A millennial couple with children left California for a slow life in Scotland

• Zach and Annie moved their family from California to Scotland for a simpler life.
• The couple, who have three young children, loved California but thought it was too fast.
• They say that living in Scotland reminded them of their own childhood in the 90s.

Zach, 38, and Annie, 37, packed up their lives and moved their family from the US to Scotland earlier this year.

They lived in California, where Zach — who was originally from Scotland — worked with the highway patrol.

Because of his job, the couple and their three children had to move frequently across the state. While they’ve had the chance to live in places like Sonoma County and around Silicon Valley, life has always been “extremely fast-paced,” Annie, who works in healthcare, told Business Insider.

“Life seemed to be just work – or school for the kids – a little break and then repeat. It seemed hard to fit in a lot of quality family time or fun little adventures,” Zach told BI.

The couple, whose children – two boys and a daughter – are under 10, asked to be identified only by their first names to protect their privacy.

They wanted to live a simpler life with their children, away from the rat race and the pressure of constantly keeping up with the Joneses.

Annie had always wanted to live in Scotland and at the end of last year, after a decade of living in California, it finally felt like the time was right for their family to seriously consider the move.

Preparing to move

In some ways, the move felt like it took 10 years.

“Ever since I met Zach, I wanted to live in Scotland. It was just me slowly wearing him down and trying to get him to come back,” Annie said.

The timing for their move was right, in part because their children were still young.

“We knew that if we wanted to make this move, we had to move before our kids started real friend groups and got too far into academia to where that transition would be difficult,” Annie said.

The couple knew they wanted to be in the East Lothian area, just outside Edinburgh, as it was close to where Zach grew up. It was also a place their children were familiar with.

“We’ve made an effort almost every year, apart from COVID-19, to travel back to Scotland,” Zach said.

Familiarity aside, their children were also excited about the move as they had retained a lot of good memories from their previous visits.

“They love Scotland because they’ve been here so many times and every time I come over they think it’s magic because their grandparents spoil them and take them to all the best places,” Annie said. “So when we said we were moving to Scotland, they were all for it for the most part.”

While Zach and their children had UK passports, Annie had to apply for a spousal visa, which she said took about two months to approve.

Then came the exciting part: looking for a house. Fortunately, the process wasn’t too difficult, even though they were still living in California at the time.

“Annie’s hobby is looking at houses all over the world, she’s constantly looking for fun,” Zach said.

When the listing for a cozy three-bedroom home came up, the couple jumped at the chance.

“When it came out, I thought it was ridiculously underpriced,” Annie said. “It was actually the only house that Zach’s parents went to and toured for us.”

At the encouragement of Zach’s parents, the couple decided to make an offer on the house and ended up getting it.

They preferred to keep the exact amount private, but said they paid about 15 percent more than the original asking price of about 200,000 pounds, or $340,000.

“Budget-wise, our goal has always been to try not to have this huge mortgage hanging over our heads. It was something we felt we had in the States, especially in California, where home prices are crazy,” Zach said.

They settle in their house

Zack and Annie are part of a wave of California residents choosing to leave the state.

Between 2021 and 2022, 817,669 people left California, making US state with the most people who have moved.

Several former residents BI previously spoke with said the rising crime rate and high cost of living were factors in their decision to leave California.

Zack and Annie closed on the house in February, but didn’t arrive in Scotland with their children until May.

Because the couple bought their home without seeing it in person, they were a little concerned that it would feel too small for their family of five.

“We’ve just moved from a fairly large four-bedroom house that’s at least 2,000 square meters in the States to about 950 square meters in Scotland,” Annie said. “It’s a big change. But when we got inside, all the rooms were very well sized and felt right.”

They spent about two months renovating the place while living with Zach’s parents. It wasn’t until the end of July that they moved into their new home.

“The kids never saw the unfinished house. The moment they walked in the door, their room was decorated and they had their beds set up with all the toys on it,” Annie said. “They come in and I think it’s all beautiful when we put blood, sweat and tears into trying to make it a home, but it’s definitely been worth it.”

It is also very easy for the family to walk around their neighborhood. Their town’s main street – where there are cafes, shops and a grocery store – is just a 10-minute walk away, Annie said.

“We have trails right outside our door where kids can go to explore. There are beaches not too far away,” she said, adding that there is no need for a car unless they are driving the children to their grandparents.

“It’s a process where every child is loaded into a car, so we wanted to reduce that as much as possible. And now we walk into everything we do, and I feel like we’re healthier for it,” she said.

If they ever feel up for a little adventure, they can easily drive 20 minutes to the various small towns around them, Zach said.

“Whereas in the States, if we wanted to do something different or outside of our little area, it’s probably a 45-minute drive and then it becomes more of a day trip,” he said.

A simple life

The couple say life in Scotland is simpler – just what they were looking for.

Even though they’ve only been here for a few months, the couple say they feel more content with life in Scotland – so much so that they’ve even started a YouTube channel documenting their adventures in the country.

Although the couple enjoyed living in the US, life in Scotland reminded them of their own childhood.

“Seeing what kids could achieve by being here was kind of nostalgic. It brought us back to the ’90s childhood we had,” said Annie. “You go out and play until the street lights come on and I just felt this sense of peace and safety in Scotland.”

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