Top 5 Reasons To Move To The Highlands

Why move to the Highlands? Well, Inverness and the Highlands of Scotland have a lot going for them. Inverness is a thriving city, with an abundance of shopping, entertainment, and lifestyle options, as well as having the benefit of being framed beautifully by the rurality of the famed Scottish countryside. It’s a hub for anyone looking to visit the Highlands and Islands with great transport links and hundreds of sights and experiences to enhance anyone’s visit or chosen forever home.

To demonstrate why Inverness/Highlands is a such a great place to live, work and invest in, we’ve put together the top 5 reasons to set up shop in the capital of the Highlands – Inverness!

The Scottish Landscape

The Inverness landscape is its crowning glory. It benefits from large areas of greenery within the city itself with many parks and areas of natural beauty, as well as historic buildings like Inverness Castle, the Town House, Cathedral and multiple churches from different periods and denominations. Surrounding Inverness are hundreds of beauty spots, nature hikes and plenty of places to get lost in for the day, week or even longer. Inverness has Bens and Glens on its doorstep that are ready to be explored and conquered. It also sits beside the world-famous Loch Ness: home to the infamous Loch Ness Monster (or Nessie to their pals!). You’ll never be stuck with what to do in at Loch Ness as life and activity are abundant on and around the Loch, with tours, sports, and hikes all taking place throughout the year. Loch Ness is just one example of the many historic sites around Inverness that litter its landscape, as well as the secret and not-so-secret beauty spots that dot every corner of the Scottish Highlands.

Further south, Cairngorms National Park is only a few miles away and gives you access to even more trails and outdoor pursuits, all nestled in amongst some of the most beautiful landscape in the world. If one goes the other direction – North or West, you can reach the untamed wilds of must-see Islands like Skye, with its unspoilt beauty, precious open spaces and historic sites. The ever-popular NC500 route also begins and ends in Inverness, giving you access to the most thrilling route that Scotland has to offer. Whether you tackle the North Coast 500 route by car, bike or motorhome, Inverness is the natural hub for exploring the more rural, romantic parts of the Highlands, giving you access to the best of both worlds of what makes Inverness so popular. 

Shopping

Inverness is the fastest growing city in Scotland, benefitting from a population growth of 15% over the past 2 decades and the population of Inverness now exceeds 70,000 people. And for those 70,000 there is plenty to keep them busy. Retail is big business in Inverness with it being one of the best retail investment locations in the United Kingdom. You’ll find big chains stores illuminating the Inverness High Street, Eastgate Shopping Centre and its multiple retail and business parks, as well as plenty of small, independent retailers in Inverness populating places like the charming Victorian Market and city centre. 

Opportunities

Opportunities for investment or work in Inverness are diverse. It plays host to Lifescan, Scotland’s largest life science business as well as jobs in key industries like oil, gas, construction, and very healthy tourism and hospitality industries that serve the millions of visitors that step into Scotland year-on-year. Inverness Hotels are filled throughout a normal year with tourists seeking a taste of the Highlands, making Inverness accommodation a premium asset to those who have it and a lucrative investment for those who wish to work in the Highland tourist industry and Inverness hospitality industry.

Yes, we need to forget about Covid times and look ahead when the tide will turn and we can all enjoy what the region has to offer.

Inverness is also home to the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) which now has a newly built campus on the edge of the city. Inverness College is swimming in students, swans, and space to expand. The campus is not only a local beauty spot, but ground has also already been broken on campus on new Life Science buildings that will welcome even more students and research into an already thriving area.

Transport links

There has been significant investment in the already well-connected infrastructure in the city in recent times. Inverness has major rail and bus links to both the rest of the Highlands and the more populous regions south, making ‘how to get to Inverness?’ an easy task. Inverness airport has also seen major investment of late with a train station being built at the airport, linking it directly with the city. Inverness Airport links with other city’s airports like Heathrow and Amsterdam which fly daily.

If trains, planes, and buses don’t float your boat, Inverness’s major road south, the A9 is in the process of being upgraded, increasing the viability of travelling on the road regularly from Perth northwards.  

Inverness House Prices

Last year Inverness was named by RBS as Scotland’s best-faring city when it came to the housing market, giving you another reason to buy a house in Inverness. Average house prices increased by £15,000 despite the pandemic, taking the average price of a house in Inverness to £195,500. These numbers are mirrored in the general growth in the average wage in Inverness which rose by 8% to £32,000. Compared to the rest of the house prices in Scotland that saw many areas’ house prices fall.  With prices showing no sign of falling – even during the pandemic, it could be a great time to invest in Inverness/Highlands.

There are some very attractive places to live in Inverness/Highlands too. Some neighbourhoods such as the highly attractive Crown area of the town boast stone-built Victorian homes and all sorts of desirable architectural flounces and flourishes, next to large parks and close to amenities.

The reasons to invest your money and time in into Inverness/Highlands are numerous and picking only 5 maybe sells it short as we could have waxed lyrical about how great Inverness/Highlands is all day long. Inverness is a bustling city, with loads to experience for everyone. Whether you visit Highlands as a tourist, choose to live in Inverness, or Invest in its already comprehensive facilities, you won’t be disappointed with what the Highlands has to offer.

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