Fabio Alvarenga

Name: Fabio Alvarenga
Age: 27
Born: Brazil
Lived in Scotland: 9 years

If you want to know about working in Scotland, Brazilian-born Fabio Alvarenga is the man to ask. Not only has he made the move to Scotland himself, he also works in the recruitment business.

“I didn’t know much about Scotland before I moved here,” he laughs, “but I knew it wasn’t all kilts, golf and whisky!

“Friends of mine always had really good things to say about it and after five years at school in London, I was ready to live in a small place for a while. I was really sick of London.”

University

So, in 1996 Fabio headed north to study management at the University of St Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university.

“There are about 20,000 people living in St Andrews and a third of them are students. Lots are from overseas, doing all kinds of degrees. It was the appeal of the university that really persuaded me to move to Scotland.”

Friendly

“I liked it straight away. It was great – a bit cold, but the people were friendlier. London is so huge and impersonal. It’s not like that in St Andrews at all, although it took me a while to understand the accent!”

After four years of studying for a degree, Fabio wasn’t ready to give up his new life in Scotland.

“A lot of my friends have migrated to London over the years since we graduated but I prefer to stay in Scotland. I moved to Edinburgh a few years ago and I feel really settled, especially now that I’ve found a career I really enjoy.”

Career

“I’ve been in recruitment for a year and a half now and I love it. I struggled a bit to find a good graduate position at first but now that I have, I definitely see this as a long-term career.”

Putting his recruitment hat on for a moment, what is Fabio’s advice to people thinking about moving to Edinburgh to work?

“Oh, there are lots of opportunities in Edinburgh – it has all the big financial institutions, it’s big in education and marketing. It’s a great place to work. There are lots of recruitment agencies who can help you find the kind of work you want. It really depends what you want to do.”

International

“Plus there’s tons of stuff to do socially, tons of places to go and it’s easy to find accommodation.

“I didn’t know anyone when I moved to Edinburgh but the people are friendly and always interested in talking.

“And it’s a really international place, with international communities. I can go to Brazilian nightclubs, salsa classes, Brazilian restaurants if I want to!”

He laughs: “Scottish people can be quite reserved at first but after a couple of drinks they become more like Brazilians!”

After nine years in Scotland, Fabio isn’t ready to leave yet.

“I think I’ll hang around a bit more, maybe another ten years. I haven’t travelled round Scotland as much as I want and I still haven’t seen the Northern Lights.”

Inside Info:

Fabio says, “Go to Fort William and take the cable car to the top. You get amazing views and you get there in no time with no effort, so it’s perfect if you’re with children or elderly people.”

Find out more:

Read more about St Andrews in Fife or take a look at what Edinburgh has to offer.