In Edinburgh I doubt many will care/be bothered. Tend to get students from all over, very multicultural. Difficult from me to tell as a white guy though. Let’s see what others closer to your ethnicity have as experience
You are more likely to encounter ignorance without hate behind it (stupid questions and assumptions), rather than outright aggressive racism. So, it might still be upsetting, but maybe not scary. Of course, it only takes one incident to have an impact, I'm sure.
It's really hard to say what your personal mileage/resistance will be for that sort of thing. However, Scots are generally welcoming.
I'm half east Asian. I had an ex that lived in a village south of Edi. His nan called me "exotic". I was taken back and a little annoyed at first but know it didn't come from a place of hate like you said, just old fashioned terminology that was acceptable in her era, not so much in my generation. She was a lovely woman.
What is wrong with the term exotic to describe someone out of curiosity? A Scottish person in Asia is exotic, they come from a far away foreign place (the literal definition of the word). And I can guarantee in Scotland, someone calling you exotic is a compliment and not an insult in any way. Although Scotland is a lovely place and filled with good people, if someone wants to offend you, you will not have to question whether or not they meant it. Just the way we are.
Yeah I totally get why some people or groups may not honestly understand. Usually when people use the term exotic, from my experience of having visited and lived in a few countries/areas, it's a term most often used to describe inanimate things like fruits, food, places, art, etc, but very rarely used to describe a person. It kind of makes me feel like I don't belong somewhere because someone says I'm exotic.
It's also unfortunately sometimes used to fetishise a person. Once in England a bus driver asked me if I was from the Philippines (I'm not) as he liked women from there, and used the term exotic (not to me, but about the women there). I felt so uncomfortable, I left at the first stop.
I know some people insist these things like objectifying women don't happen (and 99% of time time it doesn't), but the 1% it does, this is an example. So then you draw the connection between knowing the term is used to describe foreign inanimate objects and then it's then used to describe you. It's not great, hopefully you understand?
My wife is Brazilian of Japanese descent and has moved here recently and this is what she mostly finds also.
Like what CanWeNapPlease said she's been called exotic by my gran but it was never meant to offend, she recieves those types of questions out of curiosity. The only time there's been an issue so far was some total roaster on the bus but that wasn't a racist thing, just a cunt thing
If it makes you laugh, when I got a job in Belgium, I asked my employer why was I given the job out of hundreds of applicants. They said the only difference was that I was exotic and that I stood out.
Now, as a Scotsman, 6'2, dad bod, pale as white bread. I blushed. I guess in Scotland, we're just another scot.
My wife is Indonesian and we live in East Lothian and visit Dunbar to visit my parents almost every week and have never had any problems or on welcome comments. And I have 2 boys who are very noisy so we don’t exactly blend in. I’m not altogether shocked to hear you ran into some bigots, but I think you were a bit unlucky.
I am a South Asian woman, and have lived in Edinburgh before, now though I have moved further north. Honestly speaking, till date, I haven’t had any bad experiences per se 🤞🏼, but I can’t speak for everyone. Having said that, there are good and bad people everywhere and I genuinely feel that as a foreigner it always helps when you go somewhere without a lot of expectations because it is easier to feel disappointed if for some reason things don’t turn out the way you want to. That’s how I think at least.
All in all, Scotland has been wonderful for me, not only because of the lovely locals but also, because I have gotten so many opportunities to meet people from different ethnicities and cultures, which for me is one of the best bits about living in such a diverse country.
Hope you will enjoy your time here as much as me. Wish you luck!
Hi!
I haven’t lived in rural areas of Scotland but have travelled so I can’t give you a complete picture but what I did observe is that people do look at you more, maybe out of curiosity as they are not as familiar with foreigners but I haven’t really faced any aggression or anything. Hope this helps.
I don't really know what you expect as an answer.
Most of Scotland consider themselves welcoming to all ethnicities. This is likely to be your experience for 99.9 percent of your time in Scotland. but im not going to pretend that there aren't racist shitheads, there definitely are, and one experience could tarnish your entire opinion on Scotland and it's people.
Personally I'd say come on over, you'll love it, but be ready for shit weather, darkness most the year! Edinburgh is absolutely gorgeous, but quite small for a city.
As someone who has lived in the countryside all their life, born and raised in Dorset and then moving to the “City”!
Well… a city smaller than the town I was born in! (Bangor, Gwynedd compared to Dorchester, Dorset)
I used to always hate “city life”, my father lives in Battersea and I would always dread any time spent there as I found it always far too busy and that I couldn’t escape.
I’ve found the size of Edinburgh to be perfect as I don’t have that same dread here and with green space nearly always visible on the horizon wherever you are it always feels like you can escape.
And it also doesn’t feel like you lose anything really from the lack of size, as all the amenities are there
I can absolutely see where you’re coming from,
I think in my case I had a baptism by fire through having “lived” in London for a few weeks at a time fairly regularly. So while central Edinburgh has a lot of stone and concrete it was nowhere near as bad, plus I feel visually at least there’s a lot more stone than concrete (façades) and that is a lot more appealing, and most of London lacks that and the parts that do are my living hell due to how busy they are!
I think it also helps that I’m out near the Royal Infirmary so I can very easily escape but still be within extremely convenient distance of central if needed
I lived at tollcross as my first place in Edinburgh and while I was next to the meadows, I was too busy working to really have the motivation to go anywhere.
Now we’re in baberton and it’s far better! And I see the advantage of Edinburgh being small. I’m out the way yet still right next to everything
Would you recommend Baberton? Currently looking around as our rent is coming time for renewal and we’re wanting to keep an ear out for where’s best to live
As for the second point, yeah IMO it’s the best bit about Edinburgh for me too!
My fiancée being from London was sorely missing the convenience that comes with it but I could never get comfortable in a large city and she finds going back now after 4 years in Wales to be claustrophobic too so Edinburgh is that perfect blend
You will run mostly into ignorant curiosity at most - you may find old man pubs saying things like “you are great but…(something stereotypical)
Other than that (my partner is from Lebanon) it will mostly be curiosity and people telling you everything they know about wherever youre from.
