Why You Should Pack Up and Move to Aberdeen

• April 18, 2014
• •
• Posted in : Aberdeen

Aberdeen is also known by a couple of other names:

• The Granite City – a reference to the number of buildings built from locally quarried granite from the mid 18th century up to the 20th century.
• The oil capital of Europe – a title that followed the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s.

We think there’s another name that you should have for it though… home! Why do we think that? Let us tell you more.

It’s a “property force field”!

The influence of the North Sea oil industry on the local economy has largely shielded Aberdeen’s property market from the worst of the downturn of the last few years. In fact, according to the Nationwide Building Society, house prices in the city more than doubled between 2003 and 2013.* The only areas to match that performance were Islington and Westminster, both in London. If that trend keeps up (and we are saying “if”, we don’t claim to be Kirstie and Phil) then a home in Aberdeen could prove to be a very good investment indeed.

It’s Scotland’s happiest city!

We should point out that there are various studies which aim to rank the UK’s cities in order of happiness and the one that we’re referring to here actually comes from looking at Instagram photos. The geo-tags on pictures from the popular social media platform were analysed to establish which cities were most likely to generate photographs of people smiling. Aberdeen came 6th out of the UK overall, making it Scotland’s happiest city!**

It’s a fair trade city!

Aberdeen was actually the first city in Scotland to achieve Fairtrade status, back in 2004. Cities have to renew this status every two years and, in July 2012, the city’s Fairtrade status was once more confirmed. What does this mean? Well, to achieve it, the following have to be in place:

• The local council has to pass a resolution supporting Fairtrade.
• A range of Fairtrade products must be available in local shops, cafes & catering establishments.
• Fairtrade products must be used by an appropriate number of local workplaces and community organisations.
• A local steering group has to be convened to ensure progress and continued campaign commitment.

Do you want to live ethically? You may find it easier to do so in Aberdeen.

It has a beach!

As well as being a lovely place for a wander, Aberdeen beach is great if you’re feeling more active too, as it’s a popular spot for surfers and windsurfers. It also has a leisure centre, a variety of restaurants and a 9-screen multiplex cinema. So it’s still the perfect destination even on those days when the North Sea breeze proves a little bit too chilly for comfort.

You can watch the only Scottish club to have won two European trophies

In 1983, Aberdeen FC (then under the management of plain Alex Ferguson rather than Sir Alex Ferguson as he would go on to become) lifted both the European Cup Winners Cup and European Super Cup trophies. In the Cup Winners Cup, ‘The Dandy Dons’ defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in Gothenburg’s Nya Ullevi stadium, the winner coming in extra-time from John Hewitt. This earned Aberdeen a place in the Super Cup Final, then contested by the winners of the European Cup (the forerunner to the Champions League) and the Cup Winners Cup. That season’s European Cup winners, Hamburg, were defeated 2-0 over two legs by Fergie’s men.

Where better to eat an Aberdeen Angus steak?

Aberdeen Angus cattle originated in Aberdeenshire in the early 19th century. There were already local hornless cattle in the area, known as Angus ‘doddies’, and a local farmer, Hugh Watson, carefully selected outstanding examples from among them. Later, another farmer, William McCombie, established a herd mainly drawn from this bloodline and set about promoting the quality of Aberdeen Angus cattle as far afield as England and France. Today, there are Aberdeen Angus cattle across the world – they were even introduced to Tasmania as far back as the 1820s! However, why would you venture so far afield to try an Aberdeen Angus steak when you can sample one in the place closest to where the breed began?

Have we sold you on a move to the Granite City?

We hope that we’ve done a good job of convincing you of the merits of a move to Scotland’s 3rd largest city. We realise that moving home can be a stressful process though, so please be assured that we’re here to help and advise on any of the storage needs in Aberdeen that you may have.

For a free no-obligation quote, or simply to find out more, please call us.

0845 430 9333

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24348196

**http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/13/instagram-pictures-belfast-uk-happiest-city-jetpac