I will be moving to Scotland by the end of January, and as a result we will be selling our house in the U.S. (as well as both vehicles). This gives me an opportunity to make some positive changes in 2007. Here are my resolutions:
1). I resolve to get the most fuel-efficient car I can find in Scotland.
2). I resolve to search for a house that allows me to take public transport or my bike to work.
3). I resolve to place a very high priority on energy efficiency as I search for a new house.
4). I resolve to reduce the meat in my diet (it takes much more energy to produce meat than to produce vegetables).
5). I resolve to support local farmers’ markets.
6). I resolve to continue instilling the importance of energy conservation into my family.
7). I resolve to get completely out of debt (easy, since my only debt is a mortgage).
8). I resolve to talk to at least 1 person a month about Peak Oil and/or the importance of living sustainably.
9). I resolve to preach conservation as something each one of us can do to stretch energy supplies and better prepare for Peak Oil.
10). Not energy related, but I resolve to read at least 40 books in 2007. I read 48 in 2005 and 34 in 2006.
I expect my posting frequency to be spotty during the transition, but I hope to make substantive contributions to this blog in 2007. I also plan to keep My Reading List and my European travel blog updated. I have been gradually writing up the essays from my first expatriate assignment from 1999-2001, and I intend to keep it going during my upcoming assignment.
Happy New Year to all.
Robert Rapier
The most fuel efficient car you can get in Scotland? You might be able to get a Smart Car or something like that, but you might find it inadequate to your needs. I think you need to sharpen your definition here.
There are a couple of British car magazines that are regularly found on newsstands in Barnes and Noble and similar places. Car usually has a chart of what is on sale in the UK.
Do you get a car allowance or lease from from your employer? It is a very popular perk over there because of their tax laws. You should check with your employer as to the conditions on that.
Robert – be careful what you wish for. In Europe, the most fuel efficient are “city cars” like the Renault Twingo with a 1.1 liter engine. You would likely hate it.
When I was on my ex-pat assignment in England I had a Mercedes A class, or a “Baby Benz”. I really liked it. The new W169 – A160 CDI has a 2 liter diesel that gets over 60 mpg (4.9 liters / 100 km).
Will you be working for Andy Halliwell? I was in operations, but worked with Andy and his group in Woking. He’s a great guy. Best of luck on your assignment.
Hi Robert,
Hope your transition is painless and you end up somewhere good!
Best wishes
Biofuelsimon
Do you get a car allowance or lease from from your employer? It is a very popular perk over there because of their tax laws. You should check with your employer as to the conditions on that.
There is an allowance, and if I get a compact I will stay under the allowance. Right now I am looking at a Micra, Yaris, or maybe a Clio. We will get a slightly larger car for the family, but my work car will be very small.
When I was on my ex-pat assignment in England I had a Mercedes A class, or a “Baby Benz”. I really liked it. The new W169 – A160 CDI has a 2 liter diesel that gets over 60 mpg (4.9 liters / 100 km).
I have been looking at CDIs. The mileage is great, but I will have a tough time staying under the allowance.
Will you be working for Andy Halliwell? I was in operations, but worked with Andy and his group in Woking.
I will be in Neil Meldrum’s group, working on North Sea projects. I worked with Neil previously when he was in Houston.
Cheers, RR
interesting resolutions.
With regard to transportation and a fuel-efficient car, public transportation assumes your time is worth less than nothing. Car, scooter, bicycle are frequently faster and provide more benefits to you personally in terms of time or health. If you are truly serious about personal transportation and energy efficiency, consider a scooter of the 250 CC-500 cc range. Honda, Suzuki and others make good vehicles. The only time you won’t be able to ride is when it’s storming or snowing. The major road hazard is people in cars on cell phones. latest uk safety stats show motorcycles/scooters have a lower number of injuries per year than bicycles.
purchasing a house near public transport or bicycle range will be more expensive or much lower quality than you want. Never forget the impact of noise of traffic on your health and well-being. i.e. living near train tracks will increase stress, reduce your immune system function thereby making them more susceptible to illness.
Eating less meat is nice but never forget that tofu is completely and totally evil. 🙂 Local food tends to be much more expensive than mass-market food because of the labor and spoilage. I do find it disturbing that vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce and tomatoes from California are cheaper than locally grown. Unfortunately, I want to eat these foods year-round and I need to vote with my wallet which means the local farmer loses.
and keep reading. The publishing industry is cratering faster than our oil supplies and they need all the support they can get.
country mouse
With regard to transportation and a fuel-efficient car, public transportation assumes your time is worth less than nothing.
