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I’m Dreaming Of A Home I Can Actually Afford

Moving to Scotland feels like a fresh start, even though it means letting go of my roots.

Matt Lillywhite
Publishous
5 min readJan 2, 2025

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A man in a grey button-down shirt with his wife and two children. In the background, a driveway is visible with several cars parked. They are standing in front of a two-story house with large trees and orange leaves on the ground.
A man standing in front of a house with his young children. Photo by Harrison Haines via Pexels.

I’m scrolling through houses for sale when I see it. A three-bedroom property with a garden big enough to play soccer. Kitchen not falling apart. Walls I could paint any color I wanted. Price? £270,000.

I blink. Refresh the page, think it might be a glitch. Nope. Still there.

The address says Scotland, and I chuckle. I’m from Southern England. From the place where my family is, and where my friends are. Where I’ve imagined coming back to, finally putting down roots after years of being a digital nomad, and moving every few months.

The numbers don’t lie, though. Most houses of a similar size in Southern England cost £600,000 or more. But they’re often petite, and I can fry an egg and wash my socks at the same time. Compare that to Scotland, where the average house price is half that.

I stare at the thumbnail photo of the detached house in Scotland. And I imagine what it would be like to live there. To have space. To get on the housing ladder. And to have a back garden big enough to play fetch with my golden retriever. To not just afford a home, but a life.

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Matt Lillywhite
Matt Lillywhite

Written by Matt Lillywhite

Full-time storyteller, part-time procrastinator. Writing to inspire, entertain, and avoid doing laundry. Substack: https://mattlillywhite.substack.com/subscribe

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