Thinking of moving back to edinburgh

[Marylou47a]

Hello!

My OH and I lived in Edinburgh together for 8 years while i was at uni and then stuck around for 5 years after. We did love it but I felt far from family and frustrated about the lack of jobs- I work in fundraising and was stuck in the same job for years. So we moved to London when an opportunity came up at my work. My OH was pretty reluctant but came with me anyway. Now 6 years later we have a little boy who is one and the thought of staying in London for too long makes me feel all kinds of stressed! To be honest I'm just generally stressed at the moment!

Anyway, we have been thinking of moving as we know we can't afford a bigger place in London and I can't bear the thought of living in a suburb. The other option is Birmingham where we are both from and is nearish my parents in Oxford. Went to look at houses and while you can get a lot for your money the thought was just quite depressing.

So we are back to considering Edinburgh. I love the city, we still have quite a lot of friends up there and i think in the long term it will be so much better for our little boy.

So questions for those that have done a similar move- do you feel far away from everything if you are originally from England? What's the jobs market like- is it frustrating coming from London with all of its opportunities? But more importantly do you feel like you have a better quality of life?

And for everyone it's really hard to tell how much property is going for up there as I know they can go way over the offers over mark. Where could we get a 3 bed tenement flat for £350k? Could stretch to £400k possibly if it meant somewhere perfect in bruntsfield or marchmont but that looks unlikely? Newington would be good or leith.

And what are nursery fees like?

Also, wierd one, how much monthly income do you reckon you need to have a nice time after mortgage etc has gone out? I remember feeling like I always had money in Edinburgh even though I earned about £20k less than I do now!! But don't know if that is an idealised memory of it all!
Any advice gratefully received. I feel like I'm just having a circular discussion in my head at the mo so hoefully this will help me clarify!

Ta!

Thanks guys!! We were up visiting this weekend and I felt soooo chilled and had such a lovely time. I just love Scotland and always have. We were staying in newington where we used to have a flat (hilariously only sold it two years ago to buy in London!!) and there are so many nice cafes etc

We also went up to Perth and going through fife also made me think about what it would be like to be further out too.

There's a few things happening at work which could potentially mean I could work from Edinburgh although it would be a stretch.

On the other hand my dad just drove down from Oxford to sort out our electrics as it had all gone a bit wrong- made me realise we couldn't rely on them like that being in Edinburgh.

Anyway, it's still very much on my mind. Particularly yesterday when I had some East London wido kiss his teeth at me for daring to get on the tube with a pram! I really think I am done with London... one day back and I am streeeeeesssed!!

Do it! The quality of life is amazing. We were in a similar situation to you a year ago - have never regretted it

Ocelot- did you do the same then? London to Edinburgh? Do you have family down here? Did you know Edinburgh already? I've literally been stressed to the max since we got back. London wears you down, it's just relentless! im just worried it'll be a grass is greener scenario. Although I don't think it will. The two reasons we moved to London were for career progression and to be closer to family. Career progression just isn't a big priority for me now and although I'm closer to my family it still takes me the bet part of two hours to get to either my sister or my parents so it's not exactly like I can just pop in to see them... sorry this is like a never ending internal monologue which I am now just venting to you all!!

Marylou, yes London to Edinburgh a year ago. I knew the city well (did my undergrad here) and love, love, love it. It's so beautiful, all the restaurants and arty stuff I could ever want, walk to work in 20 mins, great schools, beach in 20 mins, hills in 10, mountains in an hour and a half. The quality of life is amazing. My folks are north of England but it's easy peasy to fly to City if you need to. Do it!!!

You can have a flat in central area for £350k. Indeed, i'm about to sell mine once I finish the renovation on it because is too big for us. It's a 3 bed top floor flat, 1 minute walking to meadows and bruntsfield links (perfect for children). hehehe

Going to add to chorus of Edinburgh-lovers. I moved here for work 14 (gulp) years ago now, and have brought up my two kids here. My family are in Yorkshire. It's brilliant for families, lots of green space. It's safe for teenagers as they get more independent and has pretty good public transport so you can walk/bus everywhere. The beaches around N Berwick are fabulous day trips away and the countryside is amazing. There's also a huge amount of cultural stuff going on. I loved living in London in my 20s but found it hugely stressful with a little kid. My kids (state) schools have been great - I'd much rather the Scottish system, even w teething problems,
than the relentless testing in England.

That's interesting you say that about the Scottish system lovelycuppa as I've read the opposite in some places. There's also the free uni tuition (although can that go on forever?!?). I'm all over the place about what we should do at the moment to be honest as I'm just so busy/tired/stressed all the time. I think I need an actually holiday to get some perspective and really think. But these are all great things to hear so thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts! It's definitely reminding me of my Edinburgh days 😊

Do it! I've been here for nine years and there's nowhere in the UK I'd rather live. I'm in Craigleith (near Stockbridge) our two bed house with big garden was recently valued at £360k, we paid around £270 5 years ago, so I'm sure you could get a 3 bedroom flat in your price range near here. We paid £40 per day for a city centre nursery & the same to our childminder when she was at pre-school, that was for a 7.30 drop off, taking/collecting from pre-school and looking g after her til 6pm. I don't drive but it such an easy city to get around. Xx

And agree with a pp. school system so much less stressful, you're guaranteed a place on your catchment so no messing about with applications. And it means your kids will know lots of other kids in the area. OH and I aren't Scottish but we love it here.

