We’re thinking about a big move from Bristol. Obviously the main draw with Forres is the incredible forests/mountains/sea surrounding it, but we need to live somewhere practical and it seems to tick all the boxes when we’ve visited.

Any info on primary and the secondary? I’ve heard that people are generally welcoming in a low key way which suits us. Any issues with schools, pubs, etc for newcomers? Accepting that tossers live everywhere, are most people reasonably accepting of people with different coloured skin to them? I’m mixed race, with past experience that means I’d like to live somewhere that isn’t too backwards. FWIW I was in the Mossett Tavern on Saturday night and it was fine – scarpered when the disco started though!

Seems to have decent affordable housing and some family facilities (like pubs, 3 butchers, 2 bakeries & a leisure centre). Also it’s close to Inverness airport so we can visit family down south relatively easily.

Apparently the midge situation isn’t too bad and as a southerner I’m not going to say I’m not concerned about 6 months of freezing wet darkness, but the Moray microclimate seems to be a real thing, and I’m planning on taking up Zwift and video gaming anyway 😉

The high school doesn’t get a great reputation. I base that on the comments of colleagues with kids there rather than just the general scuttlebutt. Seems to centre about poor behaviour management and ineffective leadership. However, you’ll probably find others who say the opposite and depending on what you and your kids are like it may not matter.

Other than that my colleagues that live there seem to like it well enough.

I pass through it regularly, en route from Aviemore to Findhorn and Burghead. If/when I decide that Aviemore is too cold in the winter for my aging bones, Forres would definitely feature on my list of likely locations.

Welcome!

I’m a recent returner to the area. Born in Elgin but moved back (with a plummy English accent) 18 months ago after 46 years away. I’m near Ferness inland a bit but travel through Forres most days for work. I probably call Nairn my ‘town’ though.

Love the area. This bit of the Moray is pretty diverse as the Highlands go. I think 18% are English and with Kinloss barracks (previously RAF Kinloss) there are plenty of outsiders.Drier statistically than Hampshire where I came from.

Forres specifically……it’s nice enough. Good high street if that’s important and it’s expanding fast with lots of new houses. It’s a tiny bit something of nothing though. It’s not got the beach like Nairn, Lossie or Findhorn (Findhorn is nice but not sure I’d want to live there). It’s not got the Cairngorms like Aviemore or Grantown. It’s just a small town close to good stuff if that makes sense. Nairn high street is very average and the town looks pretty miserable from the A98 as you pass through it. But if I was to live in a town rather than the countryside I think I choose it over Forres for the beach literally on your doorstep.

PM me for more details if you want to. But moving here was the best thing we ever did and exceeded expectations.

But if I was to live in a town rather than the countryside I think I choose it over Forres for the beach literally on your doorstep.

I’d choose Nairn over Forres too but that’s probably down to familiarity as much as anything.

One of my staff lives there, after half a life kayaking the Zambezi, sea kayak guide and snowboard instructor in NZ and leading mountain expeditions and canoe trips in North America. He and his family love the area and can’t see themselves leaving, certainly until the young kids leave school (15 years time…).

His view is its the balance of everything – beach to surf, but schools, shops and community nearby. Mountains close, but not mountain weather. Sunshine rather than midges etc.

Forres and Nairn are where my dad came from, used go up there a bit, it’s a nice enough area, couple of mates live there still, they love it, but it’s more semi retirement for them after doing their time in the army.

I’m in Bristol as well, what’s pushing thf move, Bristol has a lot to offer, especially kids, and is way warmer all year round, is it work or a change driving this, is everyone on board with such a huge change in area and lifestyle?

Forres specifically……it’s nice enough. Good high street if that’s important and it’s expanding fast with lots of new houses. It’s a tiny bit something of nothing though.

We know a family that live in Forres which will really help my daughter settle into a new school/lifestyle so that’s a big consideration. Forres seems like there’s enough scope to go for a quick road/mountain bike ride from the doorstep, as well as options for longer adventures.

if I was to live in a town rather than the countryside I think I choose it over Forres for the beach literally on your doorstep.