A car may be faster, but I can get a lot done when riding public transportation. I don’t just sit and stare out the windows. 🙂 Ideally, I would ride my bike, but taking a car is my least-preferred option.
RR – Ok, so you will be in UK operations support. I’ve only been to Rubislaw House once. It is maybe 2-3 km from the main train station. All of Aberdeen isn’t that big, so I can’t imagine you would have much of a commute.
After the merger I did the commute into Portman House in central London for 6 months before transfering to Houston. It took me 1 1/2 hours – 1 way for the 25 mile commute, with little useful work time, it was actually pretty miserable.
In Houston I’m only 15 miles from the office with a 30 minute/20 minute commute by car, much better. If I was downtown would definately take the bus.
Your new year’s resolution inspired me – I’ll try to take public transportation at least once this year. Will have to walk the 1.5 miles from the park & ride.
I also liked the Ford Ka. It had some zip to it and was fun to drive.
RR – Ok, so you will be in UK operations support. I’ve only been to Rubislaw House once. It is maybe 2-3 km from the main train station. All of Aberdeen isn’t that big, so I can’t imagine you would have much of a commute.
I will be working out of a contractor’s office most of the time in Dyce, next to the airport. I will be the process engineering team lead.
Your new year’s resolution inspired me – I’ll try to take public transportation at least once this year. Will have to walk the 1.5 miles from the park & ride.
I moved from Houston to Ponca in 2002. My family was still in Houston for a while, and I took the shuttle home on the weekends. I rode the bus from the airport all the way to Clear Lake. Needless to say, I got a lot of reading done during that time. 🙂
I also liked the Ford Ka. It had some zip to it and was fun to drive.
Several people have mentioned the Ka. I will check it out.
Cheers, Robert
A car may be faster, but I can get a lot done when riding public transportation. I don’t just sit and stare out the windows. 🙂 Ideally, I would ride my bike, but taking a car is my least-preferred option
that is what a lot of people claim. I look out the window or 1) puke 2) get a migraine. option 1 leads to ruined laptops and option 2 pushed far enough leads to option 1. ((blech)) all transit time is dead time for me.
I agree on bike vrs car but around here car travel time is almost always 1/2 mass transit time. I’d rather have the time saved by car transit to do what I want with than spend forced time with strangers I wouldn’t socialize with.
anyway. best of life in scotland
country mouse
Robert said, “I resolve to get the most fuel-efficient car I can find in Scotland.”
Robert,
You’ll probably want to be looking at one of the many small diesels available in Europe that we can’t get here. Most get at least 50 mpg, and some as high as 65-70.
Right now I am driving a VW Jetta TDI (one of the few diesel cars available in the U.S.) and with the manual transmission usually get in the high 40s. The highest I’ve ever gotten is 53 mpg on a trip on the Interstate driving 70 mph on a cool day with no wind.
Here is a link to one of the high-mileage, small diesels now available all over Europe: Skoda Fabia
Tis’ a mystery to me why we don’t have more diesel-powered cars like this in the U.S. GM or Ford could instantly drive up their CAFE selling small diesels. (Actually, I do know the reason: Europe is more concerned with reducing carbon dioxide emissions, while our EPA is more concerned about the soot from diesels than the carbon dioxide. In my view it would always be better for the environment to burn only one gallon of diesel fuel going 60 miles rather than three gallons of gasoline.)
You should enjoy Scotland. My wife and I went on a long camping trip in the Highlands about 15 years ago. Great time.
At least in Scotland, the only ethanol that matters will be the kind distilled in small pot stills and that they let sit for 12 years before selling it at about $100 per gallon.
Cheers,
Gary Dikkers
<sigh>
Unfortunately, it is definitely a lousy time of year to travel through Montana even if I was free to do so. I shall have to let you depart without meeting you (as I have odograph).
I have the small compensation of my outdoor thermometer reading 74° at the moment, partly cloudy and lovely outside. My windows are open and I’m going to enjoy it. (I do not enjoy the irony of having become one of the people whose need to stay cool in the summer is helping to aggravate the heat, but I have not yet found a job where this wouldn’t be a factor.)
Robert Euen Mearns of theoildrum.com (the UK board) lives in Aberdeen. You should definitely be in touch with him.
A few more thoughts on life in the UK– to come.
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1). I resolve to get the most fuel-efficient car I can find in Scotland.
