Advice on where to live and buy house in scotland

[beatrix93]

Hello all, Me and my partner are both first time buyers in our mid 20s and are trying to get our first house currently we have a deadlock between a large house in Livingston and a new build townhouse in Carfin/Motherwell any advice would be appreciated. I work in Glasgow whilst he works in Edinburgh however I can switch offices to edinburgh very easily. We only need to go to the office 2 days a week so I dont think 1 hour commutes will be a big deal , my partner loves reading on the train anyway.

We have both moved here from london very recently so dont know a lot about all the areas

The houses themselves are similarly shaped 1200-1350 sqft. We would like to start a family at some point so any information about schools would be appreciated.

Schools, restaurants, local amenities, area would decide it for me.

Neither are particularly appealing. Where did you live in London? What do you like to do? What do you want to be close to amenities wise? Do you mind living somewhere with endless roundabouts? How would you be commuting? What's your budget?

We lived in finchley central, North london in terms of what we like to do both of us work as actuaries so lots of professional exam study after work or go out for long walks or read books in general .I think we will try and commute by trains as much as possible and in terms of budget max we want to go for is 240K.

Both the houses are very close to the station in terms of amenities a good grocer nearby would be great and i think both houses have that in the neighborhood

Both Livingston and Motherwell are OK but not much there. Lots of new build estates around Livingston just now.

A lot will depend on budget? I would look more Dunblane/Bridge of Allen way if possible - about an hour to Edinburgh and 40 mins to Glasgow. Or if you could both work in Edinburgh, there are lots of new builds Musselburgh way.

Thanks so much @Eastereggs1 we will start looking at those areas

Why are you looking at Livingston or Motherwell? Livingston is basically the Scottish equivalent of Milton Keynes.

what do you want from a home/location? You’re young professionals with a decent budget, why not look at a nice flat in Glasgow/Edinburgh/Stirling?
flats in Scotland are freehold (feuhold) so no lease/fee issues.

I do not think many actuaries live in Motherwell to be frank

we wanted to stay more in the middle neither edinburgh or glasgow essentially to maximize job opportunities and also so that both of us dont have a massive commute. In terms of what we want from a house we would like to have a library ,a study for each a bed room and a guest room. If we were back in a 2% interest world and the projections for the economy were not as bad we would have been able to increase the budget a lot more. At the moment we want to have the mortgage payments not exceed more than 1/3rd of 1 persons salary.

I'd definitely go for Livingston over Motherwell, every time. It's not the most exciting place in the world but is relatively modern and growing, and has good shopping, amenities etc. Also some nice places round about. How about Linlithgow? It's on the main train line between Glasgow and Edinburgh and is an attractive old town. I think Motherwell could be a bit of a culture shock coming from London tbh.

Fair enough. Well if you’re happy to live in a soulless housing estate, with easy access to designer outlet malls and lots of roundabouts, Livingston is your place. You’ll get what you need house-wise and be well within budget.

it sounds like you aren’t fussed about location/amenities but then I’m overstretched by your calculations (though comfortable for my budget) in a flat I love (that’s increased 20% in value over the past 4 years) in a vibrant city with a great social life, so I suspect our priorities are pretty different!

good luck with the hunt

I would second @FurAndFeathers, both locations are a bit crap. I mean I'm sure they're fine but no one is going to be "oooh let's live in Motherwell". You could get a 2 bed tenement flat in Glasgow within budget not sure about Edinburgh. Won't include study or library rooms but they're both much cooler places to live with so much more going on. You're only young once, you can move out to the boring suburbs once the kids come along!

Don’t move to Motherwell by god.I think you need to rent to try the commute and test the water. Rent a nice flat somewhere and one of you use the sitting room to work.

My mum is from Motherwell and I go to visit my gran sometimes. But frankly it’s not a very nice place and I wouldn’t move there in a million years. Not sure there is a train station in Carfin?? If there is I’d check how regularly the trains stop.

Don’t know much about Livingston.

Linlithgow in the east was my first thought or somewhere like Croy/Lenzie in the west. All perfect for trains. Or what about Stirling?

I wouldn't prioritise having a library over a good location. At your budget, you will need to compromise on something, but I would compromise on almost anything before location.

(This is born of hard experience!)

Come too linlithgow for a day to get a feel. Beautiful town, direct trains to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling and a lovely place to life.

It is more expensive per square metre than Liv or Motherwell but in my opinion very much worth it!

Thanks for all your advice. We really though living in london was very overrated we would be happier in quieter areas with a bigger house, my partner did uni in edimburgh and although he enjoyed it he wants more space this time around.
It seems motherwell is a no go we will concentrate on stirling,bridge of allen,dunblane,linlitgow and of course livingston. Maybe with a better economic outlook we can upsize later down the line. To get that library ;) with the location!

I would rent initially until you get to know the city. Somewhere in the New Town.

I agree with the other posters, I think a 3 (or maybe 4) bed in a “nicer” area would be better for just now. A library can be something to aim for in a few years!

If you can’t/don’t want to rent initially the best thing to do is spend a day driving around different places to get a feel for them and see if they are for you. Also try to give the commute a trial run if possible.

I moved to Edinburgh recently, I’m Scottish but never knew the city that well, I spent AGES on Rightmove looking and thought I knew the type of flat/area I wanted. But once I got here and got a feel for the different areas I ended up somewhere completely different! I also had to up my budget and drop a third bedroom 😅

Good luck with the search!

At the moment we want to have the mortgage payments not exceed more than 1/3rd of 1 persons salary

That's a tiny budget, i'd say you are being too cautious & i'm risk adverse!

I’d go Lanarkshire, more Bothwell type area. Remember Scotland has an offers over system and just now it’s an average of 9 percent over the valuation. Often more, sometimes less . As such you likely need to be looking at properties round about the 210 to 220 level max

There is also Polmont/Falkirk area, slap bang in the middle. But Linlithgow is nicer and Edinburgh or Glasgow west end would be my top choice if I could afford it. Both leafy, quiet off the main roads, and full of interesting things.

LOCATION x 3

If you don't pick it right it might be more difficult to sell or you would find the price appreciation lagging, when you decide to sell down the line

Neither. Both are soulless bland "the office" typ housing estates.

Don't do it. Scotland has some beautiful and fun places, fabulous for starting a family, close to stations.

Glasgow is 1:05 from edi on train. You don't need to live in a boring horrid place.

Think Dennistoun in east glasgow or Broomhill in west glasgow. Both fab, up & coming, lots going on & both have station. Broomhill has a no change train to edinburgh.

Livingston is very handy for commuting to either city and has lots of amenities locally. But it's a new town so basically a series of housing estates with shopping malls as it's town centre. I don't know Motherwell or Carfin well so can't really comment on them.
I would say the 'nicer' towns that have been suggested such as Linlithgow are worth a look, but be aware that you will not get as much for your money.
Think about what you like to do. If you want to be out on the town, at the theatre, comedy clubs etc, or out every night at the Edinburgh fringe festival in August then I'd say live in the city (Edinburgh or Glasgow) for a bit. It's possible to commute between the two cities by train in under an hour. You'll find both cities to be very different from London, in a good way! That way you can have fun while getting a feel for areas in Central Scotland you might like to settle in.