Hi Zach and Annie, I left Fla to move to Scotland 17 years ago. I live in rural Perthshire. You must come here and visit it’s beautiful. I too have a Scottish husband, unfortunately my adult children are still living in the states. They are your age. This was the best decision I ever made. I love it here!!! I use to get homesick every now and again. Not anymore, I haven’t been back to the states since 2019. Welcome to the best place in the world to live. I feel so safe here 🇺🇸🏴❤Wendy
Hi Wendy! Thanks for taking the time to share. I can imagine how much culture shock you probably experienced in the beginning forming from FL, but I'm glad to hear you still feel it was worth it. We couldn't agree more and hope to be here for the long haul! Thank you for the warm welcome ❤ Perthshire is one of our absolute favourite areas.
Thank you for good feedback! I'm still a young 70. Grew up in Orange County California before the freeways! It's the current government overreach hurting everyone. We recently took a 9 day self-drive along the bottom 2/3rds of Ireland. So peaceful like California used to be❤. I'm weather spoiled but the heat is getting worse every year! Best to you in Scotland. We are 100%N Western European. 30%Scotch. I'm very proud of my heritage! Mom looks similar to Debbie Reynolds with beautiful red hair, non tanning freckled skin 😊
Hi I moved to Scotland from Lancashire been here 34 years love it here live in North Ayrshire. Great video very interesting to anyone planning on moving. Glad to know some things are cheaper lol, you give great ideas to visit places. Keep them coming,
Thanks so much for this. And especially saying that you can't put a price on what you've gained. I want to move over there next year from Canada and looking at the process is overwhelming. Sometimes it feels impossible. But your videos are so helpful.
Love all your videos. I enjoy your taking us on your trips, but also videos like this one. Your willingness to talk about expenses is much appreciated.
Good morning, yay I am first to comment. This is a really interesting video. I came from South Africa back to Scotland last year and yea, some of the costs were interesting to say the least. Bye the way, I brought two dogs with me.
You guys are a pleasure to watch. Always so happy, and surprisingly chirpy about spending all that money😂. So I don’t have questions on moving, done enough of that in the past being ex military. But on that, and I’m sure that Annie is from a military family also, so it was just a thought on a video for the future, which you may or may not have planned. But what about a „year in“ vlog? I know it’s early days, but I’m sure it won’t be long in coming round. Just to see in particular how Annie feels about moving to Scotland and how she has settled, but also for both of you, pros and cons, miss or don’t miss about the States. And FYI moment. Store brand every time! I’m in Germany and miss my baked beans, but refuse to pay €2.50 for a tin of Heinz, so the store brand €1.29 will do me fine. Which is probably still OTT of Tesco store brand.
Definitely store brand 😊🙌 That’s a great video idea and one we’d happily share. We’re already making a mental list and have a few things to go in each column.
We have been to Scotland twice - so beautiful! We loved walking all over. And the history and castles so wonderful. We hope to visit again. We found food and eating out less expensive but gas almost twice the price of our area in the US. We also went to thrift stores there and were amazed at the variety. True the rollercoaster prices! Love your videos!
I love your channel. Great mix of content. Very professional and engaging. My maternal grandmother was Scottish, born in US a few years after her parents and older siblings arrived. Her older sister displayed photos of the royal family in her parlor. Family visited back and forth.
When you did your milk & petrol conversions, did you consider that a USA Gallon and Pint is considerably smaller than the UK gallon (USA Gallon = 3785.41ml vs UK Gallon = 4546.09ml, USA Pint = 474.1ml vs UK Pint = 568.2ml). this also means you get a larger pint of beer in a UK pub.
@@SimpleScottishLiving check weather the converter said Imperial Gallon (UK) or US Liquid Gallon. Its about a 20% difference, which of course alters the price comparisons. (UK being larger)
@@jca111 I think in general UK food prices are lower. In fact in central London, on the average, is lower. A loaf of bread in 2024 in northern california is about 2/3rds the size of what it was in 2000 and the cheapest loaf is about $3.5 inc tax. In Hammersmith, for a FULL size good quality Hovis loaf is only about $2. A sushi 2-item Bento lunch is $16 in NorCal and $14 in Hammersmith. A nice cheap dinner at a Cafe in Ladbroke Grove in London is around $14 and in NorCal around $18 inc tax. EVerytime I'm in London I feel relief that I won't have to pay as much. But bear in mind London itself is not cheap. I have to try Scotland next time. But most of the time I'm in London or Cornwall for the summer because it's amazing!!!
Hey both, love you weekly vlogs 🥰. We stayed in the US for around 6 months many years ago (go back annually if we can fr holidays) and found the cost of fruit in particular very expensive. We are so lucky here having fruit farms where we can either pick our own strawberries, rasps, blackberries etc. or buy local (when in season) from the fruit shop or supermarket. Have a wonderful trip later this week and I will watch out for the next vlog. Safe travels 🥰
@@SimpleScottishLiving I think we forget that here in the United States fruit is flown in from all over the states! Veggies are flown in, too, when they are out of season in our area. Now, my local grocery store (big chain) does try to stock local seasonal fruit. Wonderful sweet strawberries are in abundance in May and June, especially. Sometimes there is a sign that names the location of the farm and even the name of the farmer! But yes, I see butternut and acorn squash from Missouri, etc. (I'm in North Carolina.) Even in the summer, our peak melon season (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew) I often see those items from Mexico! Of course we have local farmers' markets all over, too. I love to shop there but darn - the big grocery store is about a mile away and the big regional farmer's market is a 20-minute drive from my house!
@@c.phillips7728 That was one thing that always shocked me in California, for the most part, you could get pretty good fruit all year round. Much of it seemed to come from Mexico and there are more and more farmers markets popping up all over the place which we tried to use as much as possible. You are correct though that the US has so many climates to pull from which helps keep produce 'in season' longer...which at the same time might be missing the point! We've not been in the UK long enough to truly compare that element of grocery shopping 🙂
Dude your accent is coming back massively since your first video, hope you guys are enjoying your new life so far, I’m not sure if you’ve done this but would love to hear the things you miss about the USA vs here, love your videos guys!!!
I love ALL your videos (OK, the ones with Fin the most!). I find all the wee differences, you guys have done so well with, fascinating! One love, tell Fin he's the bestest boy! 😃💙
Oh my goodness, you all are adorable. I would love, love to relocate to Scotland. It is one of our favorite places after working the Fringe together as newlyweds almost 24 years ago. We have also convinced our teens that they want to move there as well. This was super helpful bringing some realities to my day dreams. Since none of us are UK citizens the visa's alone make it unfeasible at this time. I will keep dreaming and watching your channel.
Thank you so much! The Fringe can be a lot of fun, I can imagine you have wonderful memories of that time. Perhaps your teens could try and study over here, then you would have an easy excuse to visit! All the best and thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment.
@@SimpleScottishLivingyou probably know this but eggs in uk are left natural after collecting from hen so they have a natural coating on them with which protect from bacteria....also if u do stil put eggs in the fridge remember they are porous so watch if u sit them next to say lemons in the fridge they may taste a little lemony or u may notice. Anyhoo no idea why I am telling u this 😂😂❤
I'm new to your channel. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge. My husband has dual citizenship and I'm a US citizen. With the recent election and wanting to be closer to family and friends we're moving to Scotland. This was so helpful!
Hi - I don't kow if I mentioned it on a previous vid, but if you are looking at other secondhand furniture stores, I really do recommend Four Square Edinburgh Furniture Initiative on Gorgie Road, in the West of the City. Some cracking pieces of furniture in there. We recently picked up some conservatory furniture for an absolute bargain. They also now operate the former Bistro cafe in nearby Saughton Park, so it could make a decent couple of hours out with the kids?
Thanks! Very helpful, about what I was expecting it to be so that is good to know. I want to move back to Scotland, I have citizenship but only lived there for one year when I was 14/15 so I will have to start anew with credit too. We've been talking about moving in 5 years but with recent events I want to move the timeline up to next year so am researching it all and am glad I found your channel!
So glad we can be of help! They don’t make it easy to move back as far as visas go, so I’m happy to hear you are already a citizen. We’re absolutely loving the change!
Well that was interesting! The farthest I've moved is from South East England to Scotland with a 14 month old. We had a huge removal van plus a huge trailer on the back which broke down at Perth 🤣No furniture, no cot, nothing until the removers sorted it out which took days. It was a logistical nightmare I wouldn't want to repeat, you did amazingly well. I was shocked at the cost of a visa and the health costs, I guess you are officially an alien for a while then Annie 🤣Just kidding, we have adopted you anyway♥
Haha I don’t mind being an alien! That move sounds absolutely awful, and we can so picture it. Would’ve been horrible with kids in tow on top of all the typical moving stressors. Well done to you!
So many similarities with our move from Singapore to Scotland (I'm originally from England and had never been to Scotland before our move) in May 2023 including the visa issues. We stayed in Airbnb's first in Glasgow and then a month in West Kilbride, which were both fantastic, while we searched and then waiting to buy our house in Ayr. Shipped our things in a container but it arrived before we had a house so had to also pay for storage for a month. We love it here, everyone is friendly and the kids primary school is amazing. We are enjoying exploring also but have so much more to do. We have made great use of our family Scottish National Trust membership which is well worth getting and has paid for itself many times over already. Enjoying your videos - keep it up!
Thanks so much and for taking the time to share! It is quite the commitment to transition back to the UK but definitely worth it in the end. Glad to hear you’re still happy with decision!
