Scotland?

Stop. Stop. Stop.

I hadn’t realised you meant to move your child before the finished school.

6th form isn’t a thing in Scotland. The Scottish curriculum and exam system is totally different.

If you want to move while your child is still at school then you’re either looking at massive upheaval in their education (which is not ideal if they want to do vet) or private school that follows an English curriculum. Your child will be looking at potentially needing to do Nat 5s, (without having done the Nat 4) and then Highers / Advanced Highers without having done the same preceding syllabus.

Helensburgh is a nice town. About 30 - 45 minutes from Glasgow. Worth going to check out. I like Ayr too as my son and Grandson live there ?

Bear in mind the offers over system. Scotland is not as cheap as it looks and the house that is advertised at 250,000 could have a home report of 280 and might go for 330 so you need to understand the system before you start shopping because what you see invite move you possibly couldn't afford.

A flat opposite me in the trendy South Side was advertised for 170 offers over, and sold for 232.

One thing not already mentioned, when looking at house prices on Rightmove bear in mind that most in Scotland are listed as 'offers over' and you'll need to be paying at least 10% more, in many areas 25% more than the listing price to be successful.

Only visited when on holiday so have no idea about house prices but I rather liked Stirling and the surrounding areas. The university has an amazing theatre which has a lot of events

@Baroluleni you really need to research the school system….especially if your child wants to do something as highly competitive as vet science, moving to a new system at that point of his education is extremely unwise.

Stop.

Before you get carried away with looking at houses and areas you have to seriously consider how this is going to impact your child's senior school education.

Scottish schools do not teach GCSE. Or A-levels. Although arguably the curriculum in some subjects like Maths/Biology is broadly similar, in other subjects like English or History it is very different. Children in Scotland study usually 5 subjects after 16 (depending on age as the school intake is totally different too) for a year and then apply to university with grades in the bag, rather than like the English system where they do three subjects for 2 years.

It is completely, totally, utterly different. (Unless you are planning on sending them to one of the more expensive private schools which do offer A-levels or International Bac, and I presume that if Gordonstoun fees were in the equation, you'd have mentioned that.) You really need to think long and very hard about how your child will manage uprooting from one system to one which is completely different, then expecting them to excel at a standard high enough to get into a Vet Med course.

Paisley????? Jeez Louise, you need to get up here and have a look around based on reality not what looks "lovely" on the internet!!

For your budget you should be able to pick up a 3 or 4 bed in the areas which are always mentioned as being among the nicest places to live - Bridge of Allan near Stirling, Bearsden, Milngavie, Helensburgh, Newton Mearns, Giffnock, or heading towards the east, Linlithgow, parts of Edinburgh, coastal towns towards North Berwick.

You need to look at WHERE the office is on the outskirts of Glasgow - if it's on the east side, then Stirling or towards Edinburgh will be better than the Ayrshire coast. Also there is no "sixth form" for your 15 year old and the school system being SO different means that the transition at that age is going to be very difficult, especially when he/she is considering a competitive course like vet med.

Hang off a few years. Or move to Northumberland.

I was brought up in Strathaven which is near Hamilton. Nice wee town. However I'd second dunfermline- brilliantly situated. You can easily get to edinburgh by train, Glasgow by bus but also Perth and north and fife coastal villages very quickly. So easy access to gorgeous scenery and the sea. Lots of modern housing.Towns like Falkirk and linlithgow might have housing etc but the countryside between glasgow and eddinburgh is not that attractive.

What about Bishopton? Loads of new builds, train station with a regular 15 -25 minute service on train to Glasgow, 8 minutes drive to train station.

The West End is lovely but you're not getting anything detached for the OPs £450K budget.

Not Paisley.
Bearsden, Milngavie 15 mins from city on train, Dowanhill or Hyndland in West End 10 minutes to city centre or walk in. Gorgeous properties in all but West End much more bustling.

You mostly have to drive from any of them. Somewhere with a train station would be better. It’s one reason we left Lennoxtown, transport links were atrocious with one bus an hour sometimes or driving everywhere.

Sorry to read Paisley isn’t the nicest of areas.
see this is why so needed to ask on Mumsnet.
as we had driven round that way and liked the look of the housing.

Did you drive round with your eyes closed?

Dunblane or Stirling would be better but not Paisley aka Stab city.

Check out Bearsden or Lenzie. They should find something within your budget. They also have good schools and Glasgow city centre is easily accessible by train.

Would you be moving before 15 year old finishes school? Worth looking at catchment areas for schools and looking at start dates - the first few weeks of highers timetables are before the summer break.

You’d be lucky to get a 2 bed tenement in Hillhead for £450k, let alone a 4 bed detached house.

southside of glasgow or east renfrewshire , lovely areas , and you’ll get something decent within your budget

Are you looking to move before your youngest finishes school? If so have you researched the different school systems?

and...? is that bad?

whit's yer point @KimberleyClark

Paisley is a shithole. Try Kilmalcolm/bridge of Weir or Gourock