Should we move to Edinburgh?

[RetroMum1]

We are thinking of moving to Edinburgh We are currently living on a farm in Gloucestershire which is in the middle of nowhere and we are all miserable here. We have been here for 8 months and although I go to a playgroup everyday we haven't made any real friends. We moved here 8 months ago from London which I loved and had loads of friends and did a baby class everyday, I miss it terribly but we moved for my DH's work and for schools and to get a bigger house.

We have now decided that it hasn't worked and that we want to move. We always said before we had children we'd like to live and raise children in Edinburgh. We met here 7 years ago over the festival and then lived there every summer from June until September for the next 4 years so we know we love the city. What we don't know is whether it has changed much in the last 3 years as we haven't been since having the children and whether it is a good place to raise children and as fun as a parent as it is when your single.

What I miss and am looking for a baby classes like sing and sign, baby yoga and mini gym and playgroups where mums go for coffee or lunch afterwards rather than just going home.

This is what were missing and are looking to achieve again, do you think if we move here we will achieve that?.

Our next move has to be our last as it's not healthy for the children to keep moving them.

Sorry for the massive essay and any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks

There is really no lack of garden or 'green' space in edinburgh - it's just that it wont be private.

Our tenement has a beautiful back garden which i don't use but the people downstairs with kids do. i prefer the local park which is all of a 30 second walk away.

There are very many English people, and Londoners in particular, in Edinbugh so it should be no problem as far as that goes.

The garden isn't really an issue for me as I don't really use the one I've got! Do you feel like your breaking out of the walls in the tenements or do they feel big enough?. I think I feel guilty putting the back into a flat after having a huge house and my parents are certainly frowning upon it!

Worth bearing in mind that the Edinburgh bus service is great! So, Buckstone for eg may be a little out of town but probably 15 minutes on the bus which probably runs every 15 minutes.

Worth checking out Colinton, Davidson Mains which are like villages in the city but a little further out. Also don't rule out Leith, there are some lovely bits and you've got the Links (like the meadows) for the kids to run around. Also 10 mins from city centre.

fluffles - hope you are still looking at this thread! do you know what Polwarth Gardens is like? Just seen a flat we could afford to rent at a push there. What is the parking like around Polwarth? Is it permits or just park anywhere but you end up parking miles from your home? (we live in a place like that at the moment and it has driven me mad recently with 2 little people..)
ta!

sorry - and do you have any idea where kids tend to go in the pre-school year if they go to Bruntsfield Primary?

And does anyone know does a primary school that has a nursery class have an obligation to take a child for the pre-school year or can they just tell you to sod off?

Having had a flat in Sciennes I'd never live in a flat again - noisy neighbours, students or otherwise, can make your life hell. I know some people who've had great experiences in flats but I do know many who had similar problems to ours, it's a big risk, especially if you're buying rather than renting.

'What is the parking like around Polwarth? Is it permits or just park anywhere but you end up parking miles from your home? (we live in a place like that at the moment and it has driven me mad recently with 2 little people..)
ta!'

BAD, v. v. bad around there unless you're renting/buying in one of those modern buildings with a car park (expect that to be a separate cost to your rent/purchase and possibly not available).

And in which case there will be no communal garden.

polwarth gardens is very close to me. i like it here. there are students, so worth checking out whether the flats in the stair are owner occupied or rented. we're quite far from the unis so students tend to be post-graduates.

the local schools are good, and there's a park round the corner (harrison park) and canal path with ducks to feed etc.

bruntsfield primary (very good) feeds into broughton high school (very good).

parking is by permit, but there's enough of it. you might end up a few hundred metres away but roads are wide enough to double park to unload.

'And does anyone know does a primary school that has a nursery class have an obligation to take a child for the pre-school year or can they just tell you to sod off?'

They definitely don't have to take you if you do not live in the catchment area.

expat - our experience has been that after they brought in residents permits you can always park relatively close by.

worse case scenario there's a really posh street by the tennis court that always has parking... maybe 400m away.

thanks for all of that.
so if you are in catchment for a school are they obliged to give you a pre-school year place? I assumed not but something i read the other day made me think i had it wrong..

Bruntsfield Primary doesn't have a pre-school nursery so a lot of the kids go to Gillespies nursery which is very good.