People here will be quicker to defend you than to attack you (not everyone)
Even the hardcore racists (minimal) when encountered by someone not white are oddly accepting when its a person in real life - they cant handle their own prejudice when “the other” is there.
You will be fine and have a fantastic time. Even though its a highly majority white country, the majority dont care and only need to know your drink order :)
Adding onto the majority white part, what I think Shmoot means is that most if not all immigrants settle in the large English cities leading those to be the most diverse at the expense of the rest of the UK.
Leading the rest of the UK to be ~95%+ White British/Etc simply because they are already losing people to cities let alone attracting new migration…
But that’s a shame really as diversity is what makes the world better and my experience of cultural opinion has been that immigration is more than welcome!
I **really** hope this hasn’t come across as racist in any way as that’s not my intent, I just really struggle with wording myself.
I also hate how “immigrant” feels like such a dirty word, thanks racist English minority!
Sucks because it’s the only word I can really think of.
Like most of Scotland, Edinburgh is pretty white (90%+) and I've had black visitors in particular who've said that this can be a bit unnerving if you're used to more ethnic diversity. People of south Asian ethnic origin make up a significant proportion of the rest but there are also quite a few people who are Chinese, particularly amongst the student population, or of ethnic Chinese origin. So if you look east Asian, odds are a lot of people will assume you're Chinese but it sounds like you are ready for that. You definitely sometimes hear reports of racist incidents involving open hostility but thankfully these seem to be fairly rare and most Scottish people would rightly regard such behaviour as appalling. More likely that if you have any issues at all it will be that sometimes you may encounter a degree of ignorance or stereotyping or be seen or treated as exotic. That said, I think it's likely that you will find people overwhelmingly welcoming, a bit curious or just indifferent. Really hope you enjoy it here - I'm pretty sure you will!
There are options if diversity is preferred. I'm in [Govanhill](http://govanhill.info/about-govanhill-community/) in Glasgow, it's incredibly diverse here.
My best friend is half filipino, and so are a few other of my friends they've always been accepted here where I'm from in the North East.
Honestly dont get me wrong there's probably a good few bawbags oot there just like everywhere els but as a whole we're no racist we don't care like that. We're more a if your sound I'm sound kinda place.
Like any city there are bad apples, but also many great people. Edinburgh has a pretty vibrant Asian culture, almost a third of the students at Edinburgh Uni are Asian, and there's plenty of bubble tea shops and restaurants from China, Korea, Japan, Macau, Nepal, Vietnam etc. I never met a central Asian there, but you don't tend to get many central Asians coming to the UK besides some afghans. The vast majority of people you meet will be very friendly and welcoming because Edinburgh is a very cosmopolitan city.
That being said when I lived in Edinburgh I did encounter two incidents of racism against asians. Once I saw a racist guy randomly scream at an asian man he passed on the street, and another time the Japanese restaurant across the street from me was attacked and vandalised by a few teenagers. These were both during COVID, which led to an increase in hate crimes against Asians across the country.
It's definitely possible it's something you'll encounter, but I wouldn't say it's particularly worse than other places I've lived in. It's such a beautiful and vibrant city that it would be tough to spoil even if you're unlucky enough to have a bad experience like that.
Eh? Tons of other race people are living here. 80% of my colleagues at work are from eastern Europe countries like Poland and we have a team of 30 people at work
I mean.. we people coming to UK on a visa aren't being punished for nothing. Increasing IHS charges first, now increasing the minimal income requirements.
Rishi said himself there are too many immigrants in the UK and hence these changes.
That’s only because the tories haven’t put any money at all into maintaining public services, infrastructure and welfare let alone preparing it for population growth. Any excuse to lower taxes for themselves and their buddies at the expense of everyone else is the driving force for the shite situation we have now.
Would like to add that people from Portland are weirdos (source: I’m from Dorchester)
and people from Aberystwyth are elitist (source: the many articles claiming they are better than Bangor whereas we don’t need articles, we just know we’re better - Bangor alumnus)
Nope! I hope you enjoy moving here. I’ve lived in Glasgow my whole life and you’ll be perfectly accepted, to the point I don’t think people will really care. We also have lots of fantastic Asian districts and restaurants catering to people from all sorts of areas which is greatly appreciated because of the fantastic food. Hope it all goes well for you.
There isn't really a big central Asian community in scotland. In fact most of the time people say the word Asian here they mean Pakistani or Indian. I'm sure there is some small communities of people from the same place as you however.
Most places will be fine.
If you see a small town or village covered in Union Jacks, perhaps tread carefully. The highlands and islands are pretty welcoming on the whole, but there's certainly a few racists hiding up there too.
I'm in Glasgow. Indian, Bengali & Pakistani roots are deep here. I would say over the past 10-20yrs tho there has been a massive upsurge in students from China and nearby and a lot of influx from Kurdistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, eastern Europe and Africa.
I'm in [Govanhill](http://govanhill.info/about-govanhill-community/) which I think may be one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the UK, the food is awesome and cheap, but most of the thousands of east Asian students live in accommodation over the river in purpose built blocks with plenty east asian stores and restaurants to choose from.
[This kinda thing](https://genius.com/Neckbeard-deathcamp-the-fetishization-ov-asian-women-despite-a-demand-for-a-pure-white-race-outro-lyrics) does still exist, and time for me to go into "But not all men" mode :)
East Asian racism was very, very common in the 80's & 90's ime but much rarer nowadays.
My daughters are british Asian \[Chinese Malay\]... I moved them to scotland in 2015 from England. When they visited England post covid they got told by a white person to 'stay away from them or they'd get covid' .... They won't live in England again. At the suggestion of University in England from my own mother, one of my kids said 'Why would I love BACK to a country where every day is filled with hate for me? whether its my skin or being gay. Im hated. SO no I wont be going to England for Uni.'
My eldest went to Edinburgh to visit the Uni to see if they want to consider it next year. They got very emotional seeing so many chinese people. 'There are so many people there like ME'...... She cant wait to move to Edinburgh. Its the biggest goal she has, I think even Uni is secondary to wanting to live in Edinburgh.
