I have been hankering after living somewhere hilly, as I work from home in Edinburgh but get out of the city every chance I get, but internet was always the biggest obstacle.
But the last place I stayed, on the outskirts Killin, had steady internet speeds of over 20Mb down, real fibre, which got me thinking it might be doable. Maybe even get a water view and netflix going at the same time. Which i never thought possible !
So I'm wondering if anyone has any real life experience of living rural and staying connected.
Was I just lucky, are speeds actually very hit miss outside the cities?
So far I've spent time looking in Perthshire (Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, Loch Tay) and further west (Glencoe, Ullapool, Torrindon). I'm hoping to get some recommendations of little pockets of connected life.
We have fibre in Aboyne and it perhaps heads further up Deeside. I know it's a bit East of where your looking but it does exist. The Highlands and Islands know its their best chance of long-term sustainability (jobs wise) so its an improving situation.
We've just moved from Bankfoot (just south of Dunkeld) and could get 20+ mbit most of the time and a 4g signal,
We are currently just east of Perth, up a hill, with a better connection. Feels more rural, but better connected in every way.
Oh and can do the view of a river / Netflix thing without moving an arse cheek.
The Highlands and Islands know its their best chance of long-term sustainability (jobs wise) so its an improving situation
But not there yet. My mother lives relatively rurally between Nairn and Grantown and has to make do with 125kb of hamster powered broadband attached by an ancient bit of copper and an exchange belonging in a museum no one seems inclined to improve. Yet still pays the same for the service as those with 20mb+. She's been trying to move for a couple of years and the quality of the broadband in the area is cited as a reason by would be buyers that they are looking elsewhere. At least she has the internet - a couple of houses built within half a mile of her in the last couple of years have been told the exchange is full and they won't be getting telephone or internet any time soon which is a bit of a bummer when there is also only 2G mobile signal in the area. And this is in not what I'd call a properly out of the way location.
Maybe not as far north as you are looking, but i'm in Fossoway, about 10 minutes ride from Glen Devon. You get the benefits of rural living and easy access to local hills (Ochils). For me it's perfect. 45 minutes drive to Edinburgh, same to Glasgow. 25 minutes to Perth and then straight on the A9. If you need to fly for work it's a lot handier for the airport.
Every BT cabinet has fibre apart from one (mine) which is due to be connected later in the year. I've got an office at home, or there is also a co-working space in Kinross. There is a cycle path being built from Fossoway to Kinross. Riding from the door step and I do some road cycling in the evening as most local roads are very quiet. Dunning Glen is stunning.
Downsides: Public transport is poor. Limited bus service. Nearest train station is a 20 minute drive or 45 minute cycle. Pub/going out for meals. Nearest for me is about a 30 minute walk. Taxis can be expensive although there is a bus replacement service.
We have fibre in Aboyne
Not all of Aboyne... just moved there and we can't get it (still get circa 6MB through the copper wires though).
No date when it's coming to our cabinet either.
All down to the cabinet but it's rolling out across the bigger highland towns. Easy enough to check https://www.scotlandsuperfast.com/
Or you could get satellite if you were really remote.
Yet still pays the same for the service as those with 20mb+
Actually more - my internet in Peebles was in the more expensive Market A pricing tier compared to Edinburgh, seems crazy that outside a city you are double penalized, slow internet and higher cost. It was a decent speed in Peebles though and Innerleithen has super fast something or other I understand. My parents house a few miles from Inverness is ridiculously slow, there's fibre about 1km away but openreach can't figure out the route their own phone line takes to where my parents live from the exchange, never mind answer any questions about upgrading it.
It's as bit pot luck wherever you are
We are only 200m from the cabinet here in Fife and get 70 down 20 up consistently, further down the village it gets worse pretty quickly and my local (and reference point) gets 15 down despite only being 800m further away and on a business service.
Trouble is that means the whole village is well down on the radar for further improvements despite only a small proportion of the houses getting full service.
Oh and you should be able to find the location of the nearest FTTC cabinet by searching local planning records for 'BT Openreach fibre optic green equipment cabinet' or similar. This will give you a slightly more real world distance to the cabinet than BTs DSL checker especially in rural areas where postcodes can cover large areas.
TBH though the internet speed here was just a bonus, the Coos outside the window provide far more entertainment.
Convert,
Relatively rural between Nairn and Grantown, what the bustling metropolis of Ferness?
In addition to the broadband thing you should think very the carefully about having to travel for work and what other social requirements you have. We looked at the West Coast but decided it was just [i]too[/i] remote and opted for Speyside instead. Speedtest has just thrown up a result of 43/10. That's with BT.
A mate of mine also lives and works (IT Security for a bank) in Aviemore and only has to get to Edinburgh and/or London a couple of times a month and that's not difficult. A journey from the likes of Gairloch would be a lot more onerous.
Relatively rural between Nairn and Grantown, what the bustling metropolis of Ferness?
She can nearly see the bright lights of Ferness from her house and has a few wild night out there from time to time when she fancies a trip to the big smoke! She is a mile back along towards Nairn the other side of the Findhorn in Redburn (if you can call Redburn a place).
I didn't realise it was called that, despite going to school in Ferness. Always thought of that bit as Achagour but that was before all the houses on the east side of the Dulsie road were built.
The fishery just out the back of the house is still called Achagour. Some people call the area Belivat too. But probably not on facebook because the sodding post would probably not send! Depending on how old you are she lives in what was once the post office.
