What's it really like to live in rural Scotland?

I love my rural Scotland home. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else now.

However, living in the Scottish Highlands does have its challenges. Its not for everyone, but its given me the slow, simple live close to nature that I crave.

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Thanks so much for watching xx

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[pauls]

A German motorcycle club on a tour of the west highlands were in the same pub as me, I asked them in all seriousness WTF they were thinking of touring western Scotland in July ( about 1995) as it doesn’t stop raining until August .
One of them replied that it was BECAUSE of the rain that the amazing scenery and incredible beaches weren’t covered in crap hotels second homes and BnBs
He said the shit weather is what has largely saved Scotland from becoming even more overrun than Spain or Portugal .
He’s right .

[Anita-rqev]

Thank you for being honest Molly. I think it all has its ups and downs, living in a city is convenient and things are easy to access, but can be loud and hectic. Living close to nature can be calm and peaceful, but can be hard too. As long as we are happy, everybody is entitled to live as we want or can 😁 best wishes

[cindychurch]

I love Scotland. As an American I was fortunate to visit twice but want to go back! I love the simple minimalist life as well.

[archiediggins]

Very calming vlog as always. I'm a Highlander who has recently returned to my roots and although yes it can be quite challenging at times weather wise, I am determined to make a new life for myself. Plans are ongoing and my hubby and I are really embracing a simpler life for ourselves which bizarrely doesn't feel like a step backwards but a big move forward.

[andeebee]

I’ve lived both city and country. Spent most my childhood in New Zealand outside exploring or just hanging out in nature. Even as one of 6 children, I still spent a lot of time alone. After breakfast, Mum would tell us all to go outside and play. She had a whistle that was her grandfathers from the fishing boat off Aberdeen that they used to blow in the fog. Mum would blow the whistle at lunch time and tea (dinner) time and we would all come home to eat, do the dishes, then disappear again.
I now live in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. We do have a lake at the end of our road with lots of birds, turtles and some other wildlife. I used to walk around it everyday but no longer can due to some chronic health issues. I do often wonder how much the urban, people filled, environment affects my health. I would dearly love to live in a tiny house with lots of land around or by the sea, but hubby would not, so I can’t see it happening any time soon. I get so much enjoyment watching your videos and just have to imagine myself there.

[humankindnessperson]

Hello from Northern California! Watching your videos, if you are seeing this Molly, thank you, for sharing this beautiful landscape with us; Personally, it brings me a sense of peace, longing for the call of the forest, the mountains...and there are plenty around me, but there is a sadness I feel, when looking around me. First off, I personally feel and wish that people from all walks of life, whatever, could enjoy their lives as they choose too, so long as they/me or anyone else is not deliberately out hurting, denying and/or destroying someone else's rights to live their life in this world, that feels right for them.
This beautiful, honest video leaves me, feeling heavy hearted and as stated, wishing for places where one can just be and not have to worry about someone else's views for our lives, in ways that up-end our sense of peace and belonging, in an already crazy world, which would not be so crazy, if people would stop and really take a long hard look at their actions, regardless of their beliefs, lifestyle or whatever and just leave others alone and get on with their life, as peacefully as possible. Yes, I understand that there are mental health factors, and deep seated multitudes of other things going on, that create chaos, lack of peace or even knowing how to begin creating this kind of way of being in the world.
Anyway, I am a dreamer....excuse me for the long-winded comment. Hugs to sky! My always have abundances, peace, happiness and love.

[connyvanacquoy]

Hello Molly, I live in the Netherlands in a village nearby the woods and countryside.
I love the Scottish Highlands we walked the West Highland Way, went to Mull and Sky...always difficult to leave Scotland after the holiday.
Thanks Molly for the nice video

[markbuten]

I grew up on the edge of town and spent my youth in the woods and fields when not in school. Now because of health issues, I must live in the city near hospitals. I am very fortunate in that our home looks out upon a small woods. We see deer and hawks and have birdfeeders out to attract all of our feathered friends. I miss the quiet of the country, but now I’m content with the availability of major medical communities so close by. We visit the country several times a year to get away from all the hustle, bustle and noise, so in the end, we are very fortunate. Thank you for all your reflections and thoughts.

[kerry]

Lovely to see scenes of home. I'm from further north than you are and small village life can be brutal there - gossips, not being accepted by the locals, everyone knowing everything about you... if you have a thick skin and don't mind your life being an open book it can be wonderful.

