Orkney

[white van man 3,282]

6 minutes ago, mackem said:

First pic reminds me of the underground river on Palawan.Good photos.

The place in the pic is called the Gloup. Lots of sea caves up there 

[tatsblisters 9,371]

Hoping to organise a trip to Sanday in the future with the son in law as he wants to have a look at the land he owns on their and make his mind up to sell it or not plus the old derelict building his father lived in before he was murdered. Just a pity that the crime that was committed has soured re visiting the Island or we would have made the journey more often. 

[white van man 3,282]

1 minute ago, tatsblisters said:

Hoping to organise a trip to Sanday in the future with the son in law as he wants to have a look at the land he owns on their and make his mind up to sell it or not plus the old derelict building his father lived in before he was murdered. Just a pity that the crime that was committed has soured re visiting the Island or we would have made the journey more often. 

That’s sad tats. I’ll be visiting the smaller islands next time I go up. I’m guessing the cost of getting all the materials across and also the build cost isn’t worth it. Shame as it would be a great place to spend your time 

[tatsblisters 9,371]

37 minutes ago, white van man said:

That’s sad tats. I’ll be visiting the smaller islands next time I go up. I’m guessing the cost of getting all the materials across and also the build cost isn’t worth it. Shame as it would be a great place to spend your time 

Think its the remoteness that makes the Orkney islands unique. The son in laws mate has settled on Sanday and has made a good life for his family though they lived in a big static caravan for a few years though when he makes the trip to Rotherham and he sees how it's going he can't wait to get back to Sanday. 

[hot dog 133]

Seriously think of this for a 10 year project.

[white van man 3,282]

56 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Think its the remoteness that makes the Orkney islands unique. The son in laws mate has settled on Sanday and has made a good life for his family though they lived in a big static caravan for a few years though when he makes the trip to Rotherham and he sees how it's going he can't wait to get back to Sanday. 

I think that’s how I would be. I’d love to live somewhere remote but I’d also like the option of getting in the car and driving to see family and friends without having to rely on a ferry or flights. 

[eastcoast 4,081]

Orkney is one of the places that I have been looking at on online estate agent sites. Together with most other rural areas in the British Isles, France, Portugal and Spain. Not quite narrowed it down yet  , basically anywhere away from the annoying crap (people) and on walking out of the door or looking out of the window to be greeted by a vista that gladdens the soul.

One place in Orkney spotted today would suit me down to the ground and well within my budget for slightly early retirement. A tiny school house converted to a domestic dwelling 15 years ago. However the listing states Purchaser should note that consent from the local authority was not sought or obtained at the time the words Caveat and Emptor spring to mind  

[WILF 46,495]

I have often had the conversation with pals back in the U.K. who say “oh, I wish I could move away” and my answer is this, you can but it depends what you are willing to sacrifice or let go of.

If you really want to move away from a situation that don’t feel comfortable then you will, but what a lot of people want is to do it and still have everything they have now which isn’t always possible.

Its depends, imho, on what you want and what you need because they can be very different things.

You may not live in luxury but luxury can mean not having to get on the motorway at 4:30 every morning , not having some c**t rinsing you for council tax or a parking ticket, not worried your kids may get stabbed having a beer out with their mates, not worried if your motor will be on the drive way in the morning, not worried about home invasions or crime, not worried that all your kids mates smoke weed, not worried you have to find 2 grand a week just to survive and have the basics of life, not having to stand in a supermarket line smelling some fresh off the boat wogs BO while you pay for over priced shit food.

You may live in a state of the art mansion with a new merc on the drive but if you really want to get away you will live in a static home with a 20 year old pick up truck outside if that’s what your budget allows you to do……because the main job is you are living and happy and that matters more than all the bells and trinkets.

Its a massive change for some of us, I know it was for me and it can be a painful experience while your body drains of the poison of everything you were ever used to and thought you needed to do……it’s hard to get out of the habit of thinking “must push forward, must earn loads of money, must be busy, must do this, must do that, why can’t I buy a packet of screws at 3 am from the local 24 hour Tesco, why don’t I have phone signal or internet, why have a got to wait an hour for the shop to open again after lunch?” 
 

