Mick, my husband , and I moved up here in 1999 from Croydon in Surrey and have never regretted the move once. There is still a niceness to the way of life up here although like everywhere it is changing and not for the better.
We live in Nairn a town of about 19,000 inhabitants on the Moray Firth . Nairn has lovely sandy beaches and an eco climate of its own and many people retire to here as well as move here from many parts of Britain . I am not a stranger to the north of Scotland as I spent my first 11 years in Sutherland and the next 7 in Rossshire in the Black Isle before going to London to work when I left school .
The area is good for birdwatching, walking, fishing, touring the north and west and for many outdoor pursuits including dolphin watching !
Vistors are welcome as long as haute cuisine is not expected as I don't ' do cooking' .

Retired thank goodness :)

I still enjoy birdwatching despite not being able to walk far as it can be done from a car along the coast . I prefer sea watching to woodland as the leaves get in the way :)
I also enjoy gardening when I am able although we are both finding it hard going now to do what we would like to be able to do.
Cross stitch keeps me occupied in the winter as does reading , tracing my family tree and helping a friend collate information from graveyards in the Nairn area for a data base in our local museum ( this info is available to people wishing to find out about their families if they have left the area ).
I am also a member of the Nairn Gaelic choir which involves competing in the national mod each year as well as giving public performances .
Visiting places of interest and catching up on places I never visited in my youth takes up much of my time too .