21/05/2026
I left Scotland in 1999 and never imagined, even for a moment, that I would ever move back.
My journey took me to a lot of different places, but I thought I had finally settled down in the Cayman Islands 🌴
Then the COVID-19 pandemic brought major life changes for many people around the world. For me, it led to repatriation. At the time, I thought it would be temporary, so I planned for a year.
Two and a half years later, I returned to the smallest of the three Cayman Islands to reopen my little business there, but things had changed.
I now had a partner and a puppy in Scotland, and I had also started Naturally Balanced with Claire. Life had quietly built roots in two very different places.
So I began splitting my time: winters working in Cayman, and the rest of the year back in Kinross. The following year I tried to continue the same rhythm, imagining a dual life that would let me enjoy Scotland without the Scottish winter. It sounded ideal.
But the reality was different.
Living between two places is emotionally draining, and long stretches away were also affecting the growth of my new venture in Scotland. On top of that, maintaining annual licences, fees, and overheads in Cayman, just to be there for a few months each year, was becoming increasingly difficult to justify alongside a business still finding its feet back home.
Eventually, a decision had to be made.
…and I had a puppy in Scotland (sorry Robbie!). 😉