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OK I think the answer there is the 1.3 litre Citroen C3 diesel. Peugeot-Citroen makes *great* diesels. Lowest CO2 emission in any case other than a Toyota Prius (which are way too expensive).
For lowest lifecycle cost (ie including depreciation/ resale value) I would go for a Toyota or a Honda. A Honda Civic diesel in particular. I think Nissan is OK as well. The Toyotas really hold their resale value.
(worth checking the UK magazine Which? which is our equivalent of consumer reports)
If I lived outside of Aberdeen, it is the one place (other than Yorkshire) in the UK I would actually consider an (economical) 4WD like a Honda CRV. The weather and the roads can be bad enough.
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2). I resolve to search for a house that allows me to take public transport or my bike to work.
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My experience of the bus to the Aberdeen airport was not good– once per hour from the City centre, and wandered around the industrial estate– took almost an hour.
Buses outside of London are not very effective in the UK. Expect to be disappointed.
Cycling is, I am afraid, *dangerous*. UK drivers drive fast. There are roundabouts, and they *do not* give way to cyclists, nor even see them. Aberdeen is dark before 3pm in winter (check the latitude!)
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3). I resolve to place a very high priority on energy efficiency as I search for a new house.
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UK houses define awful in insulation, compared to North American ones. I can’t overstate this. Newer houses are better, but not by a lot.
If you are buying you can do something about this, if you are renting, you cannot.
One thing to look for is a modern condensing boiler– 90% efficient. Vaillant is the best make (German).
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4). I resolve to reduce the meat in my diet (it takes much more energy to produce meat than to produce vegetables).
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This may not be true in Scotland, especially not in winter! The vegetables you eat in Scotland in winter may come from Spain or Italy (or Zambia) and the fruit from South Africa or Chile.
Scotland has lots of cows and sheep. Fish is problematic: *please* don’t eat North Sea Cod, as they are fast going extinct. Salmon is heavily farmed to the detriment of the environment (all those chemicals) but what can one do?
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5). I resolve to support local farmers’ markets.
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Yes! A great innovation.
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6). I resolve to continue instilling the importance of energy conservation into my family.
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I can’t get my colleagues to unplug their phone chargers, turn off their flat screen TVs at the plug, nor turn off their PC screens when they are away from their desks.
I am seen as some sort of freak in this regard.
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7). I resolve to get completely out of debt (easy, since my only debt is a mortgage).
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Mortgages are not tax deductible here, so there is really no advantage to having one
*except* you should make full use of government subsidised pension arrangements. I would rather have more mortgage, and put 20% of my gross into a pension every year.
If you register for National Insurance (Social Security) then you will be eligible for a (small) UK pension based on the years worked in the UK. It’s worth doing that, even though it is only a small amount of money. You can open a Jersey bank account, and not have to pay UK tax on the interest (you will have to pay American tax though).
On buying a house, UK houses are overvalued. The UK pound is overvalued. However Scotland is less overvalued than the rest of the UK– it moves on its own cycle (in Aberdeen a lot to do with the oil price).
What could kill you is if you sold in the US, bought in the UK, our housing market goes down, and our pound goes down. Then you move back to the US and cannot afford a house. If you plan to live in the UK indefinitely, this is less of a concern.
Since no one can predict these things, my sense is one wants to hedge as best one can.
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8). I resolve to talk to at least 1 person a month about Peak Oil and/or the importance of living sustainably.
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Peak oil is not known here. Global Warming is, but many people feel we can/should do nothing. Aberdeen is oil country, people don’t take well to the idea that burning oil is a bad thing. Flying to the Continent for the weekend is normal behaviour.
Brits have a superiority/inferiority complex about Americans (a bit like Canadians that way!). You will be reminded at least once that we were in the war from 1939, and you only from 1941. (you personally, that is ;-). So an American telling them how to live their lives, will be taken very badly.
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9). I resolve to preach conservation as something each one of us can do to stretch energy supplies and better prepare for Peak Oil.
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well, we certainly need it, but se e above!
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10). Not energy related, but I resolve to read at least 40 books in 2007. I read 48 in 2005 and 34 in 2006.
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amazon.co.uk and The Book Depository are your friend. Waterstones is a good bookshop.
You will be amazed at how much things cost here– effectively double the US.
There is so much to see and do in Scotland, especially around Ullapool and that (North West). Also the Orkneys are amazing. And the people have a rough charm all their own.
Valuethinker
Valuethinker
Best way to get info on cars in the UK is magazines like What Car? and Autocar
but also from the manufacturer websites themselves eg toyota.co.uk .
