Make Your Move: The family who swapped Brunei for Shetland

“Shetland is a unique place to live,” says Emma Chittick. We’re sitting poolside at the Clickimin Leisure Complex in Lerwick, squeezing in a chance to chat between family engagements (dancing for daughter Eilidh, rugby for husband Brian).

And the Chitticks know a thing or two about places to live. You see, Brian and Emma have had a variety of addresses (from Buckinghamshire to Brunei) thanks to Brian’s former work in the Royal Navy.

In 2015, the couple moved to Shetland from Brunei along with their then-three-year-old son, Ruaridh. Keen to escape the constant relocations of naval life, Brian retired from the Royal Navy and started to apply for work in his field of expertise – dentistry.

Luckily, Brian found a dentist position in Shetland, and the growing family started a new life in the small westside community of Walls. They moved in March 2015 and three months later, their daughter Eilidh was born.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that life on a northerly archipelago and life on a Bornean island would be very different. According to Emma, there are many similarities.

“Apart from the weather, life here is not too dissimilar from Brunei. There’s a big oil and gas sector, so very similar companies are present. It's rural. Geographically, it’s isolated. We were already quite used to that, having been living in Brunei. So, although weatherwise, it’s different, the actual mechanics of living here is kind of similar”.

Despite having no previous connections with Shetland, they quickly built up a support network. Emma befriended another young family, which meant she had someone to go to local toddler groups with.

Although Emma settled in very quickly, it took Brian longer to accept the pull of his new home, though he now feels deeply embedded.

He says: “For me, it took a little longer to feel settled. Part of that was because I was in the military before coming here. So, after two years, I was kind of thinking, what's next? But after the first two years in Shetland, I got told in no uncertain terms that we weren't moving anywhere. And this was it.”

That diktat is now one that Brian happily accepts. Over the years, he has gone from a simple appreciation of the Shetland landscape to a deeper love of these islands and what makes them such a special place to live.

He says: “When I first moved here, I'd always be posting on social media with the hashtag '#Shetlandisawesome'. And I think that was because everything was new, whether that was the Northern Lights or seeing an orca or whatever.

"ButI think now we've lived here for 10 years, Shetland is awesome but on a much deeper level. And it’s that depth that keeps us here.”

A clincher for Brian, who now works as the chief executive of NHS Shetland, was when the whole Westside of Shetland lost its power, due to heavy snow weighing down (and breaking) power lines. Watching the community come together brought home the uniqueness of life in Shetland.

He recalls: “Meals were cooked in the community hall. We had a big generator supplied by DH Marine [a local engineering company]. That was the only place that had power, and it was like a warm hub so people would just come down. And then George Robertson [electrical retailer] had donated a washing machine so people could wash their clothes.

“It was also seeing things like people I worked with out on the tractors, delivering medication, delivering food, pulling the district nurse out of the ditch, you know, all the stuff that kept the most vulnerable people looked after. It was really powerful.”

Nine-year-old Eilidh and 13-year-old Ruaridh are thriving in their Shetland home too, and like their parents, firmly embedded in community life.

Eilidh is happily settled in Happyhansel Primary, the oldest school in Shetland. Not only does she have access to a wide range of sports (she swims, and plays netball, ping pong and rugby), but she also enjoys traditional Shetland pursuits, such as lambing and fiddling (she will be performing at Shetland Young Fiddler of the Year this year).

Oh, and when she has free time, she helps in the local shop!

For Emma, what’s special about life in Walls is the opportunity to bring up truly "free-range" children. Emma says: “Since she's been about three, Eilidh’s managed to go to the park without us. I mean, we do live over the wall from the park, so you can see it, but, you know, she's got the freedom to go to the park by herself with her big brother. Where else would you allow that to happen?”

Ruaridh is equally involved in Shetland life. He’s captain of the rugby team for his age group and says he has enjoyed helping to develop the skills of younger players.

He also played an important part in this year’s Lerwick Up-Helly-Aa, as he was selected to be in the Junior Jarl Squad, an opportunity he says he is “happy and very thankful for”.

Both Brian and Emma are keen to emphasise the fact that, like most things in life, you get out what you put in. They have thrown themselves into their local community: they’ve managed the toddler group and been on the parent council, and Emma is a committee member of their local community hall.

A busy social life, thriving children, countless opportunities to learn and grow…is there anything the Chitticks’ life in Shetland lacks?

Emma laughs: “When we first moved here, we listened to an interview with a guy on Fair Isle and the radio presenter said, 'so what's your biggest problem?” And he said: 'There's just not enough hours in the day!'

“And actually, that really resonates with us now. You know, it's so true. We’re so busy. But at the same time, you can always sneak a moment of peaceful contemplation. Just look out the window.”