I can see some footwork is going to be required

[winterbadger]

Scoping out Orkney from here, I see that there are two estate agents (and two lawyers who double as estate agents) there who have discovered the selling power of Teh Intarwebz. They have some very nice properties for sale, and if I were thinking of living on Orkney Mainland longterm I might even be willing to take on the challenge of a "former dwellinghouse requiring complete renovation" that looks to be a traditional stone farmhouse with "mains water and electricity nearby" (oh, I can only imagine what range of estate agent venality is compressed into that word "nearby") with a 1/2 acre of land for £25,000. For a nine-month stay, however, that seems a bit risky...

In terms of rentals, though, they have nothing to offer. Various search engines generally say 0 (there's no Gumtree: Kirkwall :-), though one helpfully gave me four listings for flats it claimed were on Orkney. Two were in Thurso and one in Castletown (all on the opposite side of the Pentland Firth--a great pipe tune but a rather expensive commute). The fourth was, of course, in Kreuzberg--a district of Berlin (WTF?) There appear to be two papers, one of which simply links you to the two attorneys, the other of which had two flats listed...for sale.

So I suspect that either people don't rent much there, and/or that people who rent go through some process that isn't readily web accessible. :-) So I'll get in touch with folks at the college and see what they say.

In the meantime, I'm soaking up as much of this very cool site as I can.

And chuckling over this strip, which seems to be the Orkney equivalent of Garfield, Cathy, and The Broons combined.

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I suspect word of mouth or phonecalls will get more info on Orkney stuff.. love that strip, started reading the archive now, I'm hooked, a lot like Calvin and Hobbes in some ways :)

[winterbadger]

[word of mouth] Yeah, I'm suspecting that, which is a bit of a bother as it means I probably can't do *anything* (like even figure out *where* flats are usually available or how much they cost) without going there.

[Calvin & Hobbes] Yes, the drawing style in particular is quite similar. I'd read about half a dozen so far and didn't see quite as much imagination and whimsy as I expect from C&H, but maybe I just need to read more.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

well, phone calls to the local estate agents might do it at least..

Did you start from the beginning when they first move up there? Lovely little asides.. I should stop at strip 88 and go find some lunch, mind!

[winterbadger]

[phone calls to the estate agents] Sadly, not really a practical solution from 3,400 miles and five time zones away.

[dativesingular.livejournal.com]

Skype, my friend. (I can help!)

[winterbadger]

Well, there is that, now. I'd not thought of Skype...

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Well you'd likely have a few late nights or early mornings with the time thing, but Skype saves a fortune..

[winterbadger]

OK, I take that back now. :-) "I stink therefore I am"? Classic Calvin. :-)

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I loved that one.. :)

[dativesingular.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest this, going from my own knowledge of Manxland.

[winterbadger]

And, of course, I could always just check the college website under student life, which says:

"Accommodation

The college can provide a list of private rental accommodation for students. Contact reception – 01856 569000 "

D'oh! :-)

Of course, this is all still a long way off, but I think I'll get in contact with some of the estate agents now by email, just to get an idea of what rates are and so forth.

[wolfette]

bleh - I hate doing property searches for Orkney, and I hated doing "closing notes" for it too, when that was my job.

Unlike most of Scotland who used to be under the "feudal" system, Orkney had its own form of land ownership, called "Udal" - and sometimes land deals were done "on a handshake" with no deeds signed or recorded.

There are some rental properties in Orkney - there are council houses and a couple of housing associations. One or two holiday rental places as well.

[winterbadger]

I thought you might have some insights, o recording person! :-)

Yeah, I've looked at some of the holiday rentals, but they're a bit dear for long-term (6-9 months) stays. Isn't council housing going to be restricted to people with low incomes or special needs?

[wolfette]

not necessarily - believe it or not council housing used to be how most working class or lower middle class Scots lived, until recently. When I lived in Glasgow (many moons ago) our neighbours across the street owned their own fish-merchant business. (their house tended to stink of fish and they were very popular with the local cats, but they weren't "low income" *g*) You'd have to contact the council housing department and get on their waiting lists - some housing authorities prioritise in-comers. They may also be able to give you contacts to private rental landlords.

[winterbadger]

Cool! Thank you so much for the scoop (the skinny, the lowdown, the 411 :-) I knew that tenements are/were not automatically the undesirable housing they traditionally are in American inner cities, but I didn't know that about Scottish council housing. I suppose that actually fits pretty well with what I (perhaps naively) perceive as a very egalitarian Scots attitude towards society. That's also a good suggestion to check with the housing authority for private renters.

[wolfette]

and not all council houses here are tenements - there are many semi-detached, 4-in-a-block villas and terraced houses in council/housing authority ownership. In fact in Edinburgh most tenement flats are privately owned. (the council house we had in Glasgow was semi-detached, the council house we rented in Haddington was sort of a cross between terrace and detached) There are even cottages and detached houses in some rural housing association areas. (Glasgow also has a lot of tower block council houses)

[winterbadger]

Yeah, I didn't actually mean I thought all council houses were tenements or vice versa--I just meant that different words can mean different things in different places.

For example, from what I've seen of England, council housing there is pretty grim (whether tower blocks or lower-rise flats) and anyone who doesn't have to doesn't live in it; but clearly in Scotland that's not the case. In a similar way, "tenements" in 19th and 20th century New York or Chicago were grim, crowded, poorly maintained slums, whereas in Glasgow or Edinburgh in the same period they were just a particular type of urban housing. That's all I meant. :-)

[silme.livejournal.com]

Where we were renting before we bought this house, our neighbours were in a council house. It was identical to ours, a two-bedroom terraced house with small gardens in front and rear -- and a driveway. (We moved because we wanted to own and we wanted a little more space.) They had a council house because the residents were a single mother and her teenage daughter. (Single parents are high on the lists.) The neighbourhood was fine, as was the house. In fact, we stayed in the neighbourhood; we actually are only a five-minute walk from our old house.

It all depends on where you are.

[winterbadger]

SO I guess I know even less than I thought! :-)

[ban-leodhasach.livejournal.com]

I have a contact who lives in Orkney that I could try for you? Not saying she will be much more help than the internet, but as she rents herself she might be able to provide more insight into the rental market in Orkney.

[winterbadger]

That would be brilliant! It's really a sense of the market that I'm looking for right now, more than a specific place to live (way to early to be trying to arrange that). Could you get a sense from her of what sort of places are available, if it's more flats or houses that people rent, what sort of rates one pays, and so on? Whether there are any oddities, local conditions about renting that aren't common elsewhere. Thank you so much!