Moving from london to Glasgow (HELP!)

[Bwith3]

Hi everyone! We are moving from London to Glasgow in March I have two children (3 and 15 months) and am 6 months pregnant (HELP) LOL. we are leaning towards southside; polakshields has been recommended, but has anyone else got suggestions. I am desperate to find a nursery for my son... Pref with council funding... But I just need him in a good nursery so I would sacrifice the funding... Any advice would be amazing!!!! Please help.

I don't really know the south side so can't speak for that area, but I moved to Milngavie 10 years ago knowing no-one and found it so so friendly. There are lots of baby & toddler groups, music, gym & sports classes and it has a pedestrianized village centre with a little playpark which is great for letting the kids loose in. It also has a direct train line to the city centre every 15 mins but is only 30 mins drive from Loch Lomond.

If it's just a pre-school nursery you need then it shouldn't be too difficult to get a place....most primary schools have feeder nurseries. Mine go to Milngavie Primary Nursery and it is truly excellent. Clober Nursery also very good and the schools in the area are in the top 10 in Scotland.

There are a load of non-Scottish families around here and I've never found being English an issue.

Good luck with the move OP!

Its bloody Bearsden because its a really unremarkable suburb that somehow gets disproportionately recommended on mumsnet.

Word!

I couldn’t believe the fuss people made about Bearsden when I moved to Glasgow. I was expecting the lost city of Atlantis (slight exaggeration for dramatic effect) but what I found was an utterly unremarkable suburb with a few nice houses. Dull, dull, dull. And yeah, soulless. I’d always choose to live in the West End ahead of everywhere else but if you’re looking for a house the South Side will be your best bet for your budget.

As for the poster who recommended Maryhill - just no. My children play "let's try to spot someone in their pyjamas" every time we drive down Maryhill Road. It's extremely rough.

It can be. But I'd rather take my chances with one of the okay parts of Maryill/North Kelvinside than some of the duller suburbs.

There is definitely more of a "buzz" to the Byres Road area, nobody can argue with that. More bars, more restaurants, more people, more chi chi shops. In my early 20s it was the best place in the city and I wouldn't dreamed of moving as far out to somewhere as "dull" as Bearsden or Giffnock.

Bearsden is definitely more suburban residential but as you get older your priorities change. You don't want to be kept up half the night by the students in the next building having a party, deal with parking permit hassle and traffic. You start to look around at Primary Schools, Secondary schools and comparing the results with schools in Bearsden/Giffnock. You might want a private garden for your kids. You want a 4 bed house as you have 3 or more kids and realise that a 4 bed flat in Hyndland costs the same as a 4 bed house with garden, garage etc in the despised suburbs.

Priorities change! OP you are doing exactly the right thing by renting. SPend a year getting to know the city, looking at schools, areas, places you like. Work out the best commute into town for whoever's working. As your eldest is only 3, he/she won't start school until August 2018 probably so you have time.

Agree totally with that Luna. Your priorities change.

For me and most of my friends we all followed a similar path of living in the west end as students/in our 20s. Then looked for the next step up the ladder and realised that there was buzz about shawlands and you got a lot more for your money.

Then as we got married and started having kids east renfrewshire catchments for schools beckoned.

Definitely rent first and give the city an explore.

There is a lot of snobbery on this thread, if you don't want to ever see poor people then yes, perhaps avoid Maryhill, people wear pyjamas to walk the staffie, but it's not like there's weekly stabbings.

I know lots of people with families who've chosen to stay in the West End or who've bought a house in the outer reaches of the West End. It's all about what you can afford and the compromises you're willing to make I suppose.

£1000 a month to rent will give you plenty of options OP - you will love Glasgow it's a great city!

I need nearby family entertainment, groups, nurseries etc. Not fussed about pubs, restaurants, cafes etc near by, whenever we want to go out as a family we can travel

I'm definitely staying with my recommendation for the Southside then - Newlands, Langside, Battlefield, and Cathcart. Would be daft to pay a premium to live in the West End when you don't need to take advantage of the bars and so on.

Something to think about - if your dc are 3 and under, you have the opportunity of using Gaelic education. Its now one of the most popular routes into education in the city. You don't have to have Gaelic at home to make it work - we don't. All my dc have been through Bunsgoil Ghaidhlig Glaschu and are now in the high school. It means you can worry less about catchments - we live in Castlemilk (watch everyone here take a step backwards!) because we want to live in the area our church is in. For GMU you'd want to be looking at nursery places now. I don't regret for one minute putting our dc into Gaelic school - they're all bilingual and the school is one of the highest achieving in the city. There are primaries in Finneston and Glendale (Pollokshields).

Ravioli is right: avoid the West End if you're not party people (not literally that, but you know what I mean …). No point paying for it when you don't intend to make the most of it. God, that is so poorly expressed, but too tired today to put it any differently!
The Southside is total suburbia, but would probably fit the bill. It's great for families.
I'm in Edinburgh and even the most expensive areas in Glasgow are cheaper then here. And you're from London, so I guess it's all relative.
Oh, and just check with your chosen school that you don't need to have resided in the area for a certain time before applying. Saves last minute renters swooping in, which we could actually do with in Edinburgh!
It could be an urban myth, but I had heard that Jordanhill School (west End, top of league tables, alongside Williamwood in Southside) has a policy whereby you have to have lived in catchment 2 years before entry. Maybe someone else more local can clarify though??

