Ian Osborne
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"Hey, English businesses. Come to Scotland and get back in the EU."
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Cont: Brexit: Now What? 9 Below Zero
- Thread starter Squeegee Beckenheim
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"Hey, English businesses. Come to Scotland and get back in the EU."
Rolfe
Adult human female
I think people are forgetting where this started. There was a suggestion (also see the Mitch Benn song I posted a little while ago, that "failed states" - in this context we were talking about post-Brexit England - might haemorrhage population to their more attractive neighbours - in this case a newly independent Scotland in the EU.
I commented that I thought we could cope because we are underpopulated in historical terms. This seems to have turned into a "yah boo sucks nobody could possibly want to come and live in Scotland!"
Well, suit yourselves. We'll cope either way. Just so long as we can break free from the boot of the car where we're struggling biound and gagged while England drives it over the Brexit cliff.
So does Ireland and much of the broader region. Any other ideas?
The hypothetical is, I presume, an independent Scotland.
McHrozni
That might work. Enough to make Scotland quite wealthy on the per capita basis at least. If just 5% of business from little England moved that would be an enormous gain to Scotland and allow the country to take in 1-2 million economic refugees from little England, beginning the repopulation.
The next step would likely be a ban on emigration, contraception and mandatory monthly mating for all females aged 19-39. If you want to seriously repopulate the country that's the way to go. Side effects may be worse than depopulation though.
McHrozni
Hopefully not derailing, but this is a very narrow view of Scottish cuisine.
Scotland has some of the finest raw ingredients in the UK, arguably the world in certain niche areas, and the quality of Scottish food is actually incredibly good, if you go looking for it.
Yeah, there are dodgy fish & chip shops, chicken outlets and lacklustre pub fare just like everywhere else, but there are also incredible restaurants and cafes based around local ingredients as well a diverse range of global food trends.
I can understand why people might not want to live in Scotland, each to their own, but criticising the food is, I think, to fall back on cliche.
Ulf Nereng
Muse
Many businesses have already relocated to Dublin so one can easily imagine that Scotland could get some of that cake if the situation in England continues to deteriorate post-Brexit. You may be a little late to the party, though, depending on how soon you can er... Scoxit. Still, leftovers are better than nothing! 
It's my personal experience, not a cliche. It might be a false impression, it might also be outdated. I also stayed away from large cities, it was mostly the Shetlands, Fair isle, Inverness and sorrounding areas, Isle of Skye, those parts. They're the very definition of a backwater, it's understandable if such regions have underwhelming cuisine. But near as I can tell, that's also the part Rolfe wants to repopulate.
The place was lovely to visit and I'll probably go again someday, but I wouldn't live there without major additional incentives.
McHrozni
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Rolfe
Adult human female
Who said we were desperate to repopulate the country? All this started because I remarked that if circumstances did materialise where a substantial number of English people decided they wanted to come here (and Mitch Benn is far from the only one posting on Twitter that he wants to do that), we could probably cope just fine.
Vixen
Penultimate Amazing
Personally, I loved Scotland as a holiday (chalet in Galloway) and the light quality in nearby Kirkcudbrightshire was amazing: I could see why artists were attracted there. My son was at Edinburgh Uni for a masters and also at Strathclyde in Glasgow for a short research period and I can't say I liked it much, apart from the museums and natural park where we saw two tawny owls watching us.
Couldn't live there because I couldn't bear to live in a stone house which seems to be the norm there.
If the Breixt Party and Bojo succeed in their plans for a no-deal Brexit, I can see why Scotland would want to break away, because (a) they have the natural wealth of North Sea oli and (b) Westminster will be even more remote to Scottish interests, who want to stay in the EU. It'll break away and it has all the means to become a sovereign state in its own right.
Vixen
Penultimate Amazing
So more generalisations and che4rry-picking?
And your counter argument is...?
Vixen
Penultimate Amazing
Dave Rogers
Bandaged ice that stampedes inexpensively through
I got that impression from when you said:
"we want to build up the population in the places that were artificially depopulated, which is pretty much the entire country with the exception of the central belt."
