Glasgow, Scotland
Late October 2020
“Glasgow is famously, a tough town. Notorious for its hard drinking, hard living, hard-ass citizenry - and its uniquely merciless sense of humour.
I fell in love with Glasgow immediately on my first visit. I was barely off the train and within minutes was called a “c***”. Though pretty much the worst thing you can call anybody in America, here, in Glasgow, I found, it was in a casual expression of affection — useful in nearly every social situation.”
Anthony Bourdain
So here I sit, still in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting on my 2 years in Scotland. This blog started as a personal challenge to improve my writing and to keep track of things so that those at home could follow along and yet it turned in to a passion project which let me share my love of travel, photography, and my own personal observations.
Whether I did any of those things to a high standard remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, I can’t help but think about what I’ve learned in the past 2 years. Having been away from friends, family, and Australia has given me the space to consider what’s actually important to me and how I actually want to live my life.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have some truly wonderful experiences whilst I’ve been away. Notable examples include going to Oktoberfest, completing a Christmas market tour of Germany, enjoying pints in several Highland pubs, catching a few phenomenal shows here in Glasgow (The Interrupters, Goldfinger, Ghost, etc.), meeting several professional heroes of mine (Tom Goom, Dr Mike & Dr Mel), going on several international trips with Rangers FC, cycling from one side of Scotland to the other for my birthday, walking the West Highland Way, and (previously) spending weekends away in Europe. Overall, being able to travel in any direction, or wherever the wind took us, was maybe the best part of our time here.
I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed just being around Scottish people and discovering how they go about things and what makes them tick. I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed coming to understand how different the Scottish, and all the other members of the UK for that matter, are from one another. I’ll never tire of hearing a thick weegee accent say big man or big yin to me, or an older gentleman say on you go son, or hearing an older lady say pet or hen in a sentence, or literally anyone say aha! in agreement. It’s just so quirky and I just love it – even though I do still get frustrated by the fact everyone over here smokes or how people seem to just wander aimlessly whilst never keeping left on the pavement.
That isn’t to say there hasn’t been some downs, as there always is in life, but they’ve been few and far between. I was quite lonely and detached in the first few months abroad. I got stitched up massively by a Glasgow taxi driver on an Auld Firm day. Brexit happened. I’ve had to deal with being gouged by the Australian government’s RoboDebt scandal while I’ve been abroad and unable to access my MyGov account. I’ve had to pay exorbitant migration fees and have had to wait an unreasonable amount of time to be notified of my visa status.
Oh, and COVID happened, of course.
But all things told, our life is good and we’re in good health, so as much anxiety these events cause or gave us at the time, they’re only temporary and our lives go on.
This too shall pass and all that.
“No one can lose either the past or the future - how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? It is only the present moment of which either stands to be deprived: and if this is all he has, he cannot lose what he does not have.”
Marcus Aurelius
I’ve come to love and appreciate Glasgow more each passing month. Edinburgh is obviously far more well-known, but having lived here, I can easily say that Edinburgh is all castles and no craic. Altogether haughty and over-priced, you’re better off catching the 45 minute train to Glasgow and spending more time here once you’ve done the major sites.
I’ll always look back fondly on the off-kilter and eccentric aspects of Glasgow. Is it rough around the edges? Sure - there are many drug, alcohol, and health-related issues here. It is nowhere near as well-educated or wealthy as southern England. The contrast to London can be stark at times. But nonetheless, in spite of the adversity here, Glasgow maintains a down-to-earth character: an ever-present feeling of being welcome, the freedom to be different, a community-wide willingness to help others, a certain warmness to strangers, and an overwhelming (and at times cheeky) eagerness for a laugh and a good time. I’m sure plenty of folk wouldn’t appreciate it and would much rather the more familiar cities of London or Manchester – and that’s ok, but for me right now, Glasgow is home and I love it.
Here are a few thought’s that have become clear to me: friends and experiences are everything; travel is one of the best experiences to pursue in life; things matter less than you (and society) think and will make you far less happy than you expect; experiencing other cultures is essential to making you a well-rounded person; mistakes can and do happen (and they matter less than you think); food binds us all together; and the ability to self-reflect is an essential and difficult skill.
“Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often the result of a lack of wisdom"
J.L. Collins
I’ve long subscribed to the outlook of making your own luck and I continue to urge people to chase the things they desire. Rest assured, if in conversation you tell me: “I wish I could move abroad like you” or “I’ve always wanted to go to Oktoberfest!/Hogmanay/etc., you're so lucky!” you can expect a rather quick retort of: well, why don’t you? Unfortunately, most of society maintains a very structured plan for life: buy the house, buy the car, settle down – with little thought given to what makes people content. You may very well be happy with what’s listed above, but it’s become apparent to me that many people don’t consider whether that life is actually the life they want.
As Amy and I so often do these days, I’ll express my gratitude for not only being able to live and work in Scotland, but that I even had the opportunity to pursue this life in the first place.
We’re all a lot more fortunate than we realise, but of course, we also have the ability to make our own luck and live our own lives. So make the move. Try something different. Jump in the deep end. Or simply visit us at Inn Deep in Glasgow for a pint – we’ll try to convince you to stay.
JC
PS. I’d like to express a sincere thank you to the small number of you following along, all the while providing support, feedback, and encouragement. For those of you at home, I miss you all very much and look forward to seeing you again – whenever that’s possible.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot And days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet For days of auld lang syne
Robert Burns
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