Anyone from Glasgow? Wondering where to move to

[CuppaSarah]

DH has had a job offer, which is great news for us. But it's in Glasgow and we've never been to Scotland, let alone Glasgow. We're all really excited about the move, for so many reasons. We've been desperate to get out of our overpriced, overcrowded area, but we're only going to have one weekend to look at rental properties before we go. The plan is rent for a bit, then buy a house once we're settled into the area.

Of course one weekend isn't enough time to choose where to settle, since DD will have to start school when we move, I don't want to rent in Paisley, but end up buying in Clydebank and have to move her school.

So if any of you live in or know the area, whereabouts up to an hour's commute from central Glasgow would you recommend looking at for a young family? DS and I like rural, DH and DD like towns and cities. So something with the best of both worlds is perfect.

West end of Greenock and Gourock are both nice places to live. Great transport links to Glasgow with around 4 trains an hour and only 35 minutes journey time for a fast train.
Both are coastal towns with all the facilities you need ( shops, leisure centre etc) but within 5-10 minutes drive you can be up in the hills or at the beach.

Ooh and the schools for gourock and West end greenock area also really good.

I agree West End of Greenock and Gourock are nice. Nice shops and cafes in Gourock now, it’s improved a lot in last ten years or so. The outdoor pool is great and lovely views across the water!

Definitely recommend you post on Scotsnet (it's in 'Other stuff'), but this time start with a summary, eg your budget, your location constraints, including being more specific about the location where your DH will be working, as this will affect his commuting options. Glasgow may not be huge but it sure can grind to a halt at peak times!

Also, include the age of your DC, as school recommendations will vary depending on age (primary/secondary).

Send me a PM op, I’m an Ayrshire estate agent, £125k for a 3 bed house in my area is a good budget (but the commute will be longer)

I used to live in Dalry and commute by car to Glasgow. The commute is fine (40minutes-ish) and while the town itself wasn’t great living there was fine. Public transport was also good so if your husband will be near the city centre or a subway stop it’s an easy trip by train (before my office moved I would get the train to Glasgow central then subway out to Scotland Street).

icebear can you explain the offers over system and how offers are binding?

avoid city centre’s east areas

Why? Lots of money has been put into the east end and it’s nice enough here. There’s a big new build development at Carntyne too.

You’re not going to find a 3 bed in a nice area in Ayr, Prestwick or troon for £125k unfortunately.

I’d avoid Greenock/gourock if you’re going to use trains as there’s endless trouble with gangs of kids on them (dh works for scotrail so I get the lowdown)

Kilwinning is a tip, I grew up there, Irvine and Kilmarnock are miserable. With your budget you’ll struggle in Ayrshire for a nice area 3bed and while you say you don’t mind about schools, please have a look at hmie reports and also destination information for the secondary your local primary will feed there are massive differences in schools a few miles apart.

I haven’t checked prices lately but neilston is a nice small village in the hills and not far out of Glasgow, decent rail, and until recently certainly would be in your price.

@RJnomore1 good rail links from Neilston, you’re right!

They're flinging new estates up all over Cambuslang - depending on how your husband will commute I'd prefer Cambuslang/Newton to East Kilbride for train services.

Croftfoot/Kings Park should also have options for you and have good train and bus links to the city centre.

Oh and new homes (Richmond Gate) are being built which are very close to the city, good bus links and near the motorway. Not sure what you'd call the area, possibly New Gorbals?

I had the misfortune to spend my teenage years in Newton Mearns and it is the most up its arse place I have ever lived.

Have cousins who live in Helensburgh which they really like.

Offers over doesn’t mean you have to offer a set amount over the guide price, you can offer whatever you like including under the guide price.

In Scotland we have home reports which are an independent survey and valuation of the property, removing the need for everyone who’s interested in a house to have their own survey. Say the house values at £150,000, the guide price will usually be positioned just below that, say £149,500, to try and achieve £150,000. But if you only want to offer £145,000 you can certainly do so, as an agent i’ll always present any offer to my clients and negotiate as required, sometimes you’ll get a bargain.

Once the offer is accepted either party can withdraw at any time until the contract (missives) are concluded, this is our equivalent of exchanging contracts. At that point you’re tied in and the sale settles (money changes hands) anything from a few days to a few weeks later. Most sales I deal with take 6 weeks from offer being accepted to the buyer getting the keys.

You mentioned renting up here before buying, if you have to sell in England rent up here while you sell. I deal with a lot of people moving from England and it’s notoriously difficult to sell in England and tie it in with a purchase in Scotland, the conveyancing systems are totally different and it ends up a nightmare for all involved. Not saying it’s impossible, i’ve defiantly seen it happen at least once, but it’s really really difficult so if you can have your English sale done before offering in Scotland it will make your life much less stressful!

