Living and working in Edinburgh

[Sikkinis]

Could anyone offer me an accurate picture of living and working in Edinburgh?

Bit of background, I'm originally from Yorkshire, im just about to graduate with a masters degree and I'm sick of London!

I don't know what appeals to me about Edinburgh, but I definitely don't want to build a picture in my head that is unrealistic.

Can anyone share their experience?

I love it. I walk or bike to work in 30mins as does dh. Most people are similar although about half of my work train in from fife or West Lothian where houses are cheaper or East Lothian where they're not but they do have the beach.
I love the city living with no real "commute" and also that I can get to the hills in 30mins the other way.

I should also add that I don't have children, and looking to rent a flat.

do you think I'd be able to find a decent graduate job? I'm a history graduate but I'm not really bothered what field..

It is an absolutely lovely place to live. You can walk to most places easily, property is much cheaper than London and the place is more relaxed. Your friends will be more varied in vocations because socialising isn't as dependent on income (fewer champers bar-type Friday nights, although you can have them). The town has a bookish feel - highest books per capita after Oxford and Cambridge! - and I think the student style is better than London (but I would say that cos I like boots'n'coats).

Downsides are that it has less good weather. The place just isn't set up with beer gardens and sunny evenings. Sure, there are some, but definitely less regularly than in London.

There is a good arts scene, but Scottish nationalism is a big thing in arts at the moment so be prepared for that as a non-Scot.

What kind of thing do you want to do?

You can rent a 1bed flat for less than a room in a shared house in London!!

Thanks for the replies!

I'm not sure to be honest, I considered admin just for a while whilst I get on my feet, or some sort of heritage work (museums etc.) but would consider other things. Financially for the first few years I don't have the luxury of being picky.

@PentlandView all that sounds lovely, especially the non- income related socialising (I had just lived near Canary Wharf so was a bit inundated with posho bars!) and I hate hot weather anyway!

Haha, well, there are some posh bars but definitely not Canary Wharf!

It is graduate recruitment time at the moment, would you consider a grad scheme? There are financial ones (Standard Life etc) or you can work at the University etc, etc.

As someone who has to go to London regularly for work - you'll live it here. Lots of green spaces, easy to walk most places or a brilliant bus service. Good central areas to consider would be Bruntsfield, marchmont or if north Stockbridge - all easily walkable to town in 20 mins. Are you considering a flat share to begin with or flat to yourself? There are many Facebook sites and gumtree for flat shares - good way to meet people if it works out!

The only note of caution I'd sound is that it's smaller so jobs just aren't as plentiful, especially grad/heritage jobs. Loads in the financial sector, but if that's what you wanted I guess you'd stay in Canary Wharf! So for eg museums - we have world class ones but there are far fewer than there are in London. So you've got the national museum of Scotland, the Scottish museum which shares its site and erm... That's about it. (There are other offshoots but they're outside the city.).

I would research jobs carefully. But everything else is an utter no brainer, it's a fabulous city. Compact, green, historical, great bars and restaurants, decent public transport and while housing isn't cheap compared the rest of Scotland, it's going to look like pennies compared to London.

I moved back to Edinburgh after being a student there. From London. After a couple of years I just found it to be really small but it depends what floats yer boat! Edinburgh is a beautiful fun place but it wasn't for me so I moved back to London but a bit further out. The weather didn't help either.

i moved from London to Edinburgh and love it - I've found people to be friendlier here but I loved Scotland for a long time before we made the move. It is much smaller, you do bump into people you know quite often but then it has more amenities than most smaller places. Personally i'd get onto a grad scheme before making the move - I've found jobs outside of financial services can be limited (just my experience). You can get stuck in boring admin jobs for years otherwise and heritage work often requires multiple degrees and pays poorly.

The jobs market isn't great. You may get an admin, retail or hospitality job ok. heritage jobs are extremely scarce and there is so much competition. You won't get far with a history degree on its own I'm afraid. Wages are low here and rents are high in comparison to your earnings. There's not a lot of rented accommodation in relation to demand.
This is the experience of my younger colleagues who have come to the city from other places.
You may do better in Glasgow which is a bigger city.

Edinburgh is an amzing place to work and live especially if you're young but the sticking point will be jobs. Lots of unemployed arts graduates wanting to work here. Heritage jobs are scarce and filled with people who have shed loads of experience but been on temporary contracts for years. If you're prepared to think outside the box about what you want to do then you might find something.