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Any member's got good input on this? I believe Alchemist is from Glasgow, and would appreciate his input. If Scotland is that good I'll tear through that place like King Edward I.
Yep, Glasgow boy born and bred. I was wondering when my home town would get a mention on this place. I'll fill you in as well as I can on Glasgow and on Scotland in general.
Scotland overview
Scotland is a small country which can be split into three main geographical areas: the Highlands (very sparsely populated with some of the most stunning scenery in Europe), the central belt (home to 80% of the population) and the southern uplands (mostly rural and very pretty, but not as impressive as the Highlands). The biggest and best-known cities are Glasgow and Edinburgh, which are very different in a number of ways. Scotland has infamously bad weather with dull, rainy, windy days being the norm, although I find our spring and short summer very pleasant.
Money
For anyone who doesn't know, we use the British pound along with the rest of the U.K. Prices (especially for most things a tourist would want) are generally speaking on a par with most of western Europe, but are noticably cheaper than ultra-expensive cities like London and Paris. Edinburgh and Aberdeen tend to be the most expensive cities.
Typical prices (conversions to dollars are approximate):
Dorm bed in hostel: £12-20 ($19-32)
City centre taxi ride in Glasgow or Edinburgh: £3-5 ($5-8)
Beer in local pub: £2-3 ($3.50-5)
Beer/spirit and mixer in fancy nightclub: £4 ($6.50)
Club entry: £5-10 ($8-16)
Pack of 20 cigarettes: £5 ($8)
Fast food, e.g. fish and chips: £4 ($6.50)
Meal in decent quality (but not ridiculously expensive) restaurant: £12-15 ($19-24)
If drugs are your thing, a quarter ounce of weed should cost £40 ($64) and a gram of coke is about the same. Ecstacy, depending on strength/purity, ranges from £3/$5 to £12/$20.
What to see and do
I have no idea how long you're here for, so plan your itinerary accordingly. I've by no means seen the whole of Scotland but have a fairly decent knowledge of much of it.
As far as cities go, Edinburgh and Glasgow are your only "must-sees". If you only have time for one, go to Edinburgh (and I'm a Glasgow boy so I'm not biased). It's a stunning city with beautiful architecture and loads of famous sights you can read about on Wikitravel or Lonely Planet, but is also very touristy. Glasgow on the other hand has far fewer sights but is more cosmopolitan, less tourity and gives you more of a feel for the real Scotland. It's said that people are also friendlier in Glasgow but I think a better word would be "open"; people in Edinburgh generally have a more reserved demeanour which can be misconstrued as coldness. Our other main cities are Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness - none have that much to see but as a foreigner you might get more attention there from local girls who aren't quite so used to outsiders. Another nice place is Stirling, especially if you're into history. It's the former capital and most of the events depicted in Braveheart took place around it. Don't know much about the nightlife but it is a student town so might be a good place to meet girls at night.
You should also check out rural Scotland. It's hard to recommend a single place - the Western Isles, the Southern Uplands, Loch Ness, the Cairngorms, Perthshire, Caithness, Royal Deesside and more besides are all stunning. Many city hostels organise excursions to these kinds of places, but if you go independently you can find cheap accomodation here:
http://www.syha.org.uk/home.aspx. The best thing to do is check out the places I mentioned on Google Images, see where you fancy the most and head there for a few days. You can go hillwalking, fishing, sailing, shooting, skiing, go to a whisky distillery or just chill out in a country pub. You'll love it.
Scottish girls and getting laid
The first time I went round Eastern Europe and Latin America, I came home with a "Scottish girls are ugly" mentality. Now I've looked at it more objectively, I'd say that you do get some really hot girls here, but you need to know where to go to get big numbers of them. The average white Scottish girl you see in the street is about a 5, although if you go to the right nightclub the odds are far better. The Scottish diet is appalling, with lots of deep fried food, and consequently we are the second-fattest nation on earth after the US, so sadly you see far more fatties than in countries like Poland and Latvia where girls don't live on kebabs and chips. I wouldn't say there is a particularly distinct "Scottish look" - most Scottish girls would be interchangeable with English, Irish, Canadian, Australian or American girls - but red hair and pale complexions are common here, and it's not unusual to see a stunning redhead.
