CULTURE SHOCK in SCOTLAND 2: the Shockening! | 10 things that surprised me after moving to Edinburgh

[@simonmountney]

0:00 Intro 1:00 Furnished flats and ugly paint 4:30 Cider drinking for business, pleasure and blindness 6:44 Seeing into people's houses. Wink ;) 8:33 Private parks that won't let us in :( 11:08 Prepped food is super convenient here! 13:28 Lots more cat people here 14:40 Lack of theatre for most of the year 16:50 Kid harnesses 18:29 Scottish devolved power 19:52 The mythical Sports Direct mug in every house 20:58 Outro

[@charlestaylor9424]

Reins for kids used to be really common in the sixties. My friend has twins and he reckoned they were telepathic because when they decided to run it was in opposite directions so reins were great.

[@the.unenlightened.generalists]

I would love to hear more about the political situation in Scotland and decision-making power of Scotland versus the rest of the UK, that is super interesting! Thanks for another great video!

[@martinburke362]

Scotland is the most self deluded part of the most self delusional nation in Europe, independence would only turn what is a pantomime now into a complete circus🎪🎪🎪

[@alanswift6802]

@@martinburke362 According to your very old fashioned perspective!!

[@martinburke362]

@@alanswift6802 😴😴😴😴

[@JannaGiles206]

My husband and I are planning on moving to Edinburgh next year, and I would love to hear your take / review of the different neighborhoods in Edinburgh!

[@Kakibot]

I'd really like to do that - feels like a huge project to take on though so it might take a while!

[@sassquatch72apeape10]

Don't do it!! Move to the Friendly city to the West,

[@MaritaSynnestvedt]

You can make many lovely melas with chick beans, besns and lentils ❤️

[@DavidWheaterScotland]

Another fab video which I really enjoyed. As an Edinburgher born and bred, I love to hear your take on things because it widens my perspective and stops me taking things for granted. Well done to you both and have a lovely week. Hope the weather in Aberdeenshire was ok 😀

[@simonmountney]

It wasn't :D We lost power and water, and many trees were felled

[@DavidWheaterScotland]

@@simonmountney Hi Simon, I’m so sorry to hear that, but thank goodness you’re both safe. I was in Aberdeen for a friends funeral last Friday and I was worried about the drive home. Hope you get the chance to go up again soon. All the best, David

[@DougieMcGibbon]

"Mystery sofa" Love it !!!

[@davejohnson9632]

I'm moving up from England very soon, I completely agree, the whole furnished thing is nuts. So many places with horrible furniture on Rightmove! When I viewed the one I'm getting (compared with the pictures) the bed and crappy mattress were missing, the agent said the sofa needed replacing, the tiny book case needed painting and repairing. So I offered to have it unfurnished at the same price just to get rid of it all, even the lamp shades. I have all my own stuff which is nicer and I don't have to worry about damaging anything. On the plus side, the walls are white (with only a thin layer of dirt). Oh my goodness, The Netherlands, the Dutch don't appear to care about who can see in their ground floor apartments living rooms and kitchens. Amsterdam and smaller places as well, right on busy streets, lights on, dark outside, curtains open and no nets, feels really odd.

[@RonTodd-gb1eo]

When I first moved from Scotland to England I had no money. I was looking at the very bottom of the rental market. Brown carpets brown furniture brown mattress.

[@jstringfellow1961]

LOVED it. I think the content was absolutely wonderful. People need to learn before visiting (no matter where they go) so they are prepared to have actual conversations.

[@nicolavermaak9032]

I would also like to see the different neighbourhoods and maybe surrounding towns where housing is a bit cheaper.

[@harriet5088]

I had the ugliest sofa in my flat in Edinburgh, covered it in about 5 throw blankets! And yes, yellow and cream walls...whyyyyyyy haha! Best thing is to ask your landlord if you can paint, most of the time they aren't opposed if you are nice and suggest white :P

[@Kakibot]

Yeah I am hoping that at this point the prevalence of ugly yellow walls is just landlord laziness rather than bad taste and a paint job would actually be welcome! (But whenever we applied for a flat saying we'd absolutely get rid of some of the furniture, it never worked out .DD)

[@MrSushiroll95]

I didn’t like the fact that some gardens/parks were private either. They look so pretty too!

[@XXXX-lq8yw]

In Argentina you can paint the apartment however you want while you live in it, provided you return it with the original colors (generally white).

[@bigmeltie1]

Magnolia is more pink-beige not yellow but it is ubiquitous in properties where wall color is decided by a factor or contractor. Presumably due to cost.

