Move to Scotland? Family of 4

[pinkbunnylugs]

Hi hope some Scottish mamas can help!

We are a family of four. 2 girls (5 & 2). Hubby is Scottish (Dundee). We currently live on the south coast of England and have for 10 years. We have talked about moving to Scotland forever. Anyway this year it looks like it may be the time due to new job circumstances. I have no idea where to start but we both like Edinburgh. Hubby went to uni there and still has friends there with young families. His parents are near Dundee. His brother in Glasgow. We are open to suggestions...
My parents live 10 mins from us at the moment and our eldest just started school...and loves it (not during lockdown!). So there is a lot on the cards. We just crave a bit more space and peace compared to the busyness of where we live now, which is basically becoming an extension of London. If it wasn’t for the beach it would be a crap place to live.

Any ideas on where to live? Work doesn’t tie us to a place so we are looking for somewhere with a bit of culture and a bit of rural-ness, near the sea. With good schools too.

Fife? It’s near Edinburgh and Dundee, or East Lothian, again near Edinburgh but has lovely beaches.

Thank you. I hear nice things about both those areas. Do you know of any villages specifically? Suppose I’d have to talk to an estate agent

What’s your budget? East Lothian has some spectacular villages and towns (Dirleton, North Berwick, Longniddry etc) but they can be very expensive. Prestonpans, Port Seaton and Tranent are cheaper and a bit run down, but still coastal - the countryside round there is lovely.

Closer to Edinburgh are places like Musselburgh, Winchburgh, Kirkliston, Juniper Green. They don’t necessarily have a great cultural scene themselves, but are very close to Edinburgh.

If you aren’t totally wedded to the coast you could consider somewhere like Linlithgow. It has nice galleries, restaurants and cafes and the palace is good. It’s right on a Loch so there is still water close by. And the countryside round there is very beautiful.

Thank you. A East Lothian village sounds like a dream but it is further away from his family... our current house price is £525k for 3 bed in a good area, but ideally we’d like to reduce our mortgage, which looks doable. We would need 4 bed house

Yes I’d agree that budget is the absolutely crucial factor here - there are great options at all levels but there’s no point, for example, in us suggesting Bridge of Allan or North Berwick or Bearsden if you want a 4 bed period house with 2 reception rooms for £250,000.

You could have a very decent 4 bed in most areas in East Lothian for that kind of budget. One of the advantages of moving from the south to Scotland!

Cross-posted! What level are you comfortable at?

Oh bridge of Allan is lovely! And so is dunblane - both gorgeous villages.

I think we need to be close to a coastline/beach! Hard to leave that behind. My husband is into water sports and has never not live near the sea

St Andrew’s area is lovely but pricey.

Yes I like it there but I couldn’t find any homes under £600k with 4 beds at the moment!