Something not mentioned in the video is that buying a house in Scotland is a bit different to buying a house in England or many other countries. When you make an offer you have to state the date you will have the money. This means you generally have to have your previous place sold and any mortgage arrangement provisionally set up before you make the offer. In my case I was moving from England so I had to sell up, put my stuff in storage then start house-hunting.
We came from South Africa 🇿🇦 to Aberdeen 3 years ago ! We got Voxi mobile for £10 pounds a month which was brilliant I am married to a Glaswegian ! We love Scotland so much. Thanks for your lovely videos.
@ Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is gorgeous and the transport museum is lovely. The Red tour bus is good for your family too. So many interesting places and the people are delightful. I have found Scotland a delight and so special. Sending lots of joy for you all too
Love the Channel absolutely lovely couple/family. Really loving the journey with you both. Have to say Annie is just so lovely comes across so beautiful inside and out.
Glad you're beginning to feel settled. I've moved a couple of times in the last 10 years and only a few miles. I moved around a lot in my youth but that was with the army so cost didn't come into it. Moving a family is a daunting thought and I think you are very brave.
This is actually perfect. My spouse is getting his citizen by descent (once California pulls their thumb out about his birth certificate we too are from the SF bay area) and we are planning a move to Scotland. Our son wont get automatic citizenship so that will be a bit different but this was so helpful. Can you do a video going over finding work before you go? My spouse is looking to change careers with countries and seeing as we have no associates there to help....tips and advice would be so helpful. I will be subscribing and watching avidly.
So glad to have you along for the ride! Please ask us any and all questions. We found so much info online and through RUclips, so we’d be happy to pay it forward. Zach had some family connections over here and work experience with companies around our area (before he left), so that made things easier in our case. I also kept my US job. Not sure we have too much in the way of guidance on that front unfortunately. What career route is he considering?
@@SimpleScottishLiving He is currently a 15yr firefighter but got his bachelors in management studies this year. Hes open to several avenues. Hes a disabled veteran and he cant do the firefighting anymore and needs to change careers before he loses it. Is the employment market better there than here? Its a joke at least in our area.
I'm considering Ireland or Scotland if the November 5 election continues with the current administration. I'm SoCal native, Orange County, early 50s. My heart hurts for the land we've lost to over crowding. Our country will die if we don't get more conservative leaders to stop this insane posse government. The New Comers I believe will be the democrats new demographic for slavery. The only M.O. that party knows 😢
It's always so lovely to see you guys. You really make my day. Annie, you are so cheerful and sweet! I'm a bit like Zach. I was born in the UK but have lived in South Africa most of my life. Here's what I found different/shocking (lol) when I came back to stay. I am also in Scotland. I thought the houses were super tiny! The gardens were so neat I couldn't get over it. The neat hedges and trimmed grass fascinate me to this day. The fact that you can have 'things' in the garden and they are not stolen. (No, I didn't live in the bush!). I lived in the City in South Africa but many of my friends lived in the suburbs. The food here was dirt cheap and of very high quality. The supermarkets are really clean. Rents were super low, gas and electricity VERY high. A weird fact: I found the deliveries great but I thought it very cheeky when they would tell me when they would arrive as opposed to making an appointment to deliver. The cost of buying a dog and also how people literally sell second hand dogs!! Public transport is really good, but no one greets you or looks at you. I could go on so I will keep quiet! Thanks for the video.
These are such good observations and many similarities seem by us, especially the gardens!! Thank you for taking the time to share. Zach’s dad also moved from Africa. They did live in the bush at one point, and when his sister relocated, she started to try and put bars on all the windows. It’s always interesting to hear the stories of others and just how different or similar things can be between countries!
This is a really good video for anyone wanting to make the move. It really is very informative. I didn't have as much trouble, and I won't have it again when I return. I didn't take anything other than my bags on the plane and I shipped 4 boxes by UPS which took 3 weeks, but I didn't need anything I had shipped. Starting over is easy if you don't have to have EVERYTHING at once. Charity shops are reasonable, and when you visit a church you can request that they let their people know you may be willing to work in the kitchen or do charitable work for donations of furniture and/or dishes and things like that. The tough parts were the VISA of course, and the fees to get that taken care of, as well as finding a place to stay since you can't really do that before you come over. The upfront cost was $3300 for me and then I had to pay 3 months of rent as a deposit in order to get into a place. It was worth it!! Annie and Zach, you are awesome! I really hope you love it there and that your kids know how much you really do care.
Very interesting video guys ,what jobs do you both have keep up the good work if you are going up north go to a place called Brora or even further John o Groats in the county of Caithness ,well done
We just drove through Brora about 10 mins ago 🤣 Thoroughly enjoyed this whole weekend and spent 9 hours on a guided tour yesterday. Incredible experience.
Hey guys, just FYI you only have to pay for a TV license if you are watching BBC and BBC iPlayer and you watch live television. So for example, if you only watch on demand or streaming services, then you do not have to pay the TV license. It is literally just for the BBC and live TV and recording live TV.
Hi I moved to Scotland from Lancashire 34 years ago I live in North Ayrshire I love all the places you have shared plenty of ideas to visit. Love your channel very interesting and helpful for anyone thinking of moving. Nice to know some things are cheaper lol! Looking forward to your next adventure. Just wish a bit more sunshine for you. Keep them coming
Thank you so much! Moving to Scotland has not disappointed yet 😊🏴 Couldn’t be happier here and look forward to sharing more adventures next week.
Hi both, another great video, I've stayed in Thurso a few times while working in Dounreay, it's very bleak in the winter months up there, a real long drive from Cumbria as well. We use the rail cards quite a lot and it is a real winner. Best of luck with the driving Annie, hope it all goes well.
Brilliant video! So many things to consider when making a major move like you did😮. We only lived there for a few years, and knowing we were returning to the US, we didn’t need to bring everything. But, we did buy some furniture so that had to be shipped home! Inverness is one of my favorite places, so enjoy your time up north!🏴
ID mobile has a £10pcm sim only contract with no exit fees & gives you 100Gb data, unlimited calls & texts. Data rolls over each month if not used. Hope that helps :).
Many years ago me and my wife drove around the north of scotland with our 4 berth caravan that was a experiance not to be forgotten. very small roads from thurso around the top and down to Ullapool some lovely places to visit and you find some historical names that you know but cannot remember from where you know them. have a great holiday.
That’s right around where we were. Passed quite a few caravans even with it being the off season, but I did not envy the way they had to navigate those single track roads! Such an incredible area and one we hope to share with the kids in the future as well!
Hey , I get that money is a weird thing to talk about but as a viewer it 's an interesting thing to hear about , its not cheap is it ! Can I just say aswell Zak that I always notice your watch sir , I like the orange strap , is that a smart watch ? Its nice , thanks again x
Thank you! Yes, it’s definitely out of our comfort zones, but we found these types of videos so helpful before we moved. Zach’s watch is the Garmin Instinct.
This was great information. I emigrated to the states from UK 30 years. I want to move back to Scotland with my American husband (Northern California), so I was shocked to know how much a visa costs and that you have to renew it at 21/2 years. Thank you for sharing.
Hello..I love your weekend videos.. I watch a lot of RUclips as Sky doesn't cater for my needs.. I watch a lot of Police videos like car chases etc and it's mostly American and as Zac was a highway Patrol cop can you do video and tell us some of your craziest memories..
😬 Zach’s stories aren’t the most RUclips friendly unfortunately. He’d love to share the fun ones, but to be honest, most memorable ones didn’t end well 🫣
I can’t resist a few stories. I moved to and from Europe for a Fortune 500 company and got the white glove service. They also paid to have the container delivered to our new residence to have customs inspections done there to avoid potential damage when unloading and reloading the container. We did have to wait around for HM Customs when we arrived in a London suburb since they took the Tube. When we arrived back in the States we did have to have to household goods put in storage since we had to wait to move into a house. U.S. Customs was there and the officer asked me where the car was. I had a Peugeot bicycle and he thought it was a car. I did have a colleague who moved back to the U.S. from Johannesburg for the same company. The company supposedly paid to have the container put below decks. However, when they opened it in front of his house, seawater poured out. The company immediately arranged to have a company bring a refrigerated truck to his house to freeze and later freeze dry personal papers and momentos. The company also brought a $30,000 check to his house so they could buy some furniture immediately and then paid more later to complete the claim. Of course, they got it back from insurance.
Oh, wow! That sounds like quite the experience but well done on that company. They seem to treat their employees right! Thanks for sharing and for watching 😊
@@garyyeomans2369 We’re happy with decision and don’t really miss much other than friends and family. I guess knowing how to do things without looking it up was nice as there are different procedures here, but time will fix that!
Glad this might help with your decision! We honestly do not have any regrets other than making less with jobs this way around, but it’s worth everything else we’ve gained.
That’s amazing…that was roughly the price we paid just for the removals company to take our possessions from uk to south of France 8.5 years ago! …. No visas required for us but hundreds of £’s added to that cost to bring our pets over …. That’s before anything else… but hey we live in the south of France so I shouldn’t be complaining I know… Great video ..thanks
Definitely worth it in the long run! So nice not to have the visa process to go through, but I don’t envy you with transporting pets. We’ve done it once, and it was a bit of a logistical nightmare. How’s France?!
@@SimpleScottishLiving France is wonderful..we are in the Golfe de St Tropez so have the Med on the doorstep & mostly glorious weather, but getting the moving bug again..if we return to the uk it will most probably be Scotland too…Aberdeenshire for us… Love watching you guys settling in..
