Living in Old Town?

[tandevic]

Hi everyone! My DH and I are moving to Edinburgh from London with our 13 month old daughter. We've found a lovely little flat in Old Town along the Royal Mile. I know that most people recommend areas like Newington, Morningside, Stockbridge etc. for families, and we do love those areas too. However, I would be grateful to hear from anyone who might be able to give us some insight on living in the centre of town as a family. I know that August can be quite crazy with the Festival, but apart from that is there anything else that we should be aware of?

Hi, the only advice I can give about the Royal Mile area is that it is absolutely rammed with holiday let flats that get used by stag and hen parties year round, then its just heaving throughout the whole of August and again in December for Christmas and Hogmanay. You would need to be very sure that the property you've found isn't going to be surrounded by party flats. If it is, it could easily make life very difficult, especially if you have a young family.

I live in stockbridge and can highly recommend it. It's only 10/15 minutes by bus to the Royal Mile and it's a great area for children.

Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions

Wow, thanks McFox, that's really helpful. We hadn't thought about that. Thanks for the response.

You're welcome. The council isn't exactly well known for dealing with noise issues and HMO property problems, so I would hate for you to end up in a difficult situation.

Also be aware of any restrictions on keeping a buggy in the hallway, many flights of stairs to walk up, no parking, no big supermarket nearby, if you are buying- any liability for shared repairs on an old roof, stair cleaning, any security issues. If you are planning to stay for a few years you should look into the local school catchment www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Edinburgh is a fantastic place to live for families, I just wouldn't choose the centre of the tourist part of town and would look a little bit wider to get more family orientated areas.

Thank you 3nationedinburgh - the parking and supermarkets are definitely issues for the particular place we had been looking at. After some of the comments on this forum I think we'll look further afield. Thank you for your contribution. The points you mention are important to bear in mind for any property.

Living in town with children is fine, but I think you would struggle in parts of the Old Town. We're in New Town/West End which is lovely - still very much in the heart of things but doesn't get as crazy as the Old Town and has better amenities!

I think you'd be fine school wise - depending on exactly where you are looking it would probably be Royal Mile Primary which feeds to James Gillespie high school,