I recently left Scotland to move to Cambridge, should I consider moving back after Brexit?
There is no ready answer - it dependson you and your status now..?on you and your status, if Scotland leaves the UK…?on you and your status, Scotland is then allowed to join the EU..?on you and your status, if after the conclusion of all the negotiations for brexiting and any scining (3), the transfer of populations begins…?In other words the situation after a really hard brexiting may be that you will have to go back. I do not think 2 and 3 will happen or that brexiting will be very hard don’t bother, perhaps(?) - but at this stage the uncertainty is extreme.
Should I still move to Scotland prior to Brexit?
Without knowing what citizenship you currently hold and what are your reasons for wanting to live in Scotland, it’s not possible to provide any meaningful response. For example, if you’re a UK citizen living in England or Wales and want to establish yourself in another English-speaking EU country, there’s no indication yet that Scotland will declare independence from the UK and seek membership of the EU after Brexit so I’d say there’s no hurry as you’d still have free movement rights into Scotland for the foreseable future and maybe indefinitely. If you’re an EU citizen from outside the UK and want to claim residence in Scotland while free movement is still the law of the land, it is my understanding that 1. The EU has stated that UK citizens establishing residence in an EU country before the end of the transition period (20 months beginning March 2019) will have the right to remain permanently in that country (but not have the right to settle in other EU countries). 2. It’s highly unlikely that the UK would not reciprocate that policy BUT the UK has not formally agreed to this AND if there’s no agreement, there’s no transition period which means all rights to free movement for EU citizens into the UK would end March 2019.…. my 2 cents’ worth on this ….
What should I know about moving from the USA to Scotland? (I’ll be moving there for five years for vet school)
Keep your US tax affairs up to date and understand what that means.The US has a tax code that is unique in following you around for life AND that tax code is extremely punitive both in terms of taxation of foreign finances themselves AND in terms of penalties for failing to file correctly.It’s quite possible to face financial ruin for failing to file a form you never knew existed and where not a cent of tax was avoided. The USA wants US tax cattle and their money on the plantation and FATCA and the US tax code make that abundantly clear.Other than that, have a great time and don’t forget your rain gear.
What are the pros and cons of moving to Scotland?
The economy of the UK is in the toilet at the moment I'm afraid. I live in Scotland, and some parts are really nice. I was born in Glasgow, so it's my home and I probably won't move. However, I really would not choose to live here if I didn't have any family attachments to the place. Despite valiant efforts in recent years to reverse the wholesale devastation that was inflicted on our city by the planners in the aftermath of the Second World War, when many of our most beautiful buildings were torn down and people were moved to soul-crushing tower blocks on the periphery of the city, many places outside the city centre and a few of the suburbs are pretty grim. If you want to live in Scotland, I would recommend Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a beautiful city. Scotland is famous for its bad weather! It rains quite a lot here - more so in Glasgow than in Edinburgh. Healthcare is good. Healthcare in the UK is funded through taxation of the whole population, so you don't pay anything if you need treatment - it's free at the point of use. In terms of art, there is the world-famous Glasgow School of Art. I'm sure you'll find the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery,the Gallery of Modern Art, and the Hunterian Art Gallery (which includes a substantial Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibition) in Glasgow to be of interest on your spare time. All have great collections. Oh, the government of the UK! I think you'll find our system to be just as bad. Scotland has a Parliament in Edinburgh which makes laws on education, health, transport, and other things. This parliament is entirely comprised of elected members. Wales has a similar arrangement. The main Parliament is in London, and it makes laws on issues that affect the whole United Kingdom, like defence, the economy, equalities, and other things. It is comprised of the House of Commons, which is composed of elected members, and the House of Lords, which is not. There is also the Queen; while she technically has to approve every law, in practice it is unthinkable for her to refuse them. The Queen, obviously, is not elected. The unelected components of government stir constant debate and movements for them to be turfed out, but little progress is ever made on that front. Hope this helps :)
I visited the UK recently, and now all I can think about is moving there. Should I just forget about this?
I wouldn’t say you should “forget about it”, no, but it’s a fairly common feeling that many of us get when we visit new and interesting (to us) places. Travelling gives a kind of “rush”, I suppose, at least that’s how I feel about it. “How could my boring home possibly be as cool as this?” we wonder.Without knowing where you’re from or what stage you’re at in life it’s difficult to give any sort of practical advice. I’ll just say that if moving to the UK is what you really want, it may be that you’ll find a way to make it happen: as ambitions go it’s not all that extravagant. Just don’t let it become an obsession - keep your focus on what you need to do in your “here and now”, especially if success in your current endeavours might help you get what you want further down the line.
Can a UK citizen, living outside of Scotland, move to Scotland a year before going to the university and get free tuition? Who else gets free tuition?
