Where to live in Edinburgh??

[Talster]

Hi, we are shortly moving up to Edinburgh from Bedfordshire. Our house has sold so we are just waiting for an exchange/completion date. Hubby is working in the complex near the airport so we've been looking at Edinburgh West. We have boys ages 7 & 9 and a dog! We live rural at the moment so unfortunately have to drive everywhere, but we are hoping to be somewhere with good facilities including schools within walking distance, as well as not being too busy. We'd like to feel as though we're 'in' Edinburgh so that we can enjoy the city easily. We will most likely end up renting to start with (if we can find a property... another challenge), but hope to rent in the same area we intend to buy to avoid another school change. So far we're considering Cramond, Clermiston, Corstorphine, Barnton, Colinton, Bonaly, Balerno. Would love Murrayfield or Stockbridge but they're out of our budget as we need a garden and a garage. We are visiting later this week for a few days and viewing properties so any insiders' advice on these areas would be much appreciated. Is the flight path over Cramond a pain? Does Balerno feel a bit 'out of it?'. I've read mixed reviews on Liberton and Duddingston but some great properties come up so haven't ruled it out yet. Regarding schools we'd anticipate trying to get state places in Primary then possibly go private for S1. Thank you!

We lived in South Gyle for the first years of marriage before moving further into Corstorphine. It has plenty activities for adults and children and not far from Cammo or Corstorphine Hill for being rural. Easy to get in to the city centre.

I think the best thing to do is maybe visit the areas if you are coming up and try driving about. We have Family in Bonaly who love it there.

Corstorphine was never on my radar until dh and I moved to South Gyle, I always imagined to continue in the craiglockhart area.

That's brill @GrooveeCar, thanks so much. Will have a good look around this week. Love the idea of the convenience of Corstorphine, And have heard good things about it but im a bit concerned about places at primary. Thanks again.

First thing I would do would be to get on the phone and call schools in areas that you like to see who had places and look for a property from there.

Balerno is nice enough, but it's really far out of town, I would definitely choose somewhere like Craiglockhart or Colinton above Balerno, although I think Balerno would be cheaper and does have good schools. We live in Juniper Green and I wouldn't live any further out of town than this.
We also considered Cramond and Cammo, but there are rumblings of extensive house building out there that put us off, the roads are also really busy around there, I couldn't be bothered with the traffic.
If I was moving to Edinburgh now, I'd look at Barnton, Colinton or Craiglockhart, or here in Juniper Green, which has a great primary school and is closer to town than Balerno.

Maybe worth a look at Blackhall too? And Davidson's Mains is a bit further out but not quite as far as Cramond

Thanks so much for all your input. Spent a hectic few days there last week! @LeilaSP, I agree re Balerno, felt nice and safe but quite a long way out. Love Juniper Green, Craiglockhart, Bonaly and Colinton and we were lucky enough to secure a rental in Bonaly. It's just 6 months so will give us time to find somewhere to buy, it's opposite Bonaly Primary and at the foot of the Pentlands so the kids and dog are sorted! It suits us down to the ground. Can't wait to get up there now. Thanks again ??

Glad you have found somewhere. Welcome to Edinburgh. Xx

Thanks @Groovee, removals all booked, so excited now!

Sounds like you're sorted, good luck! :)

Thanks @LilyDa. Had our eye on Bonaly for a while and so feel very lucky, just need to make sure we find somewhere to buy there within the next 6 months, exciting times ahead!

Bonaly is super. If you are struggling to get something suitable there, should also consider Fairmilehead/Caiystane/Buckstone/Swanston area - great access to Pentlands, easy access to bypass and easy to get into the city centre by car or numerous buses. Is also a lovely place to bring up a family.