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The many criticisms of Aberdeen city are fair. You won’t hear me defending the city - it could have been made so much nicer if the council had got their act together. Now with the oil industry in decline I can’t see anything ever getting better. Talk of there being art or culture there is laughable. Considering it’s the third biggest city there is nothing of note.
But.... that’s the city. Don’t live in the city. Don’t rely on the city (except for work). Don’t expect the city to enrich tour life. Live somewhere on the outskirts close to the natural amenities that AberdeenSHIRE has to offer. I lived 30-40 minutes drive to the city and if weren’t for work I’d only go in maybe once a month to take the kids to the water slides.
So yeah, this city is pants. But don’t let that be the main deciding factor.
On the other side of the argument I live in the city. I can walk to the centre in twenty minutes. There are open mic sessions in the pubs most nights and various live music offerings. Great choice of food and beer on offer all within an easy walk. Great cafes with nice cakes all within a short walk. I’ve been to some great gigs recent at intimate venues Tivoli, Lemon Tree and Music Hall.
Great shows at the theatre and a newly refurbished art gallery with a cracking rooftop terrace and cafe.
I don’t have to drive a twenty of thirty mile commute each day I just have a twenty minute cycle commute and I’m within easy reach of three great city parks and some smaller ones.
At the weekend I can jump on the bike and cycle out to Ballater and enjoy all Deeside has to offer or jump in the van and take the kids out for a walk/explore at the local castles nature reserves etc.
Talk of there being art or culture there is laughable. Considering it’s the third biggest city there is nothing of note
Apart from the newly refurbished art gallery you mean?🙄 The spectra light festival a few weeks ago was also pretty good and very well attended.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned skiing yet. There is some, although got to be opportunistic with the weather and conditions. Pic was Friday at Glenshee, around 1.5 hrs from town (or only an hour from the promised land of Banchory 😜)
EDIT... tried to post my own picture but no luck, hopefully this one from the same day nicked from winterhighland will work
Dinna worry, there’s minky parts of Banchory n aa (ye ken).
I was born in Aberdeen and lived most of my life within 25 mile radius of same.
Best place I’ve lived was Insch. Got a bit tricky in the bad winter (09/10 I think) mind.
I lived right on the outskirts of Banchory for three years too (rented an estate cottage close to the river Dee, absolutely beautiful location).
Aye fowk can spik funny in aiberdeen, but toonsers easier n teucher, ken.
Another Airyhall dweller here and am always surprised by the amount of people with strong negative feelings towards Aberdeen. I've lived in much bigger cities and have always found Aberdeen to feel safer and quieter in comparison. I love the fact I can go for a run outside my front door and immediately be on trails through the park and on into the forest without the need to run on pavements and the same goes for mountain bike jaunts. This was an extended commute home last summer:
There are a few options for off road riding out of the city and tons of options for road cyclists to get into the countryside on quieter roads within a few minutes of heading out. If you want to load the mountain bike into the car, you have access to tons of locations along Deeside and out to the Cairngorms. We're glad we stayed inside the city as I think it made things easier when the kids were young, as there were plenty of good parks and things to do for a knackered mother on maternity leave! I would say that it can be a bit limited during the winter for kids indoor activities if the weather is particularly bad, especially when compared to big cities. I've been here for 20 years now and would struggle to move to another city that has the same mix of job and outdoor opportunities within easy reach.
Did my 5 years in Aberdeen and enjoyed it - it's the place I got into MTB, and there are endless possibilities, including within riding distance of the city centre (Kirkhill, Countesswells). We lived in Ferryhill, 5 mins dawdle to Union St and our daughter went to an excellent primary school (secondary school might not have been so good, but we moved away before it became an issue). We had academia money to put down as a deposit, so the house needed some work, but we sold it for oil industry price. Most of the people sent there as "expats" thought it was going to be a hardship posting, but all were reluctant to leave.
Well, I got an offer from one of the other places I interviewed with. It's funny, as it's almost the exact opposite of Aberdeen.
It's in Las Vegas - literally one of the 5 sunniest cities on earth - at a pretty new college. I'm not super excited about the area's sociodemographic characteristics - the rich seem richer and the poor seem poorer than in Scotland, but it has advantages in ease of visiting family as airlines all fly to Las Vegas.
Biking again is very different, but very good in its own way. It's rocky, loose, desert riding. If you've ever seen videos from Bootleg Canyon, that's right next door and if I wanted, I could live at the base of it and commute via bike trail to work, which would be nice. You can ride all year round (though if you want to in the summer, you better be up early).
Pay is ~80k USD, so ~60k pounds, which is good.
I hope to stall this offer long enough to at least see if I'll get one from Aberdeen. As I'll then have to make a decision really quickly, this thread has been very helpful. So thanks!
Las Vegas or Aberdeen lol - the horns of a dilemma.
tbh the College / University would be by some distance the most important factor for me (I'm an academic myself, so know how hard it can be to get the right post for two people) - although it does depend on the role I suppose.
Good luck with your decision.
tbh the College / University would be by some distance the most important factor for me (I’m an academic myself, so know how hard it can be to get the right post for two people)
That's the part that makes it hard. I just don't know as much about the department in Aberdeen. With US academic job interviews, you visit in person, give talks, eat multiple meals with different permutations of current faculty, meet with the dean, etc.. You just end up with a lot more info.
Im hoping to become one of the transient mob of mercenaries myself for a period, although only mon-fri. logistics will be a bastard but i love the idea of spending the summer nights riding Ballater and Scolty etc!!
I stay in Aberdeen and work at the uni (medical school) so feel free to fire me any questions if needed. Like most of the posts from people who actually stay here, I enjoy running/mtb on trail both within town and right into the depths of the mountains, I've stayed in plenty other larger cities that don't facilitate anywhere near as good an outdoor lifestyle. e.g Last weekend, couple of days spent wandering in the Cairngorms
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Looks like some bike magazine has an article on Aberdeenshire riding in the next issue. Bennachie article should be good 🙂
Bennachie
The one place I avoid, due to the amount of walkers there, and the numerous drainage bars.
What a great photo of Creag an Dubhloch a few posts back. Was never a winter climber (though must have made 25 summer climbing trips there from Auld Reekie) but I appreciate that there's a lot of ice on show here; Labyrinth Direct, White Elephant etc look complete. All this despite it being such a crap winter.
Bennachie
The one place I avoid, due to the amount of walkers there, and the numerous drainage bars.
May be worth a revisit. Main paths are better at night (when there are no walkers) but there are more trails springing up all the time that the walkers don’t frequent