Joanne Hall
Hailing from Carluke in the South Lanarkshire area, dancer, mucisian, and architectural assistant Joanne Hall is a relatively new resident of Benbecula.
“I was looking for work, sending out loads of applications but there were few places taking on graduates. I was looking to take on any job, I was just applying everywhere. Then, Benbecula popped up and I thought ‘Oh where is this?’”
Although Benbecula wasn’t quite on Joanne’s radar, she had previously been on a road trip with friends around Skye, Lewis and Harris, so she had a bit of an idea of what kind of place this unknown island might be. The architectural job hunt eventually presented her with two options; the beautiful breezy Benbecula or the glittering glow of Glasgow.
“I felt that if I stayed in Glasgow that not much would really change in my life, but Benbecula would be a real change of scene. I was offered the job, decided to go for it, and then started googling ‘what to do in Uist’”
Now working for Fraser Architecture, which was set up by Robert and Janice Fraser in 2008, Joanne has settled smoothly into west coast living.
Joanne’s professional life has also flourished with the experience she’s gained by choosing Benbecula over Glasgow for her training.
“Looking at the work here, there’s a lot happening. There are a number of really exciting projects. With this company, the environment, the geography and the culture has provided me with a completely different experience. In every aspect of what we do, we consider the ecological building construction, the landscape and the weather.
The company is very focused on building ‘environmentally friendly’. In every aspect of what we do we consider the environment, the tides and the landscape.”
Uist, like the rest of the country, is currently facing a housing crisis. Buying and renting seems almost impossible in the current climate, however, to Joanne’s relief, during her second interview for her new Bencecula job, they dropped the bombshell:
“Oh we’ve got a house for you”
“Luckily for me, work found me accommodation. When I first looked on Zoopla there were no listings at all for rental accommodation in Benbecula. There were no listings in any part of Uist so I thought that it wasn’t even an option to move here.”
Luckily for Joanne and luckily for us, she was able to begin her adventurous journey and travel to Benbecula. Before getting on the road, she broke the news to her family and friends.
Their replies went along the lines of: “Oh no, you’re going to be sooo bored!” or “are there young people there?” and “where is that?” Then I was a bit apprehensive. But then I arrived here and we’ve now got a whole group of people that are out every weekend and that I see often at various clubs.”
In her first week as an Uibhisteach, Joanne arrived on the Monday, unpacked on the Tuesday and then went swimming on the beach every day after that. “Then I started to meet people and I made some other friends, who are ages with me here.”
“I would say that people are not aware of how much is happening here and maybe not even aware of how many young people there are here. I’ve found such a wide group the same age as me. I’ve got a busy life here and there’s lots going on.”
Speaking about the move, Joanne says that: “It’s been an unreal experience and I’m so glad that I did it.”
“I think it would be very easy to come up here and not connect with the community and not go to stuff and sit in your house every night. On the mainland I’m from quite a rural place and all my family are from farms. So yeah, I suppose it is a bit similar. Everyone runs crofts here, everyone’s connected. So, moving up here, that’s something I like.
Now that I’ve been here a year and a bit, it’s hard to look back to a time when I arrived for the first time on Lochmaddy pier in the dark thinking “ok, this is where you’re now living and let’s try and find the house”. I didn’t know a single person.
I say to myself that it was such a random jump for me to have come. I suppose it was quite brave to have moved to a place where I didn’t know anyone or anything about the place.
Reaching out to the different community groups is what has made me settle in here so well and having connections outside of work. So my advice to anyone moving up here would be, pick a hobby and go for it!”
Joanne is very involved with publicising the Uist calendar and you may see her handiwork on our Uist Beò Social Media platforms. Click here to keep in the loop and find out what’s going on.
Dallaibh oirbh, thugainn dhachaigh!
