Moving to Scotland from York, but where should we look?

[EHAlba]

Hi,

We currently live in York (which we absolutely love) but for various reasons, work and family, we're planning on moving to the central belt in Scotland in the next 1-2 years. The reason for choosing the central belt specifically is to be either in, or close to, Glasgow and/or Edinburgh for work reasons. My husband works from home but in my industry I'm going to have to commute to one or the other.

My husband is Scottish, but from the Aberdeenshire area originally, and so doesn't know the central belt very well, and I'm Spanish. We love the idea of being closer to family etc, but we're struggling to find anywhere that will come close to York in terms of environment, activities, shops and restaurants etc. Edinburgh is obviously an option that could tick a lot of our boxes, but comes with a significant price tag, so we haven't considered that (yet!). We'd ideally like to be somewhere that has the feel of York with good access to the countryside, but within 30ish min train commute of Glasgow. We’d also like to have good access to good schools as our son will be starting school around that time.

Places we've looked are:

Stirling - some lovely suburban areas but the centre felt pretty run down and not what we expected

Bridge of Allan - Really nice, although not sure if it has all the amenities we'd need without having to go into Stirling a lot

Dunblane - Lovely but possibly a little too quiet, and on the very edge of commuting distance

Bearsden / Milgavie - Some really nice houses, but felt a bit metropolis/suburbia if you know what I mean. The centres of both were just 'ok' as well (I appreciate Glasgow city centre has loads to offer and is just down the road)

Linlithgow - We haven't been yet but are visiting soon, feels like it might tick a lot of boxes

The list probably gives you some idea of what we're aiming for. We're probably going to be spending between £500-£600k for a 4 bedroom house, which we thought was fairly reasonable. But it feels like that's not going to get us what we're looking for these days!

So, any tips on places we haven't thought of, or anywhere on our list that we should be paying more attention to?

Thanks!

You probably will like Linlithgow- lots do - but you could be in Edinburgh for that budget. I don’t think anywhere in the central belt have the feel of York
Except Edinburgh.

We have friends who live in Dunblane, one commutes to Glasgow and one to South of Edinburgh so it is doable - especially if it’s just one of you commuting so you don’t need to be back for childcare pick up.

All my family are from Scotland, and my cousin went to university in Stirling, it is honestly such a lovely place with more to do than you would realise! Would highly recommend

South Queensferry maybe? It’s quite small - but has the train - and not too bad to get out to Glasgow - definitely closer to Edinburgh though. It has a nice historic centre, some independent shops and restaurants, they have just rebuilt the high school….

None of these places are like York.

Linlithgow is lovely but is blighted by the landfill & the industrial flaring.

Edinburgh is a great place to live but I'd be wary of anything shared. Tho you have a good budget....

I miss living in both of these places tho. 😁

Somewhere on the ayrshire coast within a twin ride of Glasgow.
Troon?
Nothing like York but 😊

If you don't mind new build, friends of ours have just bought a beautiful 4 bed detached on the outskirts of Edinburgh well within your budget. Buying new build in Edinburgh has the added advantage of not being in the midst of the endless "offers over" hell that is dominant in some areas.

East Lothian is worth considering. North Berwick is only 30mind by train. There is houses being built on in between edinburgh and north berwick that would suit your needs.

There is some amazing beaches out that way.

Be clear what you want. If to be like York you need to be near a major conurbation. For various reasons I have been staying and also holidaying in different parts of Scotland. If you like peace and tranquility you get it as there are vast areas with little there. So where currently, nearest pub is 13 miles and is crap for food. Nearest supermarket (and not what I would call a supermarket) is 30 miles so a 1 hour trip. If you have kids there are primary schools but little else.

No mobile signal for many places

For some people that is paradise...for others torture so be clear what your musts, should and could haves are. Sounds to me to be near a city

I know parts of the central belt and york well. I would say Linlithgow is much nicer than york, yes you can see the industry of Grangemouth but you have trains to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, not from the waterfront at south queensferry plenty of great countryside nearby.
North Berwick is really nice but further out

What about Helensburgh/Loch Lomond way?
You've got the train to Glasgow in about 30-40 minutes) and I think there's also a direct train to Edinburgh (about 90 minutes from Helensburgh I think)
Car journey obviously much shorter

You need to recognise that Scotland is very different to most parts of England. As soon as you’re away from the cities even slightly it’s far more wild (which living here I love). I’d be wary of living too far away and commuting as the winter weather can be pretty bad and doesn’t take much to shut down train lines etc.

If you set out looking for York in Scotland you’re likely to be disappointed, but Scotland is a wonderful place for all its own reasons.

So as someone who lived in York (Dunnington) until she was 22 and has lived in Stirling for 10 years (recently moved to rural Perthshire) I can safely say you will not find York up here, you can get close but with some compromise.

