Possible move to Angus....Anything I should know ????

[scottswede]

Family are moving back to the Uk probably next year, and I have been looking at Angus in particular. Don't know much about the area though other than I get good vibes about it. Good schools, things to do etc. I have a 7yr old and a 5yr old.
Reasons I think we will like Angus are;
Better weather than say west coast.
Hubby needs access to Aberdeen, not on a daily commute though.
Dundee is a good medium sized town.
I would love any positive and negative input from the "locals" as you all have first hand knowledge of actually living in the area.
Thanks.

[TeaAndTunnocks]

Hi there,

I take it you are in Sweden at the moment? We moved to Dundee last year. I lived for 20 years in Germany and Switzerland, but was brought up in Dundee. DH and the kids never lived here, so it is all new to them.

I really like living in Dundee. It is a decent sized city, with reasonable links to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Dundee has all the major chain stores, and a smattering of independent shops. There is a vibrant art scene, which will improve even further when the V&A opens in 2015.

The schools are generally pretty decent, and there is no problem getting kids into the school you want them to go to, from my experience.

The trip to Aberdeen is ok, but getting to the airport is a bit of a hassle. DH said that he recently took an hour to get to A'deen, and almost the same again to get around the town to the airport.

I like the location here. Fife is just across the water, and is really lovely. The Angus glens are gorgeous for day trips, and even the highlands are doable for a day trip. Or over to the Trossachs, and Loch Lomond.

[SparklesInTheFerry]

Im Dundee born and bred, but lived in a small Angus town for a few years. I couldn't wait to get out and back to Dundee to be honest. This was mainly due to the small Angus towns being too parochial for me. Dundee isn't exactly the centre of the universe, but the pull of a small city and it's facilities was too strong for me. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people move to the smaller towns and love it, but it wasn't for me.
Funnily enough my dh commutes to just outside Aberdeen daily and it's just not an issue, door to door in under an hour-it used to take him that to get from Angus to the western outskirts of Dundee on a bad day!
Like Tunnocks said, schools are excellent, at both primary and secondary level in both Angus and Dundee, with one of the best performing secondaries in Scotland in Dundee. A couple of primaries in my local area have been oversubscribed over the last couple of years, due to placement requests, but is is being addressed.
Weatherise, the east coast is usually a wee bit cooler than the west, but WAY dryer! Saying that, you don't have to go too far inland in Angus to be snowed in, whilst on the coast we've not see a flake!

[NotatallSnootie]

Dundee is a great city. Beaches up the coast are stunning, the hills not too far away but also just over an hour to Aberdeen or Edinburgh, and not much more to Glasgow. Perth is also great but a bit far to get to Aberdeen regularly. Having moved to one of the smaller Angus towns though, I personally have hated it, and wish we'd stuck to the city, or at least Broughty Ferry. Actually if we could have found a house there, it would have been Broughty Ferry we'd have chosen.

As Teaandtunnocks says, a great art scene, building all the time, a lovely rep theatre and the weather could be a lot worse. There's a fab new swimming pool opening next month too.

[TeaAndTunnocks]

I wrote a bit about returning to Dundee after living abroad so long.

I think that it is a v good time to move to Dundee. House prices are very reasonable, compared to other UK cities, and there is a definite feeling of optimism.

[scottswede]

Thanks for the replies everyone. What a really positive and uplifting vibe I'm getting.
Teaandtunnocks, what a great article.
I seriously expected a lot of don't move here the schools are awful, crime, bad weather. Sometimes when I mention I want to leave Sweden and return to Scotland I get the are you crazy? look.
Sweden ain't all that, believe me.
I have worked an lived abroad for 20 of the last 25 years. Moved back for 5 years and had the kids (wanted them born in Scotland)
Really feel the pullback home. I think Angus area is a front runner. Thank you all again for the positive feedback.
I promise to invite you all for a coffee when we move.

[TeaAndTunnocks]

I would say there is more opportunistic crime here - we can't leave the kids bikes outside the house - than where we lived before. But we were near Geneva, an area that is terrible for property crime. There wasn't a house on our street that wasn't broken into at least once.

Other than that, I think Angus is reasonably low in the crime stats - it certainly feels that way. I would happily walk around Dundee alone in the evening.

[MuirheadMafia]

Hello, thought I might weigh in on this one, as we live in a small Angus town to the north of Dundee (the clue's in the name, people!) and I love it.

We're really close to the city, which itself is the perfect size for me - plenty to do but not too huge and overwhelming. There are lots of cultural and leisure activities in Dundee, and it's also really close to the seaside, hills, countryside, other cities. Perfect location. But - when I come home, I'm in a little village, with a shop, community centre etc that also feels rural. I love being able to step out the door and walk (run, if I'm feeling energetic) past horses, hills, fields, through the woods, and still be able to pick up a paper and pint of milk on the way home!

Honestly, I love this place, can't rave about it enough! Plus you're right - East coast weather is definitely better than west. The train links here are pretty good too - your DH could take the train to Aberdeen, I think it's a fairly regular service?

Dundee/Angus is the best - It's well and truly my second home (I'm from NI). Hope that helps!

[scottswede]

Since we decided to definitely move I have been keeping an eye on rental properties as well as house prices. We moved to Scotland from the States about 8 years ago and rented as we couldn't apply for a mortgage for 6 months. I'm assuming the rules haven't changed.
Dundee/ Angus areas seem pretty reasonable for rentals and buying compared to Aberdeenshire.
We are coming over to Scotland next month for a couple of weeks and I really want to visit Dundee and get a feel for the place. Any recommendations on child-friendly eating places, must sees, etc.
I'm really psyched on this move and I want to get as much info as possible.
When we moved to Sweden, we chose a rural area near a large city. The difference here is it's either rural or city, nothing in-between. I really want to get this move right.
I am so appreciating you guys taking the time to help out.

