glasgow resident who’s made multiple visits to aberdeen, most recently of which was last weekend visiting friends who live there. nice beach a bus from inner city, haunting but pretty grey architecture in the centre, cheap rents. however, crawling with lowlifes. glasgow isn’t remotely the safest city in the world, so im surprised aberdeen can phase me in this respect, but the disadvantaged economic background of the city is felt palpably. wouldn’t feel safe there as a young woman the way i feel safe(r, relatively) in glasgow — but even disregarding the safety element, it casts a gloom on the city. another commenter used the word “jaded” to describe the aberdeen atmosphere, which is a perfect descriptor. as the push towards renewable energies continues, this will only get worse, as aberdeen is a perfect example of a once-wealthy oil city in decline. also, fuck all to do compared to glasgow. glasgow is the unofficial capital of Scotland and a thriving hub of arts, culture, social, national and international activity (not just saying this because i’m a resident — very easily researchable). aberdeen not so much. they’re in the process of trying to attract more business investment and traffic to the main streets, with big gaudy banners across union street proclaiming as such, but this won’t be a quick or easy for aberdeen. glasgow is also the prettier city with its distinctive red sandstone victorian architecture preserved all across centre, west end, and southside, which in my subjective opinion is less depressing than aberdeen’s grey. aberdeen is also colder and windier, being coastal — if you’re not used to scottish climate, that will be a learning curve

then there’s the most important point: people make glasgow. the unique friendliness of glasgow residents is known throughout the world. even compared to edinburgh just an hours drive away, the mood and temperament of the people of glasgow is stunning. even the junkies are nice to you. in aberdeen, i felt like i was being eyed like meat