A year before - no. The SAAS Full Time Student Information says, "three years immediately before the first day of the first academic year." It also says "We will not treat you as being ordinarily resident in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive full-time education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere." Essentially, you and your parents would have to move to Scotland to live, and you would have to do most of your high school eduction in Scotland, in order to qualify. Full details are at Student Awards Agency for Scotland - Exceptions to the General Residence Conditions.Since the cost of 3 years degree in England would likely set you back £18,000 to £27,000 (depending on the quality of the Uni) it may or may not be worth while for your family to relocate. However, it you are planning to do something such as medicine, dentistry or vet - which are typically 5 year courses - the savings of coming to Scotland might be in the £40,000 region. That might be large enough to make it worth while for your family to move north.
Why did Scotland allow their sea territorial borders to be moved further north so that oil fields could be claimed by England?
The current boundary is correct and fair. The old one was not.In 1987, under the government of Margaret Thatcher of all people, the martime Anglo-Scottish border was drawn in a way that assigned more water to Scotland than they would be entitled to under international law. It only worked on the principle that “water belongs to the nation whose land it is closest to” through the 13.8 mile UK terriorial waters, after which it became a straight west-east line, which would make sense if the East Coast of Great Britain was a straight line from north to south. But it is not, in particular it curves sharply west just to the north of the border at Berwick, heading into the Firth of Forth. Even north of the Forth, the Scottish coast does not extend as far East as it does in Northumberland. Hence, water to the East of the UK mainland can be north of the Anglo-Scottish border, but still closer to the English mainland than the Scottish mainland due to the westward curvature of the East Coast.This picture demonstates it. The orange radius line shows that the red cross is closer to England (Lindisfarne island) that Scotland, despite being North of Dundee.Image from Neil Lovatt: Did Blair move the border and steal Scotland’s Oil?In 1999, a Labour Government (dominated by Scots) brought the maritime boundary in line with what would be normal under international law, with each nation receiving water that was closest to their land. The maritime border now exactly follows the boundary line between waters closer to England and waters closer to Scotland.Next time you look at a map of the maritime border, you can confirm this for youself by forgetting the fallacy that anything north of Berwick must be closer to Scotland, and getting out a ruler.I suggest that Anne Donohoe and Miller Ian read this.
Should Scotland now move towards Devo-Max, including full fiscal autonomy?
The time for devo-max has come and gone — as explained by Bill Easson.Alex Salmond wanted to include devo-max as an option in the 2014 Independence Referendum, but David Cameron refused.The Labour and Liberal Democrats should have stood up and strongly supported inclusion — federalism (much the same thing as devo-max) was a long standing Liberal policy, and Labour were the party of devolution — but they decided to link arms with the Tories in ‘Better Together’. It was only at the end of the campaigning — on 8 September 2014, just 10 days before the referendum — that Gordon Brown resurrected the idea, in the form of a reward for the electorate voting ‘no’ (that, of course, was never delivered).If devo-max had been included in the referendum, I think it’s highly probable that it would have won. This means that Scotland would now have been in a much better place, able to stop Brexit, and if necessary move to full independence.Brexit now threatens more than just the Scottish economy, because if Scotland is removed from the EU, independence also becomes much more difficult to achieve. In this new situation, the priority is to fight to stay in the single market and the customs union — on a UK-wide basis — and look at Scotland’s constitutional position later.
What is it like living in Scotland? Is it boring? How long does the gloomy weather last? How good is the postgraduate education at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow?
Hey, Hi. You got an interesting question. Let me share you my personal experience.In 2015, I planned a trip to Turkey for the break between Xmas and new year. For some reason, I decided not to go. Instead me and my mate decided to travel to Scotland. We know it going to be cold, raining and windy but we decided to GO. I would say leaving the weather story aside, I felt Scotland the most beautiful, most welcoming people I have ever experienced. The bars in Edinburgh, parks in Glasgow, the highlands and the local Scottish traditions makes Scotland a country to experience. I met some great people on my trip and also had a strong feeling that this is what I should call HOME. I drove around 1700 miles in Scotland, on that trip.And as everything need to come to an end, I had to go back to my job in Leicester but then there was this strong feeling inside me that I am missing something, and that something was Scotland. And five months later, I moved to Scotland and stayed there for nearly 2 years and recently moved to Cambridge again for work.To answer part of your question, How is it like living in Scotland? Is it boring?I can tell you that Scotland is one of the most open minded countries in Europe and may be across the globe. You feel welcomed from the start. I personally prefer Edinburgh over other places as it is a truly global city. During my time there I made countless number of friends from every corner of the globe. There is so much to do in Edinburgh, Literally you name something and there is a festival for that happening sometime in the year in Edinburgh. And the mighty Edinburgh Fringe festival in August(google it). There will be something happening in the city all year around. Even if there is nothing to do on any given day, just walking around princess street gardens and royal mile, sitting on Calton hill and viewing sunset, will make you feel accomplished for the day. And to education part of your question, Scotland has some of the top universities in the World. I feel bad that I chosen Leicester over Dundee university to do my post graduation in Software engineering. Just keep an open mind and you wont be bored anywhere. Let me end with one of my fav quote about Edinburgh.“There’s no leaving Edinburgh, No shifting it around: it stays with you, always.” Alan Bold