For me, Bridge of Allan would tick some of your boxes (I have good friends who have just bought there and spend a lot of time there myself). Good train links to Glasgow and Edinburgh (the fast train is 30 minutes to Glasgow). The high street is getting better and better - lots of independent shops, a nice range of independent places to eat. (obviously not the number and variety of York) To be honest my friends who live there don't go into Stirling other than for the supermarket (all the usual suspects within 10 - 15 minutes drive of BoA). The only amenity I can think of you are missing on the high street is a Bank (but there are plenty of cash points and you can bank in the Post Office). You've also got fantastic outdoor space right on your doorstep and you're within easy access of Loch Lomond & the Trossachs. My understanding is the schools are good too. Your budget would get you a fantastic property in BoA too. But BoA is much smaller than York, I guess perhaps the feeling of Knaresborough or Northallerton (trying to the think of Yorkshire places it has some resemblance with) but even that is a stretch.

For me, the only other place that springs to mind would be Edinburgh - ticks all the boxes culturally and great range of places to eat and drink. You'd have access to the Pentlands and the east coast. You'd also have the train line to Edinburgh. It's the only places I can really think of that would remind me of York...

But yes, agree with what @Igotjelly - Scotland really is very different from most parts of England. You won't find York here, but as much as I loved York, I wouldn't go back now.

Another Scot who is an ex Dunnington resident (although I've also lived in central York.

I would live in Glasgow itself I think. Or Edinburgh if your budget would stretch.
Small towns in Scotland have awful architecture in general.

Milgavie is probably where I would choose to live with dc but it is more suburban than central York.

The good thing is that the central belt is small so off peak getting around is pretty quick.

@longerevenings - I'm ex-Dunnington too (not that this helps the OP) but this did make me smile!

I always thought York has a similar feel to edinburgh but I've never lived there. Nice parts of edinburgh that might tick your boxes (but possibly stretch your budget) - morningside, Stockbridge / comely bank / Craigleith and portobello. Corstorphine also has good family houses at slightly lower prices with the advantage of being on the west of the city for access to haymarket station and the airport.

Another vote for Helensburgh here. On trainline to Glasgow, and to West End in particular that has loads of the things you like, but also mostly very pretty and has its own shops and restaurants.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/112659677#/?channel=RES_BUY

For example

Thanks so much for all the replies. Really helpful!

It's helpful to know that we're unlikely to replicate the York feel, at least outside of moving to Edinburgh. It sounds like we need to prioritise what we want most.

We definitely want to be close to civilisation, somewhere with a community feel where where there's stuff going on and where we can make new friends. We're both relatively outgoing so like to get involved with the community wherever we live.

It's sounding like outside of Edinburgh, either Linlithgow or Bridge of Allan are our best bets. Although I hadn't thought about the industrial side of Linlithgow, which does put us off slightly. We also like the idea of BoA being closer to the Trossachs / West Coast for easy access to the wilder parts of Scotland.

Helensburgh looks lovely, but possibly just a bit too far away for commuting?

Based on some of the comments I think we'll also take a look at South Queensferry and some of the towns to the east of Edinburgh as well, although we're not massively keen on new builds - even though there seem to be plenty of them!

Have a look at Perth and Pitlochry, both lovely towns.

Perth and Pitlochry are nice, but a long commute to edinburgh and Glasgow but not far to travel to from stirling - and stirling/boa is not too far of a commute to edinburgh/Glasgow.

I live between bridge of Allan and Stirling. Stirling town centre has lost a fair amount of shops in the last year or 2 which is such a shame. But still lots of nice pubs and restaurants and Glasgow &edin not far away either or Perth etc if you want to travel. I travel to Glasgow for work.

I live in BoA. Wouldn't say its anything like York, but I love living here as has a real community vibe and is very pretty. Easy to get to Edinburgh or Glasgow for shopping or variety of restaurants, and close to the Trossachs for amazing outdoor scenery.

I don't go in to Stirling city centre that often but it is really quick to do so, lots of buses and never had a problem with finding parking. Old part of Stirling up near the castle is nice.

Check out Dunblane too, lots of families there and similar to BoA. Housing stock is quite limited in both areas so very much offers over, but you'll be able to get something really lovely with that budget.

It is possible to get a 4 bedroom period house in Edinburgh, you just may have to look to the suburbs a bit (but still within the ring road). Areas like Fairmilehead, Corstorphine, Craiglockhart and Liberton (parts of it are nice). Check out espc.com for Edinburgh property (not rightmove).
I think places like Linlithgow or BoA will be too much of a compromise personally, but then I love love living in Edinburgh - culture, the convenience of a small capital, beaches, Pentlands etc. It’s beaut!

Lenzie? Kirkintilloch? Eaglesham?

I used to live in Bearsden. Can you cope with the restaurants and shops being 25-30 minutes away -in Glasgow city- or do you need them on your doorstep? Bearsden is a peaceful place to live, but it is boring.
Milngavie has a bigger town centre than Bearsden. There’s more cafes and shops there. I’d recommend milngavie.

Edinburgh is very like York. It's also pricey and has a similar picture postcard centre rough outer like York, although way rougher ofc.

If it's the buzz of a city you're after I'd say Glasgow is the place to be really. Lots going on in terms of culture and Glaswegians are famous for their chat with good reason. It's a working city with money coming from industry and business rather than a tourist city though so very different from both York and Edinburgh in that respect. I personally prefer that but you say you like York so in that case go for Edinburgh. Agree with pps that nowhere in Scotland is terrifically like anywhere in England. The history and climate are different so the way people have built their environment is different too.