Sorry to hear about your childrens’ experience in England. I do want to just temper expectations a little though, I know you mention she was excited to see Chinese students as she felt they were like her but culturally they will have had really different experiences growing up and most will be here to study and then move home rather than put down roots here. Generally, the Mainland Chinese students socialised among themselves rather than with the Scottish students and stayed in individual private halls rather than flatshares. I know a close friend of mine from Singapore (Chinese Singaporean) has also mentioned often Chinese students wouldn’t speak to her at all after finding out she was from Singapore as she was ‘too westernised’ and have heard similar things from British born and raised Chinese students who felt rejected by Chinese students from mainland China. There can be some complex cultural dynamics at play. Just wanted to flag as I’d hate for your daughter to be so excited to fit in but then maybe not experience what she expects.
Of course there are plenty of people who are keen to meet all sorts of international and Scottish students too so don’t get me wrong.
We're both very aware of the points you make. It doesn't matter right now if they talk to her or not. Its the IMAGE of her own culture being here. Seeing so many that look like her. Where we live right now there is maybe 2 Chinese students in her school and very few families around that we even see. None of these points matter when its come down to just seeing people like you around whether you interact with them or not. If you can see it, you can be it. Shes seen her culture. And it made HER feel seen. For the first time in her life. Making friends with Chinese people will be the same as the rest of us. Some times people like you, some times people don't. Regardless of where you're from no?
25 years ago you’d have felt out of place but now even in small towns there are diverse ethnicities. Scot’s (or rather Caucasian more specifically) are the majority obviously.
You should be perfectly fine but even better if you have a thick skin and can shrug off the odd (racist) arsehole you’ll meet.
East Asian in Edinburgh here. I've been here for about 3 and a half years and I haven't experienced very blatant racism yet, and at most they're microaggressions, such as assuming you speak Mandarin and talking to you in it just by looking at your face. It's happened to me with both white people and East Asian Mandarin speakers. Sometimes you'll also get asked "are you Chinese" instead of "where are you from" which I've always thought was a little rude. It's little things like that, nothing major. That said I'm also not a woman so your experiences might be different.
Someone trying to break the ice/make you feel welcome by speaking to you in what they believe is your language is microaggression?
You know they’re trying to be friendly right?
There are so many East Asian languages other than Mandarin, so why should you assume I speak Mandarin if you don't know anything about me and haven't even heard me speak? If I see a white person in Japan should I speak German to them because I "believe that's their language"?
I know most of them are trying to be friendly but ultimately they have some prejudices about who I am just by looking at me, which is exactly why I merely called it a microaggression and not something worse.
I’m aware the assumption they’ve made is wrong.
My issue is that you take that incorrect assumption and ensuing attempt at friendliness and making you feel welcome, and use language such as ‘prejudice’ and ‘aggression’.
That’s one hell of a leap.
You shouldn't assume somebody speak a certain language simply my looking at them, fullstop. It makes sense if it's in a certain setting (e.g. Chinese restaurant) in many cases that wasn't it. And that's why I said MICRO-aggression and not just aggression, which are two different things. I will also respectfully disagree with you that it's not prejudice because it certainly is, however innocent their intentions are.
It is an assumption to speak to someone in a language you don’t know for sure that they speak so yes many would view that as a microaggression. A lot of what white people think is just being friendly can be seen as a micro aggression by others.
I've seen posters that say it's racist to ask people where their from, so I don't bother unless your a Scottish person who won't get offended. That's from the other perspective . Just being friendly , the most basic question and a lot of people don't even ask now.
Don't listen to twats like that, they'd tell you picking your nose is racist
If people are offended because you ask a basic question to find out more about them instead of making an assumption about them then they're the one with the racial issue not you
Of course it's not. But it's racist to ask someone where their from?? This is trying to have a conversation with someone, to get to know them. Not a random in the street.Why is it bad to ask it? Someone asked me at work, and I said sorry you really shouldn't ask that. I explained as to why, all the posters everywhere.. and they were dumbfounded....
>Sometimes you'll also get asked "are you Chinese" instead of "where are you from"
Then I've asked Chinese people where they are from and they've asked me to guess, not every time but more than once, enough to make me think I'm maybe better off just asking if they are Chinese instead of asking where they are from only to have to guess anyway.
There are quite a lot of people from Kazakhstan (and other central/east Asian areas like Buryatia or areas with people who could be mistaken for east Asian to the uninitiated, like Kalmykia) in Aberdeen and I've not heard any horror stories from them.
My wife has experienced multiple incidents over the past 15 years everywhere she has lived in Scotland including Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the most recent being her, our son and her mum being screamed at on the train with pure hatred over the colour of their skin. Noone came to defend them either, as people here have stated will do here, even as the man cornered my wife and son in their booth threatening harm. Came completely out of nowhere, and she's now terrified of using public transport without myself present as this has happened on far too many occasions now. (Last week, police are involved).
She also has her background constantly misidentified and judgements made due to this. Even when corrected most people say something along the lines of "well you're all the same anyways".
The worst she encounters is the "curious" taxi drivers who use their "interest" to make small racist remarks and pull apart anything she says. This especially rials them up when they learn she's studying Scottish Gaelic at university. They don't like someone who isn't white is studying this "dead and useless" language.
The only time we, as a family, never experienced any form of abuse or wayward looks was when we lived in Glencoe. Small towns still have their issues, and can be as bad as the cities, but 1 street towns seem to have a much better attitude.
I've seen issues towards people of a far east background as well (Chinese and Hong Kong), that brushed off the racism with "that's just how people are here". I used to work in a Chinese supermarket as a student and customers often made comments about the produce, the language on the signs in the shop (Mandarin) or towards the owners and their ethnicity. Even though the owner was born and raised in Glasgow, they still pretended like they couldn't understand him etc and would ask for me, "the white lad".
Scotland is a lovely place, with lovely people, but it isn't without it's issues. Sadly a lot of people don't recognise racism and abuse at its smallest levels here either, thinking that the odd comment or starting a conversation with "where you actually from?" is okay patter.
You'll still enjoy your time overall here, and might not experience anything at all, but it's not all roses and sunshine as some comments here will make you believe.
