looking into moving to Edinburgh

[Nikkidt]

Hi there, I would be really grateful for advice. I have already posted this on the Property/DIY section and got some helpful posts, but thought I would post on the local Edinburgh section too.

We are looking into moving to Edinburgh (I have lived in London for thirty years so it's a big step, I still can't quite believe I am contemplating it!). If we did move I would be working in the centre of Dunfermline and travelling to other parts of Fife, but want to actually live in Edinburgh near to major amenities etc. I would need to be able to get to the train station and airport easily as I will have to travel to various parts of England regularly, also I prefer cities.

Can anyone recommend which areas would be nicest? I like greenery but also nice interesting neighbourhoods, and I have an eight-year old son.

Roughly what would be your budget and what are you ideally looking for i.e. House, flat, new, old etc

We would be renting initially. We need at least 4 bedrooms (well, 3 and a study), and a garden, and in London I am currently paying £2900 a month.

You'll easily pay less for a 4 bed house here - around £1400 for a 4 bed in Portobello/Joppa which is a great area, close to bypass and on a train line to Waverly station so handy for transport links, if about 20 mins outside city centre.
Other nice areas close to station and not far from airport are murrayfield and Barnton. Community wise places like Portobello, Morningside and Stockbridge are more vibrant though.

There aren't actually that many houses available to rent in Edinburgh, the bulk of the rental market is made up of flats - often tenements which are big and roomy, but it's not that common to be able to rent a big house with a garden. Not saying it's impossible of course, just tricky.

I think you need to come up for a recce and get a feel for the areas you like, so that if a suitable property comes up you can move quickly. Also view a couple of tenements so you can get a feel for that, ie the communal gardens etc.

Another thought though: have you looked at South Queensferry? That's a super-easy commute for Dunfermline and a 15 min train journey into Edinburgh for amenties and transport links.

I think I answered you on another post. I recommended Corstorphine. But Queensferry would be a good shout too. All the schools are pretty good x

It's hard to be close to both the train station and the airport but it does suggest being central or west. That seems like a good budget for renting so I would suggest somewhere like Bruntsfield of Stockbridge as being nice and having good schools.

Broughton Street, Leith Walk, Hillside or Bellevue. They are all pretty close to one another.

All are close to Waverley and also close to the last stop of the tram line that goes to the airport. All also very close to the centre of everything. You're also close to Calton Hill and the Botanic Gardens for green spaces, as well as lots of little green bits dotted about.

Broughton Street is very vibrant- coffee shops, bakeries, independent shops, restaurants, florists etc. Very urban, but most of the tenements have big back gardens. Great health food shop- RealFoods- at the top of the road. Has a fishmonger and a good butcher (Crombies) too. As well as Vino and Villeneuve Wines.

Leith Walk is similar and very up and coming. There are still little local shops, like Tattie Shaws the greengrocer, and that Edinburgh institution, Valvona and Crolla. La Favorita is a great pizza place. Plus there is a library on MacDonald Road. There is a Sainsbury's, a Co-op, a Scotmid (Edinburgh version of Co-op), a Tesco as well as the independent shops.

Hillside is full of huge Georgian and Victorian flats at not too dear for what they are. Easy to get out to Portobello or up to Calton Hill. Not so many wee shops as the first two areas I mention but still quite a few of those if you head out the London Road a wee bit.

Bellevue is a wee bit further from the station than the other three- think 15-20 minute walk rather than 10 minutes. But there are quite a few houses in that bit. Very close to the Botanic Gardens, also to a lovely food shop and cafe called Earthy. There's a pretty good Tesco on Broughton Road, and other local shops include a gluten free bakery (Sugar Daddies), the Marshmallow Lady, the Beerhive (independent off licence) and Union Yoga. Lots of little cafes too.

All those areas are pretty urban- but if you're coming from London they'll feel more open/less crowded without you feeling like you've gone to the ends of the Earth either.

Thanks so much for all the helpful detail. It seems when you are talking about things being near or far it's a different scale to what I am used to in London! I regularly spend two four hours a day in traffic in London! I love all the interesting details and will we bearing all this in mind!

Pretty much most of Edinburgh is in reach, commute times aren't too bad. If you want to be super close you sacrifice city for the burbs but still nice communities i.e. Cramond, corstorphine, barnton etc.. but that said as above posters said east end by waverley loads of options. Murrayfield / west end you can get to airport in 20 mins ( on. Good day) and into city centre in no time. If you want a bigger house you need to go further out but you have a good budget and I'm sure you would get a great space not sacrificing essentials have fun house hunting!

Edinburgh is a tiny city.. Nothing is far from the station in relation to what you are used to. You should be able to get from one side of the city to the other in under half an hour in all but extreme traffic issues