Calling Scottish Mums- Would Love your Opinions

[colette]

We have been considering moving out of Glasgow- at present we live in a flat in the southside and would quite like to upgrade to a house but cannot do that here without moving to a grim area iykwim. Also we are a bit dissillusioned with Glasgow generally.
We have been considering Stranraer , see my other thread - sorry have not managed to do a link. It is in travel/ general advice. The replies have backed up what I was worried about.
Also have considered Stirling and the surrounding area, but the problem is the best areas are too expensive for us and Cambusbarron looked like a great contender until we looked at the primary school hmi report! Also there seemed to be a lot of wild kids hanging about on the street- really like the location otherwise. Dh lived in Stirling for about 7 years and we used to visit it a lot when we first met.
Anyway to cast the net wider I would really like your opinions on these and any other areas in Scotland that ;
1- have good schools but reasonable houseprices eg. 3 bedroomed under ?150,000
2- are semirural and have a good community feel iykwim
3 are commutable to a city or major town easily
4 have less drugs related problems, crime and violence than glasgow.
5 are good places for kids to grow up but have some things for adults too - sports centres, cinemas , good restaurants . Beautiful countryside
I know cheaper house prices usually means less desirable. So I know I am asking a lot .
I am hoping your insights will give me an insiders guide to living in different places- and this will help us to broaden our search. We are really stuck in a rut and are going round in circles and would really be grateful for your input

basically the west of scotland is wet, fullstop! It certainly is not going to be any different from stranraer or glasgow. I really don't think you can put weather as a determining factor, look at the tornado in London!!!Who would have thought that would happen?

lilli you're absolutely right!!

I'm sitting here and it sounds like a gale happeneing outside, rain lashing the windows.

I wouldn't move to Glasgow for the weather!!

good luck in your search collette, isn't mn great you can get all these views from folk who actually live there!

trixymalixy and RockinAroundTheChrisammacTree . Will look at them propely later - ds andd are squabbling over the argos book
Yes it is great to get some inside knowledge - thanks

Sorry meant to say thanks for the links

PMSL at the re Glenrothes and Markinch in particular... can i join in?

I see you already have plenty to think about Colette!

Sorry for the delay in coming back to this thread - I had been going to suggest EK, Bothwell, Hamilton. But if you're Southside you have probably already considered these.

All of these towns are big enough to have good bits and bad bits and similarly good schools and bad schools. As someone else said, if you want a place with traditionally "good" schools then you'll have to pay for it.

Good luck!

It was poinsetty dog

wee bit off topic but do any Scots actually pronounce Glasgow "Glasgae"? I've seen it typed that way many many times, but never actually heard anyone say that. Everyone I know pronounces it Glesga. Just wondered - is there some part of Scotland where you say Glasgae?

On topic - really interesting thread this. DH due to get out of army in 5 years, and DD and I planning to move home to Scotland in 4 years so she can start primary school and not have to move a year later when he gets out. Want to be within reasonably short drive of east end of Glasgow for babysitting/grandparents, but far enough out that the schools are good and said grandparents can't just pop in every day.

I think the funniest part of this thread is nailpolish's "they all went round Safeway in their baffies and muttered to themselves at the bus stop " great image

and that particular safeways is the high point of glenrothes, i kid you not.

"fife equals racists that time forgot, well from my experience and in my opinion only. they still call it the kingdom of fife you only know that if you have lived there, and dunfermline is dying a slow death , check out the town centre if you don't believe"

OK is it time to admit that I actually have a love affair with Dunfermline, think it is a fantastic up and coming place. Still find the Fifers a bit difficult but love the town. They have started work on the town centre regeneration and we are to have a Debenhams et al by 2008. There are some fantastic independent shops, Tootsies, Lola and Holloway Interiors to name a few. Fantastic facilities in the Carnegie Centre (which is having a 16 million makeover), Bannatynes Health Club, Carnegie Hall for music and theatre and an Odeon Cinema. Very handy for travel to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling. It has two train stations and is about to have an all new bus station. Also has some beautiful period properties. Not keen on the new stuff but it's there in plentiful supply if it floats your boat. Pittencrieff Park (The Glen) is beautiful and there's loads going on there, there is also another sizeable park which I only know as the public park but it has a lovely bandstand etc in it.

My DS1 goes to School with Chinese, Indian, Portugese, Italian, African and English children. The School are fantastic and do not tollerate racist behaviour. Granted if you are looking for true multi-cultural society then you are probably better in the centre of Glasgow or Edinburgh.

We have an Aldi.

Saltire, I do like Cupar, probably because when we first got married DH wanted to stay near St Andrews for his work at the time and I liked Cupar because it had everything the Perthshire village I grew up in didn't, shops, restaurants, pubs, life in general, plus it was very, very cheap at the time we looked. Now however I think they'll need to take me out of Dunfermline in my box.

Think everyone in Scotland knows that Fife is called the Kingdom of Fife, I certainly knew this and wasn't brought up in Fife.

Went to Glenrothes shopping once and was sorely disappointed.

it is good that they are doing something to fix things and regenerate the area, and it is good ot have an up to date opinion of the town by someone who lives there now.

obviously I lived there some time ago, in Pitcorthie, went to Canmore primary, only foriegn ahem person there at the time and there were only a few like 4 or 5 ethnic children at dunfermline high when I went there, might be different now.

haven't read the whole thread but i think clackmanshire is a good bet. did some work in alloa, folk were really nice, lovely countryside close by.

you couldn't pay me to live in fife or midlothian.

It has moved on a bit Jenny, there is a fair mix of different races in the town. I have Indian and Chinese neighbours (not either of my nightmare neighbours I should add, they are both Scottish ). I don't know if you know that Queen Anne School has been rebuilt and I believe Woodmill and Dunfermline High are on the agenda for either a huge overhaul or rebuilding too.

Useful site about the area if interested.

I get a bit defensive when people dis the area.

good for you mrsspoon. Fife needs someone to stick up for it.

Crikey, there are plenty lovely places in Fife. Crail, Ceres, Falkland, Anstruther. I'm more familiar with the east neuk.

And for some reason all towns with a ferry service are grim - Ardrossan, Stranraer, Holyhead...

poinsettydog, feeling a 'Fife's Alright' thread coming on.

TBH 9 years ago when moving if I could have chosen anywhere I would have gone to Stirling as I grew up not far from there, have a lot of friends there and think it's a fab town but it is expensive. Now 9 years on I wouldn't move to Stirling, I'm staying put!

One of my favourite Fife places that IMO is very underrated is Culross. Only thing I don't like there is the view of Grangemouth and it's a bit isolated.

Mrs Spoon , you are doing a very good job at selling Dunfermline . Will be studying the links when I have done the usual plus festive stuff done ..
I should not really be on here, am doing on line Xmas shopping but this is more interesting

LOL! Sorry I get a bit passionate about it!

Oh and I should just add to my 'out in a box' post that I would also leave to live somewhere hot and exotic.

Places like Stirling, Kilmarnock Falkirk etc vary so much from area to area. There are nice houses in streets where no one talks and culdesacs where everyone is so freindly and kids all play out. And there are really bad areas too.
Prestwick nice town joined on the edge of Ayr} good for golf, beaches, A77 link for Glasgow 55mins, posh shops, restruants, cosy pubs and lots of charity shops .

Irvine 4 bed , nice housing area, town has bad areas too. Good shopping A77 links, coastal.

Nice wee area in Ayr couple of respectable streets, ex council estae over the road is mostly bought up and Primary school has fairly good rep. Just off A77 5mins glasgow, Ayr has good shopping, coastal, nice countryside.