UKC

I've previously lived in Morayshire and loved being in Scotland (I was born closer to Calais than London), now living in Hampshire (for work), but have the opportunity next year to move to Ayrshire.

Having access to the mountains & water is a massive pull for me, and love Glasgow so would probably commute if I follow through. My wife thinks it rains every day in Glasgow and I'm trying to get on board for moving back to Scotland. Is it really that wet all the time?

According to Google, the average is 170 days of rain per year, so just a little more than half the days. Which is lower than where I live at 194 days! 

For me, it's not the end of the world, you just put on waterproofs and wellies and get on with it. 

Personally, if I was working in Ayrshire I wouldn't live in Glasgow. The traffic is not worth it at rush hour. I sometimes work in Ayrshire and have to go through the outskirts of Glasgow to get there and I do everything I can to not end up there at commuting times. 

Comparing it to Morayshire you will definitely notice a difference. For me it's not so much the total number of rainy days in Glasgow, but the back to back days of shitty grimness. You just don't get that in the NE.

"There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter." Billy Connolly

Err it's not like moray which is one of the driest places in Scotland. I've lived in both Elgin and glasgow as well as the west Highlands and the difference is stark. In moray more then a few days of proper rain in a row was rare. In the winter in Glasgow it eas par for the course. Summers are fine and a really great city to live in. I've lived all over the UK but glasgow remains the friendliest place I've ever lived. 

If you said to me Hampshire or glasgow I know what I'd choose!

It rains every second day. So she’s either half right, or half wrong. Depending how you want to look at it.

Having experienced the climbing grades they put on the routes N of the border I'd say it's proper wet in Glasgow! Pile in/

It's very wet sometimes and very dry at other times. Compared to Moray it's a lot milder and wetter but you have a lot to do in the city and you are only 40 minutes from the Arrochar Alps.

So it might be wet (at times) but it's pretty incredible when weather is good.

I've been here for 12 years after living in Kendal for a couple of years.

Others have come up with the actual stats so I'll just go by how it "feels".

In short-much better than Kendal as far as dry sunny days go (Not hard mind...) and I've had some decent summers here. It's also an easy commute from the south of Glasgow to much of Ayrshire (I do this) via the A77. Ayrshire from the west end can be hellish so pick carefully.

So no it's not wet and miserable all the time, won't be the SE obviously for sunshine (but probably better in dozens of other ways ha.....) but it's decent enough.

As with anything those that moan the most or the loudest probably don't have much experience of anything else......

Wetter than an otter's pocket. Think less Morayshire, more Ullapool. 

Don’t show her the daily sunshine figures 😀

As you know Hampshire is one of the sunniest parts of the UK with over 300 hours more sunshine than Glasgow over the year.

Leith has more.

This is what life is like today in one of the rainiest bits of Scotland 😊

Badrick, it’s wetter than a haddock’s bathing costume.

I don’t know whether the stats on rainfall can properly convey how the weather in the UK’s wetter cities can make you feel. We need an index like “miserableness” which is obviously very subjective. I moved from Manchester to the East Midlands, which is nowhere near as big a weather difference as you’re thinking about, and the improvement in weather has been such a relief. In Manchester it felt like weeks would go by when I’d open my door to drizzle and grey skies, whereas that feels like very much the exception in East Mids. It doesn’t bother everyone but if it’s something that you or your wife are sensitive to then you need to think very carefully.

I remember chatting to a Scottish guy who had recently moved South to get a job in London and I commiserated with him… but he put me straight and was loving it, couldn’t get over the fact it was 6C warmer and he was walking round in shorts and T shirt soaking up the sun.

I now live in the southern French Alps, annual rainfall is similar to where I previously lived in Scotland (Strathspey) but here it tends to rain heavily but infrequently so many more dry days. So look at the N° of rainy days rather than just the amount.

To the OP, never lived in Glasgow but did live near Oban for a while, the weather was bearable (some nice dry spells particularly early summer) but also long periods of grey &  damp weather, not always raining but just glum. After 18 months I was glad to move back eastwards.