It’s a great point about the beach at Nairn, we visited Kingsteps at the weekend and it was stunning. My wife and daughter love the sea (I’m more about the forest & mountains), but I think knowing people in Forres will be more important to them.

PM me for more details if you want to. But moving here was the best thing we ever did and exceeded expectations.

Appreciate the offer @convert! Might take you up on the offer if/when things become more certain. It’s very exciting!

I’d tend to go along with what @Spin says about the secondary school – pretty much what we’ve been hearing. We’re along the road in Elgin but a lot of info exchange on the schools.

Moray coastal plain in general is decent, weather maybe not quite as benign as it used to be but pretty good all the same. Beach is nice too get to (plenty of options) and hills equally so. Good road and MTB riding all over.

Cultural stuff you might struggle with, as in access to cultural activities. The “you’re face doesn’t fit attitude” may be present but would be the case with anyone incoming. Plenty of services families about, and they are much more integrated than they used to be, rather than in RAF ghetto accommodation.

I’m in Bristol as well, what’s pushing thf move, Bristol has a lot to offer, especially kids, and is way warmer all year round, is it work or a change driving this, is everyone on board with such a huge change in area and lifestyle?

@argee I can work where I want, hopefully for the rest of my career. We’ve been searching for somewhere with beaches, mountains and forests as the best times the 3 of us have are in those places. Bristol is pretty good, with loads of decent riding spots within a couple of hours and beaches and mountains a bit further away. Tbh If the beaches along the Bristol channel were less muddy and more sandy this might be the best place in the world to live. But the traffic and pollution is pretty bad, as are the secondary school options we have. It’s too hot here in summer and I think it might actually rain more here than in Forres!

We really love what Bristol has to offer. Been here a long time and had some great times, but we’re ready to try a new adventure and a change of pace.

Grew up there and lived there 26 years , not what it used to be but what small town is these days , i still get through at least once a month , simply is what you make it , some small minded people but thats the norm , few primary schools and the secondary i have no complaints , lot of pupils went on to do very well for themselves in years below me and above so cannot be that all bad .. findhorn beach small drive away and nairn not too far either , roseisle along from findhorn also a nice one and plenty fire roads and tarmac routes all out the back likes of romach reservoir area and out towards darnaway , also dava way offroad forres to grantown , mosset probably best pub atm good food also few shut now but the atmosphere was good while back , faces fit in all over as when the RAF were based nearby there was always different shades and tones so that wouldnt be a problem anywhere , inverness 1/2 hour on train or 45 mins in car and aviemore , cairngorms about same time , lots of tivers , lochs , bike trails and quiet bits to escape to , midges rare and winters ever milder …

@navajo77 if I’m honest the german sausage bar at Roseisle sold the area to me immediately.

Great to hear so much good stuff about the area and lifestyle – also good to hear about the RAF creating some acceptance of different faces, hadn’t really thought of that but makes sense.

Interesting consensus about Forres Academy. We’ve got a few years to worry about that and get to know the surrounding towns better.

Not too worried about culture – the landscape generates it – maybe in a different way to a city but there’s plenty of lovely things happening. Plus musically there’s Mogwai, the Beta Band, King Creosote, bagpipes etc to keep me going.

Is Inverness that practical as a flying from destination?

If connection to relatives is important the other end of the A9, Fife, Perth and Kinross (Perth end of P&K obviously) Stirling are all pretty lovely places to live with access to lots of outdoors without the additional A9 drag.

I say that fully loving the forres Elgin Inverness area, not that I have ever lived there.

