Moving to the Scottish Borders

[TrickeyT]

Hi, we are looking to move to the Scottish Borders...hopefully this year! I have two children, a daughter of 8 and a son of 12. We are all excited about the move and have talked to some of the schools who have assured me they are all very good. However I want to get an idea about where is great to live. We don't really have a preference at the moment. My husband will have to commute to Edinburgh a couple of days a week but the rest of the time he will work from home.

Any advice both positive and negative would be gratefully appreciated!

Kelso high School is most certainly NOT one of the best in the Borders! As far as exam results go it is clear that both Peebles and Earlston have by far the best results, partly due to their catchment areas and clientele...A lot of doctors from the BGH send their children to Earlston.

Can only give my own opinion of the borders region but we moved to Hawick almost 10 years ago and are utterly miserable we still feel very much like outsiders, you are reminded of the fact almost daily and life almost seems to go backwards here. Schools are also very behind and SN provision here just doesn't seem to exist as we have sadly found. Although the region looks beautiful with lots of walks etc. there is no shopping or entertainment to be heard of we have watched more and more things close down leaving nothing in its place. Galashiels is really the only town with 24 hour supermarket, high street clothing stores (about 2) but doesn't have much compared to a city if I could choose any of the border towns to be in it would be Galashiels as it at least is near to Edinburgh and a train line is coming in 2015, there is very little to do for children or teenagers anywhere imo and we are currently trying to get out the region entirely. I apologise if this sounds negative and I do hope you have a better time than my family but it helps to get all accounts of life here I think.

I found this thread very interesting although a little disappointing in some ways. My teenage daughter and I are moving to Scotland next year and were considering living in Melrose or Jedburgh after a visit to the area earlier this year. I would be working in Edinburgh and my daughter hopes to gain entry to the Heriot-Watt campus at Galashiels.

After reading the comments I am concerned about the possibility of 'social isolation'. We are looking for a village atmosphere with access to transport to Edinburgh for my work. I drive but I would be extremely nervous about snow conditions in winter as I have no experience driving in snow so public transport would be better. I know new train services will be available in the future. We were in Melrose on bank holiday and found the shops very quiet but I don't know whether this would be different during the week.

I thought the Borders around Melrose-Jedburgh would be a good choice to settle because the real estate seems much lower priced than Edinburgh but now I am not sure about the community spirit. There seems to be more positive reviews about Peebles but would the public transport be more accessible to travel to Edinburgh for work?

Thanks so much.

To be honest, whenever I look at threads about where to move to they always seem to end up making a decision more difficult rather than easier. Sometimes you just have to try a place out. With Melrose the problem is that the trains won't be here for a couple of years yet and the bus service is terribly slow.

Most people that I know really enjoy living in Melrose. The high street is great and you can do all your food shopping there or go to Finlay Grant for the world's most civilized cup of coffee.

Or you could live in St Boswells with its lovely book shop and proximity to Dryburgh Abbey.

The Borders are beautiful and full of local pride and traditions.

Alternatively, if you were to live in Aberdour in Fife you would be half an hour from Edinburgh by train and it is a very pretty village with a castle and a beach. That's a good option north of the river.

Oh, and property is cheaper in the Duns area, from where you could get the train at Berwick. It's s nice area and Coldingham has a nice beach

Hi,I'm looking to move to Duns in the Scottish Borders .
One of my children is of high school age & has special needs.
Does anyone know if there's any special needs schools near by ?

Sue and I will be moving to the Borders early next year. We are looking at both East and West coasts at the moment, say Dumfries in the west and Kelso or Melrose the in east. We don't have kids, are both retired but quite active, and like swimming and wildlife watching. Anyone have any preferences for one or the other.