Great video and glad you are settled and enjoying Scotland. Obviously Zak being Scottish is a massive advantage. It's lovely to see how positive Annie is almost all of the time. I recently moved myself within in the UK rental market and I can tell you i was shocked at how expensive renting is now. Also be prepared for all the security and financial checks you will be subjected to. The process takes quite a long time and I can only imagine how much longer it will take for non UK citizens. As a life long UK citizen it was stressful. So do your homework on the area you are moving to and the rent prices as they can vary drastically. Good luck to any Americans brave enough to emigrate to our Wee island's 😊👍 ❤
Thank you so much for the kind words! We’ve had an incredibly positive experience so far and feel lucky for the opportunity. You’re right! Renting is out of control at the moment. My brother is going through this exact thing, but they finally figured it out and found a place. Extremely difficult.
Another great video, thank you! One question I have is around Edinburgh public transport. We are heading over there in November and whilst I feel pretty confident about which bus pass to buy in Glasgow, the Edinburgh options confuse me - there are so many to choose from and I have no idea which one we need! We’ll only be in Edinburgh four days, but I find it difficult to tell which options cover which areas exactly.
Good video as always it isn’t cheap when your moving abroad but I’m sure it was all worth it hope you both have a lovely weekend away missed Finnegan hope to see him soon ❤
Good advice I feel, you have to be absolutely ruthless in what to ship over. No large furniture items. Charity shops are full of very good stuff. Very interesting vid guys.
It all sounds like a perfect nightmare, and a super strong commitment. Just imagine, now that you have had that first hand experience, deciding, in a few years time that Scotland isn't quite what you expected, and returning to thr US. That would just be a dream in comparison. Interesting video. By the way you're a lovely couple. Cheers ! Sheffield South Yorkshire.
Yes, we’re in it for the long haul! Having family support nearby and knowing our kids are safer outweigh any cons in our case. It would’ve been a much harder decision without family and friends right down the road.
Good video as always, but one thing I picked up on was the TV license, you don't need to have one if you don't watch any of the BBC services, I know many people like myself who don't have one.
Thanks for sharing that and pointing it out! I believe we used BBC iplayer, which is the reason we did the license. Not sure if we’d do it again, but time will tell.
Thanks again. You both look good, skin, eyes etc Take good care. BBC TV license. Only need if watching BBC or BBC catch up. You can watch other catch up, amazing, etc. I don't have a BBC license and not had one for over 20 years and hope to never need one.
Man, shame we didn’t meet when you were over here. I’m CHP, my wife and I travel to Scotland as often as we can, we’ve got three kids, and would love to move over there. Our main issue is immigration, and job. RUclips show looks nice, would love to pick your brain some day about the move.
It is! Email next time you’re headed this way, and of course with any questions you have in the meantime. The laws around immigration are definitely complex, but we have family coming on a skilled worker visa this month. That’s probably your best bet but feel free to reach out!
This was really interesting. I was jealous of the cost of even those few grocery items, and got over it when I saw the cost of petrol. Still seems worth it, frankly!
Fascinating video (even for someone like me who has no plans to relocate!). Regarding sorting out your accommodation when moving to the UK, I would suggest that if you don't have prior first hand knowledge of a particular area (which clearly you did) then maybe take a relatively short term rental in the area you are going to, rather than buying a home straight away, because it's very hard to know which neighbourhood you would really want to be in - looking at property listings only tells you part of the picture. Having relocated back to my home city a few years ago, there were plenty of properties which fitted my budget and my criteria, and looked great, but were in areas of the city that were less nice than others.
This is a great point! Yes, I would always recommend renting before moving if not familiar with the area. We’ve made that mistake once and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone!
Honestly, most! The US furniture is just too big to fit in many of the British doorways (much easier in a new build though). Also, the outlets are different, so if you’re staying for awhile, I’d recommend not bringing anything with a cord/plug. They have everything here you are accustomed to in the U.S., so there are few things you can’t replace. Zach’s gym equipment and some of our household goods would’ve been way more to repurchase new here, so we did feel shipping those was worth it. We also found rugs much more expensive here, so we brought our area rugs, which is a weird one. We donated about 2/3 of our clothes/shoes.
Annie, are you apprehensive about driving on the opposite side of the road? Also, when I was in Scotland last year we were thrilled to find an ALDIs! We love our ALDIs in NY & always happen upon them abroad.
Yes, ALDI has been great! Only slightly nervous about driving as I’ve now been in the passenger seat for 5 months, and the shock of turning different directions isn’t nearly as bad!
I know you’ve had a few mobile phone tips, what I do is have an EE Sim only contract under £10 monthly, and buy refurbished phones with a warranty, usually iPhones but Android available, Argos/Sainsbury and Back Market an online company sell refurbished phones.
Hi Annie and Zac 😊 I really enjoy your videos. You two are such a cute couple. This was informative and fun, as you make any video enjoyable with your fun loving personalitys. I missed little Finnegan 🐶. I watch Ancient Aliens on the History Channel and I just watched an episode about the UFO activity in Scotland. They showed so much of the beauty of Scotland and it makes me want to visit even more. Have you checked out New Grange? Sounds fascinating. Another great video and look forward to next week! Thank you 🤎🧡💛🍂🍁☺️👽😏
Thanks so much, and we haven’t checked that out but will need to add it to the list! And don’t you worry…Finnegan will make his appearance again next Sunday ❤️
Really interesting video, thank you. I’d be really interested in the costs and how the process of buying a house works in Scotland e.g. deposits, sollicitors fees etc
Definitely! Solicitors fees roughly £1500. Mortgage advisor £500. House prices vary significantly, but coming back from the U.S., we could only get a decent mortgage rate if we put down over 25%. We did more than that to reduce costs as much as possible while we had the money from the sale of our previous home. The entire start to finish process was 8 weeks. We have a bit more information in a previous video with our initial house tour.
Is it just me or is Zach slowly regaining his accent with each passing video? In the very first one from a few months back I felt compelled to do a Wile E. Coyote and drop a boulder on him from a great height, but now I'm beginning to think there's hope!😋
LOVE SNOOPING INTO YOUR NEW LIFE I'VE LIVED ALL OVER AND STAYED AWAY FOR 25YEARS NOT RETURNING ONCE AND WOW WAS I IN FOR THE SHOCK OF MY LIFE WAS THE SAME FOR ME. WAS LIKE STARTING LIFE AGAIN TOTALY NEW RESTART. THE SECOND HAND OR THRIFT SHOPS ARE GREAT TO GET GOING AGAIN AND REMEMBER TO TELL THE PEOPLE DON'T BRING ANYTHING ELECTRICAL IT WON'T WORK. HOPE YOU'RE ALL GETTING SETTLED AND FIN IS WELL KEEP YOUR STORY'S COMING I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THEM.
The annual MOT for your car is an additional cost in the UK. I don't know about the US but I didn't pay for that when I lived in Canada. On your trip north you need to visit Culloden battlefield and Eilean Donan Castle
You’re right! We forgot that one, so thank you for pointing that out. We’ve been to Culloden but will need to revisit soon, and Eileen Donan is definitely on the list!! We didn’t make it to either of those this trip unfortunately, but they will definitely be covered at some point in the future!
You should be able to get a 30-day rolling pay monthly sim only sim card for your phone. Same as a normal contract, you pay by direct debit, but those don't require a credit check as you can give your 30 days' notice to cancel at any time once you've done the first 30 days. It would save you having to keep putting credit on the payg sim, so that's something you can look into and also better value for money.
All good info but to add, on GiffGaff you don't even need direct debit. I've set 'recurring charge' on account and the charge my debit card monthly. No contract, can stop at any time.
@@SimpleScottishLiving I tried to edit my comment but RUclips won't add?! Tip on car insurance renewal, timing of quotes. I saved over £400 following Martin Lewis 'Money Saving Expert' site. p.s. What's a TV licence?! 😜
Just a thought... if you're travelling north you might like to start off by heading over to the west coast first and then head north that way. This would be by way of Stirling - Crianlarich - Glencoe - Fort William - Kyle of Lochalsh - Plockton - the coastal road around Applecross then all the way north to Durness, visiting Inverness on the return journey. This will offer you an absolute feast of interesting places that a direct route via Inverness may not do to the same degree. Plus, if you ARE planning to drive down the west coast from north to south, then you'll have the sun in your eyes every day! (Perhaps a wee bit optimistic/delusional there.) But in any case, have a great time.
I lived and worked in Az for 3( leaving sunny Glasgow),yrs around 20 years ago.. I still check my shoes for scorpions 🤣 ..WestJet red eye flights ha .. I enjoy your posts. I have had almost 50 Americans come visit mostly children of my friends. I get Americans.. which many don't. Your lovely wife must really love you as Americans in my experience end up with SAD symptoms great to see a couple doing this type of post
We get the scorpions, and CA taught us to look for tarantulas…equally horrific 😱 Yes, Annie’s slowly been broken in to the Scottish life and glimpses of true winter through the years, so we’re hoping the decade of preparation will be enough! Thanks for watching!
