Safety in Scotland

That is news to me. What news??? Haven't seen or read anything about immigrants overrunning Scotland. There have been some issues in France along the coast trying to get to England. You will be fine. Immigrants do not tend to go to tourist areas. They have different interests. Curious - where are you getting your information? Hopefully not from our current political discussions.

Ah, the "white settlers"..
Harmless...

The sixth largest nationality of immigrants in Scotland are Americans.

"From the news it seems that things are a bit over run."

From the news? What news would that be? I am a news freak and have not seen, read, or heard anything about "immigrants" (by which I guess you mean those poor devils from Syria and elsewhere seeking refuge) heading for Scotland. Please do tell us how you heard about this.

Just returned from Edinburgh in August. Never saw any safety issues while I was there and this was during the Edinburgh festival and the Fringe Festival!

That is the problems !!! Who wants to trust or be associated with Americans? We used to think our family was Irish having come from Belfast. Then someone did the family history and found out we were Scots who were part of the resettlement program and moved to Belfast. And don't call yourself Scot-Irish because you are only a Scotsman living in Ireland. Damn, immigrants tend to take over the world.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13134590.Number_of_immigrants_living_in_Scotland_doubles_in_a_decade/

Yes, the trends do show quite an uptick in the last decade...but are you afraid of Polish immigrants? (I'm a Polish immigrant myself - to the US). Even with the migration patterns, there's no evidence of being "over run" or greater crime linked directly to the immigrants.

From the news it seems things are a bit over run.

I feel like I'm living under a stone. I'd be interested to see what your news source(s) is that reports this information. Care to share it on the forum so we can fact check?

I hope you're not talking about those golf course developers from across the pond. They can be deadly with a mashie niblick.

Spent almost two weeks there in May and never encounter such a situation.

I actually think Scotland is much safer than the USA. No worries at all. The biggest city in Scotland is Glasgow with roughly 600,000. Edinburgh is about 500,000. Inverness is about 80,000. The rest are small towns. So, compare that to cities in the USA. Have FUN!

We'be been watching (and trying to listen to the dialog) the BBC series Shetland on our local PBS-TV station. There seems to be a murder every week but DI Jimmy Perez seems to be successful as to apprehending the killer. The killers don't seem to be immigrants.

Roy, are you serious? Maybe your are getting your news from the weird Facebook news sites that are more fiction than fact. Sure Scotland has immigrants. And as someone notes they are probably from Poland and working in your B&B making up your bed.

Pam

Thanks for the input, sorry to have offended so many.

Sam -- ha!!!!!

And of course Jimmy Perez always gets his man/woman. Reading the newest Shetland series book right now, picked it up in London a couple of weeks ago!

Sounds like Roy is getting his news from all Murdoch publications, all the time.

I live in Scotland (Edinburgh) and can assure you there are a great deal less immigrants here than there is in America.
what would be your concerns over the number of immigrants here.
where I work we have a large amount of immigrants working even some from the United States it is called a hospital/ medical school/ medical research facility and without immigrants could not function.

Thanks to Rebus, Taggart and Jimmy Perez our streets have never been so safe :-)

Please don't worry, come to Scotland and have a great time. It has its problems just like any other country, but it's certainly not over run with immigrants.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fa/05/90/fa059084dff8cfb31727460ce5aa2ed7.jpg

Roy, I don't think you have offended anyone so need to apologize. Look at the same question in France about Paris and you will see similar responses. I think what causes these types of responses is the generic "They said" or "I heard" of ....
If you have stated with, "I read in the London Times that ......... was happening on ....... etc." Responses would have a different starting point for the discussion. But you did get an answer even if it was a little harsh.

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
(R Burns, To A Louse (1786))

No offense taken here, but of all the countries this comes up about, Scotland does seem surprising! As others have said, this is a relatively very safe country.

It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:

I received some concerned comments from a few family members and co-workers before my trip to Scandinavia specifically regarding Sweden because Sweden had recently taken in so many immigrants.

