Aberdeen – The Granite City

It started when I changed my job which made me have to move to Aberdeen in the end of October 2012. My family, my wife and my two daughters(6 and 10 years old) used to live in Bristol and Norwich. We, particularly my wife and my daughters, were quite scared to move to an unknown city to us, located in the north of Scotland far from everywhere. Furthermore, we have never visited Aberdeen and we didn’t know anybody who lives in Aberdeen, which made us even more nervous.

However, after 5 months living in Aberdeen, my family and I all think that Aberdeen is the place to be! The city is beautiful, good shopping area, excellent quality of life, outstanding schools, fantastic Islamic environment, and friendly Indonesian community.

Aberdeen is known as “The Granite City”, due its overall silver/grey characteristic architecture. Most of the buildings in the city centre area were made of granite stones, which shine and sparkle in the sun. Aberdeen is also known as “The Oil Capital of Europe”, due to the Oil & Gas resources in the North Sea, which makes Aberdeen a prosperous city with an international well-travelled population.

Here are some pictures which illustrate Aberdeen City Centre:

Aberdeen Beach
Aberdeen has a beautiful golden sandy beach, over 1 mile long, stretching from the mouth of river Don to the harbour walls. This is a family paradise which includes an interactive science museum, the Stratosphere (children’s science museum). There is also the Beach Leisure Centre – comprising of sports and fitness facilities, swimming pool and an ice skating rink.

Opposite the beach, there is Codonas Amusement Park, an Indoor and Outdoor Family Entertainment Complex. The rides and attraction cater for children of all age. Next door, at the South of the waterfront lays the village of another age: the original fishing community of Fittie.

Greater Aberdeen
Here are some of the places that could be visited while you are in Aberdeen:

Dunnoter Castle
This beautiful castle overlooking the North Sea is located 20 miles south of Aberdeen.

Balmoral Castle
Purchased by Queen Victoria in 1848, the Estate has been the Scottish Home of the British Royal Family ever since. Balmoral castle is located 48 miles west of Aberdeen.

Loch Ness & Inverness
If you are up for it, while you are in Aberdeen, you might as well visit Loch Ness & Inverness, which is located 104 miles west of Aberdeen, to satisfy your curiosity about the Loch Ness monster.