Moving Back to Scotland | 2025 Recap
In October 2022, I moved to Canada for a working holiday visa. Then, in February 2024, I moved to New Zealand. And then, two and a half years after first setting off, in February 2025, I was finally moving back home to Scotland. I’ve been behind on blogging this year – it’s been a very busy year! So a lot has happened since I moved back, and it’s time we had a catch-up about it.
I had an amazing time on my travels, from living in Canada and New Zealand, to travelling the USA, Australia, Borneo, and even Antarctica. I’ve now officially been to all seven continents! But the plan was always to move back home after a few years. Back after I lived in Hong Kong for a couple of years and then moved home, I always intended to go away again. Now that I’ve achieved that, this move back to Scotland is intended to be more permanent. All of my family and friends are here, I’ve yet to find a city I could see myself living in permanently over Edinburgh, and I’m sick of living out of a backpack. I don’t like saying I’ve started to “settle down”, though, as it’s not like I’m going to stop travelling and going on adventures! They’ll just look a bit different now.
New Job
So, key things needed in life: money. Which means a job. Now, the company I worked for while travelling do have a UK team, but due to a long story that boils down to budgets and headcounts, they weren’t able to offer me my same role here. I did some part-time admin work for them when I first arrived back, but it wasn’t going to be enough to sustain me, so they knew I was applying for other jobs.
My goal was to continue working in the travel industry, and my experience is mainly with guided group tours and private, custom trips. It’s also really important to me to work for companies that prioritise sustainability and the environment. And that offer flexible working patterns and good employee benefits. I was also aiming to get out of sales, as I don’t want to speak to clients anymore.
Luckily, I found a role that ticks these boxes! It’s not a company that does international travel this time (so I don’t get the same travel perks I used to). Instead, it’s a DMC running inbound trips in the UK, and I’m working in custom operations. They have sustainability policies, flexible hours and are also just the nicest group of people; the team feels so friendly and supportive all the time. Their office is up in the Highlands, so they agreed to me working remotely from home, as I have for the last few years anyway. However, I travel up to visit for a week every few months, and there are often other events or familiarisation visits I can join in other locations as well. I started there in May 2025, so I’m about 8 months in at the time of writing, and happy with things so far!
Tour Guiding
In addition to my full-time job, I’m guiding again! An old guide friend started his own company and reached out to see if I’d be interested in doing tours again. Obviously, I can only do weekends due to my main job. And I make sure to have at least one weekend off per month, as I do need an actual break sometimes! But Edinburgh is expensive, and the cost of living is only going up, so the extra money is really helpful.
I’ve mostly been doing tours of Edinburgh Castle, as that’s his biggest-selling tour. This was a new tour for me that I hadn’t done before, so I had to shadow other guides and learn it first of all. It’s also a pre-paid tour, so I get paid a fixed rate rather than relying on tips. Which is nice, as it means I can relax and enjoy the tours more instead of stressing about how much everyone will pay me. It’s good for getting out the house on the weekends too, after working at home through the week!
New Flat
For the first few months when I got back, I was living at my parents’ house. But I planned to move back to Edinburgh once I had a job. So, as soon as I signed my contract, I started looking. In the end, I managed to buy a 1-bedroom flat (finally no flatmates after years of sharing)! I’d been saving for many years, but my parents also very generously gifted me some deposit money. I’m aware of the privilege that affords me, as I know buying property isn’t achievable for many people my age nowadays.
My offer was actually accepted the week after starting my new job! This led to a very hectic few months over the summer. I had to order furniture, get home insurance, and read the myriad of documents from the solicitor. All while learning how to do my new job as well! I officially got my keys in mid-July. Which went straight into several weeks of painting, moving boxes, buying more furniture, sorting out bills… And I actually moved in the day before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival started, the busiest time of year here.
