Jane Wilson

A Scottish Love Affair

Name: Jane Wilson
Age: 32
Born: Montreal, Canada
Lived in Scotland: 4½ years

It’s fair to say that Jane Wilson is in love… with Glasgow.

“The minute I arrived in Glasgow it felt like home,” she explains.

“I was born in Canada but my mum is Scottish, so I have dual citizenship. I did my degree in London, and I’ve lived in Liverpool and Birmingham, but England just wasn’t me.

“I wanted to live in a community, somewhere I knew people, where life is a bit easier.”

Settled

Jane remembers childhood summers visiting her grandmother in Crieff and although she still has family in Glasgow she believes it was something else about the city that turned her head.

“I knew I was settled the moment I moved here. I bought a house, I got cats, a car. You know, there were definite economic signals that I planned to stay.

“Meeting my husband was the icing on the cake!”

Cheeky

 

“What struck me about Glasgow was the ease of making friends here. My being a foreigner, the culture is very different, the people are different, but they accepted me for who I was.

“No offence to the people in Canada, but the Scots have a bit of an edge. Canadians are so nice all the time, which is lovely, but Glaswegians are funny, cheeky, irreverent, a little bit rude, even! And that breaks down the barriers so much more quickly.”

Entrepreneurs

“Everyone talks about Glasgow now as the city of culture but I could see that four years ago. Glasgow has everything, there’s so much happening, economically and artistically.

“I’ve always been one for starting little businesses here and there, and in Glasgow there’s an entrepreneurial spirit that I’ve never seen anywhere else. People really listen to your ideas.

“America might be the land of opportunity but I don’t think the Scots recognise the skills they have and how receptive they are to new things.

“I felt I could take a chance here.”

New baby

Jane took a chance and started her own business last year, a lifestyle management company called My Girl Friday. Work is now on hold as she and her husband are expecting their first baby.

“I’ve lived in a lot of places – India, America, Canada – and I’ve travelled all over the world. The best thing about Scotland is how you can make yourself a home here so quickly.”

Find your niche

“Of all the places I’ve lived, it’s not such a struggle here to find your niche and meet like-minded people.

“You can meet up for a drink without feeling like you’re mobilising an army. I can walk into the centre of the city in twenty minutes or jump on a train and be in the countryside in half an hour.”

Green card

“Scotland might not be the easiest place to make your fortune, but if quality of life is what matters to you, then there’s no better place.

“My husband and I have green cards for Canada and the States but we’re not even considering moving.

“I’ve made some great friends here, people who’ll be friends for life. And the beauty of life in Glasgow is that they’re only ten minutes away.”

Insider information:

Jane says: “If you’re moving to a Scottish city, I would say get an allotment. Clubs and bars are pretty much the same in any city, but get yourself a little plot of grass and you’ll meet so many different kinds of people. Working on my allotment I couldn’t have met a kinder, more generous, more patient bunch of people.”