We ain’t used to just having a slow pace of life without every convenience and a mountain of pressure….that’s the real hard thing to get over.

When it comes to family, I genuinely couldn’t give a f**k, why would I waste my life suffering just to be around for people who in reality come and see you for what?, an hour a week maximum when they can fit you into their schedule or give you 2 hours a week for Sunday dinner before cracking on for the week with their own life, head down, arse up, oblivious to everything around them ? 
Yeah, you’d be happy with that on your deathbed as you gulp your last breath…..nah, f**k all that.

I miss a few of my pals but we talk all the time and some who you thought were life long pals fall away which you can only assume is because there’s f**k all in it for them when they can no longer get something from you by way of company or borrowing your tools or giving them a job or being a place to stop and kill an hour while they are on their way to doing something else.

Its liberating in reality, your world gets small and that’s fine….

Id say to anyone, if you have the feeling and it won’t go away then scratch that itch, you can always go back but you may find yourself not wanting too. 

[tatsblisters 9,371]

38 minutes ago, WILF said:

I have often had the conversation with pals back in the U.K. who say “oh, I wish I could move away” and my answer is this, you can but it depends what you are willing to sacrifice or let go of.

If you really want to move away from a situation that don’t feel comfortable then you will, but what a lot of people want is to do it and still have everything they have now which isn’t always possible.

Its depends, imho, on what you want and what you need because they can be very different things.

You may not live in luxury but luxury can mean not having to get on the motorway at 4:30 every morning , not having some c**t rinsing you for council tax or a parking ticket, not worried your kids may get stabbed having a beer out with their mates, not worried if your motor will be on the drive way in the morning, not worried about home invasions or crime, not worried that all your kids mates smoke weed, not worried you have to find 2 grand a week just to survive and have the basics of life, not having to stand in a supermarket line smelling some fresh off the boat wogs BO while you pay for over priced shit food.

You may live in a state of the art mansion with a new merc on the drive but if you really want to get away you will live in a static home with a 20 year old pick up truck outside if that’s what your budget allows you to do……because the main job is you are living and happy and that matters more than all the bells and trinkets.

Its a massive change for some of us, I know it was for me and it can be a painful experience while your body drains of the poison of everything you were ever used to and thought you needed to do……it’s hard to get out of the habit of thinking “must push forward, must earn loads of money, must be busy, must do this, must do that, why can’t I buy a packet of screws at 3 am from the local 24 hour Tesco, why don’t I have phone signal or internet, why have a got to wait an hour for the shop to open again after lunch?” 
 

We ain’t used to just having a slow pace of life without every convenience and a mountain of pressure….that’s the real hard thing to get over.

When it comes to family, I genuinely couldn’t give a f**k, why would I waste my life suffering just to be around for people who in reality come and see you for what?, an hour a week maximum when they can fit you into their schedule or give you 2 hours a week for Sunday dinner before cracking on for the week with their own life, head down, arse up, oblivious to everything around them ? 
Yeah, you’d be happy with that on your deathbed as you gulp your last breath…..nah, f**k all that.

I miss a few of my pals but we talk all the time and some who you thought were life long pals fall away which you can only assume is because there’s f**k all in it for them when they can no longer get something from you by way of company or borrowing your tools or giving them a job or being a place to stop and kill an hour while they are on their way to doing something else.

Its liberating in reality, your world gets small and that’s fine….

Id say to anyone, if you have the feeling and it won’t go away then scratch that itch, you can always go back but you may find yourself not wanting too. 

Brilliant post mate. Do you think you would have made the move for a better life the older you got mate as that's how i feel . I would love to sell up and go and live on Sanday in Orkney even if it ment living in in a big static caravan though the reality is with the old woman having health issues and us both being in our 60s i have to be realistic about it as my Daughters who live nearby and are very close to their mother and are at hand to help at any time the move to a remote part of the country will just stay a dream for us.

