Orkney

Does anyone know much about them in terms of living there? My in-laws are contemplating a move up there but DH and I have a lot of concerns about it - starting with it's remoteness. We also want to know how good the health care is in particular and how the public transport is. And also, how welcoming the natives folks are to newcomers.

My friend has an aunt who lives up there and they wouldn't live anywhere else. I have heard that a large portion of the population is retirees from England.  I think the Orkney's are beautiful!  I don't really know much about living there but-these are things I have heard and observed (I'd live up there if I could!).
  Kirkwall is a pretty substantial size town, well compared to the surrounding areas, and they now have a Tescos and there is a Lidl there up there. There are lots of planes and ferries that go in between the islands and there are regular ferries between the islands and Scotland and you get a pass for the ferries for living up there.  They have a hospital, GPs, ambulence service, etc. They also have excellent schools (not that I suppose that matters to your inlaws).
   Off the islands, nearest town is Wick, which is a pretty small town, but it does have an airport and other such necessitates. Its only a 3 hour drive or so to Inverness too, and from here, although its not a great airport, you can connect enough to other places.  Down here we have all the usual shops, etc and there are a lot of people who come down here to Inverness to shop for things and make the journey back up. There are twice a day buses up that way too.
   The other thing your inlaws may want to know is that I guess its a really, long, long winter. Like only 4 hours of daylight and wet and damp the entire time. 
   I would guess that things are more expensive, because of the travel cost involved with moving them up there. But they have good local beef and veg and beer too. 
No trees, well very few anyways, on the islands -the winds can get up to hurricane force on a pretty regular basis.
I know others on UKY actually live there, so they can give a lot better advice than I can, but I think there is definitely a laid back way of life up there and absolutely gorgeous and rural.   

Not Orkney, but close enough?      
My SIL and 2 daughters live in Shetland and love it.  They have had no issues with health care there, but i cant comment on the transport, since they all drive.

Despite many opportunities to return to the mainland, they've decided to stay on there.

Thanks for the info. FIL drives but MIL doesn't. Problem is that he is a bit of a hermit and resents going out more than absolutely necessary -  and she's the social butterfly. So if they can't find a place with regular transport, DH will definitely have something to say about it. They (we) are already living in a very rural location with a bus once a week.

We're worried about the health care in terms of elder care. FIL has a very bad back and MIL pretty much does everything around the house. As he gets worse, she'll have to take on even more and she's just been diagnosed with arthritis in her hips and is really slowing down.

They are known for these sudden interests in moving somewhere they've never even visited (!) but this is the most serious I've heard them for a while so we want as much info as we can get.

When in around the 5 islands that are connected and you can drive across the 5 of them without getting on a ferry, there were bus stops and a bus station. I didn't feel like I was in the middle of nowhere or anything. I've driven to more remote places around the highlands. I'm sure on the other not connected islands, there would be a different feel though and probably feel like the middle of nowhere. 

What are your inlaws reasons for wanting to move to Orkney?
Surely they're not daft, and they've considered their health, future care plans, etc?

Surely they're not daft...

I wouldn't be so sure... the stories I could tell you, Q-G... *sigh*

The only thing I would say is that island folk can be really insular.  They are really nice to visitors but can be quite dismissive of outsiders who move there.  Even to other people from the Highlands!

Hi! I moved to Kirkwall in Orkney from the USA with my husband (we're both Americans on a work permit) last November, and I absolutely love it here.  I have had no anti-American sentiment here whatsoever, and have made many wonderful friends.  The community has been very welcoming to me; people are always curious about why and how I got here, but always end with a smile and seem genuinely happy that I have decided to move here.  I try to be very respectful of the local culture, and have been volunteering to show that I want to contribute to the community.  Because it is a small place, people are very aware of everyone else's comings and goings, but this also creates an incredibly safe low crime environment, which I find to be well worth the lack of anonymity.  Social care and help for the aged is very strong here- this is a link for some of the services:

http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/AGECONCERN/index.asp?pageid=823

I live in the main town here, but there are busses that go all over the island for those who live in the countryside:

http://www.orkney.gov.uk/media/v2/transport/OPTT06DEC05.pdf

Hope this info helps, I love it here!

