Making it work in Glasgow or Dunfermline?

Why stick to the Central Belt?  If you want peace, quiet, and relative safety, head north.

Check the NHS Scotland jobs site, you'll find IT jobs going all over the country.  Granted, the pay is lower than in the US, but at least it's steady work.  You're incredibly unlikely to find yourself suddenly redundant, and once you get a foot in the door, if you decide you hate the community you're in, you've got an edge on taking a job with a different Health Board.

Great points. I just figured that there would be more logistical strength for jobs by sticking to the Central Belt. Also, family is in Glasgow and Dunfermline so wanted the option of having family close by...and yet it is nice to be far enough away to avoid the drama. Side note in that I tried NHS when I lived in Scotland and they told me to go pound sand. Maybe I will try again. I used to never try twice at the same entity. However, my view has drastically changed over time. I was blackballed at a certain entity here in the USA. I interviewed 15 different times at the same entity within 3 months and was denied due to that blackballing. I settled things with the person and the 16th time was a charm.....point being that I have a lot of fight left in me.

Thanks.

All of Scotland, and especially Glasgow, has changed A LOT since your wife was growing up. Even in the 13.5 years I've been here things have improved. My husband grew up in Edinburgh, left for 18 years, then we moved back 2 years ago, and for him it's a completely different city. I don't think it's stuck up at all, or at least it depends where you are. Some neighbourhoods are posh and some are normal and some are shite, like anywhere. I love living on in Edinburgh, and I hate Glasgow, while others are the opposite, and some like both, but basing your opinion of the places based on experiences more than 10 years old will not give you a realistic view of it is now.

Thanks for your thoughts. These experiences persists in some of the things we still gather from family. I hope that things have changed and that some of what we here is more localized.

I lived in Glasgow for about 7 years, and now live in a Fife village/town about 15 minutes from Dunfermline. I grew up in an inside-the-beltway DC suburb.
Scotland is a humble place. Very different from DC and its suburbs.
Everyone's salarys here are going to look like a joke compared to those made where you live now. I don't know if that will make you feel better or worse...
Anyways, Glasgow is not a dangerous and crappy place to live, that's a pretty outdated view on the city. To me, it actually seems like an amazing place to raise kids.
Dunfermline is a perfectly fine place to live, and you'll get a bigger house for your money, etc - but it's more of a place that people live because they've always lived there, not a place people move *to*.
Happy to provide answers to specific questions if you have any.

Thanks at least you can relate. I miss the humbleness and honesty that I experienced in Scotland. Sling me a pm if you'd be up for a further discussion vis a vis DC vs. Scotland. I live in a DC Exurb that plenty of people live in but no one would think of leaving even though it is crappy. I don't want to say which one it is in public.

I'm really surprised to hear that you liked both Royston and Shettleston, as both those places are generally considered to be 'bad' areas!

You might want to do some research about Helensburgh, since you're happy with a commute and want to live outside the city.  I currently live there and commute to Glasgow city centre on the train... takes about 45 minutes.  Helensburgh itself is considered 'nice' and 'middle class', although it does have it's share of 'iffy' areas.  I don't have kids, but I believe the schools in Helensburgh are considered to be good.  It's a very pretty location, on the Firth of Clyde and was a popular holiday resort back in the day... if your wife is from Glasgow, she might well be familiar with Helensburgh already.

Hope you find what you're looking for.   

Her da was always keen on Helensburgh but never found his way out besides a holiday maybe. I am a bit concerned that Helensburgh might be unaffordable as opposed to closer in suburbs. Not sure if I am correct there. I could have sworn that I did at least some preliminary research. I met the nicest people in those schemes on the train. I found people snobby at work in the East Kilbride area. I felt like everyone was trying to impress me and outdo me.

Thanks for your post.

First, salary. You will see salaries a lot lower than even in many other parts of the UK, particularly the south east of England. But, the cost of living is a lot lower. We moved to near Glasgow last year and took a drop from £48k to £30k, but are much better off due to lower costs for things like housing.

Second, Glasgow. I don't live in the city itself, but do work in it. All of the old tenements were demolished years ago and it is now a very different city. I work in Glasgow and also visit on weekends regularly and find it a great city with some amazing places to visit. It is also the greenest city in Europe and covered in parks.

