Moving to the middle of nowhere

[crashmonitor]

9 minutes ago, DEATH said:

They probably weren't disabled until they moved there and had to carry everything over the bridge.

The bridge looks like it might wash away one day, might be even more remote to live there then.

Especially if you have got some large items like a piano.

[Frank Hovis]

7 hours ago, DTMark said:

This "thing" about remoteness: I'm not sure it's all about that. As such. I think it's about a sense of "containment". I shall attempt an explanation:

If you live in a cul-de-sac then there are others around you. They need not be noisy or "doing stuff". They may be largely invisible, but you know they are there.

If you live on a street that has a busy road at the end of it, there's always movement, people, cars, something 'going on'.

I'm not a "curtain-twitcher" as such. I don't really care what other people are doing.

But I think with special reference to the house on that island, it's that sense of "containment". And I have a "busy mind".

"Knowing" that the land only extends a few hundred metres in either direction brings a certain sense of "manageability". There's space, yes, but if anything, that house 300m from the edge in all directions is preferable to 3 miles in all directions. It's "knowing where the edges are".

I realise that might seem a bit abstract. Is this my "streak of madness"? Can anyone relate to this?

 

Sort of.  I was going to buy a house with lots of land, not because I wanted lots of land but because I wanted privacy, quiet and security.

Instead I bought a very ordinary, and ordinarily-priced, house but on a slope and the arrangement of the surrounding houses, together with being on a cul de sac off a cul de sac, give me that privacy, quiet and security whilst remaining within easy walking distance of town.  I really can't see myself moving.  My neighbours bought their house new build c. 45 years ago and their son, who I coincidentally knew from school, will be moving in when they pop on.  My other neighbours bought at a similar time to me and go on holiday for six weeks at a time without worrying about their house as it doesn't appear that they're away in winter when the lawn doesn't need mowing.

What you're seeking may be a lot closer to where you live than you think; you don't need to move to Scotland; I was looking at a smallholding on Bodmin Moor so was similar in seeking somewhere remote.  A small detached house in an ideal micro-location (though it takes a lot of research and getting out of your car and walking to find this) in a nice general area will be very affordable.

That said the ideal of living for ten years on my own island (though the one I linked isn't quite that) occupying myself with fishing, growing food, DIY does appeal though not in combination with having a job.

[AThirdWay]

7 hours ago, Kilham said:

Yes.

If I had £300k this is the one I'd go for:

http://www.lowsorkney.co.uk/p/20643#details

 

Remote when you need it to be but right next to the ferry and shops when you need them. May even have fibre broadband 

Jesus! Soaked in damp, rotting with woodworm, bottled gas and oil-fired heating and G-rated for energy efficiency.... you can have it mate!

p.s. Oliver is right. Although a harbour, the wind howls across Stromness. I dread to think what it's like in something so exposed 

[DTMark]

14 hours ago, crashmonitor said:

Especially if you have got some large items like a piano.

(giggles) - very good

[crashmonitor]

For the more ambitious amongst us, a castle in the middle of nowhere for 450k. Trouble is it looks every bit the wreck of old Ebenezer's castle in Kidnapped, you can imagine ascending a spiral staircase to a dark drop into nothing. I guess living in a noble ruin might suit some.

 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54365653.html

[Hail the Tripod]

7 minutes ago, crashmonitor said:

For the more ambitious amongst us, a castle in the middle of nowhere for 450k. Trouble is it looks every bit the wreck of old Ebeneezer's castle in Kidnapped, you can imagine ascending a spiral staircase to a dark drop into nothing. I guess living in a noble ruin might suit some.

 

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54365653.html

It's Grade A listed. If you let it fall to ruin don't you run the risk of a custodial sentence?

[crashmonitor]

1 minute ago, Hail the Tripod said:

It's Grade A listed. If you let it fall to ruin don't you run the risk of a custodial sentence?

That's probably why the present owner is looking for a way out.

[Frank Hovis]

12 minutes ago, crashmonitor said:

That's probably why the present owner is looking for a way out.

I do wonder what the annual maintenance and running costs of soemwhere like that are, £100k a year maybe plus all the hassle of finding people to do it and making sure the heritage department don't have a hissy fit about it.

All houses cost money to keep up but that one would be daft. 

[crashmonitor]

12 minutes ago, Frank Hovis said:

I do wonder what the annual maintenance and running costs of soemwhere like that are, £100k a year maybe plus all the hassle of finding people to do it and making sure the heritage department don't have a hissy fit about it.

All houses cost money to keep up but that one would be daft. 

A friend of mine has a family that took on this place, a stately home in Lincolnshire, sold for diddly squat. They were just a working class extended family of builders from Derbyshire. I guess the building bit would come in handy, but it has to be a labour of love. Revesby Hall, Lincolnshire........

 

[DTMark]

Left home at 03:15.

Now 20 minutes from Scotland  

[Austin Allegro]

I work online only, and recently moved to a cottage in a small town/large village in a relatively remote part of southern England. I won't say where as I don't want to risk identifying myself. 

