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The Five Best Towns and Cities to Move to in Scotland
Scotland isn’t all about the Highlands and Islands, Ben Nevis and other stunning scenery. There’s plenty of attractive towns and cities to move to as well. For those considering house removals to Scotland – whether that’s to Edinburgh, Glasgow or any other destinations north of the border – Hamiltons Removals have compiled this handy guide to five of the most popular places.
Edinburgh
The Scottish capital came top of the listing magazine Time Out’s poll to find the Best City in the World last year. They quizzed 20,000 city dwellers worldwide on aspects such as sustainability, walkability, public transport, overall cost, as well as the nightlife and food and drink scenes. Edinburgh scoring particularly well for its overall beauty and its walkability.
Major attractions in the city include the Royal Mile in the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle (which hosts the world-famous Military Tattoo in August), Holyrood Palace (whose art gallery is open to the public, as well as being the Royal Family’s official Scottish residence) and not forgetting the Edinburgh Festival, which is also held in August.
Glasgow
The big city rival to Edinburgh came in fourth in the same poll. For those considering moving house to Glasgow, it scored well for the overall cost of living (better than anywhere else in the poll), the friendliness of the people and the large number of green spaces. Glasgow actually means ‘dear green space’ in Gaelic.
There’s a thriving arts and cultural scene. The city is home to the Scottish Opera, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Ballet, as well as Celtic and Rangers, who have long dominated Scottish football.
Stirling
Like Edinburgh, this central Scottish town has a skyline dominated by a castle that has incredible views over the city and the surrounding countryside (see above).
It was voted the safest city in the UK by The Complete University Guide 2019 and the happiest place to live in Scotland by Rightmove in 2021. The University reference is important as the city is home to more than 10,000 students, who make up around a fifth of the total population.
Dundee
This is the fourth largest city in Scotland, and the Best Place to live in Scotland in 2019, according to the Sunday Times.
Being on the east coast, it is one of the sunniest places to live in Scotland prompting some to nickname the city ‘Sundee’. As well as having almost 1,500 hours of sunshine per year, it’s also one of the driest and coldest places to live in Scotland. The sun certainly helps as it’s got plenty of beaches to enjoy. The Urban Beach is probably the closest to the city centre, but Broughty Ferry, named after a nearby village, is probably the most famous.
And, like Stirling, Dundee benefits from its student population. There are two universities in the city, the University of Dundee and the University of Abertay Dundee.
St Andrews
This town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland (10 miles south-east of Dundee) is perhaps most famous as being the ‘home of golf’. As well as being popular with golfers, students come to the University from all over the world. It was ranked no. 1 in the UK by the 2022 Good University Guide published by the Times and Sunday Times and is usually ranked highly in all other surveys. St Andrews was also where Prince William met his future wife, the then Kate Middleton.
The town also has plenty of lovely sandy beaches, most notably The West Sands, where the opening scene from the film Chariots of Fire was shot. It is also much smaller and quieter than many of the other towns and cities. However, the town does get markedly busier at the beginning of university terms and during the Open Golf championship in July.
Removals to Scotland with Hamiltons Removals
Hamiltons Removals can offer a high-end removals service if you are considering moving house to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Stirling or any other Scottish destination.
We provide video surveys and free online removal quotes, to help make the whole process more convenient for you. We can also professionally pack all your items for you, including fragile glassware and artwork. We are highly experienced in moving larger items as well, including pianos and motorbikes.
Five Key Reasons to Move to Malta
Malta isn’t just one island, it’s an archipelago and only the three largest islands – Gozo, Comino and Malta itself – have a human population. It’s also one of the smallest sovereign countries in the world, and one of the most densely populated. Here Hamiltons Removals, who offer commercial and domestic removals to Malta, outline some of the key reasons why it’s an attractive place for people to move to – and Britons in particular.
- The Close Cultural Ties
If you are considering removals from the UK to Malta, then it is a big plus that English is one of the two official languages. Both Maltese and English are taught alongside each other from primary school onwards. Italian is also commonly spoken on the island.
Official government business can be carried out in both Maltese and English. Road signs, particularly warning signs, are in English and motorists drive on the left, just like the UK. However, street signs are generally in Maltese.
The island was a strategically critical location during World War II, and the British fought valiantly to defend it. This is because Malta used to be a part of the British Empire, only gaining its independence in 1964. Today, it is still part of the Commonwealth. However, as the country is also a member of the EU, this could make getting a residency visa a bit more complicated after Brexit.
2. The Weather
The country enjoys one of the warmest and sunniest climates in Europe, with more than 3,000 hours of sunshine every year. The Maltese summer, as we would recognise it in the UK, lasts for around eight months a year.
However, although it’s warm, it’s not too hot with the average temperatures being around 26-30oC in July and August, but these are the warmest months of the year. Generally, the temperatures are around the 15-20oC mark for the other ‘summer’ months.
The climate, and the numerous beaches, make Malta a particularly attractive country to retire to.
3. The Food
There’s plenty of fresh food to enjoy in Maltese dishes. Surrounded by the sea, the Maltese (not surprisingly) do seafood well. Sea bream and sea bass may be familiar to UK palates, while swordfish and lampuka (a type of dolphin fish) less so. Rabbit stew is also popular and is the closest the Maltese have to a national dish.
There’s plenty of roadside markets selling fruit and veg, including locally grown olives and capers. The Maltese also make their own distinctive bread and fill it with tomatoes, tuna, capers and olive oil. There’s usually plenty of Italian dishes in most restaurants as well thanks to the closeness of the country.
4. The Transport Links
If you do want to fly back to the UK, there shouldn’t be a problem. This is because Malta International Airport, which lies in the south of the island close to the town of Luqa, has plenty of flights to the UK every week. British Airways, easyJet and particularly Ryanair all operate flights to and from the UK.
In addition, Malta is a good base from which to explore the rest of the region, with flights to more than 30 different European destinations. You can also visit the outlying islands by ferry.
5. The Cost of Living
It’s relatively cheap to live on any of the islands, and prices tend to be even lower outside the main cities. Most rented accommodation comes fully furnished although the build quality of some of the homes (particularly the older ones) can vary.
Food, including eating out, is also reasonably inexpensive. This trend is also shown in the average prices of consumer goods which was around 10% lower than the EU average, according to 2021 figures.
Although the average salary is only around 18,000 euros, expats with a specialist skill or trade may be able to earn much more. And healthcare is free provided you are registered to live in the country, although you may have to pay for prescriptions. There’s also a flourishing private healthcare sector too.
Removals to Malta with Hamiltons Removals
At Hamiltons Removals, we can help you if you are considering moving house to all the major destinations in Malta, including the capital Valetta, and Bornio, Qormi, and Zabbar.
If you would like to know more about our European moving service, follow this link or call us directly on 01379 855203 or 0800 246 5622.