 I live in Orkney, but way out in the countryside.  It's fantastic, but unless you live in Kirkwall or Stromness, you'd really need access to a car.  There are only two buses a day to our village, for example.

Our experience with health care has been excellent.  Our GP practice is very good, with a regular physiotherapist on staff who has helped my husband a great deal with his arthritic knee.  There is a very good small hospital in Kirkwall.  Cases that need more specialist care may go to Aberdeen (and in emergencies people are sometimes airlifted to hospital in Aberdeen).
You don't have to wait a long time to see a doctor and you get really personal care, of the kind that doesn't always happen any more.

There are only 20,000 people in the islands, so it's a small, tight-knit community, where people look out for each other.  Everyone has been very kind and welcoming to us, but I hear rumblings that isn't always the case with -- ahem -- English people who come up to the islands and think they are somehow better than the locals.

Oh, and the "no trees" thing -- that's a stereotype that we often hear, but I've got quite a few in my garden and so do lots of other folk!  And the winds do not "get up to hurricane force often"  -- these are islands, so it is a maritime climate.  The winters are dark, but that's when everyone gets out and does social things -- there's a constant buzz of clubs and activities.  The spring and summer are filled with light, and one can golf or fish or hike at midnight at midsummer.

If you have any questions, please do email me privately.

Oh, and the "no trees" thing -- that's a stereotype that we often hear, but I've got quite a few in my garden and so do lots of other folk!  And the winds do not "get up to hurricane force often"  -- these are islands, so it is a maritime climate.  The winters are dark, but that's when everyone gets out and does social things -- there's a constant buzz of clubs and activities.  The spring and summer are filled with light, and one can golf or fish or hike at midnight at midsummer.

Sorry, of course there are trees- just not like one would typically expect to see- but it is breath taking to see how barren it is!  Hurricane force, okay- probably not, but it is windy! 

What do people do for work?  I would imagine they'd go to the mainland for work??  And what about schools - are the schools on the mainland too? 

My husband and I are aiming to head back to the UK next year.  Up to now we've been thinking that we would go to Wales but now after reading these posts I'm having a change of mind!!  The Orkneys sound stunning!!   Many years ago I used to have trips up to the Highlands - I loved it - and I seem to remember being "somewhere" right up at the tip of Scotland but I cant for the life of me remember the place names.

Orkneytime - your description of the Orkneys has me hooked!!  I've got so many questions do you mind If I email you?

What do people do for work?  I would imagine they'd go to the mainland for work??  And what about schools - are the schools on the mainland too? 

Most of the people who live in Orkney work there.  Kirkwall is a sizeable town with jobs available.  There are schools there too, primary and secondary.  A lot of these island communities are pretty self sufficient because they have to be. 

Somehow I've missed all these latest posts! Thanks for the input!

Orkney is 90 minutes on the ferry from Scrabster, so people work on the island, not on the mainland of Scotland.  (Confusingly enough, though, the biggest island in the Orkney archipelago is also called Mainland.  When going 'sooth' or off-island, everyone says "going to Scotland" as though it's a different country.)

The biggest employment area here is farming, followed by tourism.  If you're eating some lovely hand-dived scallops, followed by a tender beef roast or Scottish lamb in a top London restaurant, you might well be eating Orkney produce.

Yes, we have our own schools, and they are generally at the top of the Scottish league tables, along with the schools in the Shetland isles.  Some of the smaller islands in the group send their older pupils to Kirkwall for secondary school, and the children on the very small island of Graemsay take a ferry to school every day in Stromness.  There are 20,000 people in Orkney, and there are no traffic lights or motorways and very little crime.  Of course like any small community you can get into a situation where everybody knows everybody else's business, but people here have an island mentality -- we take care of each other.