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Original poster

Calling Scottish Mums- Would Love your Opinions

237 replies

colette · 08/12/2006 15:56

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

OP posts:
Skribble · 10/12/2006 22:23

Sorry just realised those links go to a home page.

TwoIfBySanta · 10/12/2006 22:33

About the Campsies, where I originate from - Milton of Campsie, yes, Lennoxtown, no!

I live near Bathgate, in an even sh**ter town, and it is okay, nothing brilliant but the Balbardie School is one of the best. Torphican is nice and I really want to move to Linlithgow but unless someone has a leave of their senses and decides to homeswap with us then that probably won't happen. My dts go to school in Linlithgow (which says all you need to know about the dive of a town I live in!), all the primary schools are top notch but Linlithgow Bridge is the best, a bit snobby though. The headmistress is married to a producer or something high up on The Beechgrove Garden.

Bit of trivia for you.

We used to live in Broxburn, not posh but really nice friendly feeling to the town and the people aren't as aggressive as the ones you get further to the west of West Lothian!

I've always liked Falkirk. North Queensferry is nice.

To enter the Fife debate, I worked with a lot of Fifers and one used to say to me "You can tell what the place is like by the queue of traffic trying to escape over the bridge in the morning." So I then desperately wanted to mention the queue in the evening to get back in, but didn't!

Lochgelly is known as Lochsmelly.

Oh where else?

Skribble · 10/12/2006 22:38

East neuk is Ok for a holiday, over 60's or for really little kids.

Traditional foor ball song.

They come from near Lochgelly,
They havnae got a telly,
etc..... Not nice.

Standing joke in our company that the only employees allowed to wear white socks are Fifers, special exemption.

I should shut up as I was born in Fife and family all Fifers .

generaldogsbody1 · 10/12/2006 22:57

What about Balloch, Alexandria, Dumbarton? About 40mins tops to city centre in the car.

Linnet · 10/12/2006 22:59

Perth is nice and surrounding area. Houses in Perth can be very pricey but places like Scone, Stanley, Caputh, Balbeggie etc are slightly better priced although out in the countryside rather than in the city.

persephonesnape · 10/12/2006 23:05

i used to live in kilcreggan, before my ex dumped us and we had to sell up and move back up to little beirut (parkhouse, glasgow) . it's beautiful, we had a five bed upper mansion which we bought for 79k (it was unmodernised..) the scenery is beautiful, you're around eight miles from helensburgh. the local primary was lovely and the parents and toddlers group was fantastic. very supportive and welcoming. you're about an hour from glasgow. it is rather rural and you need to plan well for shopping etc - theres only a wee local londis or something and a post office. i absolutely adored living there, but you need to be able to drive as the public transport is pretty poor (nearest train station is in helensburgh i think)

I could look out of my front window and see the sea, one side wiondow would show the pier and the ferry - the other showed the hills and the sheep! I'm bloody disgusted that we had to move actually!

trixymalixy · 10/12/2006 23:05

There are lots of nice wee villages in Ayrshire.

Since the A77 was upgraded to M77 it is really quick to get to Glasgow.

I went to school in Prestwick which is a nice town. Wouldn't recommend Irvine tho (sorry if you live there skribble!)

poinsettydog · 10/12/2006 23:09

Why don't people in Scotland say where they live and someone else can come and slag it off

We must be about half way there...

Skribble · 10/12/2006 23:29

No I don't live in Irvine. Don't like the town on a whole but some good and affordable areas.

If you can get a big enough private built estate, 60,s 70,s, 80,s or newer you are on to a good thing. Simliar sized house with people on a similar sized budget, child freindly culdesacs etc.

jasper · 10/12/2006 23:29

BBS you are right.
Noone in Scotland says Glasgae unless they are from outside.

hullabaloo · 10/12/2006 23:35

Strathaven is nice and feels like its out in the country wihout being to far away. It's close enough to Hamilton and East kilbride for shopping and the schools look quite good too. Don't know what the house prices are like as I don't live there but worked there for a few yeasr. nice villagey feel and very good community spirit - still do gala days and every Christmas Santa goes round the commmon green with his reindeer. Bothwell and Uddingston are nice too but likely to be expensive.

Skribble · 10/12/2006 23:38

Nice one in Strathaven It is a nice conservation village

Skribble · 10/12/2006 23:41

What about Blantyre, on the outskirts of Glasgow but in price range.