@@SimpleScottishLiving oh my word! I am still big Padres fan and Packers.Try Bridge of Orchy hotel for a visit. If you follow the path behind it there are deer that can be hand fed.. a distraction for the wee ones. Keep up the good work
I would LOVE to move to Scotland but my family are all south, daughter in London. I have about 130k to buy a place down here, it's not enough. I could get a nice place in Scotland with that, if I went as far as Shetland, I could buy a stunning cottage with gardens & a sea view!! Love your videos as you are doing what I'd love to do x
Yes, that is a tricky dilemma. We love the idea of moving far north to a very remote area, we just don't think it would be the best option for the kids....one day maybe 😁
Great video, but, where's Finn, we need more Finn, there's several channels on RUclips with US and a Canadian who have settled here in the UK, Magenta Otter splits her time between Texas and the UK, Adventures and Naps is Alana, a Canadian who has been here for 8 years, Gone Girl London who has been here over 10 years and Evan Edinger who has been here over 10 years and has taken citizenship, all of these are full of good info and they have all done some form of price comparisons on grocery shopping and other aspects of life here. Good luck with the driving Annie.
Thanks for sharing! We’ve seen some of them but not all so will check them out! I love watching these types of channels, and don’t you worry…Finn will be back in action next week! ❤️😊
Very informative, thank you. As an aside, have your children experienced a UK style child's birthday party yet? How do they compare with US kids parties?
I relocated from Arizona to Ireland and went through the same ordeal including TOR. It was at the time nightmarish but now I am settled I look back and think it really wasn’t that bad!!!
Hmmm sounds like Shetland islands is your next adventure... Appreciate the details and hard to believe milk costs so much less there. Paying $11 per liter in Canada.
The big question is the transition between medical care. another question is if a senior what is public transportation for needs of shopping, medical care and shopping/ Since I am in my 80's I never paid in to the UK medical care taxes. I am currently one Medicare, Tricare for live (usn retired) and VA. Also there is a real need for an American English to Scottish English dictionary and differences between USA spelling and British Spelling and how to avoid sounding rude.
Groceries: I live in Oklahoma City. Just went to Sam's Club today and bought regular wheat 9-grain bread, milk, and eggs: $2.19 loaf, $3.48 gallon for the milk, and $4.48 for 24 cage free eggs. So, yeah...California is a lot more expensive than the rest of the U.S.
Thanks for sharing, that’s helpful! I'm aware of Sam's Club, never been a member but we do have a Costco membership and it's interesting seeing the differences between the US and UK Costco 😁
Just so you know you dont need a TV Licence for streaming (yet) per se. Its only if you're watching programmes while they are being broadcast. ie normal TV, sports, live events, and iPlayer of course.
@@SimpleScottishLiving: there are people who are OBSESSED with the tv licence and HATE the BBC. There is a lot of propaganda around the issue that generates more heat than light. I have a television, so pay the licence fee regardless of the fact that I sometimes don't watch any terresterial television for days on end. It's a small fee and not something that I am going to stress about.
I actually don't mind the TV licence, as it means we (a) get content (TV + radio) that's not determined by what sponsors want, and *NO ADVERTS* 🎉 Some things, especially in comedy, would never have had a chance to get beyond the Edinburgh Fringe without the BBC. They launched Monty Python, Blackadder, Fry & Laurie, The Mighty Boosh, Flight of the Conchords + lots more. Much of it weird, experimental stuff, but they took the punt. When I was a student, we 'got the knock', watching TV without a licence. We decided to 'fess up and let him in. By the time he came into the living room, one of our flatmates had 'hidden' the TV and VCR in the cupboard... but it was still plugged in and running. 😂 We all had a good laugh, including the licence man. We promised to chip in and buy a licence, and he let us off, I think because we'd given him a giggle 😅
@@SimpleScottishLiving - He was funny: he looked at us all, then at the cupboard... "When you all want to watch the same thing, does it not get a bit cramped?"
Honestly, not just yet! The only thing I slightly miss is how festive Americans can get around the holidays. As “tacky” as some of our holiday decorations can be, it brings back so many wonderful, happy childhood memories. I like that people go all out, but I very much look forward to seeing Edinburgh at Christmas time this year. That was quite special on one of my first visits. And of course, friends and family as you mentioned are the biggest factor in my couple of homesick moments. Luckily, we have a wonderful support system here and feel like the community has welcomed us as well, so it makes it easier to cope with ❤️
Hi Zach and Annie. We are from NY and purchased a flat in Edinburgh in 2021 and visit as often as work and life will allow. We have soooo many questions about moving to Scotland permanently. Is there a way to contact you via email to discuss? Thank you
@@SimpleScottishLivingI'm glad you're feeling settled here there is really nowhere like scotland (in my own and probably biased opinion 😊) and I love how Americans celebrate all the big occasions...autumn and Christmas it's lovely ❤
@@SimpleScottishLiving I am not in Scotland but think it's New Year that is the biggest celebration in Scotland. Plenty of big Christmas festivities south of the border.
When I moved from the US to Scotland over 20 something years ago, the cost of living was almost double of what it was in the US. Obviously this was a company move, but everything was a lot more expensive than I thought it was going to be.
Health care isn’t too bad considering it’s a yearly cost. As you know even the cheapest Kaiser plan is around $500/month. Not sure what the level of service is, but Kaiser is not known to be super, but not too bad. I don’t know how bad the NHS is.
We don’t know yet either! We haven’t had to use many NHS services other for just getting a prescription filled, and that’s been quite painless so far. Once we are more familiar with the system, we’ll do a deep dive into that subject.
Sourdough from artisan bakers are ridiculously expensive in London £5 for loaf. I think the cheapest I've found is £3.50. Supermarket sourdough is about £2.65. really pays to shop around.
Hi Zach and Annie, I left Fla to move to Scotland 17 years ago. I live in rural Perthshire. You must come here and visit it’s beautiful. I too have a Scottish husband, unfortunately my adult children are still living in the states. They are your age. This was the best decision I ever made. I love it here!!! I use to get homesick every now and again. Not anymore, I haven’t been back to the states since 2019. Welcome to the best place in the world to live. I feel so safe here
🇺🇸🏴❤Wendy
Hi Wendy! Thanks for taking the time to share. I can imagine how much culture shock you probably experienced in the beginning forming from FL, but I'm glad to hear you still feel it was worth it. We couldn't agree more and hope to be here for the long haul! Thank you for the warm welcome ❤ Perthshire is one of our absolute favourite areas.
Thank you for good feedback! I'm still a young 70. Grew up in Orange County California before the freeways! It's the current government overreach hurting everyone. We recently took a 9 day self-drive along the bottom 2/3rds of Ireland. So peaceful like California used to be❤. I'm weather spoiled but the heat is getting worse every year! Best to you in Scotland. We are 100%N Western European. 30%Scotch. I'm very proud of my heritage! Mom looks similar to Debbie Reynolds with beautiful red hair, non tanning freckled skin 😊
@@Godscreation12930 Scotch = food and drink. Scots = people.
Hi I moved to Scotland from Lancashire been here 34 years love it here live in North Ayrshire. Great video very interesting to anyone planning on moving. Glad to know some things are cheaper lol, you give great ideas to visit places. Keep them coming,
Thank you so much! Will do 😊
Thanks so much for this. And especially saying that you can't put a price on what you've gained. I want to move over there next year from Canada and looking at the process is overwhelming. Sometimes it feels impossible. But your videos are so helpful.
Thanks for watching and please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions we might be able to help with! All the best with your move!
Love all your videos. I enjoy your taking us on your trips, but also videos like this one. Your willingness to talk about expenses is much appreciated.
Thank you! It’s an uncomfortable subject, but videos like this truly helped us with our planning, so we wanted to pay it back to others.
You guys are great !!! Lots of questions answered honestly !! I'm happy to help out if you need !!! XX
Thank you so much ❤️
My favorite video of the week is your channel!
Wow, thanks! Happy to have you joining!
Wishing you a lovely interesting visit to the north of Scotland.😄🎉
It was incredible! Completely blown away by the landscape and can’t wait to share although there’s no way our footage can do it justice.
Good morning, yay I am first to comment. This is a really interesting video. I came from South Africa back to Scotland last year and yea, some of the costs were interesting to say the least. Bye the way, I brought two dogs with me.
You guys are a pleasure to watch. Always so happy, and surprisingly chirpy about spending all that money😂. So I don’t have questions on moving, done enough of that in the past being ex military. But on that, and I’m sure that Annie is from a military family also, so it was just a thought on a video for the future, which you may or may not have planned. But what about a „year in“ vlog? I know it’s early days, but I’m sure it won’t be long in coming round. Just to see in particular how Annie feels about moving to Scotland and how she has settled, but also for both of you, pros and cons, miss or don’t miss about the States.
And FYI moment. Store brand every time! I’m in Germany and miss my baked beans, but refuse to pay €2.50 for a tin of Heinz, so the store brand €1.29 will do me fine. Which is probably still OTT of Tesco store brand.
Definitely store brand 😊🙌 That’s a great video idea and one we’d happily share. We’re already making a mental list and have a few things to go in each column.
We have been to Scotland twice - so beautiful! We loved walking all over. And the history and castles so wonderful. We hope to visit again. We found food and eating out less expensive but gas almost twice the price of our area in the US. We also went to thrift stores there and were amazed at the variety. True the rollercoaster prices! Love your videos!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We have loved exploring Scotland too and are very thankful to be here.
I enjoy all of your videos. Your daily lives are so interesting. And I love that you are kind to each other and have so much fun together.
That's so kind, we're glad you're enjoying our adventure!
Wow. 😮 Thanks for this valuable information.
Glad it was helpful! 👍
I love how Zach’s accent has changed so much already being back in Scotland! 😂
Slowly but surely!