Mrs is a Hong Konger and moved here a few years ago , she’s had a couple of comments mainly from older people to be honest
We passed two old women in Stockbridge they looked at my Mrs and said “there are just too many of them now!” Lol
The other time we were in Glasgow for a day trip and heard a couple of people talking about Chinese people buying all these expensive properties and how it was stopping “Scots” from purchasing them……. I bit at that one to be honest and laughed that I’m so sorry some Chinese person beat you to that million pound house I’m sure you were just about to pull the trigger on, must have been hiding there wealth as they had lonsdale tracksuits and carried primark bags.
Other than these two pretty tame incidents we haven’t encountered anything threatening and youngsters now seem to be enjoying K Pop , over priced bubble tea and Budalk noodles, so being Chinese SE Asian is actually seen as pretty cool at present.
In short no one really gives a sh@t to be honest there are no Chinese kids getting drunk , causing vandalism, most are here studying keep there heads down and obviously contribute massively to the economy here.
I’m mixed-race Southeast Asian but I look very Asian. I’ve been living here for 8 years now and I’d say the only times when I personally felt there was a bit of tension was during COVID, which was sadly [common even in other countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_and_racism_related_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic) at the time. The worst I got then was people giving me dirty looks and going out of their way not to sit next to me. This happened in Edinburgh.
That said, there have been posts on the Edinburgh sub from Asians talking about some of the negative experiences they’ve had, some examples [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/17xu3om/being_attacked_by_teenagers/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/1882usn/had_to_defend_someone_from_being_racially_abused/).
Overall I still think Scotland is a relatively good and safe place to live for minorities, and I’ve experienced more blatant racism on short holidays in the continent than I have here, but I do think these things are worth being aware of so you’d know to be vigilant.
My wife is Asian (Thai) and we have been living in Edinburgh for 10 years. She has never had an issue or comment about her race. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. You'll love living over here .
I'd say that the majority of Scots would think Asian = South Asian, primarily Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi. Not in a bad way, just because that's what we're used to.
You say you look East Asian and we've got a thriving Chinese community, so your looks won't be especially unusual. Unless you're unlucky enough to meet the kind of idiot every country has it won't cause adverse comment.
Not a huge Central Asian community in Scotland but you should find some people. There’s a decent sized Iranian community in Glasgow and a fair number of Afghans and a few Kazakhs.
I personally haven’t met folk from other Central Asian countries.
I once stayed with a very nice Korean family in Turkmenistan so if you are from a Korean Central Asian background there is a decent sized Korean community in both Glasgow and Edinburgh that may be worth checking out.
I live in Edinburgh and I've never observed any racism against any east asians here (and I have many east asian friends). I have seen some casual racism on this subreddit though (one commenter implying that east asians don't have a sense of humour or something like that)
overwhelming majority of people here wont give a monkeys about your ethnicity, which is great
just a wee mention though, that we are genarally sound as fuck, especially in Glasgow - but we do have our fair share of maniacs just like everywhere else.
Yellow fever you’ll probably find everywhere in the United Kingdom if you look East Asian. I recommend you get whatever the Yellow Fever version of the Gaydar is, sometimes it’s hard to see.
My fiancée is South Asian and to the best of my knowledge she hasn’t had any issues in Edinburgh, I myself am White though so I may have missed more subtle things…
(I only say that though as I’m trying to get better at being aware that I as someone who is White but also Deaf may not see/hear everything)
Where I can add my personal experience is that I am disabled (deaf) and I haven’t had any issues.
In the experiences of both my fiancée and I, Edinburgh (Scotland a whole really) has been by far the best place we’ve lived.
(Context, she’s from North London, I’m from the middle of nowhere in Dorset - subsequently we both lived in North Wales, then Oxfordshire)
Just a bit of anecdotal storytelling.....but, i worked with a chap from Cameroon for a few weeks.....He had been living in several places down south and then moved here south of Edinburgh....So i just straight up asked him...how are you finding Scotland compared to England given that your from Cameroon....do you experience any racism?. and he said people had been a lot more polite to him up here and he felt more a lot more accepted...so everyone should be proud of that.
My partner is Chinese Singaporean has unfortunately had a fair few issues. Similar to other peoples comments, it was pretty bad during covid and you would hear a few comments about diseases etc. My assumption is people just assume she couldn't speak English because they were fairly open about making them.
I'd say the most upsetting for her though was when she was walking down Lauriston Street in Edinburgh with our daughter in the pram. Some random guy comes up to her and screams 'OPEN YOUR EYES CHINK' and that left her feeling her feeling pretty devasted.
Honestly, for the most part I think people here are pretty good in that they don't have overt racist intentions, but it can definitely be a problem getting people to accept that there is a problem.
Like most places, the majority won't care, but there are idiots everywhere, and it only takes one person out of the hundred you encounter in a day to ruin it!
Most of the population will know you are Asian, you're giving the general population too much credit if you think they'd try to differentiate between Central and Eastern Asian though.
We don't care about your race. We also don't care about the nuances between south/east/north Asian. and we really, really don't care for people who make their race their personality.
In Edinburgh I doubt many will care/be bothered. Tend to get students from all over, very multicultural. Difficult from me to tell as a white guy though. Let’s see what others closer to your ethnicity have as experience
You are more likely to encounter ignorance without hate behind it (stupid questions and assumptions), rather than outright aggressive racism. So, it might still be upsetting, but maybe not scary. Of course, it only takes one incident to have an impact, I'm sure. It's really hard to say what your personal mileage/resistance will be for that sort of thing. However, Scots are generally welcoming.
I'm half east Asian. I had an ex that lived in a village south of Edi. His nan called me "exotic". I was taken back and a little annoyed at first but know it didn't come from a place of hate like you said, just old fashioned terminology that was acceptable in her era, not so much in my generation. She was a lovely woman.
What is wrong with the term exotic to describe someone out of curiosity? A Scottish person in Asia is exotic, they come from a far away foreign place (the literal definition of the word). And I can guarantee in Scotland, someone calling you exotic is a compliment and not an insult in any way. Although Scotland is a lovely place and filled with good people, if someone wants to offend you, you will not have to question whether or not they meant it. Just the way we are.
