Moving to London or Edinburgh. Which would you choose?

[BetwixtandBetween2]

I'm single, childless, in my mid 30s and thinking of making a move to London or Edinburgh over the next few years or so, possibly sooner. I'm currently living in the Suburbs outside of Glasgow and work from home. I've been in and around Glasgow for all of my life and feel I need a change.

I love my street because it's quiet and I look onto a farm and green fields. I love watching the wildlife and it lifts my mood, but the local town centre while ok is very small and not very varied. I'm only 20 minutes from Glasgow city centre but I feel as though going into the city has worn off for me because I feel as though I've done it all before and it feels rundown.

I don't have an exciting life but I used to go to the theatre every week, or to a talk or event, when I worked in the city centre. I love wandering about high streets and finding bookshops, independent shops and delis to explore. I also love museums and visited them regularly but again I feel as though I've been there, done that, and I want to do all of those things in a new city.

I've been considering Edinburgh because I love it so much but the cold dissuades me a little, not to mention the hills as I have disabilities and I worry that it'd feel a little stale to me after a fewyears or so.

I love how huge and varied London is, and can't imagine running out of things to do there, but it's so expensive and I wouldn't know where to start looking but then there's no hurry, and the thought of living there excites me.

Apologies for length, but any opinions would be appreciated. TIA

I don't need a wheelchair and I can climb stairs, though have some problems with them. I have neurological issues that amongst other things can sometimes affect my walking in that I can struggle to tell how much pressure to use when walking, or how long a stride to take and hills make it harder for me,plus I have pain issues with my legs,and again hills tend to trigger it more, and also trigger my cough variant asthma.

I was in London a few months ago, just before this started, and made use of the tube which was easier than I expected. The transport system is a big plus for me but then Edinburgh has some good transport and there are advantages in living in a relatively compact area.

I lived in London for years and felt like I walked miles and was never off my feet all day.
Edinburgh is small with good buses.

I'll look at the ESPC.

I would consider renting for a year in either city.

Thank you all for the suggestions and opinions. It's very helpful.

I'd only miss one family member but they're thinking of moving much closer to London anyway, and though I have friends here whom I'd miss, I have friends elsewhere in the U.K including London and Id be much closer to them. I also have a friend in Edinburgh, so that'd be nice to be close to her.

I'd probably be looking to make a permanent or near permanent move, probably for at least twenty years or so, likely permanent in truth, if it works out for me in either location.

Edinburgh because it's the best city in the world. I never found Edinburgh people cold, and I'm from a small town in NZ where everyone knows everyone and smiles and says Hello in the street.

Leith has some lovely places well within your budget, it has great restaurants and bars and a lot happening on the art scene. The buses into the centre are every 4 minutes or so, and it's pretty flat. If we could find a house & garden within our much smaller budget we'd move back there in a second - we're now living just in East Lothian.

Edinburgh absolutely! I live near Edinburgh and have worked in Glasgow and not once have I noticed a difference in temperature.
Also Edinburgh is only 30 mins travel at most to lots if beautiful greenery and lovely walks if you fancy a change of scenery.

Would you consider another English city other than London? What about Bath or York? I've been to Bath and really liked it. Lots of people I know have been to York have so many good things to say about it.
I like London for a weekend but would never think of living there. It takes so long to get where you want to go. It's just way too big for me.

London. Absolutely no contest. Love Edinburgh. It if you feel you’ve ‘done glasgow’ Edinburgh won’t take long !
Agree rent and dip a toe in see if it suits and if you can afford to enjoy it

I live. very central wouldn’t ever live anywhere else by choice - absolutely love London.

Have lived in both. Edinburgh is a much more forgiving place to live- for the body and soul.

If you've got loads of energy, you might be ok in London for 4 or 5 years but I definitely couldn't be fecked with it in my 40s.

Hi @BetwixtandBetween2

I have a lovely ground floor flat with a garden and two beds in a very nice area of zone 2 SW London for 750k (and we definitely overpaid) so with your budget you could certainly get something nice.

I love London. A good point is that people settle down later here so it’s easy to find a social life.

Depends on your job too - office work is very sociable outside of working hours.

Edinburgh is so beautiful too though so good luck with whatever choice you make!

I know it's not what you asked but what about Newcastle or York? They are both compact city centres but have tons of cultural events and interesting countryside around them.

Your budget would go a loooong way in either city. And they are both (slightly) warmer than Edinburgh!