JennyLeevesmilkandcookiesforSa · 11/12/2006 09:17

TwoIfBySanta its not Whitburn is it by any chance lol? Whitburn Suuuucks in the present tense. it sucks now , not years ago.

Also lived in broxburn and it was very wonderful, I want to live there again

Whitburn worse than dunfermline which at least judging from this thread seems to be on the way up , under new regeneration and has a really good park and historical stuff- there! positive about dunfermline I stand corrected. If anyone can find anything positve about Whitburn to say I would be interested to hear it

expatinscotland · 11/12/2006 09:22

Balloch is GORGEOUS!

expatinscotland · 11/12/2006 09:24

North Queensferry is nice. South Queensferry is a sh*thole.

I live in Edinburgh, which can be immediately ruled out as you'd be very pressed to find a nice 1-bed flat in a decent area for under £150k.

gomez · 11/12/2006 09:40

I am a Fifer born and bred but left for Uni and wouldn't go back. Think the two different ends of Fife are being confused thou' - East Fife/East Neuk is or certainly was very different to the West of Fife - i.e. Dunfermline, Lochgelly, Cardenden, Kelty etc. I was brought up in the East Neuk which was lovely but like all rural/small villages was deadly dull by the time you reached 14. Great schools and lots to do for young families - not cheap thou'.

I am in Stirling now and yes bits of it are expensive but you could get a great wee house for £150K - you are then slap in the middle of the Central Belt with all the ammenities and job opportunities that provides.

Good Luck

EPIS - how did you get on in Clacks yesterday?

Oh and Jasper lots of Fifers say Glasgae but that probably confirms there strange reputation

expatinscotland · 11/12/2006 09:44

Clacks was LOVELY, gomez!

We went Sat. and had a terrific day out.

We really liked it.

Friendly folks, too.

DH could chat up a brick wall, though.

Decent prices. But hey, compared to Edinburgh just about anything is!

FIL just can't seem to figure out why we want to leave. I said, 'You bought your house for £15,000 just 18 years ago and it's now worth £175,000,' that's why! And then DH chimed in, 'B/c three-bed ex-Council flats in bloody PILTON are going for offers over £100,000 is why!'

gomez · 11/12/2006 10:09

Ah so a move to the Willy-Wops for you then Expat . Where are you thinking - Menstrie maybe? Great Primary school I hear.

I would so love to move back to Edinburgh thou'.

expatinscotland · 11/12/2006 10:14

We're still narrowing it down, gomez! Well, we hope to move in Spring, so a few more months to go.

You can take Edinburgh any day. I'm sick to the back teeth of this place, tbh. So is DH and he's native!

Original poster
colette · 11/12/2006 16:37

Gomez - where do you think is resonably nice and not too expensive in Stirling? Stirling is a big contender- just the price of the areas we liked made it seem impossible.
persephonesnape I really feel for you, coming back to Glasgow must have been a culture shock.
Ex- pat - glad it went well

OP posts:
Skribble · 11/12/2006 22:25

Certainly not StNinians, Top of the Town or Raploch . I lived in Stirling for about 10 years, more knowledgeable about the bad areas for some strange reason.

JennyLeevesmilkandcookiesforSa · 11/12/2006 23:57

Broxburn is connected to a town called uphall and about a mile from it is a train stop 2 stops from edinburgh called uphall station so is eesy, but you are 20 mins form the centre of edinburgh anyway in broxburn so who needs a train? honestly i have timed it it si 23 mins on the bus so a car would be just as quick you dont need the train from brox to edinburgh,

singsalot · 12/12/2006 00:20

I like fife

lived in Dunfermline, have family there, got married in Auchtermuchty, love the fife accent, really do, I don't have one as I never lived there long enough, my first school girl crush was on a fifer, sigh.....

they do say you have to pay to get into fife and pay to get out of it, via forth road bridge and tay bridge

the other saying I like about fife is that you need" a lang spoon to sup wi a fifer"

most regions have dodgy places, that look grim and industrial run down, poor, sorry just feel the need to defend Fife a wee bit,

alibauble · 12/12/2006 00:22

Well I've lived in Straiton, near Edinburgh - okay. Kilsyth - north of Glasgow was great, good commute far better than surrounding area, great schools, and Kelty (No don't go there) there are great areas of Fife though. Cupar's lovely but not a good commute. Bannockburn's okay and Dollar area. Don't touch Broxburn - sorry was told to avoid there are all costs and that was only last year. Perthshire's great but probably expensive. Good luck in your hunt.

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