Living somewhere between Edinburgh and Glasgow

[MegoLego]

Where would you live?

DH wants to move to Scotland in the next few years once DC have finished school. Don't really want to live in a city, but don't want to live in a little village. His job is transferable, I can get a job when we move. The plan is to sell up and rent until we are settled in an area then buy.

I'm familiar with Borders on the East, Edinburgh and Glasgow, so would be happy to live around there. Both of us drive, so commuting hopefully won't be a problem.

Stirling or Larbert? I grew up in Burnside which is near Rutherglen which is south side of Glasgow which is nice and about 15 minutes into city centre from the south side.

Stirling is beautiful, Livingston more convenient - Edinburgh is the much preferred city, so I recommend living closer to that.

Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk are all on the Edinburgh - Glasgow train line and have things to offer.

Also try larbert.

Bothwell?

There no way I’d ever consider commuting by car into either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Do not do it to yourself.
Either live in a nice bit if the city you want to be in (Eg for Edinburgh in the Lothian bus area) or on a train line.

East Lothian is beautiful. I live in Edinburgh and don't want to move because of dc school but I'd love to live on the East Lothian coast

A village would be ok if it had a good enough facilities nearby and wasn't a big travel to the nearest town/city.

Doesn't necessarily be on the central belt, but don't want to be too far north as still want to be within easy travelling distance to the NE of England.

I've lived in both a village and a city, currently,live in a city. Whilst I love the accessibility to shops in a city, I miss the calm of a village.

We do like walking as a family, so somewhere near to good walks. Seaside towns would be ok I suppose. Only been to the west coast Ardrossan/Saltcoats way.

What kind of budget and what kind of lifestyle do you want/have?

I have friends who live in Hamilton and Cumbernauld. I wouldn't fancy either, but they have wonderfully large houses compared to costs down here, big gardens and are happy to drive to Edinburgh/Glasgow/Stirling for shopping and days out, especially the Cumbernauld one. The Hamilton ones can at least nip to the cinema without going far.

@Roseburn I was going to say Bothwell as well! (or Uddingston)

Longniddry - on a quick trainline to Edinburgh. Lovely village close to hill walks and coast with a shop and pub. I also love Dunbar - also has train to Edinburgh and I'm sure the most sunshine hours in the UK. Lovely market town with a nice working harbour

I'd look in and around Stirling - ok Stirling is a city but it's really very small. I'm originally from Edinburgh and it has the right feel for me. There is also Dunblane and Bridge of Allan (which is technically separate and has it's own high street but is virtually attached to Stirling)

You have easy access for trains and also to the motorway for heading south. Although further North, you can be travelling on the motorway within minutes so can in fact be a quicker drive than some places further south where you'd be on smaller roads to start with.

I'm in West Lothian - moved here 12 years ago cos my job was more Edinburgh based and DH was more Glasgow based
we're not in Linltlithgow, which is lovely but expensive, but not far away
Can get train into Edinburgh in 30 mins, and drive into Glasgow in a little more than that
nice countryside round about us, and we have got a 4 bed detached house for what you would pay for a 2 bed flat in Edinburgh

Croy is nice.

Linlithgow is the go-to nice area but overpriced imo. South queensferry is lovely. There are pockets around Falkirk that are very nice but cheaper. Some have a bad reputation from generations back (ex mining) but have been gentrified massively.

Consider somewhere on the train line for ease of travel and teenage freedom. Train is way faster than driving to Edinburgh centre.

It’s hard without visiting as there are pockets of affluence and deprivation everywhere- villages like Whitecross significantly change the statistics for Linlithgow.

If you are renting first then I’d look for somewhere with a significant market so you have choice when buying. You can look on google maps for typical “middle class markers” like ballet classes, butchers, farmers markets and churches with kids clubs. Go around google street view and see what shops there are.

If you’re coming in from outside and want a mix of outsiders (rather than all people who grew up in the area) then I’d recommend choosing an area with new builds, even if you don’t live in one yourself.

Finally, check the historical weather info on the met office website. There is a massive difference in sunshine/rain in just a few miles.

MIL lives in Tullibody, very near Alloa, I always think the area is very pretty, only half an hour into Stirling. We looked to go back there, but kids settled here in the south of England, and we dont want to be to far away from grandkids.

Linlithgow is quite a nice town but it's a bit small and parochial. I think it might suit if your children were still at school frankly. I'd not recommend Livingstone, it's quite soulless, and Falkirk is a bit grim in my experience. What about Fife? Somewhere like Aberdour, on the train line to a Edinburgh. Yes it's small too but has a much nicer feel than say Linlithgow. East Lothian is generally pretty expensive.

For east access to NE England and stuff going on, what about parts of East Lothian? North Berwick expensive and lovely, on a train like. Don’t rule out other parts such as aberlady or even Haddington. Easy road access to the A1 south. Stunning countryside and beaches.

Or somewhere like Peebles in the Borders. Lots going on and beautiful countryside. Further from the coast though and no train to Edinburgh.

I would agree about bridge of alan and Stirlingshire and west from there. It’s a lovely part of the world but harder to access the north of England as the roads are very busy. But easier access to the highlands so it’s a trade off I guess.

Don’t rule out parts of south edinburgh like fairmilehead or balerno. Or even Edinburgh’s seaside - portobello.

What is your budget?

Was also thinking Bothwell

Portobello is a good shout, but prices have shot up.

I see a view votes for East Lothian and I’d just like to veto those I grew up in East Lothian and it’s utterly garbage for teens; I hated every minute of it and moved into Edinburgh as soon as I could. I now live in Glasgow and would never go back to village life.

Where I grew up there is a Co-op, a chippy and a Chinese. That’s about it. No access to a train station unless you can drive, and one local bus that stops at every damn lamppost, taking a bloody age to get into Edinburgh.

If you’re taking your kids into account, don’t consider East Lothian. They will be bored for years!

Another point I should mention, there is absolutely naff all parking in Edinburgh so driving isn’t an advantage. The places mentioned like Longniddry, Aberlady, Haddington, they are all tiny places without much going on and you’d be reliant on public transport if you needed to commute to Edinburgh as you can’t park if you drive in.

It’s a fair point but maybe depends on the kids! I grew up near north Berwick and we loved it. There is stuff going on but less so if kids aren’t sporty. Great bus route from haddington/dunbar and train from longniddry/north Berwick.

Most of central belt is shite to be honest,
I’m from Glasgow but would actually think about the east coast, it’s far drier and sunnier and to be blunt.... more English people so less bullshit if that bothers you.

As PP said... south queensferry is nice, avoid Dunfermline but maybe into Fife? Parts of fife are lovely.

I live in Stirling and work in Edinburgh. Commute to Glasgow would be even easier. Plenty of nice walks round here, we had a 2 hour one today. We live in Victorian semi for a fraction of London or Edinburgh prices. But if you want more posh I'd try Dunblane or Bridge of Allan. If you want more rural then Doune or Thornhill or Gargunnock.