I moved five years ago, and I must warn you not to underestimate the distance from your family. Especially if one of them becomes ill, it can become a real nightmare. They may not tell you but they are likely to be quite devastated and you won't know that until you have left, as no one wants to stop you following your dreams.

Have you considered buying a smaller property in oxford or Oxfordshire or surrounding areas. Completely different feel to the surburbs and only an hour from London? You could keep your jobs or get new ones but at least you would still have one. Also you have support of your family if you decide to have more dc.

I think you are pining for your old pre kids life with plenty of spare cash and Fun nights out... that won't be available anywhere but you will enjoy a good quality of life with kids outside big cities

The testing in England is being dropped now and I would say that the overall results are much higher in England than Scotland. This may not matter now but it will in a few years. The Scottish government are addressing this now, but could take years to fix. Once you have moved and your dc are settled it is very hard to move back without huge disruption as they get older it gets harder. So will your dc also have lots of job opportunities and career advancement? What will their chances be further down the line? Don't forget this is more about their future than yours....

The only thing about the schools in Edinburgh is that although you generally go to the catchment school, it does mean some of them are very full. Mixed year groups, two classes in the same room or classes having to rotate around rooms are some of the stories from friends in P1 this year, however these are all at very popular schools. There is also like in England and Wales a premium attached to buying in catchment of what are considered 'better' schools. There are also many private schools, much more than in most parts of the UK except London.

I would add some caution. Scottish education (state sector) is in one helluva state. We can't afford private and are really upset actually at the decline since the SNP took hold. (There are lots of factors but the SNP has really damaged things further).

We are seriously considering a move out of Scotland just to escape the current education system.....

Well don't move to England for schools Wormy if the many threads from parents and teachers in English schools are to be believed, it's much worse than in Scotland.

While the English system may suffer from overtesting, it's at least a good deal more rigorous and produces better results than our current curriculum which is thought to be failing on many levels. I utterly despair.

I despair too

It's heartbreaking to see the demise of a once wonderful and envied education system.

I would say choose carefully, but the best schools are still very very good. I know there will be other great schools, but the ones I know if are South Morningside, Sciences, Gillespie's, Tollcross and Preston Street. All ace.

Sciennes sorry, predictive text!

Yikes didn't mean to start an education debate!! I don't know enough about either at the moment but you've all definitely given me food for thought. And littlebird, these are definitely all of the considerations that have been on my mind! So a bit more context, my OHs dad is actually in Scotland and my parents lived overseas for most of my childhood so they have a bit of a different view on those things but I do think that they would be really sad if we left. I don't want to move anywhere we don't know anyone so it would be Edinburgh or Birmingham. And Birmingham would obviously be much easier for many reasons. Still a lot to mull over I think. Both my OH and I are getting to the end of our patience at the moment though- he's been working all weekend really long hours and is currently working on the other side of London. We've both been a bit teary this week with not seeing each other and being knackered... so we may have to come to a conclusion soon!

I know you didn't. But if I had young kids and was choosing between places to move to, education would be one of the big deciding factors for me and Scottish education is in a right old state.

Hoping it will improve but the government is committed to its current curicullum programme (so called curriculum for excrement) and until it's reformed, we are in for tough times. It's universally loathed

Portobello is still really good value, although up and coming, and the schools are good.

Or Leith - 5 bedroom double upper here looking out onto Leith links and with private gardens for fixed price of £380k. espc.com/property/31-ryehill-terrace-leith-links-edinburgh-eh6-8en/35512969?sid=27660114461

If you really want city centre living, how about this upper colony near Haymarket- 3 bed, private garden offers over £230k. espc.com/property/12-atholl-terrace-edinburgh-eh11-2bp/35547108?sid=27659810023

Or this one in corstorphine with room to extend and masses of character.www.rettie.co.uk/property-for-sale/edinburgh/edinburgh-north/corstorphine/PER170528-2-bed-house-st-johns-road

Second what museummum said - most properties (unless they're really unusual / special ) don't fetch much more than the value in the home report.

Depends what you mean by "much more" than valuation - we bought and sold recently at 10 grand over valuation each time, in the OP's bracket that would be more like 30!

And we sold recently at £15k under the valuation in the home report in order to keep the sale so that we didn't need to pull out of our purchase which was £2k over the valuation. My sister bought and sold at the same time for valuation only.

Though admittedly I think some areas go much quicker than others and therefore people feel they have to offer more too.

I think if they get to a closing date you can assume they will go over valuation as its a bidding war. If you get a cheeky offer there's the dilemma of whether to wait and get more - or possibly get nothing.