An 'Outlander' fan moved from the US to Scotland to live out a Scottish fantasy

After falling in love with “Outlander,” Hailey Popper decides to give up her small-town life in Connecticut to live her dreams.

Hulin Heritage Photography

After falling in love with the TV show “Outlander,” Hailey Popper moved from the United States to Scotland.
Losing her best friend in 2020 made her realize that life is too short to follow your dreams.
Hailey says:Living in Scotland is better than she ever imagined as she finds her Jamie Fraser.

This narrated story is based on a conversation with Hailey Popper, 25, a fan of the Starz series “Outlander” who moved from her small town in Connecticut to Glasgow, Scotland, after falling in love with the series and all things. Scotland. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I first discovered “Outlander” over five years ago. It was 2018, and I was in my second year of college and looking for a little escapism as exam season began to wind down.

My mum had mentioned the series to me before and she thought I might enjoy it as I’ve always been interested in history, and it’s a historical series set mostly in Scotland. I also planned a trip to Scotland that summer.

But when I clicked play on the first episode of Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe’s series one Sunday night after a long day of school, I had no idea that my life was about to change.

I stayed up watching it until 4:30am and took my final exam after only two hours of sleep (which I passed).

By Wednesday of that week, I had inhaled every episode. On the same day, I started reading the book series on which the series is based, written by Diana Gabaldon.

It made me even more excited about my vacation in Scotland. My mom helped me plan the trip and knowing how much I enjoyed the show, she went online and asked in a Facebook group if anyone knew of any “Outlander” rides. There was one place and it happened to have spaces available on the first day of my trip which I spent the afternoon on.

When I first visited Scotland when I was 20, I fell in love with the country’s quaint streets, lovely people, and cozy pubs almost immediately.

On the day of my “Outlander” tour, I was naturally excited but I had no idea that in just a few hours, everything would change for me.

I remember taking the long, scenic drive up to Medhope Castle, the 15th-century tower that serves as Jamie Fraser’s family home in the TV show, and being overcome with emotion.

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I didn’t quite understand at first, but then, clearly, I did.

I realized I had found my calling. This is where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. I had only been on the tour for 20 minutes, but I felt something change inside me. I honestly felt like I had been sleepwalking my whole life and finally woke up.

Once I got home, three things happened: I dumped my boyfriend at the time, got a therapist, and changed my major in school from education to history.

My academic and personal focus is now solely on Scotland, and hence Outlander.

Knowing in my heart that Scotland was my spiritual home, I decided to apply to study abroad there. Unfortunately, the only time I was able to do this was in the last semester of my senior year, which meant I had to wait two years to return.

During those two years, I spent my time participating in the fandom, reading the rest of the books, watching the show on repeat, and learning as much as I could about Scottish history.

When the time finally came to study abroad, it was January 2020.

Just three months into my program, the world shut down due to COVID-19, and I was asked to return home for my safety. I had waited a long time to return to Scotland and had to leave soon.

Hayley Popper at Medhope Castle, one of the filming locations of “Outlander.”

Hulin Heritage Photography

At home, I found myself celebrating my 22nd birthday alone while isolated in a camper in my parents’ backyard, thinking about how I had come so close to my dreams and then had them snatched away from me. Things couldn’t really get any worse, I thought.

But then they did.

Just a few days later, I learned that my best friend in the entire world had been killed in a car accident.

I had never experienced a loss like this before, and it plunged me into a horribly dark place. When I came out of isolation and the world started opening up again, the last place I wanted to be was my small town. There were memories of my best friends and the life we shared together on every street corner.

I became more determined to return to Scotland, this time for good.

I would never say I’m grateful for what I went through, but I can relate to what it led to because now, three years later, I live in Scotland full-time.

In the fall of 2020, in the midst of my grief, I pulled myself together to apply to graduate school in Scotland. I knew this was what my best friend would have wanted for me and he wanted to make them proud.

Even though the program was entirely online, I didn’t care at all because at the end of the day, my feet were on Scottish soil, and that was all that mattered to me.