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Live your Highland dream
More and more people are choosing to live and work in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Quite simply put, it’s because our region offers you the chance to live your best life, right here.
Whether it's the great outdoors that floats your boat, a ceilidh with your friends that makes your head spin, or even a trip back in time at one of the hundreds of historical sites that makes your heartbeat faster, you can experience it all here.
You’ve probably already heard that the Highlands and Islands is a stunningly beautiful region. But did you know, the area is also packed with thriving businesses, social enterprises and communities? It's the perfect place to develop the career you want with the lifestyle you deserve.
Before we saw the jobs we were sitting on a rock under Tobermory lighthouse on Mull saying to each other ‘how do we get to live and work here’ Little did we know we were looking straight across the water to what would be our home the following year.Bec Chadwick, Nc’nean Distillery
Explore our region
The Highlands and Islands are packed full of wonderful places to live, so we'd understand if you haven't quite made your mind up yet. Use our map to explore the region and discover other useful resources that could help you make your move.
Get help to move to Scotland
Scotland.org is a partnership between Scotland's enterprise agencies, the Scottish Government, VisitScotland, Scottish Development International and other public sector bodies. It's a fantastic resource and packed with information to support anyone looking to live and work in Scotland.
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Argyll and the Islands
Argyll and the Islands, located on the west coast of Scotland, is home to around 86,000 people. The area includes 23 inhabited islands and is well known for its natural beauty, wildlife, and outdoor activities.
The stunning natural environment lends itself well to the areas world renowned food and drink and tourism sectors, as well as a leading location for those working in marine research and the renewables sectors.
Find out more about Argyll and the Islands
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Caithness and Sutherland
People travel the length of the country to come to the North Highlands. It's home to Scotland's most famous drive - the North Coast 500, and to one of our most iconic destinations - John O'Groats. It's no surprise that when people discover Caithness and Sutherland they want to stay.
The landscape is breathtaking, featuring spectacular mountains and flat rolling moorlands. With the world renowned Royal Dornoch golf course and an internationally recognised surf spot around the Thurso East reef, the area is a draw for outdoor sports enthusiasts. Featuring beautiful beaches and bays, wildlife, high hills and big skies, Caithness and Sutherland has much to offer, whichever mile on a journey of 500 you’re on.
Find out more about Caithness and Sutherland
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Inner Moray Firth
Home to almost 160,000 people, HIE’s Inner Moray Firth area is the most populated area in the Highlands and Islands. It stretches from the Dornoch Firth in the North, borders Perth and Kinross in the South, heading to Nairn in the east and most of the way along the Great Glen.
It’s a thriving region that includes Inverness City – the Capital of the Highlands, Cairngorms National Park, and one of Scotland’s first Green Freeports. There’s a wealth of business growth and investment opportunities, including renewable energy and offshore wind developments.
Inverness Campus has world-class business facilities and is a prime location for life sciences, digital healthcare and technology organisations. It’s already home to some of the leading health-care businesses in Scotland, and the ideal location for academic, business and research collaborations.
The Inner Moray Firth boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in Scotland across the Beauly, Cromarty and Moray Firth coastlines. It’s home to world famous attractions including Loch Ness and Culloden Battlefield, both within minutes of the vibrant city centre.
Find out more about Inner Moray Firth
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Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross
Situated on the west coast of Scotland, Lochaber is a diverse and dynamic community offering the perfect blend of bustling excitement and natural beauty.
From the highest peak to mystical pools and one of the best drives in the world, Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross have the monopoly on A-list natural attractions.
But while Ben Nevis, the Isle of Skye’s Fairy Pools and the Bealach na Ba road draw visitors by the thousands, there’s more to this area of the vast western Highlands than mere world-class natural beauty.
Rich in natural produce, food and drink is a key local employer with companies such as Mowi farming salmon and exporting globally.
Find out more about Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross
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Moray
Home to 50 of the country’s 135 whisky distilleries and some of its best-known food producers, Moray sends a flavour of Scotland around the globe and boasts the world-famous Malt Whisky Trail. The stunning coastline, including Findhorn, Lossiemouth and Cullen offer the outdoor enthusiast the perfect playground. The area also boasts a range of golf courses, fishing and cycling routes and cultural activities to be enjoyed year-round.