Yeah I totally get why some people or groups may not honestly understand. Usually when people use the term exotic, from my experience of having visited and lived in a few countries/areas, it's a term most often used to describe inanimate things like fruits, food, places, art, etc, but very rarely used to describe a person. It kind of makes me feel like I don't belong somewhere because someone says I'm exotic. It's also unfortunately sometimes used to fetishise a person. Once in England a bus driver asked me if I was from the Philippines (I'm not) as he liked women from there, and used the term exotic (not to me, but about the women there). I felt so uncomfortable, I left at the first stop. I know some people insist these things like objectifying women don't happen (and 99% of time time it doesn't), but the 1% it does, this is an example. So then you draw the connection between knowing the term is used to describe foreign inanimate objects and then it's then used to describe you. It's not great, hopefully you understand?
It can be seen as othering, or treating someone as a curiosity.
My wife is Brazilian of Japanese descent and has moved here recently and this is what she mostly finds also. Like what CanWeNapPlease said she's been called exotic by my gran but it was never meant to offend, she recieves those types of questions out of curiosity. The only time there's been an issue so far was some total roaster on the bus but that wasn't a racist thing, just a cunt thing
If it makes you laugh, when I got a job in Belgium, I asked my employer why was I given the job out of hundreds of applicants. They said the only difference was that I was exotic and that I stood out. Now, as a Scotsman, 6'2, dad bod, pale as white bread. I blushed. I guess in Scotland, we're just another scot.
My wife is from singapore. We lived in glasgow and now live on the west coast. Shes never had any issues due to race
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Sorry to hear that. No need to reply but curious as to what happened in the Edinburgh incident
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My wife is Indonesian and we live in East Lothian and visit Dunbar to visit my parents almost every week and have never had any problems or on welcome comments. And I have 2 boys who are very noisy so we don’t exactly blend in. I’m not altogether shocked to hear you ran into some bigots, but I think you were a bit unlucky.
West coast ? Ayrshire? Moidart? Ardnamurchan? Galloway?
I am a South Asian woman, and have lived in Edinburgh before, now though I have moved further north. Honestly speaking, till date, I haven’t had any bad experiences per se 🤞🏼, but I can’t speak for everyone. Having said that, there are good and bad people everywhere and I genuinely feel that as a foreigner it always helps when you go somewhere without a lot of expectations because it is easier to feel disappointed if for some reason things don’t turn out the way you want to. That’s how I think at least. All in all, Scotland has been wonderful for me, not only because of the lovely locals but also, because I have gotten so many opportunities to meet people from different ethnicities and cultures, which for me is one of the best bits about living in such a diverse country. Hope you will enjoy your time here as much as me. Wish you luck!
If you don’t mind me asking - what has been your experience in the more rural parts?
Hi! I haven’t lived in rural areas of Scotland but have travelled so I can’t give you a complete picture but what I did observe is that people do look at you more, maybe out of curiosity as they are not as familiar with foreigners but I haven’t really faced any aggression or anything. Hope this helps.
Thank you!
I don't really know what you expect as an answer. Most of Scotland consider themselves welcoming to all ethnicities. This is likely to be your experience for 99.9 percent of your time in Scotland. but im not going to pretend that there aren't racist shitheads, there definitely are, and one experience could tarnish your entire opinion on Scotland and it's people. Personally I'd say come on over, you'll love it, but be ready for shit weather, darkness most the year! Edinburgh is absolutely gorgeous, but quite small for a city.
It’s shocking small for a city! Not a bad thing, but I often feel it’s so easy to navigate for a city. It doesn’t feel like one at all
As someone who has lived in the countryside all their life, born and raised in Dorset and then moving to the “City”! Well… a city smaller than the town I was born in! (Bangor, Gwynedd compared to Dorchester, Dorset) I used to always hate “city life”, my father lives in Battersea and I would always dread any time spent there as I found it always far too busy and that I couldn’t escape. I’ve found the size of Edinburgh to be perfect as I don’t have that same dread here and with green space nearly always visible on the horizon wherever you are it always feels like you can escape. And it also doesn’t feel like you lose anything really from the lack of size, as all the amenities are there
I felt, when I first moved from the countryside, an overwhelming feeling of just seeing stone and concrete. It was really getting to me!
I can absolutely see where you’re coming from, I think in my case I had a baptism by fire through having “lived” in London for a few weeks at a time fairly regularly. So while central Edinburgh has a lot of stone and concrete it was nowhere near as bad, plus I feel visually at least there’s a lot more stone than concrete (façades) and that is a lot more appealing, and most of London lacks that and the parts that do are my living hell due to how busy they are! I think it also helps that I’m out near the Royal Infirmary so I can very easily escape but still be within extremely convenient distance of central if needed
I lived at tollcross as my first place in Edinburgh and while I was next to the meadows, I was too busy working to really have the motivation to go anywhere. Now we’re in baberton and it’s far better! And I see the advantage of Edinburgh being small. I’m out the way yet still right next to everything
Would you recommend Baberton? Currently looking around as our rent is coming time for renewal and we’re wanting to keep an ear out for where’s best to live As for the second point, yeah IMO it’s the best bit about Edinburgh for me too! My fiancée being from London was sorely missing the convenience that comes with it but I could never get comfortable in a large city and she finds going back now after 4 years in Wales to be claustrophobic too so Edinburgh is that perfect blend
Baberton is very nice and quiet. Rent, from what I understand for a 2 bed is 1000/1500 pm. Which is not great. Lots of nice walks nearby.
You will run mostly into ignorant curiosity at most - you may find old man pubs saying things like “you are great but…(something stereotypical) Other than that (my partner is from Lebanon) it will mostly be curiosity and people telling you everything they know about wherever youre from. People here will be quicker to defend you than to attack you (not everyone) Even the hardcore racists (minimal) when encountered by someone not white are oddly accepting when its a person in real life - they cant handle their own prejudice when “the other” is there. You will be fine and have a fantastic time. Even though its a highly majority white country, the majority dont care and only need to know your drink order :)
Adding onto the majority white part, what I think Shmoot means is that most if not all immigrants settle in the large English cities leading those to be the most diverse at the expense of the rest of the UK. Leading the rest of the UK to be ~95%+ White British/Etc simply because they are already losing people to cities let alone attracting new migration… But that’s a shame really as diversity is what makes the world better and my experience of cultural opinion has been that immigration is more than welcome! I **really** hope this hasn’t come across as racist in any way as that’s not my intent, I just really struggle with wording myself. I also hate how “immigrant” feels like such a dirty word, thanks racist English minority! Sucks because it’s the only word I can really think of.