Another option would be to look outside of Glasgow. For example, we live in a very pretty village in the countryside near the town of Strathaven, which is a lovely market town surrounded by great countryside and only 18 miles from Glasgow

Isn't the price of housing constantly going up? I thought my research showed that was happening in terms of owning a house and renting. I factor in the exchange rate and I am very shocked at what a 3 bedroom flat or front/back door costs in comparison to wages. It might just be me. 

I took a look at Strathaven. When I last worked in East Kilbride people were stuck up as per my previous post. Then again, I don't know that everyone worked lived there. One person who lived in Stirling had a particularly negative view of Glasgow.

Anyways, thanks for the post. I am generally convinced that living outside of Glasgow is the way to go.

All of the old tenements were demolished years ago

This is absolutely not true!

I met the nicest people in those schemes on the train.

Yeah, I have found that too....that very often the more downtrodden the area, the nicer the people. 

I did live in Royston for a very short time in the 80s, though, and it was hellish.

While you would be paid less you get to work for 8 hours a day and you get 5 or 6 weeks holiday a year.  No health insurance or copays.

...but WHY can't I generalize about Glasgow IT work being low paid. As I mentioned already, I actually worked there. I almost had to cut off my right foot to make 25k. I mean 25k to stand in front of UK Law Enforcement Officers for IT Infrastructure demos for hours on end? Sure I had much less experience then, but I don't see much improvement as far as wages in the market.

I have tried for many years to no avail to return to the UK and all the while I have experience prima facie proof of what the pay was. Pay is also listed on the job portals so there really is no generalization. Not sure where you are getting that I am generalizing when I have been pretty engaged with facts all the while.

You are generally incorrect in your assumption. Sure, there are factors keeping us here but that is more often than not the status qo on this forum.

We'd just like to step into some peace and quiet on the other side. It's hard to argue with my wife's ACTUAL experiences while living in Glasgow proper. I'd not want to live there and experience what she experienced either. Having lived there for only about a year I more than likely didn't have enough time to experience what she experienced.

Mate, you sound like you know everything about IT work in Glasgow already.  Good luck with your search.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Isn't the price of housing constantly going up?

On this evenings news. House prices fall for the third month in a row.

Thanks, but it's just a little bit hard to argue with her actual experiences in both places isn't it? She has told me some absolute horror stories in regards to both places while living there. I know that there is a rivalry between both locations. My wife was in a cab with me in Edinburgh and the cabbie didn't understand or pretended to not understand what she was saying even though she grew up 40 miles away. 

Like I mentioned in my last response, I didn't like the American Goth looking suburb that I observed in Dunfermline and the posh/stuck up feeling I noticed in Edinburgh.

I like down to earth, leave me alone type of living where possible. If I am forced to interact with other humans in close proximity (which I am trying to avoid) I prefer down to earth folks. Not to say that everyone in Dunfermline/Fife is going to explicitly meet those stereotypes, but I'd rather not find out that I am more right than wrong.

Hi there as someone who is married to a Glaswegian myself, I can totally relate to your circumstances around Scotland (especially in Edinburgh). Correct me if I'm wrong but you did say that your wife was born and raised in Glasgow right? If that's the case I'm almost shocked that she wants to leave, because every Glaswegian that I've ever met never wants to leave the place!
Any how my husband also grew up in a very bad area (Possil) but would thoroughly disagree with the stance your spouse has on the education. From his take he had a fantastic educational experience even in the rough area where he grew up. His education afforded him the opportunity to be accepted int Glasgow uni, cambridge etc,...but like any Glaswegian he turned it down and decided to go into gas engineering instead, finding that those universities had a tendency to think they were better than the working class.

Of course, everyone has their own specific experiences with their upbringing.

I went to Glasgow to study school and that's where I met my husband. I fell in love with the city and it's culture, because I believe it has something for everyone. We just bought a flat there and am waiting for my spouse visa to be granted. For me, I can not wait to have my children there and have them raised in the city of Glasgow. I think that they will have many open opportunities to explore their potential. People call me crazy because I'm from Boston and they think I should have my family here, but I would pick Glasgow time and time again!

As for your profession I'm sorry I don't have any experience in that I'm in hospitality and my husband is a gas engineer. However I would think that you would want to be in a city where there are more companies that require the assistance of IT...but again I'm completely ignorant of your profession.

I hope my post helps you with at least a little insight!

I would pick Glasgow time and time again!

Me too.
We moved from Glasgow to Helensburgh 2 years ago, due to some family and financial crap, but I would give anything to move back to Glasgow, and am trying to do what I can to make this happen... but it's going to take a couple of years.