With close links to the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, Moray’s villages and towns combine a sense of history and tradition with modernity in a rural landscape. The ancient city of Elgin is the central node in a network of smaller market towns including Forres, Keith and Buckie. The village of Findhorn boasts a thriving alternative arts and culture scene, while Tomintoul skirts the breathtaking natural beauty of the Cairngorms National Park, a gateway for adventure seekers, nature lovers and holidaying families alike.
As well as the flourishing food and drink and tourism sectors, Moray is also a powerhouse in north-east manufacturing and is the focus of the North Coast Space Cluster.
Find out more about Moray
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Orkney
Orkney is made up of around 70 islands clustered where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, and fewer than half are inhabited. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful area of Scotland just begging to be explored, whether that’s across the land or around the coasts. You can walk or cycle the islands, take to the seas in a kayak or to the air for a bird’s eye view.
Wind, wave and tidal power make Orkney a world-leading location in marine renewables, energy and the low carbon sector. Other sectors thriving here and supporting those lucky enough to live here include tourism, farming, fisheries, aquaculture, food processing and manufacturing.
Find out more about Orkney
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Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides is a group of islands that sit off the west coast of Scotland, each with its own unique way of life. The Hebridean islands offer wild Atlantic waves, diverse wildlife and a vibrant Gaelic culture. Fifteen islands are inhabited, with the commercial and cultural hub of Stornoway being home to over 6,000 people.
Atlantic rollers crashing along the miles of unspoiled beaches and reef breaks make the Outer Hebrides a world-renowned haven for surfers. On land, ancient relics such as the Calanish Standing Stones, Carloway Broch and Lews Castle also draw visitors by the thousand each year.
Life sciences and renewable energy are growing sectors along with creative industries, food and drink, textiles and tourism.
Find out more about Outer Hebrides
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Shetland
The Shetland islands have some of the richest Viking heritage and most incredible landscapes. Lying roughly 100 miles off the north east of Scotland and with almost 1700 miles of coastline, the Shetland Islands are the northern-most tip of Scotland. Here, you can enjoy spectacular wildlife including seabirds, seals, otters and orcas, and of course the famous Shetland ponies.
The coastline is the lifeblood of the economy. The seafood industry is worth over £300m a year and a leading aquaculture and oil industry, as well as a growing wind and wave energy industry are amongst the sectors supporting people who choose to live and work here.
Find out more about Shetland
With the mountains and lochs on our doorstep this is the perfect place to live, we really rated this when the children grew up as they could roam the hills behind our home and have more freedom then they would have had if we had stayed in the Netherlands.Anja Baak, Great Glen Charcuterie
SCOTLAND'S MIGRATION SERVICE
Get all the help you need when moving to Scotland. Scotland’s Migration Service can help you settle in the Highlands and Islands. It’s aimed at:
- People who have moved to Scotland within the past six months.
- International students in their final year at a Scottish university or college who would like to stay in Scotland after graduating.
- Employers based in Scotland who would like to hire international workers.
- Investors based in another country who would like to set up or expand a business in Scotland.
You can book appointments with advisers and immigration lawyers through this service.
Aurora Energy Services, renewable energy
David Duguid is a mechanical Engineer with Aurora Energy Services providing onshore and offshore installation, inspection and maintenance services.
Haventus, renewable energy
Find out what drove a Marine Technical Manager from Australia to swap life down under for a career in green energy transition, right here in the Highlands of Scotland.
Nc’nean Distillery, food and drink
Bec Chadwick, originally from Australia, chats to us about her move to Scotland with partner, Roberto, and taking up her role as office manager with Nc’Nean Distillery.
Kishorn Port, energy
Kevin Ferguson chats to us about his return to the region and the exciting opportunities abound for those looking to build a career in renewables.
Great Glen Charcuterie, food and drink
Anja Baak, originally from the Netherlands, set up her family-owned business, the Great Glen Charcuterie, with her husband, Jan Jacob.
Orbex, space sector
Manon Bordeau from Paris is a structures engineer with Orbex. She tells us about her role within the Scottish space sector and being part of such a pioneering project based in the Highlands.
Where to now?
Explore more about living, working, investing and visiting the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
Invest here
Find out about the opportunities and get support to base your business in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.