Manchester excels at drizzle, we should celebrate that excellence 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I remember seeing some stats that said Manchester was only the sixth wettest city in the UK. Now whilst that may be true in terms of mm rainfall, I bet it's higher up than that in terms of "meh" days.

And thinking about this brings back one of the ironies in my life - Manchester was one of the Unis I applied to nearly half a century ago. One of the reasons I rejected it was that I was in Manchester on a grey day which really didn't feel at all encouraging. Guess where I live now.

I think it might be possible to create a map of meh days using the data on available here: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?panel=gallery&layers=0...

I’ve tinkered with the data on arcgis but I eventually got frustrated and went outside instead.

I should add humour. Or “banter” as it’s called south of the wall. Nowhere does it better than Glasgow. Makes up for the misery of the grey wet weather.

Sounds like he wasn’t from Glasgow though, or he would have been taps aff 

From Laidlaw by William McIlvanney:

Sunday in the park - it was a nice day. A Glasgow sun was out, dully luminous, an eye with cataract. Some people were in the park pretending it was warm, exercising that necessary Scottish thrift with weather which hoards every good day in the hope of some year amassing a summer.

The scene was a kind of Method School of Weather - a lot of people trying to achieve a subjective belief in the heat in the hope of convincing one another.

If her glass is only half full, wait til tomorrow and it'll be full again.

Google said 212 days for my location. 

Have a look at the SEPA station data.

https://www2.sepa.org.uk/rainfall

Where is that?

During long dry spells like Spring 2023 living in Glasgow can be delightful with easy access to the West Coast and outdoor. but when the UK has a bad year like 2024, Glasgow can be unbearable and miserable, missed the spring good weather last year and was only 1 rain free day in August, makes doing basic task such as cutting hedge/grass impossible, never mind getting out to enjoy outdoors, every where last year had a bad summer, but in August Glasgow had five times more rain than edinburgh, even a short distance makes a massive difference.  Last six months has actually been good with way less rain than you would expect for autumn/winter, but again East Coast still way drier.  Summers are usually always a write off, got to get out and enjoy as much as possible between March and June.

Where in Ayrshire?  Ayrshire is a big place.  Bottom of South Ayrshire is almost Stranraer ... top of north Ayrshire of Largs ... west of Ayrshire is the Isle of Arran.   Basing yourself out of Glasgow is doable .. depending on where in Ayrshire.

Re: Weather

No two ways about it .. the west coast of Scotland is a wet part of the UK.  Certainly doesn't rain every day .. but the weather is a part of life in the west coast.  As others have rightly said ... you make your peace with it and you plan your days on the weather.  

Re:  Where in Glasgow

There are good and less good bits of Glasgow to stay in .. often very close to one another.  If you do decide to relocate it would be wise to ask for advise.

Cheers

There has to be pauses between the rain for the midges to come out and feast.

😀 

In my experience, midges have no need to wait for pauses in the rain. 

I’m an Ayrshire boy born in Cumnock and raised in Kilmarnock. It does rain a lot but also possible to get long settled periods. Closer to the coast is drier. Ended up going to Lake District a lot cos weather was better there.. make of that what you will😀

I grew up there and I remember the conversations of the housewives in the town centre when doing their shopping. These started chiefly along one of the following lines:

1. It's a lovely day today, isn't it? (Trans: It's not actually raining right now.)
2. It was lovely this morning, wasn't it? (Trans: It's raining now, but it wasn't this morning.)
3. I think it's going to turn out nice later. (Trans: It was raining this morning, it's still raining now, but there is a chance it might stop later.)

I have wondered in later years how much of this was just a figment of my imagination, so imagine my pleasure upon being greeted by an elderly couple while I was out for a walk near my parents' house recently, whose opening gambit was number 1 from above. This particular lovely day was 8/8 cloud cover, about 3 degrees C and a light east wind.

Had typed a long answer to this but somehow lost it. Short answer is I spent the first 20 years of my life in Kilmarnock, moved to SE England (mainly) moved to Glasgow for 4 years in my 30s then moved south again. Ayrshire’s a beautiful place, Glasgow’s a great city, getting to the hills is fantastic but I wouldn’t live there again because of the weather.

Some of it depends on how much time you enjoy being comfortable outside.