I love your channel. Great mix of content. Very professional and engaging. My maternal grandmother was Scottish, born in US a few years after her parents and older siblings arrived. Her older sister displayed photos of the royal family in her parlor. Family visited back and forth.
Thank you! We appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment. Love hearing people’s stories. Have you ever been able to visit?
When you did your milk & petrol conversions, did you consider that a USA Gallon and Pint is considerably smaller than the UK gallon (USA Gallon = 3785.41ml vs UK Gallon = 4546.09ml, USA Pint = 474.1ml vs UK Pint = 568.2ml). this also means you get a larger pint of beer in a UK pub.
This is a good question! We used some online converters for parts of this video so please let us know if we did the maths wrong!
@@SimpleScottishLiving check weather the converter said Imperial Gallon (UK) or US Liquid Gallon. Its about a 20% difference, which of course alters the price comparisons. (UK being larger)
@@jca111 why they where converting litres to USA gallons
@@icecoldcabbage4329 just making sure they chose the correct gallon. if you chose the wrong one - the costs would be out
@@jca111 I think in general UK food prices are lower. In fact in central London, on the average, is lower. A loaf of bread in 2024 in northern california is about 2/3rds the size of what it was in 2000 and the cheapest loaf is about $3.5 inc tax. In Hammersmith, for a FULL size good quality Hovis loaf is only about $2. A sushi 2-item Bento lunch is $16 in NorCal and $14 in Hammersmith. A nice cheap dinner at a Cafe in Ladbroke Grove in London is around $14 and in NorCal around $18 inc tax. EVerytime I'm in London I feel relief that I won't have to pay as much. But bear in mind London itself is not cheap. I have to try Scotland next time. But most of the time I'm in London or Cornwall for the summer because it's amazing!!!
Hey both, love you weekly vlogs 🥰. We stayed in the US for around 6 months many years ago (go back annually if we can fr holidays) and found the cost of fruit in particular very expensive. We are so lucky here having fruit farms where we can either pick our own strawberries, rasps, blackberries etc. or buy local (when in season) from the fruit shop or supermarket. Have a wonderful trip later this week and I will watch out for the next vlog. Safe travels 🥰
Yes, agreed! We’re finding it pricey here as well though. Going through our yearly income just on berries for the kids alone 🤣
@@SimpleScottishLiving I think we forget that here in the United States fruit is flown in from all over the states! Veggies are flown in, too, when they are out of season in our area. Now, my local grocery store (big chain) does try to stock local seasonal fruit. Wonderful sweet strawberries are in abundance in May and June, especially. Sometimes there is a sign that names the location of the farm and even the name of the farmer! But yes, I see butternut and acorn squash from Missouri, etc. (I'm in North Carolina.) Even in the summer, our peak melon season (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew) I often see those items from Mexico! Of course we have local farmers' markets all over, too. I love to shop there but darn - the big grocery store is about a mile away and the big regional farmer's market is a 20-minute drive from my house!
@@c.phillips7728 That was one thing that always shocked me in California, for the most part, you could get pretty good fruit all year round. Much of it seemed to come from Mexico and there are more and more farmers markets popping up all over the place which we tried to use as much as possible. You are correct though that the US has so many climates to pull from which helps keep produce 'in season' longer...which at the same time might be missing the point! We've not been in the UK long enough to truly compare that element of grocery shopping 🙂
Dude your accent is coming back massively since your first video, hope you guys are enjoying your new life so far, I’m not sure if you’ve done this but would love to hear the things you miss about the USA vs here, love your videos guys!!!
Haha thanks!! Yes, we’ll probably do that at one of the benchmarks like 6mo or 1yr. Thanks for tuning in!
Good luck with driving Annie! So very proud of you and thank you so much for the visa information. 🥰
Thank you so much!!
Woo hoo. My real weekend treat! One love from Glasgow. 💙
Thanks for joining! Our video is about 2 weeks should be a treat. So many gorgeous highlands sights to showcase ❤️
I love ALL your videos (OK, the ones with Fin the most!). I find all the wee differences, you guys have done so well with, fascinating! One love, tell Fin he's the bestest boy! 😃💙
Oh my goodness, you all are adorable. I would love, love to relocate to Scotland. It is one of our favorite places after working the Fringe together as newlyweds almost 24 years ago. We have also convinced our teens that they want to move there as well. This was super helpful bringing some realities to my day dreams. Since none of us are UK citizens the visa's alone make it unfeasible at this time. I will keep dreaming and watching your channel.
Thank you so much! The Fringe can be a lot of fun, I can imagine you have wonderful memories of that time. Perhaps your teens could try and study over here, then you would have an easy excuse to visit! All the best and thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment.
Thank you for sharing your story and cost. Your videos are fun to watch and bring a smile, Take care all.
Thank you for watching! We’re just hoping to shed a bit more light on a taboo subject as it would’ve helped us with our move over.
@@SimpleScottishLivingyou probably know this but eggs in uk are left natural after collecting from hen so they have a natural coating on them with which protect from bacteria....also if u do stil put eggs in the fridge remember they are porous so watch if u sit them next to say lemons in the fridge they may taste a little lemony or u may notice. Anyhoo no idea why I am telling u this 😂😂❤
I'm new to your channel. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge. My husband has dual citizenship and I'm a US citizen. With the recent election and wanting to be closer to family and friends we're moving to Scotland. This was so helpful!
Oh wow, that's fantastic! Please email us with any specific questions you might have and we would be happy to help!
Lovely video, thanks for sharing, I may consider using pallets for shipping 😊
It was a happy medium for us as much of what we owned wasn’t worth the price of getting a shipping container.
Hi - I don't kow if I mentioned it on a previous vid, but if you are looking at other secondhand furniture stores, I really do recommend Four Square Edinburgh Furniture Initiative on Gorgie Road, in the West of the City. Some cracking pieces of furniture in there. We recently picked up some conservatory furniture for an absolute bargain. They also now operate the former Bistro cafe in nearby Saughton Park, so it could make a decent couple of hours out with the kids?
Great tip! We’ve not been there so thank you so much for sharing 😊
Thanks! Very helpful, about what I was expecting it to be so that is good to know. I want to move back to Scotland, I have citizenship but only lived there for one year when I was 14/15 so I will have to start anew with credit too. We've been talking about moving in 5 years but with recent events I want to move the timeline up to next year so am researching it all and am glad I found your channel!
So glad we can be of help! They don’t make it easy to move back as far as visas go, so I’m happy to hear you are already a citizen. We’re absolutely loving the change!
Well that was interesting! The farthest I've moved is from South East England to Scotland with a 14 month old. We had a huge removal van plus a huge trailer on the back which broke down at Perth 🤣No furniture, no cot, nothing until the removers sorted it out which took days. It was a logistical nightmare I wouldn't want to repeat, you did amazingly well. I was shocked at the cost of a visa and the health costs, I guess you are officially an alien for a while then Annie 🤣Just kidding, we have adopted you anyway♥
Haha I don’t mind being an alien! That move sounds absolutely awful, and we can so picture it. Would’ve been horrible with kids in tow on top of all the typical moving stressors. Well done to you!
So many similarities with our move from Singapore to Scotland (I'm originally from England and had never been to Scotland before our move) in May 2023 including the visa issues. We stayed in Airbnb's first in Glasgow and then a month in West Kilbride, which were both fantastic, while we searched and then waiting to buy our house in Ayr. Shipped our things in a container but it arrived before we had a house so had to also pay for storage for a month. We love it here, everyone is friendly and the kids primary school is amazing. We are enjoying exploring also but have so much more to do. We have made great use of our family Scottish National Trust membership which is well worth getting and has paid for itself many times over already. Enjoying your videos - keep it up!
Thanks so much and for taking the time to share! It is quite the commitment to transition back to the UK but definitely worth it in the end. Glad to hear you’re still happy with decision!
Something not mentioned in the video is that buying a house in Scotland is a bit different to buying a house in England or many other countries. When you make an offer you have to state the date you will have the money. This means you generally have to have your previous place sold and any mortgage arrangement provisionally set up before you make the offer. In my case I was moving from England so I had to sell up, put my stuff in storage then start house-hunting.
@@Phiyedough Thanks for sharing and good to know!
Worth noting there are rail cards for young people, old people and couples too.
Yes, good point! Thank you 😊
We came from South Africa 🇿🇦 to Aberdeen 3 years ago ! We got Voxi mobile for £10 pounds a month which was brilliant I am married to a Glaswegian ! We love Scotland so much. Thanks for your lovely videos.
Thanks for watching! I need to look into Voxi now. Glasgow is high on our list to visit. Any recommendations of places to see/things to do?!
@ Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is gorgeous and the transport museum is lovely. The Red tour bus is good for your family too. So many interesting places and the people are delightful. I have found Scotland a delight and so special. Sending lots of joy for you all too
Love the Channel absolutely lovely couple/family. Really loving the journey with you both. Have to say Annie is just so lovely comes across so beautiful inside and out.
What kind words! Thank you for taking the time to spread some positivity ❤️
Glad you're beginning to feel settled. I've moved a couple of times in the last 10 years and only a few miles. I moved around a lot in my youth but that was with the army so cost didn't come into it. Moving a family is a daunting thought and I think you are very brave.
Thank you! It was a huge decision but paid off in the end!
great video guys
Thanks so much!