The only thing I noticed in my travels was how proud most people in Sweden were to be able to take in those displaced by violence in their home country. I certainly didn't encounter anything negative during my trip.

I think that these questions come from the environment that Americans have been living in for the last umpteen months as this interminable election goes on and on. The misinformation about refugees and immigration is staggering. When other described routinely as danger to you, it bleeds into all other parts of life including travel to Scotland. Sadly, I don't think that the election will end it. I hope it will though.

Roy, there are no wrong questions. But there a lot of intolerant replies. With such attitudes, hearts and minds will never be won.

Apparently the answer is that Scotland is pretty safe. Good to know as I will be there in a few weeks.

Just returned from Edinburgh in August. Never saw any safety issues
while I was there and this was during the Edinburgh festival and the
Fringe Festival!

Stephen, if you didn't realize the risk you were taking at the Fringe Festival, then you are not a good source for advice on risk. -------------------- don't get bent. just kidding.

Just to be clear, the Fringe Festival is perfectly safe....all kidding aside.

Just to be clear, the Fringe Festival is perfectly safe....all kidding aside.

You have not seen my solo act.

'Glaswegian reads The Herald whilst drinking a coffee.'

The Scotsman described it as 'tedious to the utmost degree.'

The Edinburgh Evening News 'we came close to gnawing off our own legs to escape.'

Channel Five commissioned it for a three part series.

Finally someone with a sense of the obvious!

Well, I guess we need to define safety. LOL. Maybe I should have said, "All kidding aside, you will be physically safe at the Fringe Festival." No judgements made about mental health or safety.

Pam

Roy,

I wasn't offended by your question. It's great that you asked the question, as this allows you to get some good and accurate information from the knowledgeable group here. Even if there are immigrants, I'm not sure why they would be a problem? I haven't been to Scotland for a few years, but didn't have any isues at all, and I'm looking forward to my next visit (perhaps next year).

...good and accurate information from the knowledgeable group here.

Good and accurate? Perhaps.

Opinionated? Definitely.

Edgar,

All we can do is speak to our individual experiences. My personal experience in Scotland are that it is a very safe place. The emigrants that I ran into were changing the linens in B&B's or running restaurants. Sounds kinda like home.

If you want statistics and data, then let's look at what the Scottish government reports. "Historically, Scotland has been a country of net out-migration, with more people leaving to live elsewhere than moving to live in Scotland. However, since the 1960s, net out-migration has greatly reduced, and from 1990 onwards Scotland has mostly experienced net migration gains. Scotland has now entered a period of net in-migration. Between 2003-04 and 2010-11, there were net gains of at least 18,600 per year. In 2006-07 the net migration gain was 33,000, the highest since these estimates started in 1951. However, in 2011-12 net migration had fallen to 12,700 and in 2012-13 net migration fell again to 10,000. In 2013-14 net migration rose to 17,600 and in 2014-15 it rose again by 10,400 to 28,000."

You can see more statistics here.

If you google Scotland immigration and safety the first link is to Police Scotland and the second to a historical site referencing pre-1950 events. The Police Scotland site is the general site about all issues of crime in Scotland. NOTHING on the page for tonight had anything to do with immigrants. Rather it referenced house break-ins, speed traps, organized crime, a murder enquiry with no reference to ethincity in the report, the sentencing of a Glasgow offender for arms offenses, the sentencing of a rapist, some missing persons, safety messages, recruitment messages, and freedom of infomration links. So, nothing on the issue of immigration and safety in Scotland.

I think that this is not an issue that travelers need to worry about at this time. Of course, that is just my opinion, but it is based on experience and research. Anyone is free to do their own research.

Pam

We spent several days in Scotland and felt safer there then I do living in the USA.

