Good places to live near Edinburgh?

[Kittypillar]

Morning all, would be really grateful for some help from anyone who is familiar with the areas around Edinburgh please...

My husband has been offered an opportunity to work there and we're considering the move up from the South West with our two young kids (ages 2 and 2 months). We're both excited by the idea in theory because we absolutely love Edinburgh, but we don't know the surrounding areas where you might commute from well enough to choose a place to live.

So we're hoping for an area within commuting distance from the city centre, although DH will probably be working from home at least 3 days a week, so we don't mind if it's a little bit further out - probably 45 minutes ish tops and by public transport if possible? Our priorities are it being a good place to raise two children, so safe, good schools, nice community feel, would be lovely to have some shops nearby. We currently live in
a suburban area just outside of a city but both grew up in villages so would be happy with that too. And it would be ideal to be easily accessible as (hopefully) our families from the England might travel up to visit at some point if they forgive us for moving

Hope that all makes sense (struggling to type as I feed baby and keep an eye on the toddler ), thank you!!

whats your budget for buying/renting?

Oh pants, sorry, should have included that

Budget for buying would be around the £325k area, although if it's easier to rent first we might do that, in which case budget per month would be £1500 ish. Could be a bit more but DH will complain bitterly about rented money being a waste

Villages such as winchburgh kirkliston are becoming popular and quite a bit cheaper than Edinburgh with a short commute and various park and rides available. East Lothian - Dunbar, Haddington, North Berwick are very beautiful, costal/market towns and have train services as well as park and ride on the outskirts of the city. Inside Edinburgh a Trinity and Wardie areas are very green, costal, decent schools, very short commute to centre and not quite as expensive as some of the other trendier areas.

East Lothian is a lovely place to live. Countryside, amazing beaches but within easy commute into Edinburgh.

There are similar threads running over on Scotsnet if you want to have a look @kittypillar

You can find Scotsnet in Talk > other stuff.

Thank you everyone! And thanks for the info @LizzieMacQueen, I'll have a look over there too, when the toddler gives me chance to do anything this morning.

Definitely keen on East Lothian - I went to North Berwick as a teenager and remember it being pretty lovely. Trinity and Wardie sound promising too.

You could live IN Edinburgh for £325k. Where is your DHs office situated?

Lots of people I know commute from Dunfermline, Broxburn, south Queensferry, Dunbar, north Berwick.

ESPC.com is a good website to start with.

Bonnyrigg/Lasswade/Dalkeith are all quite nice and a short commute.

Thanks for the website recommendation @skeemee, I'll take a look

DH's office would be in Edinburgh Old Town, so very much the centre. Short commute would be good but we think being family friendly for our DDs is more important, especially as he'll be able to work remotely most of the week.

This is really helpful, thank you! The only area I know well in Edinburgh is Morningside, which is where my mum is originally from - we absolutely can't afford to buy there by the looks of it and unfortunately the rest of her local knowledge is a bit outdated (she's lived in England ever since she went to university).

I'm not an expert, but have friends in Currie which is nice.

If you don't know the scotish market, it's worth notthing that the offers over system usually means stuff goes for around 20% over asking inside Edinburgh. Worth bearing in mind when looking.

It's worth looking at places with train links in, as roads are very busy.

If you fancy living in centralish Edinburgh, Trinity is a nice area

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-82054837.html

Portobello is a great place, lots to do and miles of beaches.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-82047613.html

Coming over towards Fife can be a good move, Dalgety Bay is full of young families and has good primary schools, although the catchment secondary isn't the greatest.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71618331.html (this will be sold by tomorrow as it has a closing date, but gives you an idea of what you can buy for your budget)>

If you come up to Dunfermline you have a choice of schools, two of which are new buildings with reasonable results (not stellar, but many kids do well, including mine).
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94461782.html

This is in a tiny hamlet just next to Dalgety Bay and a few minutes walk to the train station>
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81926026.html

If he is working in the old town consider somewhere commutable by train, 45 minutes on the bus will not get you very far....

My family moved to West Linton and love it. Have made lots of friends, everyone helps each other out, lovely school, they have a better social life than they ever had living in Edinburgh. They managed to buy a 4 bed detached bungalow for half the price of our 3 bed semi in Edinburgh.

You could live in the city for that budget, Edinburgh is massively family friendly - easy to navigate, lots going on and you can cross the city in an hour really. It would probably be a flat rather than a house though, but that's also common here.

Towns - I wouldn't go as far over as Fife, even with the new bridge that commute is hideous. South Queensferry is great and has much more character than somewhere like Kirkliston or Winchburgh. East coast is always popular, North Berwick is lovely but the market is incredibly hot/expensive there, there are other nice places around and about though.

Personally I don't love Midlothian, but other people seem to like it...

Agree with NB being expensive and also quite touristy but Dunbar is fab imo, amazing beaches and on a train line (mainline I'm sure ).

The Trinity property @Chocolatedeficitdisorder posted (although technically in Leith, estate agents like to stretch the boundaries of trinity) is right on a large park and minutes from the school and some very good nurseries. It's near the botanic gardens which is free. There's access to the cycle path network without even crossing a road where you can walk for miles with little wooded areas for dc to play, you can walk all the way in to town in a short time and not hit a road til you are pretty much there or to the beach. Many walk or cycle to work in the city centre. As a PP said Edinburgh is hugely family friendly with no end of things to do and places to explore. I prefer living here and travelling out for day trips than the other way around. There's been plenty to keep us amused in lockdown too

I have heard Stockbridge is a nice part of Edinburgh. And fairly central transport wise.

Is a garden important? That’ll determine how close to the centre you live. Don’t forget LBTT and stamp duty aren’t the same.

I wouldnt go with Fife because of the commute which is either grid locked over the bridge, or trains are rammed and usually running late. Choose the south side of the Forth fir ease of travel..

You will get more for your money the further out you go. £325k in Stockbridge will get you a lovely flat Have you thought of Haddington? Colleague has bought new build and is v happy. Good schools etc 5 bed town house circa £285k

@anon444877 garden is pretty important I think, mostly because my toddler spends practically all her time in ours at the moment - definitely her happy place! And thanks for the reminder about LBTT, I wasn't sure whether there had been similar changes to that in comparison to stamp duty. I must admit I am slightly nervous about how it all might tie in logistically if we sold our house in the south west and bought in Scotland immediately, simply because I know the property market is quite different.

Some really fab suggestions here, thank you all so much!

Our feeling at the moment is suburbs of Lothian probably, we love Fife but suspect it may be just a little too far.

Yes worth looking into the LBTT, income tax and council tax differences, that can help make a clearer picture. We’ve bought in supposedly overheated parts of central Edinburgh twice in the last 10 years and not paid over the home report value so hard to see how things will go on purchases before you try.

Slightly further but borders now has rail to Edinburgh. 50 minutes I think. So places like Melrose five minutes from station. Peebles also popular, no rail but easy commute.

Have a look at towns and villages along the borders railway - straight into Waverley which is handy for the old town.

I agree with previous posters about the city centre being family friendly though, the SIMD map is useful for checking out areas your not familiar with, just put in the postcode of properties you are considering - dark red is most deprived and dark blue is least deprived.
simd.scot/#/simd2020/BTTTFTT/9/-4.0000/55.9000/