School nursery doesn't work by catchment at all as not all primary schools have nursery classes however all pre-school children are meant to be guaranteed a nursery place for at least the year before school. If you're lucky you may get them in at 3yo and have nursery for 2 years.

As someone else has said being at a school nursery has no influence on school places. If you are out of catchment and the school has places after placing all catchment children the priority goes by proximity to school and whether the child has any siblings at the school already. Bruntsfield, Gillespies and Sciennes had no non-catchment places this year. Catchment secondary is Boroughmuir which is excellent academically but there are some issues over the state of the building which is very old and bursting at the seams a bit.

I like Polwarth, DH lived there when we first met. Parking is permit and yes, you may not always get a space outside your door but that tends to be the norm in areas close to town. You're a short walk from Bruntsfield with nice shops, cafes and restaurants and there's some parks and the canal nearby which is good for feeding the ducks, bike rides etc.

sorry i am hijacking your thread retro but could anyone briefly tell me about south queensferry? nice? not? good schools? ta

IMO South Queensferry 'village' i.e. the old part is lovely (terrible parking though) but the rest of it is streets and streets of new builds which isn't my taste. Lovely location on the water but a pain to commute from if travelling a peak times. We briefly considered a house there as was a bargain and with in-laws up north gave easy access to the motorway but decided against due to commute (it's not that much further out than Cramond but roads really busy).

Don't know great deal about schools, think they're okay though.

I think it's better kept for day trips on sunny days and cosy pub lunches in the winter but that's just me!

a good friend bought a house there and regretted it. She got a new build bargain but was quite a way from the old, nice bit of the village. I agree with bellebelle, a place for day trips.

I grew up in SQ - it's seriously suburban. Not many shops, have to drive everywhere, it is a commuter town and empties all day - people leave to work in edinburgh or dunfermline and then come back at night to sleep, a classic 'dormitory town'.

but it has fine schools and the streets are quiet and safe.

the issue my parents have with it is that you pay city of edinburgh council tax but dont' benefit from most of the edinburgh amenities... if you're thinking of SQ then IMO you should think about going over the bridge to dalgety bay or dunfermline.

for somewhere out of edinburgh but closer then look at penicuik or balerno.

having said all that actually - i know a few people i grew up with moved away and then moved back with their families so they must like it... my opinion is personal and not everyone shares it.

I live in Bruntsfield in a three bed third floor flat with two pre-school kids. The area is fantastic for small children and there are loads of young families around. Our shared garden is packed with slides/sandpit/playhouse and whenever we go out, there are kids out playing.

I love where we live, feel like we have plenty of space, and wouldn't move more than two streets away! The schools are very good too. You can get a three bed flat atm for about £310 - 400,000 (depends what floor it is on) and a house for about £600,000 I think.

best schools in Southish Edinburgh Preston St, Sciennes, Buckstone, South Morningside, James Gillespies .. we live directly across from the meadows in a 3rd floor flat.. I have a nearly 4 year old.use this website to search for postcodes of potential flats you wish to rent & you will see the schools nearby though they may not be the catchment school.. for that look at edinburgh council catchment school map

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/learning/schools/school_catchments/cec_school_catchment_ area_maps

for eg if you live in eh89ne.. across from meadows like I do you will find your primary school is Preston Street

there is a huge playpark in the meadows now where you will find lots of mums & kids, in the summer anyway..

you also have the option of living in a cheapere area with a not so good school & applying out of catchment for the better schools.. depending what school you are after you may be succesfful but this is a gamble.

I am in the catchment for Preston St primary just now but our flat is up for sale so I have researched this thoroughly.. I have an email from the scottish government of all requests for out of catchment which were successful last year or not .. this can help you on deciding where to move to...

drop me a message on here of you need some more help. happy to

ooops meant to say nearly 4 year old & a 20mth old & 1 on the way. !

schools net website for postcode search.

www.schools-search.co.uk/

I realise this is an old thread but just wondering how you got on with the move. We are due to move up this year as my husband is anyway working there. Would love to hear your thoughts and how you have got on meeting people and making friends, and settling in generally. I have 3 kids - 12, 11 and 6. Thanks in advance :)