Where to live in Edinburgh with easy access to Royal Infirmary

[Richard84]

I don’t know Edinburgh at all so am looking for recommendations for quiet locations with easy access to the Royal Infirmary for work. Budget is £400-£650 depending on work to be done. Detached with 3 beds, parking and a garden would be ideal. Rightmove is telling me Duddingston, which also looks a good location for using the Commonwealth Pool before work. What’s the area like? Should I consider anywhere else? Thx

I would say south Edinburgh makes the most sense. Swanston, Buckstone, Fairmilehead. All nice quiet areas afaik. Mind you I’m North Edinburgh so maybe someone will come along with more knowledge!

liberton is close by as well. Does it need to be Edinburgh? The Royal infirmary is on the edge of the city and close to midlothian so areas such as shawfair, Lasswade, Bilston, Bonnyrigg etc are close to by.

Do you need to consider schools or access to any other areas?

There is a new David Lloyd at Shawfair which is next to the P&R bus service for the hospital if you like a swim. Sherrifhall roundabout is best avoided though.

Have a look at Shawfair if you fancy a new build.

Unfortunately a lot of the new houses in Gilmerton/Shawfair has been built without additional amenities (GP, dentist, schools etc).

Prestonfield will give to access to the shopping centre at Cameron Toll as well as an easy link to the Royal.

There are some nice areas of Liberton/Gilmerton/The Inch.

Look at ESPC and come back with any queries.

Schools not an issue at the moment but maybe in a few years. That really is a minefield!
I initially thought of buying further out but was worried about the number of new builds going up and the impact on traffic. Would rather have a shorter commute given the long hours at work. Need to be within 30 minutes max door to door.

The Scotsnet board is busier than this one so I would post on there about staff parking at the Royal as I have a feeling it's quite limited - hence the staff shuttle to the P&R.

There are loads of buses that service the hospital so I would suggest looking around a direct bus route to make your commute a bit easier.

Most Edinburgh and Midlothian primary schools are ok but if you are planning a family, and plan to be in Edinburgh for +10 years and can't afford private schooling, check your catchment secondary school.

Most south Edinburgh suburbs will be within 30 minutes out of hours (I'm guessing you might be on call?). Parking at RIE very limited for staff so unless you work multisite you may not be eligible for in hours on site parking. If you want a house, Duddingston, Colinton, Shandon, Liberton, Gilmerton etc all options. If you would be happy in a flat (if you're new to Edinburgh, can take a while for larger flat to make sense), but you'd get a nice 3-4 bed flat, potentially with own garden in that range in Newington, or else nice 3-4 bed in Morningside/Bruntsfield etc.

If schools likely to be an issue in future, catchments for Gillespie's, Boroughmuir highly sought after for secondary. Firrhill also generally well regarded. Some good primaries beyond these catchments too though if likely to move again.