tax and heating. TV is cheaper and mobile Sim so so cheap and no contracts so I pay £6 for 4gb data unlimited calls text all over Europe.
We love the selection of food and drinks especially alcohol in grocery stores. You need to get used to technology everything more advanced you need to download store cards for discounts in every store. And use Google or Apple pay everywhere including buses etc People like a bargain. We can travel more freely and already been to Spain for a week. Both found work pretty quickly with amazing holidays. Registered with Dr and Dentist immediately and of course medical treatment and prescriptions are free. Kids settled in school and college which is free if your born in Scotland. You need to start again to build credit so register on electoral roll immediately and open bank account. Some credit cards will accept you like Aqua but your stating again.
the scenery is amazing and 100% better than anywhere I have been in Ontario. My dog walks off lead and beautiful walks from my back garden threw the woods. No skunks no raccoons nor poison ivy.
you need to realize that registering and doing all the paperwork is the most stressful and getting a rental house etc those things were headaches . We don't have any regrets but I do have family here which helps.
Let me know how you get on. Good luck.

iain061

Thanks for the quick reply and the insights. We've been back twice this year and I fully agree with a lot of what you're saying. We live out in Western Canada and almost everything is car depedent. We love being able to walk out from my mom's house in Scotland and immediately being in the countryside and being able to walk to the pub, cafe or shops. So thanks again for the reply. Greatly appreciated.
Iain

vh3

Hi Iain
We have now been back in Scotland for a year and have no regrets leaving Canada. Do we miss things, yes. The friends we made, the glorious summers and a few bits and pieces but we are very much at peace with the decision we made. The UK is influx right now but so is everywhere else so we don't get too hung up on that. Advice - follow your gut instinct and everything will work out. We settled near our family in the NE even though we had reservations the area wasn't right for us. That has become obvious and we find it too quiet and in need to a change. We see ourselves moving next year to Norfolk which was our original destination. Family wont be happy but it is only a days drive away. That area suits our lifestyle much better. One thing we do find, after 26 years in Canada the country shaped us as adults but family expect us to be 100% Scottish on return and seem to forget we know a different way of life. That isn't a knock on the people but our travels have shaped us and we have different expectations and needs.

As I said, follow your gut instinct and you will be fine.

Ronnyone

With regard to Scottish University. The OP is right to a degree. Children born in Scotland and who lived there for 3 years and then lived abroad can return to Scotland for free University tuition. However there are various caveats in place and new rules apply since Brexit. Firstly you only have the free tuition if you were resident in EU , not non-EU countries, before Brexit and lived continuously for 3 years there prior to course starting. You must have lived in Scotland for 3 years before moving to EU. Secondly, you have to convince them that you have moved to Scotland primarily to be a resident not in order to just go to university ( this is why some people are rejected as they have no connection in Scotland, like family, no property etc. So if you fail this test initially and you want free tuition and have lived in Scotland before moving , then you are normally required to have lived there for 6 months on your return or a year not officially studying full time and show proof of council tax, bills, bank accounts etc- anything to show you are intending to make Scotland your home). The authorities tend to be quite strict about this as people often try and get round the rules by various means and I doubt every application can be thoroughly checked so the default is a rejection unless it is abundantly clear you are a habitual resident hence the 6 months or year of living I Scotland before starting any full time study.The other important thing is that this will only last until December 2027 - then all uk nats returning will become international students with no access to any funding !!!I believe that folk outside of EU have different conditions and possibly need the 3 year residency. English residents require 3 years Scottish residency or they pay the UK level of fees. I think that parents moving from Scotland abroad should be aware of this as you could potentially be cutting off your children from UK higher education - wrongly believing that as UK nats they automatically get free or reduced education costs

Ronnyone

The children most likely pay as they were not habitually resident in Scotland prior to study meaning they moved purely for reasons of study and not to make Scotland their home or they had not lived in Scotland for 3 yeats before moving to Scotland. If the family had moved or the children had on return been living there for a year they would have qualified.

iain061

Sorry for the tardy reply but I really appreciate your reponse. My son has been urging us to not overthink things and just "jump in" if it feels right. I really like you insight about travel and not being 100% Scottish. I do think that being in Canada does shape you, but I also think I can fit back in. My wife (who is Canadian) loves the Scottish Borders, its people, and she feels more at home there than anywhere. And we have lived in Ontario, BC and now Alberta. But I do love Pender Island in BC! I tend to be a bit overly analytical so your post does make me realise it is about how you feel. Be interested to hear how you find the move from the NE of Scotland to Norfolk. And yes, Scottish family will think you crazy if you drive more than 3-4 hours to visit. But in Canada 12-14 is fine!.