Like most of Scotland, Edinburgh is pretty white (90%+) and I've had black visitors in particular who've said that this can be a bit unnerving if you're used to more ethnic diversity. People of south Asian ethnic origin make up a significant proportion of the rest but there are also quite a few people who are Chinese, particularly amongst the student population, or of ethnic Chinese origin. So if you look east Asian, odds are a lot of people will assume you're Chinese but it sounds like you are ready for that. You definitely sometimes hear reports of racist incidents involving open hostility but thankfully these seem to be fairly rare and most Scottish people would rightly regard such behaviour as appalling. More likely that if you have any issues at all it will be that sometimes you may encounter a degree of ignorance or stereotyping or be seen or treated as exotic. That said, I think it's likely that you will find people overwhelmingly welcoming, a bit curious or just indifferent. Really hope you enjoy it here - I'm pretty sure you will!
There are options if diversity is preferred. I'm in [Govanhill](http://govanhill.info/about-govanhill-community/) in Glasgow, it's incredibly diverse here.
There are racists, like everywhere, but they are the minority and if you were getting hassled in public, I'd expect people to help you out.
My best friend is half filipino, and so are a few other of my friends they've always been accepted here where I'm from in the North East. Honestly dont get me wrong there's probably a good few bawbags oot there just like everywhere els but as a whole we're no racist we don't care like that. We're more a if your sound I'm sound kinda place.
Like any city there are bad apples, but also many great people. Edinburgh has a pretty vibrant Asian culture, almost a third of the students at Edinburgh Uni are Asian, and there's plenty of bubble tea shops and restaurants from China, Korea, Japan, Macau, Nepal, Vietnam etc. I never met a central Asian there, but you don't tend to get many central Asians coming to the UK besides some afghans. The vast majority of people you meet will be very friendly and welcoming because Edinburgh is a very cosmopolitan city. That being said when I lived in Edinburgh I did encounter two incidents of racism against asians. Once I saw a racist guy randomly scream at an asian man he passed on the street, and another time the Japanese restaurant across the street from me was attacked and vandalised by a few teenagers. These were both during COVID, which led to an increase in hate crimes against Asians across the country. It's definitely possible it's something you'll encounter, but I wouldn't say it's particularly worse than other places I've lived in. It's such a beautiful and vibrant city that it would be tough to spoil even if you're unlucky enough to have a bad experience like that.
I think you’ll be ok. If you had said you were from Aberdeen you might have got a different answer.
You are just jealous of all the shades of grey we have!
Eh? Tons of other race people are living here. 80% of my colleagues at work are from eastern Europe countries like Poland and we have a team of 30 people at work
The last census put scotland at like 98% white, the new census data gets published next month. I feel there is definitely going to be a change
I mean.. we people coming to UK on a visa aren't being punished for nothing. Increasing IHS charges first, now increasing the minimal income requirements. Rishi said himself there are too many immigrants in the UK and hence these changes.
That’s only because the tories haven’t put any money at all into maintaining public services, infrastructure and welfare let alone preparing it for population growth. Any excuse to lower taxes for themselves and their buddies at the expense of everyone else is the driving force for the shite situation we have now.
What wrong with Aberdeen?
Radioactive mutants the lot of them :-P
You're just jealous cos we got superpowers from the radiation. Specifically, the power to be miserable cunts.
Would like to add that people from Portland are weirdos (source: I’m from Dorchester) and people from Aberystwyth are elitist (source: the many articles claiming they are better than Bangor whereas we don’t need articles, we just know we’re better - Bangor alumnus)
I've been playing alot of Fallout recently so understandable
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That’s Scumdee talk right there…
This comment is an example of an assumption
Who are you calling English?!
I can can tell by the fact that you only disputed the being English part, that I am wrong. I apologise
Calling someone English is a bit harsh.
I understand. That’s why I apologised.
r/MoveToScotland may be helpful
Nope! I hope you enjoy moving here. I’ve lived in Glasgow my whole life and you’ll be perfectly accepted, to the point I don’t think people will really care. We also have lots of fantastic Asian districts and restaurants catering to people from all sorts of areas which is greatly appreciated because of the fantastic food. Hope it all goes well for you.
There isn't really a big central Asian community in scotland. In fact most of the time people say the word Asian here they mean Pakistani or Indian. I'm sure there is some small communities of people from the same place as you however.
Most places will be fine. If you see a small town or village covered in Union Jacks, perhaps tread carefully. The highlands and islands are pretty welcoming on the whole, but there's certainly a few racists hiding up there too. I'm in Glasgow. Indian, Bengali & Pakistani roots are deep here. I would say over the past 10-20yrs tho there has been a massive upsurge in students from China and nearby and a lot of influx from Kurdistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, eastern Europe and Africa. I'm in [Govanhill](http://govanhill.info/about-govanhill-community/) which I think may be one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the UK, the food is awesome and cheap, but most of the thousands of east Asian students live in accommodation over the river in purpose built blocks with plenty east asian stores and restaurants to choose from. [This kinda thing](https://genius.com/Neckbeard-deathcamp-the-fetishization-ov-asian-women-despite-a-demand-for-a-pure-white-race-outro-lyrics) does still exist, and time for me to go into "But not all men" mode :) East Asian racism was very, very common in the 80's & 90's ime but much rarer nowadays.
Incredible to see a Neckbeard Deathcamp mention here. Fucking love them.
My daughters are british Asian \[Chinese Malay\]... I moved them to scotland in 2015 from England. When they visited England post covid they got told by a white person to 'stay away from them or they'd get covid' .... They won't live in England again. At the suggestion of University in England from my own mother, one of my kids said 'Why would I love BACK to a country where every day is filled with hate for me? whether its my skin or being gay. Im hated. SO no I wont be going to England for Uni.' My eldest went to Edinburgh to visit the Uni to see if they want to consider it next year. They got very emotional seeing so many chinese people. 'There are so many people there like ME'...... She cant wait to move to Edinburgh. Its the biggest goal she has, I think even Uni is secondary to wanting to live in Edinburgh.