This is actually perfect. My spouse is getting his citizen by descent (once California pulls their thumb out about his birth certificate we too are from the SF bay area) and we are planning a move to Scotland. Our son wont get automatic citizenship so that will be a bit different but this was so helpful. Can you do a video going over finding work before you go? My spouse is looking to change careers with countries and seeing as we have no associates there to help....tips and advice would be so helpful. I will be subscribing and watching avidly.
So glad to have you along for the ride! Please ask us any and all questions. We found so much info online and through RUclips, so we’d be happy to pay it forward. Zach had some family connections over here and work experience with companies around our area (before he left), so that made things easier in our case. I also kept my US job. Not sure we have too much in the way of guidance on that front unfortunately. What career route is he considering?
@@SimpleScottishLiving He is currently a 15yr firefighter but got his bachelors in management studies this year. Hes open to several avenues. Hes a disabled veteran and he cant do the firefighting anymore and needs to change careers before he loses it. Is the employment market better there than here? Its a joke at least in our area.
Ugh, that’s a hard one! The job market around Edinburgh is quite tricky and competitive from what we’ve found. Not sure if it is different elsewhere.
I'm considering Ireland or Scotland if the November 5 election continues with the current administration. I'm SoCal native, Orange County, early 50s. My heart hurts for the land we've lost to over crowding. Our country will die if we don't get more conservative leaders to stop this insane posse government. The New Comers I believe will be the democrats new demographic for slavery. The only M.O. that party knows 😢
@@Godscreation12930 Dude....wrong countries to go to as a conservative. You want fascism, try russia.
Firstly, love your videos!
Please review your mobile phone charges. Investigate Tesco mobile 😊
Thank you! We’ll look into it. Without Annie having a credit score here, many companies wouldn’t offer her a true plan.
It's always so lovely to see you guys. You really make my day. Annie, you are so cheerful and sweet! I'm a bit like Zach. I was born in the UK but have lived in South Africa most of my life. Here's what I found different/shocking (lol) when I came back to stay. I am also in Scotland. I thought the houses were super tiny! The gardens were so neat I couldn't get over it. The neat hedges and trimmed grass fascinate me to this day. The fact that you can have 'things' in the garden and they are not stolen. (No, I didn't live in the bush!). I lived in the City in South Africa but many of my friends lived in the suburbs. The food here was dirt cheap and of very high quality. The supermarkets are really clean. Rents were super low, gas and electricity VERY high. A weird fact: I found the deliveries great but I thought it very cheeky when they would tell me when they would arrive as opposed to making an appointment to deliver. The cost of buying a dog and also how people literally sell second hand dogs!! Public transport is really good, but no one greets you or looks at you. I could go on so I will keep quiet! Thanks for the video.
Second hand dogs lmao
These are such good observations and many similarities seem by us, especially the gardens!! Thank you for taking the time to share. Zach’s dad also moved from Africa. They did live in the bush at one point, and when his sister relocated, she started to try and put bars on all the windows. It’s always interesting to hear the stories of others and just how different or similar things can be between countries!
@@cupoftea2957 🤣😆
This is a really good video for anyone wanting to make the move. It really is very informative. I didn't have as much trouble, and I won't have it again when I return. I didn't take anything other than my bags on the plane and I shipped 4 boxes by UPS which took 3 weeks, but I didn't need anything I had shipped. Starting over is easy if you don't have to have EVERYTHING at once. Charity shops are reasonable, and when you visit a church you can request that they let their people know you may be willing to work in the kitchen or do charitable work for donations of furniture and/or dishes and things like that. The tough parts were the VISA of course, and the fees to get that taken care of, as well as finding a place to stay since you can't really do that before you come over. The upfront cost was $3300 for me and then I had to pay 3 months of rent as a deposit in order to get into a place. It was worth it!! Annie and Zach, you are awesome! I really hope you love it there and that your kids know how much you really do care.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It sounds like we had a similar mindset when it came to leaving a lot of stuff behind!
Very interesting video guys ,what jobs do you both have keep up the good work if you are going up north go to a place called Brora or even further John o Groats in the county of Caithness ,well done
We just drove through Brora about 10 mins ago 🤣 Thoroughly enjoyed this whole weekend and spent 9 hours on a guided tour yesterday. Incredible experience.
Hey guys, just FYI you only have to pay for a TV license if you are watching BBC and BBC iPlayer and you watch live television. So for example, if you only watch on demand or streaming services, then you do not have to pay the TV license. It is literally just for the BBC and live TV and recording live TV.
Thank you for clarifying that. We have since found some shows we enjoy on BBC iPlayer so thankfully no money wasted. 😁
Loving your videos! Keep them coming!!
Thank you! Will do!
Hi I moved to Scotland from Lancashire 34 years ago I live in North Ayrshire I love all the places you have shared plenty of ideas to visit. Love your channel very interesting and helpful for anyone thinking of moving. Nice to know some things are cheaper lol! Looking forward to your next adventure. Just wish a bit more sunshine for you. Keep them coming
Thank you so much! Moving to Scotland has not disappointed yet 😊🏴 Couldn’t be happier here and look forward to sharing more adventures next week.
Hi both, another great video, I've stayed in Thurso a few times while working in Dounreay, it's very bleak in the winter months up there, a real long drive from Cumbria as well. We use the rail cards quite a lot and it is a real winner.
Best of luck with the driving Annie, hope it all goes well.
Thank you! We were just up near Thurso this weekend but ended going more west. It was stunning, but I can imagine how harsh the winters could be.
Brilliant video! So many things to consider when making a major move like you did😮. We only lived there for a few years, and knowing we were returning to the US, we didn’t need to bring everything. But, we did buy some furniture so that had to be shipped home! Inverness is one of my favorite places, so enjoy your time up north!🏴
Thank you so much! We just got back today and had an incredible time. We can’t wait to share the footage in a few weeks.
love your videos keep them comeing hope you and the little ones are doing well ....ps hows is wee fin doing
Thank you! He had the time of his life up in the highlands this weekend. He’s meant to explore the beaches!
ID mobile has a £10pcm sim only contract with no exit fees & gives you 100Gb data, unlimited calls & texts. Data rolls over each month if not used. Hope that helps :).
It does 🙌 Thank you!
Many years ago me and my wife drove around the north of scotland with our 4 berth caravan that was a experiance not to be forgotten. very small roads from thurso around the top and down to Ullapool some lovely places to visit and you find some historical names that you know but cannot remember from where you know them. have a great holiday.
That’s right around where we were. Passed quite a few caravans even with it being the off season, but I did not envy the way they had to navigate those single track roads! Such an incredible area and one we hope to share with the kids in the future as well!
Hey , I get that money is a weird thing to talk about but as a viewer it 's an interesting thing to hear about , its not cheap is it ! Can I just say aswell Zak that I always notice your watch sir , I like the orange strap , is that a smart watch ? Its nice , thanks again x
Thank you! Yes, it’s definitely out of our comfort zones, but we found these types of videos so helpful before we moved. Zach’s watch is the Garmin Instinct.
This was great information. I emigrated to the states from UK 30 years. I want to move back to Scotland with my American husband (Northern California), so I was shocked to know how much a visa costs and that you have to renew it at 21/2 years. Thank you for sharing.
So glad this helps out a bit! Who would’ve thought? It was much more than we expected initially.
Hello..I love your weekend videos.. I watch a lot of RUclips as Sky doesn't cater for my needs.. I watch a lot of Police videos like car chases etc and it's mostly American and as Zac was a highway Patrol cop can you do video and tell us some of your craziest memories..
😬 Zach’s stories aren’t the most RUclips friendly unfortunately. He’d love to share the fun ones, but to be honest, most memorable ones didn’t end well 🫣
I can’t resist a few stories. I moved to and from Europe for a Fortune 500 company and got the white glove service. They also paid to have the container delivered to our new residence to have customs inspections done there to avoid potential damage when unloading and reloading the container. We did have to wait around for HM Customs when we arrived in a London suburb since they took the Tube. When we arrived back in the States we did have to have to household goods put in storage since we had to wait to move into a house. U.S. Customs was there and the officer asked me where the car was. I had a Peugeot bicycle and he thought it was a car. I did have a colleague who moved back to the U.S. from Johannesburg for the same company. The company supposedly paid to have the container put below decks. However, when they opened it in front of his house, seawater poured out. The company immediately arranged to have a company bring a refrigerated truck to his house to freeze and later freeze dry personal papers and momentos. The company also brought a $30,000 check to his house so they could buy some furniture immediately and then paid more later to complete the claim. Of course, they got it back from insurance.
Oh, wow! That sounds like quite the experience but well done on that company. They seem to treat their employees right! Thanks for sharing and for watching 😊
Great video, silly question do you think you did the right thing by going to Scotland from the USA and is there anything you miss at all.
@@garyyeomans2369 We’re happy with decision and don’t really miss much other than friends and family. I guess knowing how to do things without looking it up was nice as there are different procedures here, but time will fix that!
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Thank you so much for doing this! Something that weighs on my mind daily as I'm basically Zach in this situation and have aging parents at home.
Glad this might help with your decision! We honestly do not have any regrets other than making less with jobs this way around, but it’s worth everything else we’ve gained.
You are a delightful couple. Well done!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice comment!
@SimpleScottishLiving Your Joy is beautiful to behold.
That’s amazing…that was roughly the price we paid just for the removals company to take our possessions from uk to south of France 8.5 years ago! …. No visas required for us but hundreds of £’s added to that cost to bring our pets over …. That’s before anything else… but hey we live in the south of France so I shouldn’t be complaining I know…
Great video ..thanks
Definitely worth it in the long run! So nice not to have the visa process to go through, but I don’t envy you with transporting pets. We’ve done it once, and it was a bit of a logistical nightmare. How’s France?!