Edinburgh has many foreign girls (both students and tourists) whilst Glasgow is now pretty cosmopolitan with girls of all colours. Really small towns (e.g. up in the Highlands) can be a hit or a miss. Upmarket bars and clubs are nonexistent and most young people move away for university at the first opportunity. If you happen to be in a small town when there's a dance in the local hall and all the students are home for the holidays, the chances of you getting laid are pretty damn high, but don't go to these places for the girls.
Attitude-wise, Scottish girls are as liberal as in the rest of western Europe or North America, and one night stands are just as common. Scots are big drinkers and inhibitions are considerably lowered after 1 a.m. The general rules of game you'd use on other western women apply here, but I'd play up the fact that you're foreign, particularly if you go outside of Glasgow or Edinburgh. Bear in mind that 90% of Scottish guys use alcohol as a crutch and don't have much game. When I'm out, I generally hit the club quite early, as it's filling up (between 11:30 and midnight). I'll get a drink with my friends and have a good time and then work my way around talking to girls. Later in the night, as well as doing more cold approaches, you'll find that the girls you talked to earlier are very receptive to you, especially if you made a good impression earlier.
Glasgow specifics
Unsurprisingly, Glasgow is the city I know best within Scotland. If you want more specifics on things to see and do, shops, restaurants etc, just ask and I'll be happy to let you know. I'll just cover the necessary basics here though.
Glasgow is not a particularly touristy city and therefore the hostel scene here is poor compared to Edinburgh. My Israeli friend stayed here:
http://www.euro-hostels.co.uk but found it cold, without atmosphere and difficult to meet people. This place looks nicer, but is a bit out of the way:
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails...sgow/11809
The nightlife here is undoubtedly the best in Scotland and one of the best in the UK. You have something for everyone here and it's spread out over several areas. One important thing to note is that Glasgow's bouncers are notorious for being pricks - they have the worst attitude of any I've encountered in the UK and abroad. Therefore, it's sensible to go into clubs quite early so if you're rejected from a couple for dubious reasons you can keep your options open. Don't go up with a large group of guys - you won't get it. If possible, go in a mixed male/female group. I often wear a T-shirt and trainers when out, but if you're unsure of the dress code where you're going, stick to shirt and shoes to be safe.
The main nightlife areas are:
* Sauchiehall Street - young student crowd, mostly cheesy music. Clubs here are meat markets and easy to pull.
* Bath Street - lots of underground bars, ranging in quality. Some are pre-club places; others are busy until 3am. Girls here are mostly decent.
* Merchant City - an older (30-plus) mostly white-collar professional crowd. Lots of faux Irish pubs and pretentious bars. Not my favourite place, but definitely THE place to go if you want older women.
* Royal Exchange Square/Buchanan Street - home to Glasgow's biggest posers, with more sparkly T-shirts, diamond stud earrings and fake tan than you can shake a stick at. Venues here are good if you can ignore the posers. Girls around here are generally pretty hot, but some can be quite shallow and looking for a pro-footballer to pick them up.
* West End - another of Glasgow's more "upmarket" areas with lots of young professionals and posh students. Ashton Lane has some nice pubs but I'm not a fan of the clubs along here.
* Arches/Sub Club - not an area, but the names of two famous electro clubs which are both close to Central Station. Arguably the best clubs in Glasgow if you like electronic music, but people here are very into their music and drugs, and you get hotter girls elsewhere.
Off the top of my head, I'd recommend the following bars and clubs for decent girls: Bamboo, The Garage, Karbon, Byblos, Common, Bunker, Kushion, The Loft, The Social. There are more, but these places tend to have a consistently decent quality of girls.
You can check out their websites to have a closer look, or ask me if you want more specifics (crowd, age range, music, location, prices, dress code etc). Also, the above venues are all relatively mainstream. There are other places I'd recommend if you have some kind of niche/specific look, but you'll need to let me know.
Hope all this has helped!! If you need any more info, just ask.
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