[@AthenaAurora]

So interesting that you mention cider; I have joked since moving to Scotland that I'm never going back to Australia because Aus doesn't have Thistly Cross Whisky Cask Cider 😅 The cider's here are so good!

[@InfinityOf6]

I drink cider all the time and never get hangovers! Cider in pubs but El Dorado and Bucky at parties

[@kristinrae1]

I love cider but definitely only dry ciders. I love the cider culture in Scotland and Ireland! We can only get a couple brands in the US but sometimes breweries will have their own cider. It just tastes better in the Isles.

[@katarzynaboro9098]

Hey! Thanks for that! I really like the point about cats, but to be honest, I would say also dogs! How Scottish people are crazy about them here! There is no video call for me, at work, when someone doesn't mention sth about their dogs/cats. They treat them as family members, which is totally fair enough! Its just so funny, how much energy they spend talking about them haha

[@zombielovesquad8751]

Love the peanut gallery He's very funny.

[@panchomcsporran2083]

Edinburgh is the greenest city in Europe. I only know of private parks in the new town, so you shouldn't have to go far to get to a public park. That said if you know someone in the area who has a key for the gate, they are nice and peaceful places to hang out.

[@alicearmeniocoic9566]

About cider, we also drink it a lot in Brittany, (celtic country in the west of France) it's like the national (brittany) drink with chouchen (breton mead), but the taste is different (fellow bretons would say better but since I cannot drink sparkling drinks, I cannot be the judge of that). Maybe you could try this one to see if it's to your liking ?

[@michellerutten4412]

I have family that lived in different places over London and sooo many apartments are painted in that AFWUL magnolia yellow... You might get away with painting it white but I think you'd have to repaint it again before you leave the place again. What a pain.

[@halcroj]

Surely there's a music scene in Edinburgh including the more classical performances of orchestral concerts and opera as well as jazz and folk music. If you want to see theatre, then you probably have to go to Glasgow. The Citizen's Theatre etc.

[@alisonrodger3360]

At one point everyone had a Cadbury Easter egg mug in their cupboard, I wonder when it shifted to Sports Direct?😁

[@hardheelgal7313]

Does anyone know the name of the stuffed dog she has on her bed?

[@kamkitrox]

My flat came with old lady couches! Haha we also keep getting new furniture so need to keep finding places to hide the old stuff

[@Timetraveler1111MN]

Cider🍻 🍏 🍎 I think there’s many reasons why people increased drinking cider in the USA. We had an increase of celiac gluten sensitivity in the last 15 years but other reasons is it’s sweeter which I don’t like, so yes, I love cider but when it’s more dry, we have a lot of micro breweries in Minnesota and Minneapolis area and generally they do have at least one cider or even a kombucha, my husband and I prefer to drink straight well I prefer gin of the time because it agrees with my body and she likes whiskey 🥃

[@edanefelia9431]

Omg the magical sports direct mugs....Im Irish and our version is a Guinness pint glass, theres at least one in every single household here even if they dont drink Guinness 🤣

[@Eli-nc9bv]

Haha, s tou ohavnou žlutou jsem se pobavila. Když jsme s přítelem hledali v Praze byt, narazili jsme na jeden, který byl touto barvou vymalován komplet včetně koupelny :D Takže už to bohužel asi dorazilo i do Čech... Děláš super videa, díky za ně ♥

[@Kakibot]

Dekuju! A teda zprava ze uz se to rozlezlo az do Prahy... no to me trochu vydesilo!!

[@missmayflower]

Those prepped foods aren’t just in Edinburgh. We have it in Canada too. They are a pretty new development.

[@RichardMMarshall]

I have no idea if this is still the case, but it used to be that tenants of unfurnished accomodation had much stronger rights than tenants of furnished, with much shorter notive periods for the latter. Hence the fact that most landlords preferred furnished. Magnolia paint is/was a standard for public spaces throughout the UK, no idea why, so it is/was considered the least-offensive colour for some reason lost in the mists of time. I was wondering if it has less discolouration from smoking than bright white, but I have no idea if that is true. Cider culture is a comparatively recent thing in Scotland, and I definitely don't have a Sports Direct mug, never even heard of them before.

[@emilyevans2716]

Number 10 - Brilliant hahhaha and so true!

[@DavidFraser007]

80 years is a long time! We have friends in Prague 8 and it's the same, about 4 generations renting the same flat from the same owner. I'm a Scotsman living in Vysočina.

[@Kakibot]

Wish we had the same stability available here! Vysocina is beautiful, hope you're enjoying your life there .)

[@DavidFraser007]

15 years now , we are used to it.