@@SimpleScottishLiving France is wonderful..we are in the Golfe de St Tropez so have the Med on the doorstep & mostly glorious weather, but getting the moving bug again..if we return to the uk it will most probably be Scotland too…Aberdeenshire for us…
Love watching you guys settling in..
Great video and glad you are settled and enjoying Scotland. Obviously Zak being Scottish is a massive advantage. It's lovely to see how positive Annie is almost all of the time. I recently moved myself within in the UK rental market and I can tell you i was shocked at how expensive renting is now. Also be prepared for all the security and financial checks you will be subjected to. The process takes quite a long time and I can only imagine how much longer it will take for non UK citizens. As a life long UK citizen it was stressful. So do your homework on the area you are moving to and the rent prices as they can vary drastically. Good luck to any Americans brave enough to emigrate to our Wee island's 😊👍 ❤
Thank you so much for the kind words! We’ve had an incredibly positive experience so far and feel lucky for the opportunity. You’re right! Renting is out of control at the moment. My brother is going through this exact thing, but they finally figured it out and found a place. Extremely difficult.
Oh interested to see how far north you are going. I stay in Orkney. Interesting video
We were in the Durness area. Cant wait to share!
Another great video, thank you!
One question I have is around Edinburgh public transport. We are heading over there in November and whilst I feel pretty confident about which bus pass to buy in Glasgow, the Edinburgh options confuse me - there are so many to choose from and I have no idea which one we need! We’ll only be in Edinburgh four days, but I find it difficult to tell which options cover which areas exactly.
Ooh send us an email at simplescottishliving@gmail.com. We want to do some research for you!
This is great! I would love to see a U.S. vs Scotland cost of living video.
We’ll definitely do that once we have a couple months of normal expenses. On the list!
Good video as always it isn’t cheap when your moving abroad but I’m sure it was all worth it hope you both have a lovely weekend away missed Finnegan hope to see him soon ❤
Worth every penny! Finnegan will definitely be in next week’s video :)
Good advice I feel, you have to be absolutely ruthless in what to ship over. No large furniture items. Charity shops are full of very good stuff. Very interesting vid guys.
Glad you enjoyed! These types of videos made our move just a bit easier, so we wanted to shed a bit more light on our experience.
It all sounds like a perfect nightmare, and a super strong commitment. Just imagine, now that you have had that first hand experience, deciding, in a few years time that Scotland isn't quite what you expected, and returning to thr US. That would just be a dream in comparison. Interesting video. By the way you're a lovely couple. Cheers ! Sheffield South Yorkshire.
Can’t imagine why anybody would decide to go back to America. I thought under 10 grand was cheap.
Yes, we’re in it for the long haul! Having family support nearby and knowing our kids are safer outweigh any cons in our case. It would’ve been a much harder decision without family and friends right down the road.
Don't forget the difference in gallons between the US and UK! The latter is a larger volume.
I think we did the maths in liters and then converted to gallons after. Feel free to check us as this was a nightmare to do the conversions 🤣
Good video as always, but one thing I picked up on was the TV license, you don't need to have one if you don't watch any of the BBC services, I know many people like myself who don't have one.
Thanks for sharing that and pointing it out! I believe we used BBC iplayer, which is the reason we did the license. Not sure if we’d do it again, but time will tell.
Thanks again. You both look good, skin, eyes etc Take good care.
BBC TV license. Only need if watching BBC or BBC catch up. You can watch other catch up, amazing, etc. I don't have a BBC license and not had one for over 20 years and hope to never need one.
Thank you!! Yes, we got one for BBC, but I’m not sure we’ll do the same a year from now.
Man, shame we didn’t meet when you were over here. I’m CHP, my wife and I travel to Scotland as often as we can, we’ve got three kids, and would love to move over there. Our main issue is immigration, and job. RUclips show looks nice, would love to pick your brain some day about the move.
It is! Email next time you’re headed this way, and of course with any questions you have in the meantime. The laws around immigration are definitely complex, but we have family coming on a skilled worker visa this month. That’s probably your best bet but feel free to reach out!
This was really interesting. I was jealous of the cost of even those few grocery items, and got over it when I saw the cost of petrol. Still seems worth it, frankly!
It’s been worth it to us for sure!
Fascinating video (even for someone like me who has no plans to relocate!).
Regarding sorting out your accommodation when moving to the UK, I would suggest that if you don't have prior first hand knowledge of a particular area (which clearly you did) then maybe take a relatively short term rental in the area you are going to, rather than buying a home straight away, because it's very hard to know which neighbourhood you would really want to be in - looking at property listings only tells you part of the picture. Having relocated back to my home city a few years ago, there were plenty of properties which fitted my budget and my criteria, and looked great, but were in areas of the city that were less nice than others.
This is a great point! Yes, I would always recommend renting before moving if not familiar with the area. We’ve made that mistake once and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone!
@@SimpleScottishLiving Yes- it doesn't have to be an international move for that to go wrong!
This was very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I will say in the Seattle area eggs have gone way up in price.
It’s so interesting! We couldn’t believe how much food prices could skyrocket in CA in just 5 years.
Enjoyed this video ( as usual). Can you remember which items you felt were not worth shipping? xx
Honestly, most! The US furniture is just too big to fit in many of the British doorways (much easier in a new build though). Also, the outlets are different, so if you’re staying for awhile, I’d recommend not bringing anything with a cord/plug. They have everything here you are accustomed to in the U.S., so there are few things you can’t replace. Zach’s gym equipment and some of our household goods would’ve been way more to repurchase new here, so we did feel shipping those was worth it. We also found rugs much more expensive here, so we brought our area rugs, which is a weird one. We donated about 2/3 of our clothes/shoes.
@@SimpleScottishLiving Thanks for taking the time to reply. That was such an interesting answer. Maybe worth filming a a video about?
This honestly was not quite as much as I expected. I’m planning on saving between 20 and 40,000 to move which clearly will be more than enough.
Annie, are you apprehensive about driving on the opposite side of the road?
Also, when I was in Scotland last year we were thrilled to find an ALDIs! We love our ALDIs in NY & always happen upon them abroad.
Yes, ALDI has been great! Only slightly nervous about driving as I’ve now been in the passenger seat for 5 months, and the shock of turning different directions isn’t nearly as bad!
I know you’ve had a few mobile phone tips, what I do is have an EE Sim only contract under £10 monthly, and buy refurbished phones with a warranty, usually iPhones but Android available, Argos/Sainsbury and Back Market an online company sell refurbished phones.
Good tips! Thank you! 😊
Hi Annie and Zac 😊 I really enjoy your videos. You two are such a cute couple. This was informative and fun, as you make any video enjoyable with your fun loving personalitys. I missed little Finnegan 🐶. I watch Ancient Aliens on the History Channel and I just watched an episode about the UFO activity in Scotland. They showed so much of the beauty of Scotland and it makes me want to visit even more. Have you checked out New Grange? Sounds fascinating. Another great video and look forward to next week! Thank you 🤎🧡💛🍂🍁☺️👽😏
Thanks so much, and we haven’t checked that out but will need to add it to the list! And don’t you worry…Finnegan will make his appearance again next Sunday ❤️
Really interesting video, thank you. I’d be really interested in the costs and how the process of buying a house works in Scotland e.g. deposits, sollicitors fees etc
Definitely! Solicitors fees roughly £1500. Mortgage advisor £500. House prices vary significantly, but coming back from the U.S., we could only get a decent mortgage rate if we put down over 25%. We did more than that to reduce costs as much as possible while we had the money from the sale of our previous home. The entire start to finish process was 8 weeks. We have a bit more information in a previous video with our initial house tour.
@@SimpleScottishLiving Thats super helpful thank you! Will check out that video :)
Is it just me or is Zach slowly regaining his accent with each passing video? In the very first one from a few months back I felt compelled to do a Wile E. Coyote and drop a boulder on him from a great height, but now I'm beginning to think there's hope!😋
🤣🤣🤣 best comment of the day. Forever hopeful for the accent to return 🤞
TOTALLY picked up on it super cute; Annie won't though; once you're through puberty its set in stone, but Zach is just regaining his accent
If you want to give Annie a driving lesson, you can buy insurance for a provisional driver from an hour upwards. Lots of websites to choose from 👍
Good tip! Thanks for sharing!!
LOVE SNOOPING INTO YOUR NEW LIFE I'VE LIVED ALL OVER AND STAYED AWAY FOR 25YEARS NOT RETURNING ONCE AND WOW WAS I IN FOR THE SHOCK OF MY LIFE WAS THE SAME FOR ME. WAS LIKE STARTING LIFE AGAIN TOTALY NEW RESTART. THE SECOND HAND OR THRIFT SHOPS ARE GREAT TO GET GOING AGAIN AND REMEMBER TO TELL THE PEOPLE DON'T BRING ANYTHING ELECTRICAL IT WON'T WORK. HOPE YOU'RE ALL GETTING SETTLED AND FIN IS WELL KEEP YOUR STORY'S COMING I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THEM.
That would be a huge shock after 25 years!! Thanks for watching, and Finn will definitely be making an appearance next week.
The annual MOT for your car is an additional cost in the UK. I don't know about the US but I didn't pay for that when I lived in Canada.
On your trip north you need to visit Culloden battlefield and Eilean Donan Castle
You’re right! We forgot that one, so thank you for pointing that out.