I agree with Blankiefan about needing lots of energy for London. But you need to be quite resilient to relocate anyway. I wanted to come back to Edinburgh, I felt like I was coming home and it was still the toughest move I've ever made and I put that down to age as I'm 40 now.
I wouldn't swap a house in a quiet area where you can see fields out the window for a flat in London but that's just me and we all want different things. Best of luck whatever you decide.

If you are a reasonably quiet person then Edinburgh. If you feel like a major metropolis person, then London. (I realise of course that Edinburgh is a metropolis in its own right!)

London, you’d get something lovely for £680,000 in west London on the cross rail route. I am from the north and I wouldn’t move back due to the cold-London is warm and lovely.

London. With big cities you tend to stay in your area, and don’t use the entire city. Also, it’s closer to Transport links to Europe, and the weather is better.

I’m from Edinburgh but moved away 8 years ago - to the suburbs of Glasgow

I agree about the cold in Edinburgh. Glasgow is a lot more rainy but the cold in Edinburgh could cut you in half. It’s also a hell of a lot more touristy than it was even 8 years ago; I find that the atmosphere is totally different when I go back.

If I had your sort of budget and freedom, I’d be in London so quickly you wouldn’t see me for dust!

With your budget - London. You could get a great flat with that budget and probably with a small garden/patio as well.

I love Edinburgh and live not far away, but I would say London.
the weather IS an issue. Lost count of the number of times my sis in London has messaged about the glorious weather and picnics in parks and wearing shorts etc, while we have the heating on in July watching the rain piss down the windows.

I would choose London every time. Edinburgh is nice but its not London. It doesn't have the atmosphere.

Not sure how many museums Edinburgh has but London has loads plus the art galleries, the lovely parks, etc.

York and Bath are two of my favourite cities. I did consider them some time ago, but I keep finding myself drawn to London and Edinburgh. I definitely would consider them again though, and also Newcastle though I know very little about it, but will learn more.

I'm a pretty quiet introverted person and adore the quiet of the suburbs but I love the buzz of a city too so many things going on around you, and so many options. I was raised in a part of Glasgow that had it's own busy high street, with most things that we needed, but it was also only a mile from the city centre and I think I really miss that combination of having a local active high street on your doorstep and easy access to the big city.

I was in Kentish Town not so long ago, and the street I was staying in was so quiet,(which I loved) yet just around the corner was Kentish Town Road with so many shops and restaurants, and it felt so nostalgic and comfortable and right to be in a city again. There was the thrill of knowing that I could do almost anything I wanted because there were so many options in London. (Not that I specifically have KT in mind. )

I'll check out the areas in London and Edinburgh that have been mentioned, though I may start another thread on areas. Thank you all so much for your help so far. It's much appreciated.

Yes, areas could be a whole new thread! I can see the appeal of a vibrant local high street. You'll find that in a lot of London neighbourhoods. How about access to green space? Is that important? You say you can see out over fields now.

London. No question. Actually, when I first read your post's title my thought was "I'd go for Glasgow over Edinburgh any day".

Hello I had a similar dilemma, I studied 2 years of a 4 year course at uni, hated my university and city so returned home for this year (FYI the city I moved home from was Leicester) and I was torn between london and Edinburgh, mainly for updated cities technogically, advanced opportunities and uni opportunities. I chose London for all of the above but more uni support and international opportunities going forward. It ended up going London, Manchester and Edinburgh. I'm from a small CITY in LINCOLNshire. Returning home for lockdown has been comforting be financial its time for me to return to uni and it has allowed me time to edit my uni course and overall career path.
I have the same feeling about my uni city, thought I was homesick, moved out to Yorkshire, then moved to uni in Leicester. Wish I'd never left my Yorkshire city tbh. But mainly moved home for homesick reasons, it took me all of less than three months to realise I couldn't stay there my whole life, I needed something more and to finish my degree in order to explore so will now be returning to uni to a city that has international links for opportunity, don't think about it too much just go for it x

Bc financially * and moved from lincolnshire(18 years), Yorkshire (1 year) and Leicestershire (2 years) now been back in Lincolnshire for 9 months.

With your budget, definitely London.

On a daily basis you don’t get much chance to go out and about to attend events. You probably get home about 6pm and have to cook and go to bed by 10pm, and you may have DC to put to bed even earlier. So it’s irrelevant what’s on because you won’t be going. The biggest impacts on your life will be the affordability of a nice home and the affordability of childcare so you can go to work or go out at the weekend. And when you have DC, the affordability of a car becomes a big factor too. In all respects you’re better off in Edinburgh. I lived in London but moved up north when I reached the point in life where I wanted a house and car.