[TeaAndTunnocks]

Have you bank accounts in UK? Presuming you don't have a mortgage or anything?

If you can, open accounts and start using the account. I wish someone had suggested this to us, as it was really difficult getting a mortgage - or even a mobile phone contract when we moved over. We were told to get a mortgage we would have to have a credit rating, but of course without having any credit here, we couldn't build up a rating.

Catch 22

I would start by checking your credit rating in UK (you can apply to Experian for this) and using a UK bank account. If you can set up direct debits to pay for anything over here, that would be great. Being on the electoral role helped, as did financing a car. Getting loan for the car was really very difficult, and it was only down to the fabulous team at Dundee Audi that we managed it. Everywhere else turned us down flat.

You can have 20 years great credit history abroad, but when you move to UK, it counts for nothing. Might not be so bad for you, as you have lived in the country, but worth checking.

House prices here are considerably lower than in Aberdeen area, even in the more rural settings, and the housing market is quite slow. Definitely a buyers market.

[TeaAndTunnocks]

Have a look at the cafe section on here for suggestions, but my favourite cafes are

Jessies Kitchen in Broughty Ferry

Madigans Food Emporium in Dundee

Parrot Cafe - not particularly child friendly, although they are v pleasant and welcoming, but delicious home cooked soups and cakes

T Ann Cake in Dundee is wonderful too.

Restaurants - Dil'Se on the Perth Road is fabulous, if you like Bangladesh / Indian food

Ship Inn in Broughty Ferry offers delicious meals and great views over the Tay. They have binoculars on the window ledges, which keeps the kids amused for ages.

[scottswede]

Hi, just got back from our trip to Scotland. Didn't manage to get to Dundee this time. We went to Perth and Berwick-upon-tweed. Ruled both of them out. Nothing in particular, just not a I can see myself living here kind of feeling. It is so hard to make big decisions on such a limited time but I'm glad we managed to narrow the search down even more. I think we will be coming over again at the end of the summer directly to the Dundee area though.

[LEDundeeAngus]

I really like Perth but wouldn't want to live there. It is pretty, and a bit posher but Dundee has a better range of cultural activities and events.

Are you thinking smaller rural town, or larger city?

[scottswede]

Definitely not in a large town/city, either on the outskirts or in a smaller villagey place. We were thinking under 8 000 pop. would be big/small enough.

[LEDundeeAngus]

North of Dundee might be a good place to start then - Carnoustie or Monifieth are quite nice, as is Broughty Ferry. All along the coast, with good village-y feel but not far from the amenities of Dundee.

Further north there is Montrose and Arbroath, but I don't know what they are like to live in. I always liked Montrose, as we had an aunt who lived there.

[fallon8]

Carnoustie..we only have a second rate co op...schools not great.
Dundee..ok,if you only want Debenhams or Markies...high unemployment,highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe...West end is ok..but I would look elsewhere.

[LEDundeeAngus]

Hmm, Fallon. I think if you go to pretty much any UK town, you will find there is 'only Debenhams and Markies'. And Dundee has a lot more going for it than just these two shops.

The teen pregnancy rate is due to the higher than average areas of deprivation in the city. It has no bearing on life in the town in other areas.

[Pehsandbridies]

Dundee has a lot going for it, its such a shame that some people are so blinkered.

Its a great location and with a lot of re-generation going on. I lived in the Ferry, and in Dundee and loved both places, its a city made up of some great communities. Lots to do for families and couples alike. You are never too far from the beach or a glen for walks. The villages along the Carse of Gowrie (between Perth and Dundee) are nice too.

[mrmj]

I live in Forfar, not too big but not too small neither. Quite convenient for getting to Dundee/Aberdeen. 3 Primary schools, 2 really good ones but one has a significantly bad reputation.

[LEDundeeAngus]

mrmj
And you have BRIDIES!

From Bridies to PEHs...
We were in Errol recently and really liked it. Lots of nice new houses but still a village feel, and with a new school and nursery.

[mrmj]

Forfar has more a small town feel. Lots of new houses but im a bit shocked at how expensive these are and they are usually tiiiinnnnnyyyy!

Im not a fan of bridies but dp loves them.

Dundee has a 24 hr bakery (which sell loads of different things) though, which i lurrrvee. Nothin better than an all day breakfast at 3 in the morning on the way home.

[LEDundeeAngus]

mrmj
where is that bakery then?

We bought an ex-council house and all the tradesmen who have done work on it marvel at the size of the bedrooms. They are 3 proper double bedrooms.

[mrmj]

Clarks bakery - www.facebook.com/pages/Clarks-24-Hour-Bakery/118072051584538 thats their facebook page.

I alway think Council houses tend to be quite good sizes. My first flat was a council flat and i loved it. It was just a shame the the Council started shipping in all the junkies to that area and they spoiled it.

Ive seen new builds class 9" x 10" as doubles!

[scottswede]

The house sizes are one of my huge concerns about moving back to the UK. When we were over I had a look around some 'new builds'. Tiny tiny, shocking really. The house prices for house sizes don't add up. Our house is palatial compared to UK houses.

[kirst33n]

hi, not sure if anyones still on this but i found the thread and was interested did you move to scotland and if so where and how did you find it, I ask because I am looking to move to Monifieth/Broughty Ferry area for work in the new year , thanks for any info