So, I’m considering moving to Scotland (not sure if it’ll work out yet, especially pay-wise… bunch of misers!), and the two cities I’m considering are Edinburgh and Dundee. Any pros/cons for each city from someone perhaps a bit more local than myself?
Edinburgh’s nicer by a (royal) mile.
Personally the only other cities I’d live in here (other than Aberdeen obviously) are Edinburgh and Inverness.
I’ve got to go pick up my car from the garage but I’ll go into more detail once I get home.
There is actually one company in Aberdeen that I am considering, though I tend to shy away from towns which only have one company in my field, and this particular company doesn’t seem to have a job listing section on their website, so I don’t even know if they’re hiring. There’s a company in Glasgow that I’m considering, too, though again, they seem to be about the only game in town for me. Dundee and Edinburgh definitely have the highest concentration of companies in my field in Scotland.
What’s your field if you don’t mind me asking?
There are some nice parts of Dundee, and they’re trying hard to improve the city. Certainly the music scene and other cultural industries are improving there but much of the city is still a bit of a hole. It also tends to get hammered hard in tough economic times. Though the council are working hard to make it a centre of excellent for IT jobs, especially games industry (there are long standing links to the games industry from the days of DMA Design being based there).
But Edinburgh is Edinburgh. It’s a great city. Loads going on, plenty of things to do and places to go and it just feels like a better place. It’s also closer to Glasgow which still seems to get most of the larger music tours etc (would never live in Glasgow though, just don’t like the place). I’ve been down there a lot to see friends and I’ve loved it every time I’ve been. Got a long weekend planned there to go see Billy Connolly (couldn’t get tickets for the Aberdeen date) in September and I can’t wait.
If you’re considering Aberdeen I can tell you a lot more about it. I love it here, it’s home.
Anyway, if you’ve got any questions about Scotland I’d be happy to answer them. I’m sure Big Davy, Kenny and my other fellow Scots on Chiff will be happpy to chip in as well if they see this.
You hit it on the head. I’m in the games industry. Rockstar North, formerly DMA Design, is one of the companies I’m applying to. They are, of course, in Edinburgh these days. The primary company I’m looking at in Dundee is Realtime Worlds, though there are a fair number of other studios in the area, perhaps just not as well known. I’ve visited Scotland before, spent a day or two in Edinburgh, always wanted to go back, and definitely wouldn’t mind living there, so I’m rather hoping something will come of all this. It’d be something different, to be sure.
Who are the company in Aberdeen, is it Firefly?
If you get a job at Realtime can you get me a beta pass for APB? 
Dundee and Edinburgh really are your best bets I think. But one of the good things about Scotland is that you can easily drive to the rest of it in a couple of hours, so if you don’t like where you end up it’s not a lot of effort to go elsewhere.
Right again. Firefly is listed as having an office in Aberdeen. I like their games a good bit, too. If I do end up at Realtime, I’ll keep you in mind. 
I’ll echo Chris on Edinburgh being better. Dundee is significantly more provincial. If you want somewhere quiet-ish, with only the sound of local kids beating up students, then Dundee is the place for you. It does have its attractions: the Law (a hill); Marmalade (good quality); Cake (variable); the home of D.C.Thompsons, publisher of the Dandy, the Beano and the Sunday Post. Thompsons are reviled as employers, having successfully resisted all attempts at unionisation so far. For me, Thompsons IS Dundee. That is the mindset.
The problem - it may not be a problem for you - is accommodation. Housing, flats, accommodation of any sort is at a premium in Edinburgh. It will cost you. It will cost you in time as well as money. Dundee is not so fraught for accommodation. This alone could swing it.
Hi Protean
If you are looking for a music scene, then Edinburgh is much better than Dundee, but it is the most expensive place to live in the whole of Scotland.
As Chris says, if you have a car, you can get to a large part of Scotland within a couple of hours or so (that is what it would take me to get to Aberdeen or Inverness, for example.
Let me put my bid in for the West of Scotland, it is not so bad here either. There is a lot of music available here, plus all the CCE branches are here, if you are looking for instruction in your instrument(s).
David
Music would be a big draw. I’m learning GHB here, but I’m extraordinarily fortunate to have that. Where I live now is mostly devoid of musical instruction outside of classical instruction. Certainly no whistle teachers here. The only reason there’s a GHB teacher is here because a local restaurant has a pipe band.
Mostly, though, the companies I could work for in the area really interest me and I’d love to get out of the States for a while and live abroad, and Scotland and Ireland are my top two choices of place to live outside the States.
I shouldn’t think finding a pipes teacher anywhere in Scotland would be a problem.
Yes, I suspected as much.
Hi Protean
If you are looking for trad instruction in Edinburgh then this http://www.scotsmusic.org/ might be a good place to start.
If you come to Glasgow then The Piping Centre will probably be your first port of call.
For festivals etc the TMSA is usually the best place to look.
David
Protean,
I’m a native son of Edinburgh. It is simply one of the most livable cities in Europe - never mind Scotland.
That is why it is so expensive - and it is expensive. You will have to keep that in mind if you take a job there.
By the way, I hope your ‘bunch of misers’ comment isn’t a cheap shot at the stereotypical image of cheap Scots.
Newsflash - it ain’t true. That was ‘invented’ by an Edinburgh vaudeville ‘entertainer’ called Harry Lauder.
Long may he roast in hell.
I have no problem with Dundee, but in terms of Wisconsin (where I now reside), Dundee is Milwaukee and Edinburgh
is Madison.
No Contest.
Hibs for the cup
Colin
well, yes, Edinburgh is fabulous, and fabulously expensive.
I was in Dundee for a few days a couple of weeks ago, and I was impressed: it is improving.
I had the finest Indian meal I ever ate (and I’ve eaten a lot of them!) on the Perth Rd, generally ate very well indeed, to my surprise - don’t forget indigenous cuisine: the fabulous onion bridies, and the famous pies! oh yes! - and I went to the Speedwell and the Tay Bridge, two superb Perth Rd. drinking establishments, both full of good beer and laughter and happy people. Dundonians are very funny indeed.
And if you work in Dundee you can live -as my brother has for 30-odd years - in beautiful Fife. You’re an easy drive from St. Andrews, or Perth - both lovely towns. You could even, I suppose, commute from Edinburgh, but house prices there are much, much higher than in Dundee - it would make more sense to live in Fife and go to Edinburgh at the weekend.
By the way, as a borderer, I’m neutral here.
b
I honestly didn’t even know there was such a stereotype. I think the only “cheap Scot” that comes to mind is Scrooge McDuck, and I’m not sure he counts. I was mainly referring to the fact that people in my field generally get paid much less in the UK than in the States. Heck, people in my field often get paid less ANYWHERE outside the States.
Me either. I recently heard a story about Scotch tape
(which is a brand name that has become a generic term
in America for cellotape) being named so because:
That was the first I’d heard of the “cheap Scott”
stereotype. I think it may have died out in among
Americans by this time (or at least in my area).
For those following along at home, I’ve got a phone interview with Realtime Worlds soon. Huzzah!
Hey, don’t Knox Harry Lauder I think cheapskate and Scottish thrift likely predated his career.
Cool, good luck with it!
Despite my negativity about Dundee it’s not all bad. I was down there recently for my girlfriend’s brother’s graduation and there are some great pubs and restaurants around the university (think it’s the Perth road area). Unlike other councils (I’m looking at you Aberdeen) Dundee seems to actively encourage contemporary culture and arts so the music scene has been steadily improving over the last few years.