Both the Army (Engineers) at Kinloss & the RAF at Lossiemouth expand the area’s diversity.
But it is also wee a bit borderline Conservative as a result of so many folk attached to the ‘Establishment’; shouldn’t be a problem, no one I know up there grumbles much about it but the MP is a Tory.
Biking on road and trail, wildlife in the sea, on the coast and in the forests; kayaking & surfing, skiing & snowboarding, mountain walking & climbing. The amazing bakery up in Grantown is run by a Kiwi who blew in a dozen or more years ago and stayed…
There are lots of local food producers on a ‘Farm Shop’ scale, so buying local is well worth following.
There’s a strong running community locally, with a very well liked ultra running series organised by Kyle Grieg out of Forres, the Moray Way ultra series events. Lots of more sensible running groups too. I visit the Moray coast several times a year, mostly supporting events there and the locals all seem very happy indeed with their life choices, many of them incomers originally. Seems there’s not much in the way of negatives but loads of positives.
As an example, the Moray Coastal Way is a surprisingly good trail ride, start in Forres, out to Findhorn and ride east along the coast to Buckie or Cullen, then head inland for (say) Keith via the Fishwives Path to get a train home. Happy days..

Fwiw, we moved up to Scotland from over a decade in Sheffield in 2008. Sheffield was a great place for us. We were nearby to family and had good jobs.

Howeve, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done.

The experiences and opportunities our children have had is amazing. The natural environment is frankly stunning, and every time I head back to see family who have over crowded country parks and long queues for attractions, how nice Scotland is. Imo the whole education system is better, not perfect, but better. As our three now head into college and university, it continues to be excellent.

We’ve found work. We’ve a house we can afford. We’ve great friends, who’ve welcomed us.

The only downsides – it’s a long trip back to see family and the weather can be crap at the shoulders of the year.

We’re not leaving.

Kevin at the Bike Bothy is a lovely guy.

Something to bear in mind about a lot of highland towns is that they are a lot more socially mixed than many people think. Driving through or coming as a tourist doesn’t usually reveal that. For example Nairn has neighbourhoods in the bottom and top deciles of the SIMD.

Spent a year living in Moray, nice combination of beaches, forest and nice access to the Cairngorms and the far north. Moray coast has it’s own micro-climate – it can be sunny whilst it’s raining everywhere else. Moved back to Scotland after living down-south for 30 years – Mrs DB loves it, she’s a Kentish/Sussex girl and now a paid-up SNP member.

My home town! I moved away in 1998 for Uni and now live on the south coast of England, however my Mum still lives there. In terms of diversity it’s a lot better than it was, but it’s hardly multi-ethnic. I bumped into the one Asian lad in my year a while back and he told me about some of the fairly grim racism he’d had at the Academy – however this was 25 years ago and seemed to come from two lads in particular. No idea what the Academy is like now, but I’m struck by how much less rough secondary schools are down south from what I experienced (and took part in…) in the Academy.

I could never live there again, it does have a ‘wee town’ air about it and I was pretty desperate to get away when I was 18, but there seems to be a lot more to do there for kids there nowadays. As mentioned above, the Bike Bothy is a great shop, and the Pop Gallery seems to regularly have interesting stuff on. As you say OP, great countryside nearby, and zero midges in and around the town.

I’m from Elgin originally but left in 95 and ended up in east lothian after a stint in London. Forres is nice , It’s big USP used to be that it won ‘Britain in Bloom’ virtually every year. When I was a teenager had a rep for being full of stoners but then so was every little town. It’s close to loads of nice wee beaches and Culbin sands if your a dog walker. I’d say Aviemore is probably less than 40 minutes away on a good day. Wee railway station with a decent service.
I was back home two weeks ago and did a lot of walking with the dogs , though I never would move back if forced to I’d actually settle in Lossiemouth which is lovely in the summer and has a couple of good restaraunts and pubs (Elgin has seen better days sadly)
Too summarize you could do a lot worse than Forres and Im sure its cheaper than Nairn .

One of my oldest friends from back in Manc owns the army surplus shop in Forres. I’ve never been but he seems to love the place.

Nairns nice enough got mates there ex RAF that settled post Lossiemouth.

It’d be somewhere id happily live

UPDATE: House down here has sold SSTC so we’re targeting a move in summer in time for the next school year!

We just got back from a week in Forres, so excited to get up there proper – it’s hard to describe to people that haven’t been, but there’s something about the area that feels magical to us, and Forres itself has a lot going for it for a family.

