Gossip on Edinburgh commuter locations

[ImposterJen]

My OH has just got a job at the University of Edinburgh and we’re relocating from England. I’m after gossip and sociological insight into who lives in different areas around Edinburgh.

About us: we’re an academic and disability activist, middle middle class (have lived in working class and posher-than-us areas previously), a bit arty, don’t like bigotry, but can also get annoyed by extreme fluffiness or community inclusion pressures (for health reasons I don’t want to need to do lots of community activities to fit in). Main activity would be dog walks. We like period properties with character and a view in a quiet location, but we’re not millionaires.

Do any areas spring to mind for us to feel right at home?

We’ll probably buy somewhere outside of Edinburgh (up to 45min commute) but we’re also interested in insight into Edinburgh neighbourhoods.

Places we think we’d like in preference order: Dunbar, Musselburgh, Aberdour, other East Lothian locations, other commutable Fife locations, Rosewell

Would we fit in in these places?

We’re intrigued that we can get more house for our money in places like Bo’ness, Bathgate, Inverkeithing. Why? Please be honest and specific.

BTW I have to confess I’m an imposter on this site - for health reasons I haven’t been able to have children. However, I’ve noticed that MumsNet is the best place online for getting honest feedback from women in my age group. This also means we can ignore school catchment issues - where would you move if you didn’t have to think about schools?

Good luck with it.

I presume you’re aware that houses sell for more than the asking price? Not sure about commuter areas, but Edinburgh itself has been going at about 10% over recently (small sample, obviously varies house to house). Have you looked at sold prices on ESPC and Rightmove to get a feel for what you should offer?
We had an awful time of placing offer after offer and being outbid every time so maybe prepare yourself for that a bit. Having said that, things are a bit slower now than they were then (that was 2 1/2 years ago).

I think you’re totally overthinking things to be honest.
When I read your op I thought you sound like “live in town” people not commuters. Why are you desperate to give your partner a commute she doesn’t need? You can afford edinburgh. Most people who live out do so for more space in their house for kids. Imagine your partner can walk to work in 30mins, is home for breakfast and dinner - it’s lovely.
Personally if I were you I wouldn’t go further out than portobello/Joppa area.

@museumum I don’t feel it’s appropriate to judge someone else for ‘overthinking’ a major house move. That’s upset me and I’m sure you can imagine I’m already really stressed with less than 2 weeks til we move.

It’s my partner who’s particularly keen on the idea of Dunbar, I’m not imposing anything. We need more space because a) wheelchair access is tricky in a small space (I can’t properly access our current terrace house because it’s too pokey) and (b) my partner goes away quite a lot for work and I need a live in carer, so we’re looking for somewhere we can have an annexe or separate flat for them within the house. I was trying to avoid going into this because it’s not immediately relevant to the info I was after for this thread, but I think I was clear we had particular requirements for layout. It’s not only people who currently have kids who need space.

@PullingMySocksUp yes we know the system in theory. Working it out in practice is going to be a learning curve!

I’m not “judging” and I’m sorry if I upset you but I do think you should just come up, find somewhere you like the feel of and enjoy spending time and not worry so much about the statistics. Also the quality of life in edinburgh can be fantastic and you have the freedom to choose a home without worrying about school catchment.

Agree that you’d do better in town than surrounding areas. No further out than Porty/Joppa.

You could try Broughton/Bellevue as schools aren’t an issue. Central but less highly priced due to schools. Green space nearby, good shops etc. Would fit in with your political/social,views.

Re space, try looking for a main door flat. That means ground floor with it’s one front door. There are lots of spacious ones.

I hope your initial move has gone well, and welcome to Scotland. A few belated comments to add:

Yes, there are areas in Scotland where having an English accent makes it clear that you're not local, but even with an apparently English accent I've found the locals to be more welcoming and friendly than in much of England. I went on a new year's country walk near Cambridge and the majority of people we met actively avoided any eye contact, although a minority were friendly. You'd only get that in the city centres in Scotland. On the independence issue, as the broader SNP favours a civic nationalism, expect to be targeted as a potential Yes-voter rather than excluded. Of course there is some racial nationalism but you will find it broadly where you would expect in any society.

I now live in the Borders, and couldn't disagree more with LittleCandle about the bit around Eddleston, Peebles and Innerleithen, glad to see others are of similar mind. No train to cancel here, and the bus is every 30 minutes and slow, so probably not a good fit for you, but more generally a good 25% of accents, probably 50% in my social circles, appear English, the same is true in Edinburgh. Although many Scots have an apparently English accent, particularly round Edinburgh, so don't make assumptions. You'll find other accents too from across Europe and beyond even down here.

The "not a local" thing is, I think, some of the Borders further west, so anyone apart from OP reading shouldn't discount this glorious dog-walking country. Quite a few arty liberal Edinburgh types are being pushed out to Peeblesshire (and, I assume, Haddington and the like) by the commodification of the city centre. Obviously what one town can offer is no Edinburgh, but it's thriving, over the last few years we've gained an independent whole foods store with lots of vegan stock, a greengrocer, an independent children's clothes shop, and a Fat Face - make of that what you will. I've no direct knowledge of the LGBTQI+ scene (there's no Peebles Pride yet) but I know many who happily live here, and one of the churches is overtly inclusive. Lots of electric cars round these parts too, helps being able to afford a driveway, but even without you'll find that Scotland on the whole is much better equipped (get yourself a Chargeplace Scotland card)

I'd definitely look at Haddington, Joppa, also big ground floor flats with rear gardens for dogs off Ferry Row (the Dudleys etc., named for Lord Dudley rather than the town), even Pilrig (e.g. Rosslyn Crescent) or Warriston. The rooms are all good sizes so a three bedroom there might serve you better than a bigger house further out, and the doors are quite wide despite the age. Enjoy the hunt!

OP - I’d love to know how you are getting on! Have you found your tribe?