Scotland is a safe place to visit, although you might catch cold if you don't dress warmly. Just got back from a warm reception by relatives and friends in Edinburgh, and apart from November cold and dark, it was as great as ever. Edinburgh, home of JKRowling and legions of uniform-wearing school kids in Hogwarts-style stone palaces/schools, is a great place to explore, was declared the most LGBTQ tolerant capital city in Europe, for example, and has so much to see and do. The 'immigrants' opened French restaurants to rival Paris and Marseilles, by the way. Now the Scots are talking independence again to stay in the EU. They are Europeans!
Train tickets up to Edinburgh are pricey - buy in advance on The Trainline or other sites and collect at the first train station. You can select a quiet carriage, a window seat, etc in advance. Reserved seats are a must. Returns are, as usual, a good deal over singles. Do go to Scotland, and have a wonderful time.

Fake news in a post truth world - 2016 has a lot to answer for.

I had a wonderful solo trip to Scotland in October. I must say I felt safe the entire time I was there. I spent seven days in Edinburgh. I took the train from Edinburgh to Abbotsford and walked from the train with a lovely Scot couple who had a son living in Louisiana, small world. I took the normal care I would in any big city in the United States . Felt safer there..

I had, at least what I consider, a big problem with immigrants.

One night, in Edinburgh, a city I truly like, have been to a couple of times, and can't wait to get back to, I went into a pub near my hotel for dinner.

I sat down and the waitress came over with the food menu. She asked if I wanted something to drink. I could tell from her accent she wasn't of Celtic ancestry. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: I'll have a pint of bitter.
Her: Bitter?
Me: Bitter. Like Ale.
Her: Bitter Ale?
Me: You know....beer........dark.

She looked lost and returned a few minutes later with another server.

New server: Here is the menu of our beers.

She handed me a printed menu of all the beers. She too wasn't sure what a bitter or ale or even a lager was especially since the menu didn't classify them by type.

When a pub is forced to hire people who don't know the difference between an ale, bitter or lager, then we are on the verge of a national emergency. Scottish culture is slowly eroding. Haggis will be replaced by pierogies. Tartan will be forced to one side and replaced by polka dot kilts. And the locals will start spending money recklessly.

Thank goodness I didn't ask about their single malts.

Truthfully, the only immigrants I ran into were working in hotels, restaurants and shops. No mass groups wandering the streets. Except, of course, for the tourists.

Bitter is never a term that I would ever use in a pub in Scotland, years ago and I am going back 40 or so you would ask for heavy or light ( which refers to the specific gravity of the beer) as many pubs were brewery owned and only sold the range of beers from that brewery. nowadays you would ask for a beer by name as the dividing lines between the styles is quite varied and most pubs will have quite a range of beers on offer.
Stouts , porters ,IPA, APA, lagers (well what constitutes a lager certainly not most of the swill they serve as lager in british pubs) then you have all the various "craft beers" don't get me started on that term.
even in England asking for a pint of bitter will get you a few strange looks these days unless you are on the set of Coronation Street or Emmerdale.

When a pub is forced to hire people who don't know the difference between an ale, bitter or lager, then we are on the verge of a national emergency. Scottish culture is slowly eroding. Haggis will be replaced by pierogies. Tartan will be forced to one side and replaced by polka dot kilts. And the locals will start spending money recklessly.

You can already get a wide range of non-tartan kilts. ;-)

As for alcoholic drinks of choice, I think it has been years since anyone ordered any in the UK with anything other than the brand name, for the reasons Unclegus points out, except where the choice is still one of 'take it or leave it', in those cases 'leave it' is often the best option.

Though a few years ago I visited friends who were staying at a hotel that had a very tartan theme. I felt sorry for some of the staff, watching the Polish lads, based on the PL on the cars in the car park when we went for a walk, trying to remember how to pronounce the various items of the national dress and remember what the meaning was (sgian-dubh, I am thinking of you!) to an interested tourist when both your accents in English are throwing each other off.

haggis filled pierogies, now there is an idea for fusion cooking.

Well, I've seen curry haggises, pierogie haggises could be fun.

I remember when I first went to Britain I ordered a Bitter, but I have to say that I have not heard or seen that expression used in my more recent--since the late 1990's--visits. I remember asking about this at one point and just got a shoulder shrug. So, hey I ask for an Ale or an IPA. Heck, mostly, I see what's local :)

PAm