I always come on these threads to defend Paisley, have lived here 20 years, not one bad day. Kids play out, getting on great at school/uni. Train links fab, handy for both silverburn and braehead, lots of nice restaurants.

Just come back to discover lots more posts! Thank you so all much for taking the time to post. I've got a lot of info on which areas to start with! We'll definitely be renting for six months first at least. We rent now, but we're getting a small lump sum next early year which will form the majority of our deposit.

We're going to cross reference the deprivation map linked upthread, recommendations in here and what we get when we chat with an estate agent and start there. We're really hoping to get the right area first time so we don't have to swap DDs school twice, but she's a confident little thing so wouldn't be the worst thing if we have to. Realistically picking the right place from 7 hours away is a big ask so we'll see how it goes. It's all feeling a little more real today! We're actually escaping the home counties!!

Thank you so much for asking this question,this is the exact reason Ive just joined Mumsnet. I hope you don't mind me jumping on?
Myself and my family are moving up to Scotland from Northampton asap. Our house is just about to go on the market and we will be renting in Scotland for the first 6 months while we get settled and find permanent jobs. We're in the same boat with wanting to rent in the area we will then buy in because of schools I have 3 girls,7,10 and 15.
Is Kilmarnock really that bad? That's where the majority of the houses that I've liked are. We want to be on the west coast and have recently visited wemyss bay,largs and Ayr all of which we loved and west Kilbride looked lovely as we drove through. We'll have a budget of around £170,000 when we buy and would like at least 3 bedrooms 4 would be great and a decent garden as we have a German shepherd. We would really like to live somewhere quiet as that's a big reason we want to get out of Northampton, that and the fact the whole place is covered in tents for the homeless and fly tipped rubbish. Another slight concern I have is that my dad who is Glaswegian bit has lived in Coventry since his teens was raised Catholic and I don't want to end up somewhere he or us feel uncomfortable for religious reasons.
Sorry if I've broken any rules by butting in in this post im new and currently wide awake at 2:30 am because all this is going over in my head constantly.

Kilmarnock’s not “that” bad. Like everywhere else, it has it’s dodgy areas.
The council have been doing/ tarting up the town centre recently, but there’s still not much there. The religious thing is no where near as bad as it used to be, you still get bigots (obviously like elsewhere) but it’s thankfully becoming a relic of the past.

On the religious front there is no issue. But the town centre is quite dead and I wouldn’t live there myself.

Irvine is better. Look at girdle toll, stanecastle. avoid bourtreehill, brook lands, castle park and ravenscroft.

Paisley is the best town in Scotland imo. Good schools, close to Glasgow. We loved it there. I’d go back tomorrow.

Killie is a ghost town full of junkies

Paisley is the best town in Scotland imo. Good schools, close to Glasgow. We loved it there. I’d go back tomorrow.

Paisley definitely splits opinion. I work there and would not ever consider living there yet a lot of colleagues have lived their for years happily - including lots with young children

For your budget I would also recommend Neilston- it's in East Renfrewshire which is renowned for its schools, yet is affordable, has a village type feel and you can be in the city centre in half an hour due to its railway station. It has a real community feel if that's what you are looking for.

Hey Op how are you getting on with house hunting?

If you want to stay within Glasgow look at :

Pollokshaws.
Auldhouse
Hillington
Cardonald

All on the South West of the Clyde.

The eastend would suit your budget but it is a total ballache commuting from North East to South West.

Further a field depends on whether commute entails drive or public transport. I used to go from South to North East and it would take me an hour on buses. I could have got from Glasgow to Edinburgh in less time.

Don't discount Paisley. It is handy because it is South West and schools are good. Ralston is a nice area with lovely parks and a good secondary school. Further along the motorway are some semi-rural villages like Bridge of Weir that are great for schools, family life...you might struggle with your budget but it's not impossible. But you will need to both be driving.

I'm from the South side of Glasgow so if you need any help pm me.

I also think Paisley is a decent shout. It's the biggest town in Scotland and I really don't think you can tar every area of it with the same brush. It really is massive, with so many different areas within you could opt for. The West End of paisley, or Ferguslie Park are both dives, but Glenburn or Foxbar areas are perfectly decent, respectable areas.

I also think Renfrew is a good area, very close to great shopping facilities like Ikea, supermarkets, good schools, decent enough town centre, public transport links are ideal. I don't think you would be lacking anything by opting for Renfrewshire.