We visited the school (Andersons) and daughter liked it so that was a relief. The struggle will be finding a place to live – ideally we’d like to rent first but there’s basically nothing. We viewed some places for sale, but hard to do in a few days, and the chances of our offer being accepted while we’re in the English house selling process (even with no chain) is pretty low.

Anyone have a 2ish bedroom place for rent, or a 4ish bed place for sale, get in touch!

Good stuff, have you looked at the new builds up in that area, loads around i believe, not cheap unfortunately due to the reasons stated earlier by others.

I find (over the years) that joining facebook groups associated with the area can help, so any Forres Locals style group would be good, then asking a question can get a few local responses from those with the info you’re after.

it’s hard to describe to people that haven’t been, but there’s something about the area that feels magical to us,

My memories of living in the area are mainly of amazing rainbows – just great light generally – even in the middle of then night (moving from the South West in the middle of summer your body clock is going to be in for a bit of a shock!) – but just amazing skies, rainbows and sun dogs.

@argee the new builds are all a fair old walk from the school we’ve chosen (the one the only kid my daughter knows in Forres goes to). Good idea on Facebook, have joined a few now.

just amazing skies, rainbows and sun dogs.

I’ve never even heard of sun dogs @maccruiskeen! Never really lived anywhere with a visible horizon, so the sense of space and light is immense.

Never really lived anywhere with a visible horizon, so the sense of space and light is immense.

I had to drive to Leeds the other night how ‘present’ the sky is there – reminded me a lot of around Forres in that respect – I remember driving there with a friend from London who was convinced the sky was getting closer the further north we drove. When we got to Leeds he just kept saying ‘its got a really low roof on it!’

But yes around Forres the sky seems to be right in front of you rather than over you.

Housing is a challenge – rentals it’s definitely worth getting in with local groups online, Gumtree and FB marketplace…
You may have to compromise on the walk to school at first – but Andersons is good school it seems.

I can see mrs_oab and I moving Speyside – Moray way in a few years…

Update. Well, we brought a house! Very little stock that appealed came up, so when something did mrsbunk flew up to take a look and loved it. We put in an offer even though we figured the buyers wouldn’t be interested as we hadn’t exchanged on our place in England yet.

We were slightly shocked when it was accepted, and, a few months on, we’re moving in next week and I finally got to view it today!

Thankfully it was great. It seemed bigger than in the pics, and very nice and solid. Garage is awesome too. The whole thing is a massive leap into the unknown and our friends and family mostly think we are mad, but it feels so right so far.

Fingers crossed for winter though 🥶

Great news!

Pics?

One thing to keep in mind if either of you look a bit witchy, they put witches in a barrel with spikes on the inside and roll them down a hill. As others have said, it is fine enough but more close to other attractions than actually having them.

Great news! Enjoy discovering the new hills and trails, your kids learning what a ‘piece’ is and the long summer evenings that are left.

I share scotroutes thoughts that Moray could be a place I end up in the future…

Thanks @duckman, pretending to be a witch sounds like a fun hobby if mountain biking stops providing my adrenaline.

it is fine enough but more close to other attractions than actually having them.

Yeah definitely. Having lived in Bath and Bristol for a while I’m happy not to be in a “destination” now, and Forres seems really liveable, if that’s a word?

brilliant, give a shout when you move up @thebunk.

@convert also in the area and I’m sure happy to chum along for a spin/chat.

Great news. If long disctance / overnight gravel biking is your thing:

Forres > Coastal Path to Spey Bay > Speyside Way to Grantown > Dava Way back to Forres

.. that’s my route plan for Saturday ^^ as it happens!

@kcal @convert a spin/chat would be brilliant. I might have to build up to 100 milers though @rugbydick, but it does appeal.

Pootled to Roseisle via Findhorn today and met up with mrsbunk and littlemissbunk for a splash in the waves, was brilliant. Pic for @duncancallum

Looks shite, cannot see why you moved up there 😉