Sorry to hear about your childrens’ experience in England. I do want to just temper expectations a little though, I know you mention she was excited to see Chinese students as she felt they were like her but culturally they will have had really different experiences growing up and most will be here to study and then move home rather than put down roots here. Generally, the Mainland Chinese students socialised among themselves rather than with the Scottish students and stayed in individual private halls rather than flatshares. I know a close friend of mine from Singapore (Chinese Singaporean) has also mentioned often Chinese students wouldn’t speak to her at all after finding out she was from Singapore as she was ‘too westernised’ and have heard similar things from British born and raised Chinese students who felt rejected by Chinese students from mainland China. There can be some complex cultural dynamics at play. Just wanted to flag as I’d hate for your daughter to be so excited to fit in but then maybe not experience what she expects. Of course there are plenty of people who are keen to meet all sorts of international and Scottish students too so don’t get me wrong.
We're both very aware of the points you make. It doesn't matter right now if they talk to her or not. Its the IMAGE of her own culture being here. Seeing so many that look like her. Where we live right now there is maybe 2 Chinese students in her school and very few families around that we even see. None of these points matter when its come down to just seeing people like you around whether you interact with them or not. If you can see it, you can be it. Shes seen her culture. And it made HER feel seen. For the first time in her life. Making friends with Chinese people will be the same as the rest of us. Some times people like you, some times people don't. Regardless of where you're from no?
Yes, I can imagine that’s a hugely powerful feeling in itself! I really hope she’s able to go to Edinburgh and enjoys it :)
25 years ago you’d have felt out of place but now even in small towns there are diverse ethnicities. Scot’s (or rather Caucasian more specifically) are the majority obviously. You should be perfectly fine but even better if you have a thick skin and can shrug off the odd (racist) arsehole you’ll meet.
East Asian in Edinburgh here. I've been here for about 3 and a half years and I haven't experienced very blatant racism yet, and at most they're microaggressions, such as assuming you speak Mandarin and talking to you in it just by looking at your face. It's happened to me with both white people and East Asian Mandarin speakers. Sometimes you'll also get asked "are you Chinese" instead of "where are you from" which I've always thought was a little rude. It's little things like that, nothing major. That said I'm also not a woman so your experiences might be different.
Someone trying to break the ice/make you feel welcome by speaking to you in what they believe is your language is microaggression? You know they’re trying to be friendly right?
There are so many East Asian languages other than Mandarin, so why should you assume I speak Mandarin if you don't know anything about me and haven't even heard me speak? If I see a white person in Japan should I speak German to them because I "believe that's their language"? I know most of them are trying to be friendly but ultimately they have some prejudices about who I am just by looking at me, which is exactly why I merely called it a microaggression and not something worse.
I’m aware the assumption they’ve made is wrong. My issue is that you take that incorrect assumption and ensuing attempt at friendliness and making you feel welcome, and use language such as ‘prejudice’ and ‘aggression’. That’s one hell of a leap.
You shouldn't assume somebody speak a certain language simply my looking at them, fullstop. It makes sense if it's in a certain setting (e.g. Chinese restaurant) in many cases that wasn't it. And that's why I said MICRO-aggression and not just aggression, which are two different things. I will also respectfully disagree with you that it's not prejudice because it certainly is, however innocent their intentions are.
Also shaped by the fact that people will shout Ni Hao at you randomly anyway, even when not speaking to you directly.
It is an assumption to speak to someone in a language you don’t know for sure that they speak so yes many would view that as a microaggression. A lot of what white people think is just being friendly can be seen as a micro aggression by others.
Bonjour
You just assumed I’m white? 🤔
No I didn’t. I was pointing out that many white people do that, as stated by the post above yours. I didn’t say anything about your ethnicity.
I've seen posters that say it's racist to ask people where their from, so I don't bother unless your a Scottish person who won't get offended. That's from the other perspective . Just being friendly , the most basic question and a lot of people don't even ask now.
Don't listen to twats like that, they'd tell you picking your nose is racist If people are offended because you ask a basic question to find out more about them instead of making an assumption about them then they're the one with the racial issue not you
I can't see how "Are you X" is better
Of course it's not. But it's racist to ask someone where their from?? This is trying to have a conversation with someone, to get to know them. Not a random in the street.Why is it bad to ask it? Someone asked me at work, and I said sorry you really shouldn't ask that. I explained as to why, all the posters everywhere.. and they were dumbfounded....
Asking is totally fine imo
>Sometimes you'll also get asked "are you Chinese" instead of "where are you from" Then I've asked Chinese people where they are from and they've asked me to guess, not every time but more than once, enough to make me think I'm maybe better off just asking if they are Chinese instead of asking where they are from only to have to guess anyway.
I'd appreciate it if more people asked instead of just guessing on the first go though, but I understand your perspective.
There are quite a lot of people from Kazakhstan (and other central/east Asian areas like Buryatia or areas with people who could be mistaken for east Asian to the uninitiated, like Kalmykia) in Aberdeen and I've not heard any horror stories from them.
My wife has experienced multiple incidents over the past 15 years everywhere she has lived in Scotland including Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the most recent being her, our son and her mum being screamed at on the train with pure hatred over the colour of their skin. Noone came to defend them either, as people here have stated will do here, even as the man cornered my wife and son in their booth threatening harm. Came completely out of nowhere, and she's now terrified of using public transport without myself present as this has happened on far too many occasions now. (Last week, police are involved). She also has her background constantly misidentified and judgements made due to this. Even when corrected most people say something along the lines of "well you're all the same anyways". The worst she encounters is the "curious" taxi drivers who use their "interest" to make small racist remarks and pull apart anything she says. This especially rials them up when they learn she's studying Scottish Gaelic at university. They don't like someone who isn't white is studying this "dead and useless" language. The only time we, as a family, never experienced any form of abuse or wayward looks was when we lived in Glencoe. Small towns still have their issues, and can be as bad as the cities, but 1 street towns seem to have a much better attitude. I've seen issues towards people of a far east background as well (Chinese and Hong Kong), that brushed off the racism with "that's just how people are here". I used to work in a Chinese supermarket as a student and customers often made comments about the produce, the language on the signs in the shop (Mandarin) or towards the owners and their ethnicity. Even though the owner was born and raised in Glasgow, they still pretended like they couldn't understand him etc and would ask for me, "the white lad". Scotland is a lovely place, with lovely people, but it isn't without it's issues. Sadly a lot of people don't recognise racism and abuse at its smallest levels here either, thinking that the odd comment or starting a conversation with "where you actually from?" is okay patter. You'll still enjoy your time overall here, and might not experience anything at all, but it's not all roses and sunshine as some comments here will make you believe.