[WILF 46,495]

40 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Brilliant post mate. Do you think you would have made the move for a better life the older you got mate as that's how i feel . I would love to sell up and go and live on Sanday in Orkney even if it ment living in in a big static caravan though the reality is with the old woman having health issues and us both being in our 60s i have to be realistic about it as my Daughters who live nearby and are very close to their mother and are at hand to help at any time the move to a remote part of the country will just stay a dream for us.

I think everyone is different mate, different personalities, dealing with different circumstances etc etc…..so the reality is, there isn’t one size fits all.

I know for me, if I decided to do something I’d just do it no matter what age (obviously I have to consider what everyone else wants and needs) but if it really mattered we would all just do it and see how it came out….that’s pretty much how I have lived my life in lots of ways.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some well travelled maverick adventurer who has seen the world, more just I want to do something and I just do it and see what happens.

Never been a planner, never been all clever and sensible, just followed my heart a bit.

I made my decision to move on a train journey in August and was moved by the following February, just sat looking out the window on my way back to England and thought “f**k this, I’ve had enough” and that was it…..that’s exactly how much thought and planning went into it, but the feeling had been at the back of my head for a long time…..nothing exact, just a feeling of “this ain’t right” 

What I do know is, you find ways round stuff mate, you cope and then you wonder what you was worried about in the first place. 

[gnasher16 30,023]

Personally i found that whole " just f****n off somewhere " a typical grass aint always greener type scenario......admittedly it was around the same time my daughter gave birth so the being a grandad thing was a hard one to walk away from....but not even that,what seemed like heaven at the time turned into little more than a holiday home as we just missed so much about the every day life that we'd built i think if you surround yourself with the right people its going to be too much to just turn your back on.....i like doing traditional stuff,seeing the same faces ive become accustomed to and generally doing the stuff i/we like to do......we didnt fully commit to it and went with an open mind to selling our property in England if it worked out abroad but we knew within a few months it just wasnt for us so came back with a " why not have the best of both worlds " mentality.

[white van man 3,282]

I was once told that sometimes we live where we don’t belong.

my mates that live the simple life just seem a lot happier than the ones that have made their money. 

[Councilestatekid 1,814]

On 28/05/2024 at 18:08, eastcoast said:

Orkney is one of the places that I have been looking at on online estate agent sites. Together with most other rural areas in the British Isles, France, Portugal and Spain. Not quite narrowed it down yet  , basically anywhere away from the annoying crap (people) and on walking out of the door or looking out of the window to be greeted by a vista that gladdens the soul.

One place in Orkney spotted today would suit me down to the ground and well within my budget for slightly early retirement. A tiny school house converted to a domestic dwelling 15 years ago. However the listing states Purchaser should note that consent from the local authority was not sought or obtained at the time the words Caveat and Emptor spring to mind  

On somewhere like Orkney if you dint have some coin whats it like for makin a living I wouldn't of thought much opportunity for a outsider 

[eastcoast 4,081]

13 hours ago, Councilestatekid said:

On somewhere like Orkney if you dint have some coin whats it like for makin a living I wouldn't of thought much opportunity for a outsider 

I wouldn't know Councilestatekid, I could not comment or advise regarding Orkney. I'm looking at retirement stage.

Edited May 30 by eastcoast
removed some text

[eastcoast 4,081]

I'm kidding myself with the "going off grid" idea. Unforeseen (well, something that I never factored in but probably should have) family commitments dictate that it cannot happen. But a move will, just needs to be within reasonable distance of where my family reside. No great hardship as there are beautiful places within that "bubble".

Spotted a likely property today on an estate agent website. In an area that I have always liked and still have an open invite on a friend's permission not too far away from the property location, just mostly sniping rabbits with an air rifle these days.

Reading the description on the website: In an area of outstanding natural beauty (well I already knew that), very popular with walkers (oh dear), very popular with cyclists (oh no) NOTE: A public footpath passes through the rear of the property (f**k that!). The search continues.