places to live in south Edinburgh

[fraggletits]

Hi there everyone - just looking for a bit of advice

I've been lurking here for a while ever since me and dh decided that we are going to relocate to Edinburgh from London early next year woo hoo!!

We're coming up in October to start investigating areas but I'm already leaning towards the South. Morningside and Colinton seem really lovely but we're not millionaires!

My wish list is good primary school (that we'll hopefully get into), friendly community, stuff going on (brownies/rainbows/mum & toddler), few shops/pub/restaurant or 2 so that there feels like there's life there - but then easy to get into town as and when......am I dreaming!!

Was wondering what Fairmilehead or Juniper Green were like or if anyone could advise of other places

Thanks very much x

How many bedrooms do you need? Are you set on a house or would a flat be ok too? What is your rough budget?

Am in the process of moving house in south Edin atm so am immersed in house-hunting!

ooh well we'll have to rent first anyway which is a good thing I suppose - rent max £1200 a month

when buying ideally a 4 bedroom house, ideally detached but we're open minded, budget around the £400k mark.

certainly doesn't get you anything much in London that's for sure!

Hi. I have friends in colinton and it seems v nice (we are out in the sticks in West Lothian!). they don't have kids so I couldnt tell you about schools, but I know theres a good, quick bus route into town and also 2 or 3 nice restaurants in colinton itself so you can walk to them! Also its right on the edge of the Pentlands, great for walks.

Have a look at this so you can get an idea of what you can get in South Edinburgh in your price range: desc&Show=10&Cur=GBP&Page=1 here
£400k diesn't buy you much in Edinburgh either - though there still are some bargains to be had.

Colinton is lovely - Bonaly Primary school is great - would be somewhere I woudl love to live - there are some reasonably priced houses that come up - more modern developments ones nestling bside the mansions !

In Morningside you'd be more likely to just about get a lower or upper villa for your budget - but small 3 bed terraced houses do come up (and are snapped up very quickly)

Newington/Grange is a good catchment for Sciennes Primary. Again - you'd probably only be able to afford a part of a house!

Have a look at the link - if there is anything you fancy let use know and we'll tell you what the area is like.

Agree with meep! Was about to post very similar stuff. One place to look might be Greenbank, it is mainly bungalows but they are nice big plots and many have been extended to have 3 or 4 bedrooms - that puts you in South Morningside catchment area.

Agree with looking on espc - most of what is for sale is on there, much of the rest is on rightmove.

Thanks for all of that - I hadn't heard of the ESPC site before so that's really helpful.

I knew Morningside was a no-no. And the Grange is where Fred the Shred lives in his multi million mansion I think!! Honestly there's actually no real difference in price between Edinburgh and London at all - I just think it's a better quality of life you're getting north of the border.

I really like the sound of Bonaly School in Colinton and Juniper Green School (our DD will be starting primary 1 in August 2010) so I need to speak to the council and see what they advise. Like maybe you can live somewhere in between and qualify for both??? Doubt it!

No, in Edinburgh there are definite catchment areas, so you can check any address you are interested in and see exactly which primary you would be eligible for.

Do you know that the age criteria are different up here too? The intake is from 4-1/2 to 5-1/2, it's 1 Mar to 28/29 Feb. And the winter birthdays (end Aug to end Feb) are eligible to defer if the nursery agrees (actually, Jan and Feb you get it automatically if you apply). So depending on your dd's birthday she may not be a school starter till Aug 2011. Registration for schools is in Nov, you have to go in with proof of address and age at that point.

Good luck with looking!

Hi Curly - thanks for that info. DD is going to be 5 in October 2010 so she should be eligible to start in the August I think. What I'm going to do is ring each school that I like the look of and just tell them my situation and also speak to the council. At the end of the day, she has to go to school - they can't leave her sitting at home if we move into the catchment area a bit later! Hopefully!

Hi fraggletits, Trinity and Blackhall are on the North side but very close to town so worth looking at (Stockbridge, Comely Bank and NewTown also but it's more flats in these areas, although you can get some lovely 4 bed garden flats, etc). You can get houses/flats in both. Flora Stevenson is a good primary school, as is Blackhall and Trinity I believe. Stockbridge has a great high street with pubs, local shops and there is also a Waitrose and a retail park close by. Lots of activities and a great park plus the Botanics. Flora also have a nursery, although I've been told that the waiting list is big as there is no catchment area for nursery places. A friend lives on a newbuild estate in Liberton called Malbet Park which has great houses, they too rent. Hope this helps.

Hi there I can recommend another area, Buckstone is in between Morningside and Fairmilehead and has catchment area of Buckstone Primary and Boroughmuir high school.

It is mostly detached and semi detached houses a lot of which are on the edge of the park or forest and not too far for getting into town. Price wise I think the semis are around £300k and the detached could be £400 -500k although with the housing market the way it is it could be less.

We live in Fairmilehead and like the balance of being able to catch a bus into town, but being close to walks and countryside and accessible to the bypass and motorways.

Hello,
I see you where planning on starting Bonaly Primary School. I am thinking on sending my children there. How did you find the school and area? I see the school now has a new head. Thank you.

Another vote for Buckstone here! It is lovely, and very family-friendly. 4 bedroom detached houses go for £350k - £550k+. Lots of green spaces, good schools and easy access to the town centre.

Balerno and Currie have good schools and getting a house there on that budget won't be impossible.