If you meant something else you'll have to ask you to forgive me
It's a great holiday destination, I agree. In that it's much like Iceland, which I'd find unbearable for very similar, but significantly magnified reasons.
Yup. A no-deal Brexit will also mean the end of the Union, it's just a matter of time.
McHrozni
Archie Gemmill Goal
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Ireland is a small country. There is more than enough business to go around.
And Dublin isn't all that affordable anymore.
Rolfe
Adult human female
I got that impression from when you said:
"we want to build up the population in the places that were artificially depopulated, which is pretty much the entire country with the exception of the central belt."
If you meant something else you'll have to ask you to forgive me
That was a general expression of aspiration, over time. An aspiration which means we can be accommodating of people who decide they want to come and live here. Not an imperative to start a breeding programme!
If I could get Icelandic citizenship, there's a pretty good chance I'd move there if we don't get independence pretty soon. But paradoxically Brexit itself will strip me of the right to live there.
We're all different. Just because you like being half-melted all the time doesn't mean everyone is like that. I think warmer places are fine for a holiday but working in these temperatures is not my idea of fun. I lived and worked in the south of England for 25 years and while it was nice at times, it was too bloody hot to work and I hated the way everything green started to turn brown in about mid-July. Depressing.
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Maybe. But Ireland also has the entire legal infrastructure set up and is more than able to win the race to the bottom, if it comes to that. It's also well equipped to preempt any such attempts if Scotlands wants to rejoin the EU.
Ok
I have a higher melting point than you, apparently. Salt helps
It is true though that everyone is different, but you stick out of the average. There's nothing wrong with that, but remember the whole reason why we engaged in this semi-derail: Scottish climate chases far more people away than it attracts. It seems quite relevant if you wish to attact immigrants.
McHrozni
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Archie Gemmill Goal
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It's all personal of course but in terms of liveability I would generally prefer Scotland to most places in England, even though I am stuck in England for the time being.
There are some proper dumps in Scotland but the same can be said of anywhere. One thing I like about Scotland is the accessibility of stuff. Other than the real highlands and islands areas nothing is really too remote and you can get access to pretty much all of the country within a day trip.
Compared to Ireland you have 3 or 4 cities of a reasonable size rather than just 1 or 2 at a push.
I saw criticism of the food which is odd as Scotland has some of the best produce you can find. Fresh meat, seafood, fish, vegetables etc.
The weather isn't great but I don't find much difference between Scotland and England or Ireland in that respect. The weather is all much of a muchness. If you want warm weather you would look to Southern Europe but they have their own problems there.
The downside of Scotland for me has always generally been the lack of employment opportunities outside of certain sectors and that has been what has generally taken me away.
I would much rather live in Scotland than England given the choice. But on a global basis I can think of places I would rather be.
There are some proper dumps in Scotland but the same can be said of anywhere. One thing I like about Scotland is the accessibility of stuff. Other than the real highlands and islands areas nothing is really too remote and you can get access to pretty much all of the country within a day trip.
Compared to Ireland you have 3 or 4 cities of a reasonable size rather than just 1 or 2 at a push.
I saw criticism of the food which is odd as Scotland has some of the best produce you can find. Fresh meat, seafood, fish, vegetables etc.
The weather isn't great but I don't find much difference between Scotland and England or Ireland in that respect. The weather is all much of a muchness. If you want warm weather you would look to Southern Europe but they have their own problems there.
The downside of Scotland for me has always generally been the lack of employment opportunities outside of certain sectors and that has been what has generally taken me away.
I would much rather live in Scotland than England given the choice. But on a global basis I can think of places I would rather be.
catsmate
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Waiting for you to support your points and claims.
P.J. Denyer
Penultimate Amazing
Agreed, I married and honeymooned in Scotland and the food (in hotels and foodie pubs) was very good.
Let's see: unemployed people who lost their jobs when the local fishing industry become uncompetitive.
And Scandinavia has a low population density (with the exception of Demark), with populations being centred on the coastlines and the southern parts. It gets even better if include the Nordic countries, because Iceland is a great example of a country that has pretty much everything going for it, yet very few people seek to live there even after food security ceased to be a issue.
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