There is really no case to get a petrol-driven car. The diesels are extremely economical and perform well.
Vt
Robert Euen Mearns of theoildrum.com (the UK board) lives in Aberdeen. You should definitely be in touch with him.
Yeah, we have been talking. I plan on looking him up shortly after I flew over.
OK I think the answer there is the 1.3 litre Citroen C3 diesel. Peugeot-Citroen makes *great* diesels. Lowest CO2 emission in any case other than a Toyota Prius (which are way too expensive).
I will have to check that out. I had been leaning toward a Citroen, but didn’t realize they made a diesel. This is what I have been thinking about:
Citroen C1 VIBE 3 DR
Cycling is, I am afraid, *dangerous*.
I got the impression as well that last time I was in Scotland. Not a lot of bike trails. It all depends on whether I can cut across a bunch of farmland to get to work.
If you are buying you can do something about this, if you are renting, you cannot.
We will be renting.
There is so much to see and do in Scotland, especially around Ullapool and that (North West). Also the Orkneys are amazing.
I took a trip through Scotland a few years ago:
Trip to Scotland
That’s when I decided that if the opportunity ever came up to relocate, I would jump on it.
Thanks for all the information.
http://www.citroen.co.uk/level3/modelpage.asp?pagetype=C3
They do a 1.4l HDi it appears.
64 mpg or 62 for the 1.6l
http://www.citroen.co.uk/level4/technicalSpecification.asp?pagetype=C3&style=&infoID=13
(that’s our gallon, not yours!)
C3 gives you family capability. Unless you are only using this for commuting, a microcar like a C1 gets old, really fast.
C3 is qualified as a ‘super mini’. Given that Aberdeen has the greatest number of Landrovers per capita in the UK, you won’t feel quite so dwarfed on the roads!
One caveat. Virtually all diesel engined cars are 5 speed manuals (stick). Many of my North American friends have wives who have had difficulty adjusting– you have to downshift and upshift pretty quickly on those roundabouts!
(I wouldn’t get a Ka by the way, I think the guts technology is quite old, and I believe the resale market is not great, too many people hate the styling).
I am not a big fan of the Citroen petrol engine ‘stop and start’ technology (shuts off the engine eg long waits at traffic lights). I don’t want to lose that level of control over my engine.
I would rather drive a 1.3l diesel than a 1 litre petrol engine any day of the week. The difference in CO2 between a C1 and a C3 is about 10gm/ km. One plane flight a year will eat up that difference!
http://www.citroen.co.uk/level4/technicalSpecification.asp?pagetype=C3&style=&infoID=23
Note on cycling across country.
There is now a legal ‘right to roam’ *however* this may not include a ‘right to bike’ (it’s about walkers’ privileges). Needless to say the farmers hate it (many ramblers abuse the privilege, leave farm gates open etc.). Accordingly, you probably have to stick to public footpaths (marked on Ordnance Survey Maps– you should get the local sheets) *and* these may not permit bicycling.
I am vague on this, but the bottom line is not to assume the existence of a right to walk is the existence of a right to cycle.
Not necessarily ‘energy saving’ but Tesco online and Waitrose online do great home delivery of groceries (Waitrose is more ‘up market’). Time saving to say the least, especially for a family with kids.
Vt
Rereading your requirement for a ‘commuter only’ car.
http://www.citroen.co.uk/level4/technicalSpecification.asp?pagetype=c1
looks like the C1 does do a diesel. Because of French government policy to encourage fuel economy, Peugeot-Citroen is a world leader in diesel technology. (they have the world’s first diesel-electric hybrid but only as a prototype)
http://www.citroen.co.uk/level4/technicalSpecification.asp?pagetype=c1&style=&infoID=13
marginal on the fuel economy though.
Does anyone know the diesel/gasoline (petrol) price difference in the UK? In the past few years in the U.S., diesel has actually become more expensive than gasoline. But that was not the case when I lived in Germany. Can someone fill me in on this?
Thanks.
I would say locally (London) about 5p (more for diesel) per litre. Range is 4-7p.
http://www.petrolprices.com/
Vt
http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/local-petrol-prices.php
The problem, as you of all people would understand, is that the refineries were configured when there were far fewer diesel engined vehicles out there– hence the price premium for diesel.
ps someone mentioned a Skoda.
A Skoda is, of course, nothing more than a VW made by Czechs, and these days probably with similar quality.
(there are some very funny ads about people trying to escape Skoda salesmen… very British)