Thanks everyone keep them coming !!

Battlefields is a good suggestion from Ravioli I have a friend who lives there and its a very nice area

I don't think that's true for Williamwood as it's a standard East Ren school but Jordanhill is funded directly by the Scottish Govenment because it is a teacher training school and it certainly has different rules than council funded school in Glasgow

I'm an Estate Agent. Glasgow is an excellent city for families, and has some very cosmopolitan parts.
Can I ask what your budget is? Do you want traditional or a new build? Do you want a flat or a house? Will you be using local schools or independant schools? Is there a particular area you need to access easily?
The west end is lovely, but can be expensive compared to other areas. Transport links are exceptional, but parking is hellish. If you are after a traditional flat, nice bars and restaurants and a real mix of people, it is an excellent choice. Jordanhill is a more family friendly part of the west end but it's very expensive and there's a massive waiting list for the school. Your DCs would probably have to have been born there to qualify.
The southside has very nice parts. You will get more for your money than on the north side. Pollokshields, which you mentioned speciafically, has desirable and less desirable parts. House values have dropped on certain streets. Dumbreck, Newlands, Netherlee, Muirend, Clarkston, Giffnock, Newton Mearns and Whitecraigs all are nice areas with extremely good schools.
The north side has fewer very nice areas, and property is generally more expensive. Lenzie is nice and has good schools. Milngavie and Bearsden are lovely with excellent schoools, but they are both expensive.
The east end has become more desirable recently. It has some beautiful period tenement flats. Dennistoun is especially popular.
There are loads of other areas too!

The southside isn't "total suburbia"!!

There's a wide range of areas, like Shawlands where you can live in a tenement flat within easy walking distance of parks, nice pubs and restauarants very similar to the west end, just cheaper. Then there are more suburban areas like clarkston and giffnock. Even they have more lively parts with nice restaurants etc.

Jordanhill does have it's own entry requirements that are very stringent. Williamwood you do pretty much need to be in catchment, but no residency time restrictions that I know of.

I have an English accent and dp has a super English accent. Been here for over 10 years and have never had even the slightest hint of a racist remark!

The west end it great for children. Good nurseries /schools. Loads of parks, good libraries, every kind of toddler group you can think of and a soft play that isn't hellish. All within walking distance of each other so you can easily spend a when day just wandering around between them. It has a town feel to it so you'll meet the same people daily. A lot of my friendships have come from the fact that I just kept running into the same people at soft play/parks/libraries.

Hope I don't derail thread but I am also moving to Glasgow and in need of help! How do you know what's a good school/nursery? DH starting a job in Renfrewshire, we have family in Renfrewshire and North Lanarkshire so south side would be a good compromise. Budget £275k not sure that would stretch to Clarkston/Newton Mearns! We're moving from a 3 bed semi so would struggle to downsize with 2DC. Fine with suburbia all I care about is schools/nursery!

*HORISPONDLE you will definitely get a 3 bed semi for £275,000. You may not get Newton mearns, but you could get a modern semi in Clarkston for that. Just be aware of the Scottish system of 'offers over' at a closing date, and if you are searching on Right Move or S1 Homes, make sure you look at properties less than that. Ask for the Home Report, and you'll get a guide price. We are accepting offers before the closing date more and more.

Horis

Current property in Clarkson below. Giffnock / Newton Mearns tend to be more expensive. Make sure you are in catchment for Williamwood rather than Woodfarm - check council

S1homes includes a number of estate agents

Rightmoves other Estate agents

Properties sold by solicitors www.gspc.co.uk/property/?sale_or_rent=for_sale&location=Clarkston

Horis

Also very common to buy a cheap semi that needs a lot of work and extend to the side and out the back.

Having lived in both, groups nurseries entertainment etc is much better in the west end. I felt very isolated as a young mum on ML in the south side and while there was one baby group which I was excited about going to as it seemed multicultural/multiethnic it was very "glaswegian" which could have been fine but they mainly made fun of my different accent and I didn't feel very welcome. I found the west end was much more diverse and I enjoyed toddler groups in partick and hyndland. Met parents who like me had no family support and many from abroad so it was a nice supportive time.
We lived in Kelvindale for a while which I really liked - affordable and within easy reach of city but lots to do locally. Local PS was fab.
Now we are more rural, in the west but still only 10mins on the train from city centre and I love it!

Yes, AllTheBabies! Big up the non hellish Jungle in the City!

The West End does have a lot going on for little kids. One of my favourite things to do is to spend the day popping between the Botanic Gardens, Hillhead Library and Jungle in the City. Perhaps with lunch at Marios.

I walk there along the Kelvin from the blasted pyjama-wearing wastes of Maryhill

I'm also English and have experienced nothing more than mild banter. I wonder if we know each other in real life?

The accusations of Scottish racism towards English pisses me off. My English friends love Glasgow nor would they put up with any racist shit doled out to them. Weegies do tend to have a low tolerance for arseholes though, of any flavour