[@paulharvey9149]

I would love to hear your take on Scottish devolution/political independence; as you are able to impart that rare gift of "seeing ourselves as others see us," as you are now one of us and yet have a very different background to most indigenous Scots! Oh - and I don't have a sports direct mug by the way.

[@Kakibot]

So many people expressed their interest in hearing more about this, so I think that video is inevitable! I'll need to really study up for it first though x)

[@paulharvey9149]

@@Kakibot That's certainly a tall order; though you could simply react to the reality of the Union - that is to say, is Scotland really an equal partner within the United Kingdom, or is it subordinate to England?

[@peterduff4682]

I am 60 years old and my mother had “reins”/harnesses for us in Glasgow. Having had a very fast and very naughty 3 year old I think they are fantastic 😂

[@Kakibot]

The older I get the more I get it! Especially seeing the state of the city centre of Edinburgh in the summer, haha .D

[@pspence9569]

We called the reins when I was younger. I loved mine, so did my wee sister. Didn't think it was that controversial though.

[@racheltaylor6578]

I love Magners cider.

[@simonmountney]

The magnolia paint pandemic has been shocking for years 🤮

[@Timetraveler1111MN]

OK we can move there. We love cats. They love cats. I’m glad you included in that video.

[@brianrust8070]

I totally agree about the private gardens! I actually walked all the way around one the first time I saw one, sure I'd eventually find a public entrance, because it just seemed insane that they would be allowed to take up so much real estate in the heart of the city.

[@andrewmorton9327]

The private parks are for the use of the adjacent houses/flats as many of them don't actually have a garden.

[@Kakibot]

As opposed to people living in poorer neighbourhoods who all have gardens?

[@andrewmorton9327]

@@Kakibot That’s the reason they were built, it was as a joint resource for the residents round about, not for the general public.

[@andrewhwang7920]

Although I was educated in England & worked there for a while, I was never into cider. If at all, I would drink it as an ingredient of Purple Nasty (50% lager, 50% cider & topped with 2 cm of blackcurrant squash). I prefer gin, real ales or European wines.

[@mcooper593]

Just make sure you are FACTUALLY correct 🦋

[@dangerouspea]

Re: preprepared food - that also is a shock for me, but not in a nice way. Especially when I think about that unnecesary plastic that lands in landfill because of that. And plastic everywhere in general. AND CARPETS.

[@Kakibot]

I will admit that I only really thought about this in the context of "snacking fruit", which is very silly of me! Only ever really considered prepped ingredients to be good for avoiding food waste, but there are absolutely better ways of tackling that.

[@franninchen]

So you aren't allowed to paint over the Magnolie yellow when you are painting it back to this color when moving out? It sounds also crazy that a wall color is that important while getting an apartment. Here most of the apartments comes with white walls and you can paint them whatever color you desire.

[@Kakibot]

In my experience it's kinda akin to asking the landlord if you can have a cat/dog - worth trying but the success rate is maybe... 20%? Technically you're not even supposed to put nails in the walls to put up pictures, but truth be told most people who have been renting for a longer time DO do that, and just give up some of their deposit on their way out. Honestly it's too depressing to follow ALL the rules.

[@tenorclef4090]

Regarding private gardens - apparently Princes Street Gardens was originally private, and some public-spirited person made pirated copies of his key and distributed it to the rank and file. The Council, instead of clamping down and changing the locks, bowed to the inevitable and opened it up to the general public. Or so I've been told.

[@simonmountney]

It'd be lovely if some enterprising person did the same with the Queen Street, Moray Place, Charlotte Square, George Square and Dean gardens

[@missmayflower]

You can’t compare theatre culture in London to Edinburgh. London has almost nine million people while Edinburgh has just over half a million.

[@Kakibot]

It really is a comparison of a capital to another capital - in my case Prague and Edinburgh. Prague is a 1 million sized city, so they really aren’t that far from each other size wise!

[@rhiannonayley8159]

I would love to hear more about devolved power and the level of autonomy Scotland has.

[@TheSomeChanter]

Quick answer - not enough powers. The sooner we’re independent the better.

[@andrewmaccallum2367]

Saor Alba

[@lorddaver5729]

@@TheSomeChanter Face the truth. Scotland does not have a strong enough or sustainable enough economy to survive as an independent country. We simply don't have the resources to maintain ourselves at our current levels of affluence. If we become independent living standards will plummet. We won't even be able to pay pensions at current levels. Why do those who advocate independence refuse to face these unpalatable facts?

[@TheSomeChanter]

@@lorddaver5729 sure thing. The same could be said of unionists.

