Relocation to Glasgow!

[Overwhelmedmumtobe]

Dear all,
My partner has been offered a job in Glasgow so we're hoping to relocate at the end of the year. We have been contacting letting agencies. They all say the situation is quite frantic at the moment with some flats being viewed by 100 people. We don't drive so we need to find a place in the city centre or just outside like Southside, Rutherglen, Dennistoun, Tolcross etc. When we move I will also be 8 months pregnant. We realise it's probably the worst period to be moving in. The pressure and stress is non stop. But I'm calling out to all the people who might know people who might know other people who are letting short or long term; people who've been through the same situation and can give advice.

Thanks a million for your help

I would wait on looking for a place until after COP26.

Dates: Sun, 31 Oct 2021 – Fri, 12 Nov 2021

Whereabouts is the job? There are lots of areas outside the city that have good bus/rail links into the centre.

I live in Glasgow and currently work on Glasgow City Centre.

Glasgow is really accessible via train / bus / underground. Most people wouldn't drive into the city centre anyway as parking is extortionate. My office has commuters as far away as Ayr coming daily (although I would not recommend this personally)

What is your budget per month and what type of property are you looking and how long a commute time would your partner be willing to do?

Thank you for your answers!
Yes it has been suggested to me by an agency that waiting for after COP26 would be best. We're just worried that we'll have lost a lot of time by then and will have to refuse the job.
My partner's office is located in Glasgow East. Near the Barras market i think. I think we don't mind about the property so much, as long as it's got 1 bedroom.
Our budget is limited to 600 pounds/month. I was told by an agency that my partner, being the only one with the full time job, we will need a guarantor who lives and works in Scotland if the rent exceeds 600/month.
For the commute I think he could be ok doing 30min on the bike. He regularly starts around 5.30am when there is less public transport.

Might be worth also posing on Scotsnet here.

Ooo £600pcm in Glasgow will be quite tight I’d imagine. Would he consider further out and the train?

You will get a 2 bedroom flat in Rutherglen / Cambuslang for £600 pcm.

Cambuslang is about a 30mim cycle to the Trongate and I think the 267/263 buses go that way for later starts / bad weather

I think I’m lost areas your budget might be a bit tight. Although you could consider Paisley and similar areas. It’s only about 7/8 mins on the train to Glasgow central.

you could look at west dunbartonshire? good train links. Maybe similar in north lanarkshire?

There's very little available at the moment because of bloody COP.

Presumably the landlords that have kept their flats off the market because they were going to get 6 months worth of rent in a 3 week period by doing a short let will want to get proper tenents in asap once that's all past so things should improve fairly swiftly.

£600 is tight though. There may be a bottle neck which will keep prices higher as I think a lot of students have had to take properties much further out, or sofa surf, due to the huge reduction in available properties in anticipation.

If he's working in/near the Barras then Dennistoun would be perfect as he could walk there easily. That would save a lot on travel expenses and maybe the extra could go towards upping your rent budget?

Forgot to add I lived in dennistoun for 15 years. There's some fab places to eat and drink now and right next to Glasgow Green and Alexandra Park for some greenery. The drives are the most desired streets but don't discount the other streets. Best ones are in between Duke Street and the Alexandra Parade.

If he'll be in the east end then Cambuslang/Newton is a good option. The train line is good and you could be at Bridgeton (close to Barras) in under 15 minutes. It's only another stop to Argule Street and that's you in the city centre. You should be able to get a 2 bed flat for £600pm.

You could also try further out (look at stops on the low level train that goes to Bridgeton) so Blantyre and Hamilton and you might get more for your money.

Bring a jacket.

I would check if this guarantor business isn't something specific to the agency. It sounds odd.
We moved to Scotland over 5 years ago from abroad with only 1 salary to a much more expensive rented place and all we needed was references.

And you can add a post on

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/scotsnet

The place for Scotland specific question and complaints!

The Barras Market is basically in the city centre, really near buses entering from the south side. It's about a 15-minute walk from central and about 15-20 min walk from St Enoch or Bridge st underground stations. Bridge St. has a park and ride car park.

I'd have a look at Mount Florida, Battlefield, or even kings park, simshill, croftfoot.

My daughter lives near the Barras (Bridgeton/Calton, near Denniston) for £500 a month. It's a small flat but cosy and the sort of place that would do you until you got a feel of the area. We live further out near Rutherglen and I think you'd get 1 bed for that amount of money. South side (Shaelands/Pollokshields) would be much tighter!
Good luck!

Denistoun has some lovely tenement flats, great restaurants and some interesting little shops, nice parks (as mentioned above), a conservation area and and conservation society and a lot going on: dennistoun.co.uk .

And also - this came as rather a surprise - it is now officially 'cool':

www.scotsman.com/news/people/dennistoun-glasgow-neighbourhood-comes-eighth-coolest-world-rankings-2994041 and
www.heraldscotland.com/news/18774350.time-ranks-dennistoun-among-top-cool-places/

The rough edges are still very much there in places, of course, as in any big city.