The cottage has all the things I want (open fireplace, wood beams, garden) but was, as much as any property can be today in England, something close to 'affordable'. 

So far, I like it very much. It's a compromise between living right out in the wilds, and being close to a reasonable level of 'civilization'. 

Everyone is very friendly and there is a sense of community; the sort of place where you can just go into the local pub and pretty soon you'll be talking to a disparate group of people, and if you go to buy something in the shops you end up chatting for ten minutes. There are all the shops, tradesmen etc that I require, but open countryside is only five minutes walk away, and I can be on a beach in ten minutes' walk. Yet London is no more than 2 hours by car or train. 

The only downside is there isn't really any 'culture' here; but if you want that sort of thing (theatre, concerts, art gallery etc) it is about 30 mins drive away in the nearest cathedral city. So not much different from getting on the tube and going 'up west' from a London suburb. 

I did consider Scotland but ruled it out because of the winters, and the distance from friends/family in London.  

An alternative for the OP might be somewhere in the EU. Language can be a problem, even if you learn Italian or French it can be difficult to do bureaucratic stuff, but Cyprus and Malta are both nice and have English as an official language. My long term goal is to be able to spend most of the winter abroad somewhere like Malta or Mallorca. 

 

[anonguest]

On 14/02/2017 at 10:27 AM, Hail the Tripod said:

It's Grade A listed. If you let it fall to ruin don't you run the risk of a custodial sentence?

Define ruin.

It looks to be in a pretty god awful state as it is now.

[Frank Hovis]

On 14/02/2017 at 11:00 AM, crashmonitor said:

A friend of mine has a family that took on this place, a stately home in Lincolnshire, sold for diddly squat. They were just a working class extended family of builders from Derbyshire. I guess the building bit would come in handy, but it has to be a labour of love. Revesby Hall, Lincolnshire........

 

That's brilliant.

I would love to restore somewhere like that to its former glory. I'd learn loads and it would be so satisfying.

[MrPin]

2 minutes ago, Frank Hovis said:

That's brilliant.

I would love to restore somewhere like that to its former glory. I'd learn loads and it would be so satisfying.

Frank, you would spend the National Debt, and end up in Wickes for the rest of your natural life.

[wish I could afford one]

6 hours ago, Austin Allegro said:

...

An alternative for the OP might be somewhere in the EU. Language can be a problem, even if you learn Italian or French it can be difficult to do bureaucratic stuff, but Cyprus and Malta are both nice and have English as an official language. My long term goal is to be able to spend most of the winter abroad somewhere like Malta or Mallorca. 

 

Just for clarity English is widely spoken in the Republic of Cyprus, particularly on the coastline, but it is not an official language.  The official languages are Greek and Turkish.

I like your long term goal.  Mine is to spend all year abroad somewhere like Spain, Cyprus or Malta.

[Riedquat]

14 hours ago, MrPin said:

Frank, you would spend the National Debt, and end up in Wickes for the rest of your natural life.

Hope someone does though, it's very sad when buildings like that go. But yes, a frightening amount of time and money would be required.

[winkie]

 

[ccc]

2 hours ago, winkie said:

 

These are people staying in during the winter in the UK as it's too cold and boring to go outside. 

[DTMark]

On 4G at the moment. Update pending

[ntb]

Hope you're having a good time

[DTMark]

The drive took about 13 hours including three stops. We both took turns.

This was the scene shortly after getting into Scotland. Like a massive Lake District. The landscapes were stunning. The sky seems huge.

As we arrived at 2pm we were both fairly knackered so opted to get some provisions, check in, have dinner at the hotel, and collapse into bed.

Today we took the route to Lossiemouth, which is a lovely little seaside town, then across to Inverness, stopping there briefly, then along the road that runs alongside Loch Ness and stopped at Urquhart Castle.

Here's Loch Ness:

Some lovely places near here. Stunning views and not far from the city. Could even commute so as to have a workable internet connection; in the South East you get used to seeing at least 3G in most places. Up here, even GPRS is a novelty.

We took some videos driving around but one of them shows the speed and I don't want to incriminate myself

We also got lost and ended up on a single lane backroad for miles. These places really are "in the middle of nowhere".

Perhaps the prettiest places, apart from the Loch Ness surrounds, were on the "Whisky trail" on the way up here; really lovely, a landscape encased by mountains, a sky that looks really low, and many "fields of nothing" (my expression for "perfection").

Tomorrow - heading out North East of Inverness.

 

[Captain Cavey]

You've probably got a itinerary mapped out already, but there's some stunning Victorian properties in Strathpeffer if you have time

[DTMark]

Looking at it now, I suspect we'll be going there tomorrow.

Earlier today.. echoes of the film "Clockwise".

"Lost our way.."

 

[winkie]

 

[ccc]

Looks the other direction from where you are but still an idea. Newtonmore and Kingussie are nice wee places just south of Aviemore. Stunning scenery.

Aviemore itself is a bustling wee place with loads to do and just up the road.

Perth only an hour away and Edinburgh only two.

For a place that's in the "Middle of nowhere" in Scotland but also pretty close to all the things you may want occasionally - I can't think of many better.