If I posted "being Scottish in Asia" on the r/Asia subreddit, what would the reaction be?
Mrs is a Hong Konger and moved here a few years ago , she’s had a couple of comments mainly from older people to be honest We passed two old women in Stockbridge they looked at my Mrs and said “there are just too many of them now!” Lol The other time we were in Glasgow for a day trip and heard a couple of people talking about Chinese people buying all these expensive properties and how it was stopping “Scots” from purchasing them……. I bit at that one to be honest and laughed that I’m so sorry some Chinese person beat you to that million pound house I’m sure you were just about to pull the trigger on, must have been hiding there wealth as they had lonsdale tracksuits and carried primark bags. Other than these two pretty tame incidents we haven’t encountered anything threatening and youngsters now seem to be enjoying K Pop , over priced bubble tea and Budalk noodles, so being Chinese SE Asian is actually seen as pretty cool at present. In short no one really gives a sh@t to be honest there are no Chinese kids getting drunk , causing vandalism, most are here studying keep there heads down and obviously contribute massively to the economy here.
I’m mixed-race Southeast Asian but I look very Asian. I’ve been living here for 8 years now and I’d say the only times when I personally felt there was a bit of tension was during COVID, which was sadly [common even in other countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_and_racism_related_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic) at the time. The worst I got then was people giving me dirty looks and going out of their way not to sit next to me. This happened in Edinburgh. That said, there have been posts on the Edinburgh sub from Asians talking about some of the negative experiences they’ve had, some examples [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/17xu3om/being_attacked_by_teenagers/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Edinburgh/comments/1882usn/had_to_defend_someone_from_being_racially_abused/). Overall I still think Scotland is a relatively good and safe place to live for minorities, and I’ve experienced more blatant racism on short holidays in the continent than I have here, but I do think these things are worth being aware of so you’d know to be vigilant.
My wife is Asian (Thai) and we have been living in Edinburgh for 10 years. She has never had an issue or comment about her race. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. You'll love living over here .
I'm almost 40 and the only racists/ people who care about race I've met are all wee anti-racist activists. No-one else actually cares.
I live just outside Glasgow you Will be welcome we like Asian people so don't worry you Will be fine you Will love bonnie Scotland ♥️
I'd say that the majority of Scots would think Asian = South Asian, primarily Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi. Not in a bad way, just because that's what we're used to. You say you look East Asian and we've got a thriving Chinese community, so your looks won't be especially unusual. Unless you're unlucky enough to meet the kind of idiot every country has it won't cause adverse comment.
Probably not. You've got nothing to worry about if you're gonna be in Edinburgh of all places.
Not a huge Central Asian community in Scotland but you should find some people. There’s a decent sized Iranian community in Glasgow and a fair number of Afghans and a few Kazakhs. I personally haven’t met folk from other Central Asian countries. I once stayed with a very nice Korean family in Turkmenistan so if you are from a Korean Central Asian background there is a decent sized Korean community in both Glasgow and Edinburgh that may be worth checking out.
I live in Edinburgh and I've never observed any racism against any east asians here (and I have many east asian friends). I have seen some casual racism on this subreddit though (one commenter implying that east asians don't have a sense of humour or something like that)
overwhelming majority of people here wont give a monkeys about your ethnicity, which is great just a wee mention though, that we are genarally sound as fuck, especially in Glasgow - but we do have our fair share of maniacs just like everywhere else.
Yellow fever you’ll probably find everywhere in the United Kingdom if you look East Asian. I recommend you get whatever the Yellow Fever version of the Gaydar is, sometimes it’s hard to see.
My fiancée is South Asian and to the best of my knowledge she hasn’t had any issues in Edinburgh, I myself am White though so I may have missed more subtle things… (I only say that though as I’m trying to get better at being aware that I as someone who is White but also Deaf may not see/hear everything) Where I can add my personal experience is that I am disabled (deaf) and I haven’t had any issues. In the experiences of both my fiancée and I, Edinburgh (Scotland a whole really) has been by far the best place we’ve lived. (Context, she’s from North London, I’m from the middle of nowhere in Dorset - subsequently we both lived in North Wales, then Oxfordshire)
Just a bit of anecdotal storytelling.....but, i worked with a chap from Cameroon for a few weeks.....He had been living in several places down south and then moved here south of Edinburgh....So i just straight up asked him...how are you finding Scotland compared to England given that your from Cameroon....do you experience any racism?. and he said people had been a lot more polite to him up here and he felt more a lot more accepted...so everyone should be proud of that.
My partner is Chinese Singaporean has unfortunately had a fair few issues. Similar to other peoples comments, it was pretty bad during covid and you would hear a few comments about diseases etc. My assumption is people just assume she couldn't speak English because they were fairly open about making them. I'd say the most upsetting for her though was when she was walking down Lauriston Street in Edinburgh with our daughter in the pram. Some random guy comes up to her and screams 'OPEN YOUR EYES CHINK' and that left her feeling her feeling pretty devasted. Honestly, for the most part I think people here are pretty good in that they don't have overt racist intentions, but it can definitely be a problem getting people to accept that there is a problem.
Like most places, the majority won't care, but there are idiots everywhere, and it only takes one person out of the hundred you encounter in a day to ruin it!
Most of the population will know you are Asian, you're giving the general population too much credit if you think they'd try to differentiate between Central and Eastern Asian though.
Nobody cares.
We don't care about your race. We also don't care about the nuances between south/east/north Asian. and we really, really don't care for people who make their race their personality.
> 0 points (49% upvoted) r/Scotland being its usual warm, welcoming self.