'I left Inverclyde due to the long commute and lack of opportunities'

A GREENOCK expat has told how an ‘unsustainable’ commute to work and a lack of local opportunities forced him to leave the area he grew up in.

Broadcast engineer Callum Renfrew is one of many young people who have chosen to leave Inverclyde to pursue opportunities outside the area.

The 27-year-old, who now stays in Bishopbriggs, moved out of the area last year, having lived in Inverclyde all his life before that point.

When asked by the Telegraph about why those from younger generations might choose to leave the area, Callum highlighted a range of factors.

He added: “The biggest reason for me was working in Glasgow, the industry I’m in just doesn’t exist in Inverclyde so there wasn’t that option of working locally.

“It got to the point where the commute was unsustainable.

“It would be an hour to work, an hour back from work and that’s not even factoring in all the roadworks.

“It could end up just being three or four hours of my day getting there, which isn’t a good way to spend my time.

“The commute was a leading factor, but also as a young person there’s nothing to do in Inverclyde.

“I’m now five minutes from a train to the city centre where there’s everything I could possibly want to do. There’s better shops, better social places, better restaurants.

“If I was to be asked what are the things that would keep me in Inverclyde now, I would say my friends and family would be the only thing, I’d struggle to answer it beyond that.

“There’s a lack of opportunities in terms of jobs, but also in terms of lifestyle.”

Callum went on to highlight the difference between his generation and his parents’ and grandparents’ generations in terms of opportunities locally.

He added: “I think for older generations like my dad and my grandad, there were opportunities for them in Inverclyde.

“If you go further back there was the shipbuilding which was thriving, there’s nothing huge like that for our generation now.

“It’s a hard problem to fix, we need to make the area an attractive option for employers but it’s a vicious cycle because they might not want to come if the population is going down and down.

“Lack of job opportunities and lack of an attractive lifestyle is largely the problem, the only thing that would have kept me there is my ties to my family.”