We’ve been to Culloden but will need to revisit soon, and Eileen Donan is definitely on the list!! We didn’t make it to either of those this trip unfortunately, but they will definitely be covered at some point in the future!
It's so fasincating to hear the effect of living in America on his accent! Would love to compare it in a few years lol
We look forward to this as well!
You should be able to get a 30-day rolling pay monthly sim only sim card for your phone. Same as a normal contract, you pay by direct debit, but those don't require a credit check as you can give your 30 days' notice to cancel at any time once you've done the first 30 days. It would save you having to keep putting credit on the payg sim, so that's something you can look into and also better value for money.
All good info but to add, on GiffGaff you don't even need direct debit. I've set 'recurring charge' on account and the charge my debit card monthly. No contract, can stop at any time.
Thanks for the tip! We’ll look into this.
@@SimpleScottishLiving I tried to edit my comment but RUclips won't add?! Tip on car insurance renewal, timing of quotes. I saved over £400 following Martin Lewis 'Money Saving Expert' site. p.s. What's a TV licence?!
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Just a thought... if you're travelling north you might like to start off by heading over to the west coast first and then head north that way. This would be by way of Stirling - Crianlarich - Glencoe - Fort William - Kyle of Lochalsh - Plockton - the coastal road around Applecross then all the way north to Durness, visiting Inverness on the return journey. This will offer you an absolute feast of interesting places that a direct route via Inverness may not do to the same degree. Plus, if you ARE planning to drive down the west coast from north to south, then you'll have the sun in your eyes every day! (Perhaps a wee bit optimistic/delusional there.) But in any case, have a great time.
We just got back today and wish we would’ve known this, but without a doubt, we’ll be heading north again and will take this advice!
I lived and worked in Az for 3( leaving sunny Glasgow),yrs around 20 years ago.. I still check my shoes for scorpions 🤣 ..WestJet red eye flights ha .. I enjoy your posts. I have had almost 50 Americans come visit mostly children of my friends. I get Americans.. which many don't. Your lovely wife must really love you as Americans in my experience end up with SAD symptoms great to see a couple doing this type of post
We get the scorpions, and CA taught us to look for tarantulas…equally horrific 😱 Yes, Annie’s slowly been broken in to the Scottish life and glimpses of true winter through the years, so we’re hoping the decade of preparation will be enough! Thanks for watching!
@@SimpleScottishLiving oh my word! I am still big Padres fan and Packers.Try Bridge of Orchy hotel for a visit. If you follow the path behind it there are deer that can be hand fed.. a distraction for the wee ones. Keep up the good work
Really good vlog this week ❤
Thank you!
I would LOVE to move to Scotland but my family are all south, daughter in London. I have about 130k to buy a place down here, it's not enough. I could get a nice place in Scotland with that, if I went as far as Shetland, I could buy a stunning cottage with gardens & a sea view!! Love your videos as you are doing what I'd love to do x
Yes, that is a tricky dilemma. We love the idea of moving far north to a very remote area, we just don't think it would be the best option for the kids....one day maybe 😁
Great video, but, where's Finn, we need more Finn, there's several channels on RUclips with US and a Canadian who have settled here in the UK, Magenta Otter splits her time between Texas and the UK, Adventures and Naps is Alana, a Canadian who has been here for 8 years, Gone Girl London who has been here over 10 years and Evan Edinger who has been here over 10 years and has taken citizenship, all of these are full of good info and they have all done some form of price comparisons on grocery shopping and other aspects of life here. Good luck with the driving Annie.
Thanks for sharing! We’ve seen some of them but not all so will check them out! I love watching these types of channels, and don’t you worry…Finn will be back in action next week! ❤️😊
Very informative, thank you. As an aside, have your children experienced a UK style child's birthday party yet? How do they compare with US kids parties?
We’ve not just yet! You have us intrigued!
Really informative👍🏻 really enjoying your channel guys xx
Thank you! Just hoping to shed some light as we found these videos helpful before moving 😊
My dream! Moving to Scotland or Ireland. What a dream.
Thank you, we are loving it!
The greatest downside to life in Scotland 🏴 is the lack of sunshine ☀️
I think many people would agree with that!
I relocated from Arizona to Ireland and went through the same ordeal including TOR. It was at the time nightmarish but now I am settled I look back and think it really wasn’t that bad!!!
It definitely feels easier in hindsight! We think the same now as well, but it was a stressful process as we went though it 😅
You have a good Scottish surname.
@@johnscott3714 I’ve the BEST Scottish Mull surname 🤣👍
I enjoyed this info! As it’s just as expensive to move state to state in the United States as well. 🤩👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed! It wasn’t nearly as expensive for Zach but that was 14 years ago, so we know things have changed massively.
Hmmm sounds like Shetland islands is your next adventure...
Appreciate the details and hard to believe milk costs so much less there. Paying $11 per liter in Canada.
That’s insanity 🫣
The big question is the transition between medical care. another question is if a senior what is public transportation for needs of shopping, medical care and shopping/ Since I am in my 80's I never paid in to the UK medical care taxes. I am currently one Medicare, Tricare for live (usn retired) and VA. Also there is a real need for an American English to Scottish English dictionary and differences between USA spelling and British Spelling and how to avoid sounding rude.
Maybe that will be our pet project! I like that idea!
Groceries: I live in Oklahoma City. Just went to Sam's Club today and bought regular wheat 9-grain bread, milk, and eggs: $2.19 loaf, $3.48 gallon for the milk, and $4.48 for 24 cage free eggs. So, yeah...California is a lot more expensive than the rest of the U.S.
Thanks for sharing, that’s helpful! I'm aware of Sam's Club, never been a member but we do have a Costco membership and it's interesting seeing the differences between the US and UK Costco 😁
Just so you know you dont need a TV Licence for streaming (yet) per se. Its only if you're watching programmes while they are being broadcast. ie normal TV, sports, live events, and iPlayer of course.
Thanks for the tip! We have recently been using bbc iplayer, so we have tv license for now. We’ll reconsider this when it’s time to renew though!
@@SimpleScottishLiving: there are people who are OBSESSED with the tv licence and HATE the BBC. There is a lot of propaganda around the issue that generates more heat than light. I have a television, so pay the licence fee regardless of the fact that I sometimes don't watch any terresterial television for days on end. It's a small fee and not something that I am going to stress about.
I actually don't mind the TV licence, as it means we (a) get content (TV + radio) that's not determined by what sponsors want, and *NO ADVERTS* 🎉 Some things, especially in comedy, would never have had a chance to get beyond the Edinburgh Fringe without the BBC. They launched Monty Python, Blackadder, Fry & Laurie, The Mighty Boosh, Flight of the Conchords + lots more. Much of it weird, experimental stuff, but they took the punt.
When I was a student, we 'got the knock', watching TV without a licence. We decided to 'fess up and let him in. By the time he came into the living room, one of our flatmates had 'hidden' the TV and VCR in the cupboard... but it was still plugged in and running. 😂 We all had a good laugh, including the licence man. We promised to chip in and buy a licence, and he let us off, I think because we'd given him a giggle 😅
Haha this is a great story! Easy to see a bunch of students doing this 🤣
@@SimpleScottishLiving - He was funny: he looked at us all, then at the cupboard... "When you all want to watch the same thing, does it not get a bit cramped?"
Enjoy your trip ❤
Thank you!
Annie have you had home sickness? Is there anything you really miss from America besides your family? ❤
Honestly, not just yet! The only thing I slightly miss is how festive Americans can get around the holidays. As “tacky” as some of our holiday decorations can be, it brings back so many wonderful, happy childhood memories. I like that people go all out, but I very much look forward to seeing Edinburgh at Christmas time this year. That was quite special on one of my first visits. And of course, friends and family as you mentioned are the biggest factor in my couple of homesick moments. Luckily, we have a wonderful support system here and feel like the community has welcomed us as well, so it makes it easier to cope with ❤️
Hi Zach and Annie. We are from NY and purchased a flat in Edinburgh in 2021 and visit as often as work and life will allow.
We have soooo many questions about moving to Scotland permanently. Is there a way to contact you via email to discuss?
Thank you
@@SimpleScottishLiving we're slowly catching up ( over the top ) and why not ?
@@SimpleScottishLivingI'm glad you're feeling settled here there is really nowhere like scotland (in my own and probably biased opinion 😊) and I love how Americans celebrate all the big occasions...autumn and Christmas it's lovely ❤
@@SimpleScottishLiving I am not in Scotland but think it's New Year that is the biggest celebration in Scotland. Plenty of big Christmas festivities south of the border.
When I moved from the US to Scotland over 20 something years ago, the cost of living was almost double of what it was in the US. Obviously this was a company move, but everything was a lot more expensive than I thought it was going to be.
Yes! Although it’s more affordable than CA, it is not “cheap” by any means!
Health care isn’t too bad considering it’s a yearly cost. As you know even the cheapest Kaiser plan is around $500/month. Not sure what the level of service is, but Kaiser is not known to be super, but not too bad. I don’t know how bad the NHS is.
We don’t know yet either! We haven’t had to use many NHS services other for just getting a prescription filled, and that’s been quite painless so far. Once we are more familiar with the system, we’ll do a deep dive into that subject.
Sourdough from artisan bakers are ridiculously expensive in London £5 for loaf. I think the cheapest I've found is £3.50. Supermarket sourdough is about £2.65. really pays to shop around.
Yes, couldn't agree more. I certainly don't envy you having to deal with London prices!