[isabellejoubert]

I loved what you said about finding nature experiences in urban areas. I live in an apartment block in large town/small city and I have a little balcony garden for my own green space. I am also trying to learn all the birds in my area and which are indigenous, which are not, etc., just so that I can feel like I'm in touch with all the little nonhuman creatures around me.

[DiannaBarbee]

I am living in a caravan visiting all of the states in America. I am an American so I want to see them all. I have visited England, France and Amsterdam. Scotland is my heritage too so when I am finished here, I am going there. I love the serenity of nature and envy your resilience.

[XeniaSketchbookPages]

Modern life is so complicated... I feel a lot of anxiety and my stress level is too high. I try to spend weekends somewhere outside the city, closer to nature. It helps me feel better and recharge. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Hope you have a wonderful day. Love, Xenia 🤗❤

[lynnemarie]

I am a former urban dweller, now living in a rural area. I am a few footsteps from nature in every direction. My little village has 250 inhabitants but there are similar small villages dotted around the countryside. Ours is, however one of the few in our area fully surrounded by forest on all sides. It is lovely, inspiring, calming and nurturing to live so close to nature. But the downside is truly that you have to drive everywhere. It makes you feel very badly because of the unsustainable nature of so much driving if you don’t have an electric vehicle (we want to get one, as soon as we can afford) If you have children, this issue only increases, especially as they get older. We drive our kids to school with a total of 80 driving minutes at least a day (we live outside of the bus system) That is only the drive time, if children don’t have activities, tutoring or want to see friends etc. It is by far the biggest issue for us, with rural living. Other than that, being on a large hill in the forest means romantically being snowed in (if you aren’t missed at work/school) and all of the happy wood stove moments you could wish for. Summers are a joy, with the cool forest paths just footsteps away and the grazing horses and helpful neighbors. Never ever going back to city life!

[missglenellen]

Thank you for this week’s video. I have been living in very rural Ireland for the past 22 years, at the southwesterly coast of the Atlantic. Moved into an old-ish little house after a separation this early spring. Trying to establish a real garden on my acre below a boggy hill, i e for many creatures, as the house had just a grassy rectangular „lawn“ with boring hedges around it. I love the more slow and silent country life, luckily enough being very healthy and being able to help myself with minor ailments with essential oils, which I am very familiar with for about 30 years. Being a clinical aromatherapist I write books and a blog about this my passion. And I learnt to give online courses and a podcast with now 55 episodes. I grew up in cities like Santiago de Chile, Curitiba in Brazil, Bonn, Frankfurt and Munich in Germany and even mid Manhattan, all beautiful and highly interesting, but too much for a HSP like me.

[Little_Sidhe]

Collies are such fantastic dogs, it'd almost be rude not to have one whilst living rural life.

[yearthousandmusic]

Love the slow paced video. I'm from the U.S. I recently bought land by the Pacific Ocean in WA state and the land is tiny house approved! I cannot wait to build my tiny and set it up as off the grid. I feel so lucky :)

[kariannecrysler]

I have to drive an hour to do shopping. I’m in Michigan on the Manistee National Forest. There’s no cell service until at least 2 miles from my home. The sandy forest soil has lots of pin oaks and jack pines where wild blueberries & wild roses thrive. Gardening though is all in containers for now because the sand is so prevalent your nutrients deep down away from the roots lol. My home is about 400sqft. I get wild turkeys, deer, black bears, lynx, bald eagles, & numerous birds who come back each year to nest around my home. I also run barefoot as often as possible. I do shopping once a month and do cheap child care for a couple families who live out here in the middle of nowhere. I am excited to find your channel and learn more about your beautiful surroundings!✌️💗

[jim_dubhglas]

Pleased to have just found your uploads - Subscribe clicked! I'm a Canadian of Scots/Irish descent and I adore Scotland, ever dreaming of living there. I am particularly fond of my paternal great grandfather's side and history, and there's just such a feeling of home when I am there, in Scotland's rural land. The easy access to solitude and nature abound strikes a chord in me like no other. I am a lover of the outdoors and an animal enthusiast, bent on always being able to help in some way. I'll be back on Scottish soil this spring and always, trying to figure a way to live there. Can't wait to get back to the land that seems to pull my inner being daily. CHEERS!

[evastanford]

I grew up on a rural farm in U.S.A. We had a fire place for heat, until I was 11, we had no electricity, we had all the vegetables and fruit, also we had hogs for meat, nature was all around. So honey enjoyed your life .

[buffplums]

Really nice to find your channel. Really enjoyed watching this episode. Beautiful doggy, so cute. Subscribed ❤ Have a lovely week xx