6 cool things I discovered whilst working in Scotland for a few days

I finally ticked something off my bucket list a few weeks ago and got a chance to visit Scotland. I only had 2 days to spend in the city of Glasgow but I was keen to document everything. The only problem was I had very low storage on my phone so my apologies in advance for the lack of pictures…I will try and follow up this post when I revisit in the Summer.

Prior to the trip I associated 3 things with Scotland: bad weather, Irn Bru and once again bad weather.

I work with a lot of consultants who are based all over the UK and a place that has been mentioned to me as a “must see” place to work was Scotland. So when I finally got a chance to spend a few days in Glasgow I jumped at the chance. I was only able to spend to 2 full days in the city but I am definitely planning a longer trip in the near future. I am currently based in Birmingham (the UKs second capital city) and was visiting Glasgow (Scotland’s Second Capital city). I hope this post gives a great (quick) insight to anyone looking to visit the city.

Lets Begin.

Everyone knows everyone

It’s quite bizarre that in a city the size of Glasgow which also hosts some of the world’s biggest companies there is a great sense of community Spirit. I started noticing this from when I jumped into my taxi from the airport and the taxi driver knew 2 people who worked at my hotel and also waved at around 5 people during the drive. When I was lost walking to the office I asked a guy who was smoking on the street about the directions to my office. He said hi to 4 people whilst showing me the way. I noticed when I went for a walk at lunch everyone was speaking to each other on a first name basis. The woman who served me my sandwich at the café knew the guy behind me, the 2 security guards at my hotel were school friends and finally the taxi driver who took me to the airport knew my manager (he worked with her dad in a factory a few years ago).

I read about this thing a few years ago called the 6 degrees of separation (give it a google or a Steem if you haven’t heard of it), and I think Glasgow could boast a much lower number (it will make sense once you have googled it). I felt people were a lot friendlier than in London and Birmingham, and also more open to speaking with people outside of their day to day circles.

No one cares about London

In England its common to have conversations with people about visiting the four nations (England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland), but it seemed in Glasgow no one could care less about visiting England and specifically London. The odd person had visited the North of England but hardly anyone could be asked to venture to the south of the country. When I asked people why they didn't care for visiting London the main reasons I was given were:

We have Edinburgh
The Castles in London are fake ours are real. (Edinburgh Castle is in the middle of the city)
The lack of natural sites in London
And finally and simply put – the pollution in London.
Time and time again I was advised to visit Edinburgh and even when I asked the local people “what’s something I have to do whilst im in Glasgow” a lot of people responded with “visit Edinburgh”. Another point that was made was "Why go to work in England, when in Glasgow you'r never to far from a pub" (evidenced below).

The world on Rooftops

As mentioned the view from the ground up is great but something to really check out is the view from the top. Whilst in the office I heard someone describe Glasgow as having a hidden city in the sky.

The building I was working from was 18 stories high and had a great view of the city. On my first day I went with one of my colleagues to the top floor to check out the view. The view of the city was amazing but what surprised me was the amount of people who were standing on the rooftops. I was told about how in the summer time it’s more common to see people just having their lunch admiring the view. I took some snaps below but was cautious about taking any pictures of people on the rooftops as it may get them in trouble.

The skyline of Glasgow is great and its hard to imagine if you haven’t seen it for yourself how alive the rooftops of some of these tall buildings can be. Definitely something I will be checking out in the summertime when im back.

New York New York

An interesting bit of trivia I found out about Glasgow was that the city is also known as (to locals) Mini New York. The city got its nickname because a lot of the major architects who designed the buildings had taken there inspiration from New York.

The New York style of buildings have invited film makers from all over the world to shoot some of the biggest Hollywood films there (because it’s cheaper to rent streets to film in Glasgow than New York) which has included: 2 Avengers film, Batman: Dark Knight Rises, Fast and Furious and World War Z. The city boasts of stars who have been to the city including Halle Berry and Brad Pitt.

This in turn has led tourists to flock to the city to see where some of their favourite films have been shot.
I wasn’t able to get any “celebrity shots” (it must have been there week off) but I did get some snaps of the New York style buildings. If you squint your eyes you can see a bit of New York on the below picture (or maybe its just me).

I also found subtle places like the back allys to have a New York esc about them.

The Old vs The New

Glasgow is a city which seems to be going through a huge period of change, some parts of the city are from the future and other parts of the city are still playing catch up. Old buildings (see below)…

…stand opposite mega structures (see below).

Like most 2nd cities, Glasgow seems to be going through a huge period of change. At one end of the spectrum you see super cars and cigar smoking suits outside Italian restaurants.

If you walk a few roads away from the city centre however you are hit with mass homelessness, signs of drug abuse and I was also told about how gang culture was rife. Since returning back to England I have been researching charities based in Glasgow and looking at ways in how the Blockchains and websites like Steem can help support not for profit organisations (stay tuned for another post). I took this below picture to highlight the old city graffiti (on a phone box that didnt work) sitting next to the modern day wealth.

There are a lot of charities aimed at supporting the homeless crisis in Glasgow who i will be reaching out to in the next few weeks to see if they require any remote assistance. I did get some pictures of areas where i saw big homeless groups buy decided not to upload the pictures to protect their privacy.

Amazing architecture

I have touched upon this throughout this article but it deserves its own heading I think. Glasgow boasts some incredible buildings from sky scrapers to quirky cafes. The influence of outsiders in Glasgow can be seen from the New York style buildings to the glass sky scrapers (which has its origins in Chicago).

To conclude I highly recommend Glasgow as a destination for anyone who has a chance to visit. The food is great, people are friendly and the weather (on the days I was there) wasn’t as bad as its made out to be. If you’re a fan of Whiskey, Glasgow boasts some great pubs who serve authentic Scottish Whiskey and if you’re feeling adventuress take a drive out of the city and explore some of Europe’s most scenic roads.

I took this departing snap whilst I was on the flight. See you next time.

Let me know if you have ever been to Scotland and if so how you found it? I only had a few days in the city and i know i missed out on reviewing some great places to eat and drink, so look out for the squeal to this post.

If you have any feedback on the post please let me know and thanks for your support!

Regards
@Bit-SP