How did you end up where you are?

When I was born my dad was in the RAF, we lived all over the UK, Holland and Germany before I was 5. My dad left the RAF and found work in the oil industry taking us to Aberdeen. My parents obviously decided the city wasn't the place to bring up kids and from about 5 we lived in a small town just south of the city. I grew up there, leaving to attend uni at 21. Attended uni in Dundee, met a girl who lived in rural Perthsire, moved up there after uni, then moved back to Dundee when we split before taking my current job, based just outside of Edinburgh. Moved to the big smoke initially but have since moved to the other side of the Forth as housing is much more affordable and Fife is a better fit for my hobbies than the city. Currently live in a small town called Burntisland and really like it. Ideal for kayaking, running, cycling and walking.
 
randomshenans said:
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tell me more.


Me, job brought us here. Was supposed to be 6 months. 9years this year.
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It's not really very interesting :D

Married young, bought a house and had a job fixing forklifts... turns out the wife preferred female company and a female 'friend' of hers, seeing that the marriage was going nowhere, suggested I apply to Uni. So I did and got a place off the back of a BTEC and walked away from it all in 1994. Female 'friend' then moved in with said wife :eek::D.

Went on to do a PhD and now working at the same Uni. All is now good :)
 
What brought me here was a fine blend of chance, opportunity and measured risk.

I was brought up in Glasgow and moved out of the cramped tenement flat to buy my first house in Renfrewshire when I was 20. After three years a job opportunity I couldn't refuse had me move to Swindon where I stayed for over 20 years. Met my other half there and had a boy who loves the outdoors, as does she. Then 2 years ago a flyaway comment to the other half about an opportunity in the Highlands of Scotland had us uprooting and we moved here (north of Inverness) last September, in to an amazing house with 3 acres of mostly woodland. I doubt we'll ever move again.

dodg3rman said:
I think she'd like the Highlands but I dont think we'd get a great welcome up there
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You'd be pleasantly surprised. When house hunting about 60% of the houses we looked at were owned by English folk. My other half is English, so are many work colleagues and folk I randomly meet. The antagonism for the English up here is a bit of a myth, but sshhhh! Don't tell everyone, we like it quiet, easy going and mostly unpopulated :).
 
Pretty boring story compared to everyone else's :D

Was born and bred in Surrey but couldn't afford to move out on my own and stay in my home town. Even nearby towns were too expensive.

Finally realised my only chance was to move out of the county and managed to find a shared ownership property that didn't restrict applicants to those who already lived and worked in the town. (Like all the others in Surrey seemed to do)

Annoying that it's shared ownership but at least it got me on the property ladder and I'm about 19 miles each way from work and my mum's.

(At one point a few years I nearly uprooted my whole life to move to Northern Ireland for a guy. am glad I didn't though. I would have been rather isolated and, as much as they drive me crazy, I'd miss my family :p)
 
Bit boring - born in Hampton, spent three years in Devon and Cornwall for university. Moved to Parson's Green in Fulham shortly after graduating in 2006.

From there spent a brilliant year in Old Street in 2010 before buying a flat in Whitechapel/Stepney in December that year. Bought 50:50 with a friend, my girlfriend moved in two years later and we bought my mate out in 2015.

Moved to East Molesey, by Hampton Court, last year. Hoping to have bought a decent enough place to not have to move again. Most of my mates have moved away from the area but the wider family are still based locally

Although we're just round the corner from where I grew up I would have been equally happy to have moved further out - Oxford, where my wife is from, or somewhere like Bath, Winchester, Hove, etc. I would have loved to have moved to the Lake District but she was having none of it :p
 
Met missus(2006), convinced her to apply for a new role in S. Wales which she got and moved from Aberdeen, I moved over from Didcot in 2007.
Moved down here 5 years ago as she went for another promotion and I had had enough of my job.

We're close enough to airports to visit her family in N.Ireland and its just an hour up the road to get to my family.
 
I live on Barry Island in South Wales, but come from Essex.

Met my wife over the phone. We both used to work for the same company so would regularly have to call her. We slowly got chatting more socially until one day we decided to meet up. London seemed the obvious choice, and we hit it off immediately.