[@lorddaver5729]

@@TheSomeChanter Your reply doesn't make sense. No, the same could NOT be said of unionists. Unionists want Scotland to remain part of the UK for the very reason that Scotland could not survive on its own. Talk sense.

[@jim_dubhglas]

Ha Ha, Simon is like a Monty Python character with his background comments - made me laugh! I'd like to see Scotland finally get it's independence. Maybe then, I, as a descendant, might be able to move there. Hooray! Go IndyRef!!!

[@aidanwilson6035]

For a population of around 520,000 , we have a great diversity of 32 parks including Holyrood which is unique in many ways & has evidence of human habitation going back 10,000 years ! , with so much 'greenery' around along with 22 miles of the Water of Leith walkway , i don't mind a few private gardens in the city centre. So true that magnolia /beige is the worst colour , don't know why this bland & boring option is so popular , even cold & stark all white is less dull & predictable :-) As for theatres , the choice of shows is much better than it used to be all year round with the Empire , Kings , Lyceum , Traverse , Churchill , Leith etc , there are also many community theatres in converted buildings & the largest seated theatre in Europe , the Playhouse , often has extended runs for touring shows , unfortunately the city misses out on so many big music acts apart from the occasional gig at Murrayfield with no large concert arena !.

[@Kitsaplorax]

Harvest Gold, Avocado and Brown as the main and accent colors would give beige a run for the money. Panto would demonstrate high culture in the Pacific Northwest. We have a puppet museum in Bremerton but no Karagoz or Punch and Judy. I'd rather be tangled in a kid harness than run over by a pram.

[@ernestas9718]

Reins for kids might look a bit off putting. But I rather have my child safe and alive. Also some kids are such a runners! Yes you should talk to your child and teach about safety but it doesn’t always work from the beginning.

[@freya2820]

I am curious, do the private gardens not contradict the right to roam?

[@belkacemnedjadi3543]

I love this nice country ❤️

[@adela9511]

Sadly, I think the magnolia yellow is a whole UK thing... she says as she's staring on her ugly walls sitting on a mystery sofa :D

[@Kakibot]

OH NOOOO .DDD

[@davidwalker9998]

😮

[@scotlandtheinsane3359]

Yeah the private park thing is common place in posher parts of West London, especially Notting Hill or Chelsea. It goes back to keeping the unwashed out of peoples noses. But its a nice perk if you’re spending a shit ton on an overpriced London pile, I suppose.

[@anneonimous9306]

15:40 You didn't pass the Britishness test. You should have replied "Oh no I won't!"

[@Kakibot]

😆

[@belkacemnedjadi3543]

Country of liberty

[@lorddaver5729]

You are joking, right?

[@charlestaylor9424]

Sadly the devolved power and benefits are concentrated in the central belt. Some of the bigger islands like Shetland and Orkney have spoken of leaving Scotland.

[@charlestaylor9424]

@@MrVipasana yes they have, they are considering being British Overseas Territories. It's Shetland's oil.

[@scotlandtheinsane3359]

@@charlestaylor9424 Actually, its not Shetland’s oil as Shetland has never been a country and even if it magically was, the tiny size of its coastline would mean it would get only a fraction of it as per international maritime law. And as a protectorate of England like Gibraltar, it would get almost nothing. I hate the centralising SNP and have no problem with Shetland and Orkney leaving for that matter, but the realities of leaving either Scotland, England or both aren’t as rosy as many up there would like to think. Kind of like another group I could mention for that matter. And finally, oil value is in the toilet anyway and has been for 7 years really. Maybe it will come back though but then again maybe not.

[@ianlogan1150]

If the likes of Shetland became independent then they would be Onclaves. A country. Surrounded by another country. Under international law Onclaves only have a twelve miles of territorial waters. There is no oil that close to the islands. Unionist BS!

[@charlestaylor9424]

@@ianlogan1150 no they wouldn't, an enclave needs to be landlocked. Orkney or Shetland as overseas territories would be entitled to full rights. Just because you are inside another countries claimed territorial waters does not make their claim any less valid. By your "definition" Singapore would be an enclave of Malaysia. And Scotland an enclave of England.

[@Timetraveler1111MN]

Oh my gosh you’re intensely against yellow weird anyway, I am yellow is connected to like sunshine and it’s like the sacral chakra area so maybe you have issues with your connections to that. That chakra yellow. I thought it was going to be awful like kind of brown puce really intense, offputting mustard but you just showed Leica sunshine color you’re funny or white it’s just boring.

[@MaritaSynnestvedt]

Harness, kids, abuse?