We moved to Aberdeen in the middle of 2013, just after Sofia was born. By this time we’d lived and worked all over Scotland already, but never before in Aberdeen, and it’s an understatement to say we were more than a little shocked when we eventually moved house from Poland.
It’s not that it’s different to other Scottish Cities – think Edinburgh, but flatter, or that it was a Cultural thing – there’s a lot of foreigners living here, yes (Especially Poles), but that’s common everywhere these days. It was the Cost of everything. Aberdeen was, until recently at least, the oil capital of Europe, and everything in the city was priced accordingly. Second only to London for the price of accommodation, moving to Aberdeen almost broke us, financially. And we were only renting to begin with!
Anyway, we survived the first few months, and eventually managed to purchase a Terraced House (Ex-Council) at a rate about 20% higher than you’d pay in the Country’s capital, Edinburgh. Since then though, a lot of things have changed around here. The Oil has, to a large extent, gone, and with it a lot of the large companies that decided that rates in town were too high to remain here, and they either closed down, or moved on to cheaper pastures.
With that, there was a pretty large exodus of suddenly unemployed Oil workers, and a sudden spike in the supply of property – prices dropped pretty quickly, and are only just recovering now (as of the beginning of 2018). Where before you’d be surprised NOT to see a Super car or two every week, it’s become a rare sight now.
So, short recent history lesson aside, Aberdeen actually has quite a lot to offer, whether you’re planning on living here, or just wanting to visit. There are plenty of large parks, a lovely stretch of beach going North (and wonderful rocky coastline going South!), enough to do in the City proper to keep everyone satisfied, and a decent Club scene if you’re into that sort of thing.
It’s also very well located if you want to explore the East Coast – not far from the Cairngorms National park, only an hour away from Dundee, and only a stone’s throw from attractions such as Dunnottar Castle and Brewdog’s Brewery in Ellon.
If I’m honest, of all the places I’ve lived and worked in Scotland, Aberdeen is the least beautiful, the least charming, and the most demanding. But after living here for 6+ years now, there is something that it has become, that nowhere else has managed to achieve; It’s Home.