She moved in with me and my parents in Essex for a bit, thinking she'd find a job and we're get our own place. But she missed her family more than she realised. So we both made the decision to move to Barry! It's hard being away from family and friends, especially as my best mate recently had a baby so we're missing out on that a bit. But the mother also lives near us, so not too bad!
 
dodg3rman said:
I dont think we'd get a great welcome up there
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What makes you say that?

Edit: just seen @Mysterae_ 's reply. Totally agree. If being English is worrying you, don't let it. You and your lady will have absolutely no issue up here because of your accent.

I'm born and bred in Scotland but my Mrs and kids are also English, we've just moved up here and and have experienced zero issues.

In fact [citation required!] the further north you go in Scotland, the more English people there are.

If she wants to, go for it!

Edit 2: I'm now back living in the small town I grew up in after living 19 years darn saaf.
 
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hmm born here .. father in army so did Germany and all that .. then he had the idea of moving to canada .. moved 8 times in 7yrs then came back .. left home at 16 did a few places in nw ..
got a wife move to portugal yr later we came back baby no 2 was coming ..
got so tired just decided to stay put after that .. :)
 
Moved to Glasgow for a job, I didn't have anywhere specific in mind but knew I wanted to get out of Aberdeen and Glasgow was close enough to be able to travel for the job interview and to look for flats etc, but far enough away that I'd feel like I was somewhere different.

Got the job and I've been here nearly three years now.
 
Arsonist said:
I live on Barry Island in South Wales, but come from Essex.

Met my wife over the phone. We both used to work for the same company so would regularly have to call her. We slowly got chatting more socially until one day we decided to meet up. London seemed the obvious choice, and we hit it off immediately.

She moved in with me and my parents in Essex for a bit, thinking she'd find a job and we're get our own place. But she missed her family more than she realised. So we both made the decision to move to Barry! It's hard being away from family and friends, especially as my best mate recently had a baby so we're missing out on that a bit. But the mother also lives near us, so not too bad!
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Alright Gavin, what's occurring? :p
 
After finishing high school and working for a year, I moved from South Africa to the UK, staying with my brother in his flat in Beckenham in 2002.

After he lost his job (dot.com bubble burst) we moved in to a cheap, grotty flat in Bermondsey.

He eventually got a new well-paying job and moved to the Docklands, which I couldn't afford, so moved to Surrey Quays and met and roomshared with @Supercow

A year or so later moved in with my gf to North London near Manor House.

Split up a year later and moved to the Isle of Dogs, doing 3 house-shares over 3 years.

Then to Tooting for 2 years, before buying a flat in Morden with my gf in 2010.

We split up in 2014, and I moved to Wimbledon, then Earlsfield in 2015 and met my last gf.

2016 moved in to my gf's flat in Tottenham, proposed in 2017, got married in 2018, and in 2019 we bought lovely house in Coulsdon, which is our forever home.

So from South Africa to South London in just 17 years.
 
Grew up in Widnes, Cheshire, lived there until I decided to train as an engineer in the merchant navy, which meant I had to move to South Shields, where I lived for a couple of years between sea phases of my training. After that I bought a flat back in Widnes, before meeting my now wife, who I live with in Aigburth, Liverpool.

As I say to the Mrs, I might live in Liverpool, but I’m not a Scouser. I’ll always be better than that... :D
 
firstborn said:
It's not really very interesting :D

Married young, bought a house and had a job fixing forklifts... turns out the wife preferred female company and a female 'friend' of hers, seeing that the marriage was going nowhere, suggested I apply to Uni. So I did and got a place off the back of a BTEC and walked away from it all in 1994. Female 'friend' then moved in with said wife :eek::D.

Went on to do a PhD and now working at the same Uni. All is now good :)
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So when you say all is good now do you mean you get a FFM every night :D
 
I walked over to my chair, wheeled it to the desk and took a seated position on it.

Here I am!
 
I took a job here and decided to move here to as it is a much safer place to live than where we were before. I never even know this town existed until I applied for the job, which was advertised as being in a big city nearby, rather than the actual location.
 
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