vh3

We also love the Scottish Borders particularly Kelso.

durham_lad

+1

We are going to be spending a weekend in Jedburgh with some family members in a couple of weeks time.

lds

Did you have to pay your rental X months in advance and which letting agent did you use?
What kind of phone did you buy? You mention mobile sim, is this pay as you go? Is it a smartphone?
As for the bank account, how long did you have to wait before you could open one? Which bank did you go with? I'm basing this on requiring utility bills/proof of address that most brick and mortar banks need. It takes months to gather that up.

I'm currently gathering information about what I need to do prior to my move back, which is why I have all the questions!

Thanks in advance.

durham_lad

We managed to get a rental in 2016 when we moved back and only paying 2 months in advance.

We had unlocked smartphones and switched out the SIM cards. Our daughter is arriving from California in 10 days and has made sure her phone is unlocked. We are hoping she can get an e-sim so she will have 2 sims on her phone, meaning she can hang onto her US number for a while.

I don’t believe banks require proof of UK address anymore. I just looked at Barclays site to confirm. I checked Chase.co.uk which is her bank of choice and it also doesn’t appear to need a utility bill or anything to prove residence.

https://www.barclays.co.uk/current-a.../bank-account/

Meanwhile our daughter’s Wise account with UK bank sort code and account continues to work great. I have been arranging a surveyor to survey the house she is buying here. She already has an agreed sale, engaged and paid a lawyer for the initial search fees. The survey company emailed the invoice and letter of agreement today. She immediately printed the last page, signed it, created a pdf and emailed it back. She also paid the invoice from her Wise account, just like you would from any UK bank account. The surveyor has arranged to go to the property next week.

So far so good….

lds

2 months is a fantastic deal for renting when you've just come back!

Barclays requires 3 years of address history. Do you know if that includes international addresses? You also need a UK phone number which I'm thinking should be easy enough. My iphone is unlocked so that's good news, I'll just need a new SIM card.

I'm going to set up a Wise account to use until I get a UK bank account.

Not to be too intrusive, but how is your daughter buying a house with no credit rating in England?

Thanks for the comments durham, I'm hoping to be back in eeh bah gum country myself.

durham_lad

Yes it does include international addresses I believe.

Just like when we moved back with no credit rating we were able to buy a house because we were paying cash because the house we bought in England was cheaper than the one we sold in the USA. Our daughter is in the same situation and all that is needed is proof you have the money to buy the house outright.

tdrinker

Rightmove is the best place to find rental properties. Also, do a tour of agents and get on their books - they will sometimes notify you of properties before they hit Rightmove. OpenRent is one place where landlords advertise properties directly, although many (most?) of them are also on Rightmove. Beware of scams, especially on Gumtree, Facebook and similar. Not everything advertised there is a scam, but anything that's too good to be true is. Zoopla is a similar site to Rightmove, with fewer (but still a substantial number) or properties; many are on both sites, but not all so it's worth monitoring both.

The rental market is very competitive currently. Good properties will have several prospective tenants chasing them, can rent very quickly, and some agents ask for your best offer rather than the tenancy being fixed price. Best offer includes not just rent, but the minimum tenancy duration you are offering as some landlords prefer a longer tenancy period.

Landlords often favour working tenants over a non-working tenant, even one who's financially secure and is offering a years' rent upfront.

Tenant referencing - there appeared to be 2 models, depending on which referencing company was involved. Model 1 is that income is the sole criterion, and savings are disregarded (even if substantial, e.g. someone who's sold a house and is renting whilst searching for a new one). In this case, if you don't have an adequate income you'll need to pay (often 12 months) rent in advance. Model 2 is that savings are also taken into account and you can pass referencing if you have sufficient savings (the amount varies, but generally 1 or 2 years' of rent). In this case you pay monthly. The savings may be required to have been in the same account for a minimum 30 day period, so leave a hunk of money in one account rather than moving it from bank to bank chasing the highest interest rate. In either model, credit history is important, but less your credit score than having no black marks - loan defaults, etc.