Living in Hampshire you will be able to sit outside most days in summer and many throughout the rest of the year. Enjoy bbq's, midge free evenings sitting in the garden. Country walks and cycles in the forest (if you are close to the forest). Country pubs. Access to the sea and many other nice things.

However you will also have lots of other people to contend with and no access to mountains. Higher crime rate. Busy roads and many other not so nice things.

20 years ago I would have chosen the west of Scotland. I wouldn't have chosen Ayrshire or anywhere south of Crianlaraich but it would have been the west. Now, having lived all around the UK, including close to Moray and Hampshire, and given just 3 choices I would go for the dryer weather option and pick Moray first then Hampshire then Ayrshire.

If you are not used to west coast weather it probably won't be much fun. I live here primarily because of my work but given the choice I would move east.

Oh, don't underestimate how awful the midges are in summer. Think not being able to do anything outside on a dry summer evening below 5mph.

3 or 4 years ago we went over 100 days where it rained on every single one.

But, when it's nice, it's glorious! I'm sitting in my living room, struggling to see my screen due to the excessive sun streaming through my window. There is not a cloud in the sky and the sea is shimmering beautifully. It was crisp and frosty on my cycle in to work this morning The hills behind are looking great. I wouldn't trade this for the flat lands in the east with more people and traffic

I live in the driest community in Scotland - there is a drier place but it is a nearby uninhabited island.  Not crowded at all (but getting past Edinburgh is a pain).  I survive on a Manor and Cheviot diet for hills - or early starts to beat Sheriffhall for the good stuff.  No way would I move west.

Especially as I am waiting, and waiting and waiting on a roof repair.

Looking at the MET office stats for last year. Take August. Days where there was over 1mm of rain. Argyll >25. Moray coast 5. That's really not unusual. I've lived in the west for a good part of my life, I grew up here, it's blooming wet. When I lived near the Cairngorms I could get out 3 or 4 times a week, easily and without getting wet. The difference really is enormous. For anyone who like the outdoors it can be life changing.

Odd that you say flatlands. Ben Macdui is partly in Moray, not too flat.  

Yes the roads are busier, the main roads at least, but the minor roads are quiet and numerous. 

When I lived further east I had good access to airport, cultural events, cinema, sometimes even skiing. I didn't have to rely on an overpriced Coop for my food shopping and could jump on the train and be in Edinburgh or Glasgow in a couple of hours. Inverness to Ullapool is just over an hour away by car, so day trips to the west are easy. 

Just my preference.

It's pretty wet!

Having said that, my experience is that the weather is very changeable and it's quite common to have torrential rain and bright sunshine back to back in the same day. I very quickly got used to just going out anyway, not always to climb, but to run or paddle or hike/scramble. Often, days where you start in the rain turn out quite nice, you just need the motivation to get out the door to begin with.

Having said that, summer 2024 was grim!

I think that was the case everywhere though! It was a complete disaster of a summer. 

I think Moray is a bit like parts of North Yorkshire, there's only a bit right on the doorstep, but a massive range of places and activities within 1-2hrs drive for days out, rather than having to make a weekend of it. 

In part it depends how active people are and if they want places around for mid week evenings when you really don't want to waste driving time. 

If you live in Glasgow, the weather isn't bad enough to make you leave. 

But to move to Glasgow (or Ayr) when you could go elsewhere? Madness.

I would trade the 20 crags closest to Glasgow for half of Froggatt Edge in a heartbeat.

Logie Head, Cummingston or Huntley’s Cave for mid week evening Moray climbs.

You have a point regarding distance to local crags. There's a few but they're..... an acquired taste. I take it you live up here? It's not Sheffield (Lived there for a couple of years far too long ago) for that sort of thing.

However, I can take that when Glen Coe, Ben Nevis (that's just for starters) day-trippable and the NW coast a long weekend. It's effing priceless. 

Glasgow is great. As long as you can get away from Glasgow!

"Manchester was one of the Unis I applied to" 

I used to say on open days at Sheffield that we had half the rain as Manchester - not strictly accurate (700 mm rather than 1200 mm) but close enough. We do get a lot of rainbows with mist drifting off the hills. 

I didn’t think any had been recorded yet?