It was the wildest, most stressful few months I’ve experienced in a long time. I’d say from about late September, things were calming down again! I found decorating a bit overwhelming at first, but I’ve ended up with lots of fun, quirky pieces, and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out (flat tour blog post to come perhaps?). And I can finally display all the things I’ve bought on my travels! It’s also in the same neighbourhood as most of my friends, so it’s easy to see them fairly regularly. Not an area I’ve lived in before either, so I’ve been enjoying exploring the local businesses. Definitely a major life goal achieved!
Old Friends & Family
I mentioned in a few of my posts from Canada and New Zealand that it had been a struggle to make friends in new cities. Luckily, all of my friends in Edinburgh are still here; no one has moved away! In fact, some who were also travelling or living abroad have even moved back. So my social life has dramatically improved again. Of course, we’re all in our 30s now with busy lives, so it’s not like I see everyone all the time. And people’s lives have changed while I was gone, with new jobs, homes, partners and even a few children.
There was this concern that going travelling would mean “falling behind”. Not that I subscribe to those sorts of time constraints for life’s milestones anyway! But overall, most of them are in a similar place in life to me. Many are still single, and most don’t yet have children. A few have also bought flats now, but not all. We’re all doing well career-wise, but still dealing with the cost of living that plagues millennials. And none of them are married; the last wedding I went to was a family member’s ten years ago (to my relief, I’m not fussed on weddings)! Anyway, I’m mainly appreciative of how many friends I have here, and how those relationships have pinged right back to where they were before I left. I’m very grateful for these people and the conversations and quality time that come with them.
Moving back to Scotland also means I’m closer to family again. I can finally attend the birthdays, anniversaries and Christmases I’ve missed over the last few years! And it’s nice to have that support system back as well. Living abroad forces you to be incredibly independent, which is a great learning experience. But it’s a relief to have help again now! Especially when it came to buying my flat, my parents and sister helped massively with that.
Concerts & Travel & More
In between everything else, I’ve still had other adventures too! Many of them with my friends and family, of course. As mentioned, I moved back to Edinburgh right in time for the Fringe Festival. Which can be chaotic and overwhelming, but I missed it a lot while away! I saw the Tattoo and lots of other shows. And finished out the month with the Summer Sessions shows, seeing Sam Fender and Chappell Roan.
There were several other concerts too, making up for the lack of them while I was away. The only one I saw abroad was You Me At Six in Perth! I saw them again for their farewell shows in Glasgow in March, then Deaf Havana, Don Broco and Twin Atlantic later in the year. I also took a trip to London with my sister, as she had tickets for Zach Bryan. There have also been several rugby matches at Murrayfield and the Highland Show to see my brother shearing.
And it’s not like I haven’t still travelled! I’ll do longer posts about my trips soon, but first up, I visited a friend in Italy in May. Then took my sister to Amsterdam for her birthday in September. And finally reached my 50th country with a weekend in Oslo with another friend in October! I’ve also been up to the Highlands a few times for work, and tacked on a weekend trip to the Isle of Skye in September as well.
Oh, and we can’t forget the dogs! I don’t have my own (yet – can’t afford one right now), but my brother has plenty to make up for it. My parents often have them while he works, so I spent plenty of time with them while living at home and on visits since. As my Instagram will testify to!
Moving Back to Scotland
So all in all, a lot has happened this year! It’s kind of wild to think how different my life looks now compared to the last couple of years. Even though travel will still play a big role in it! But I think moving back to Scotland was definitely the right decision. I was never conflicted about leaving Canada or New Zealand. I enjoyed my time in both, and I’m so grateful for all the incredible adventures I had over the last few years. But I’m also super grateful to be able to come home again, to be near friends and family, to have my own home at last.
Scotland isn’t perfect, of course, but neither is anywhere else. But it’s got an awful lot of really great things going for it. And I think all the reasons I have to be here outweigh the negatives. The world is big, and there will always be more to explore. But Scotland is, and always has been, home.
2025 was intense, and often very stressful, but ultimately brought me to a good place overall. I’m hoping 2026 will be a little more chilled out! But still full of good people, good adventures and creating some more good memories.
