Scotland - naice small town within two hours of Glasgow?

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

Not sure if I’ve put this in the right section-
seriously considering moving to Scotland- I’ve been wanting to for years, and we now have two DC living there.
just starting to look casually - could anyone recommend an area?
we’d like

• two hours max from Glasgow
• small town with independent shops and cafes and a creative vibe
• lovely scenery

budget around £500k, three bed detached with large garden and views. any ideas? thank you

Wigtown? Just over 2 hours from Glasgow

Ooo yes Luss but lots of tourists

Troon is beloved by those that live there. Good for a sea person. Less than an hour from Glasgow. I’m a hills and mountains person. I’d I could live anywhere it’d be cairngorms (too far from ggow for you) or Perthshire — Pitlochry or Blair atholl etc. loads of nice places. jealous of your fun research!

East coast around Edinburgh is lovely

Auchterarder is lovely and has direct train to Glasgow taking about 50 minutes.

Castle Douglas or Dalbeattie. Close to Kippford which is lovely. Solway Coast beautiful

Why are you being such an arsehole? This was a nice wee thread.

I stand by Moffat being gorgeous- you and your miserable pal notwithstanding.

Melrose is lovely too as are most of the other suggestions.

Good luck OP. I hope you enjoy visiting all these lovely places and find somewhere wonderful.

Melrose is really pushing your 2 hours max, can be done in 2 hours but very traffic dependent. Depends why you want to be close I guess- commuting hours or on a good run. Bearsden/milngavie area is commuting distance with smaller town vibe

Sorry, I didn't realise providing facts, urging the OP to exercise caution and giving another point of view was being an arsehole. Please accept my apologies.

The fact that you've used the word wee though suggests you may be Scottish so you have likely had a very different experience to me and my miserable - sharp intake of breath - brown-skinned pal.

Linlithgow is nice and has a nice loch. It is 30 minutes from Glasgow by train, and there are 38 trains a day on that route. It is approximately a 45 minute drive.

The east coast is noticeably dryer than the west.

Peebles might be an option, OP.
Well within time limit online but I am not sure about the reality but I think would be ok.
It's very nice there.

I'm confused. Genuinely. What's skin got to do with houses? Are you suggesting the area is racist? I didn't get that hint from your first post, I thought that was just about weather?

What the bloody hell are you getting at with that comment?

Linlithgow, South Queensferry, Dunfermline, Dalgety Bay, Perth, Ayr, Troon, Largs…

Well it would be an unusual place if no one was racist, wouldn't it?
But in my limited experience and knowledge of the place, yes more than most.
As well as insular and conservative with both big and small C.
Sorry if that offends people who seem intent on seeing the whole of Scotland through rose tinted specs and believe in its exceptionalism. But perhaps you could do with a reality check. Scotland, like anywhere else, has good and bad points and some areas suit some, some others. But point that out and some people get their knickers in a twist and call you an arsehole. Well, do your worst and insult away.

Just to add it's a shame my first post wasn't received in the way it was written. With a little humour.

Broughty Ferry in the East would tick a lot of boxes for you. Much drier on that side of the country too.

@redboxer321 you didn't mention any of that initially. You only mentioned the weather.

If you'd said that then that might have been helpful to know.

Sounds like your experience there wasn't great. That must have been crap. Never been myself but can imagine the vibe you describe.

Not Dunoon or Gourock. Gourock is really Glasgow and Dunoon requires a ferry or a long drive to get anywhere with any life. I've lived in Dunoon and was glad to leave.

Linlithgow is lovely although possibly the closest thing to an English village in Scotland. Helensburgh, North Berwick, Peebles, Pitlochry, Dollar, Bridge of Allan, Aberlady there are lots of options.

Much closer is Milngavie, which has a nice wee high street and is 25 mins on train into Glasgow. But it is part of the overall Glasgow conurbation.

Kirkcudbright is lovely but I wouldn't recommend if proximity to Glasgow is important or if you don't like driving. It's at least 2 hours' drive and can easily be longer due to a cocktail of motorway roadworks, school traffic and finding yourself stuck behind a tractor.

Moffat is an hour away straight down the M74 and has nice shops and cafes. Nice for a visit but I'm not sure I'd want to live there. It just seems quite isolated - no other towns remotely nearby.

Callander could also be worth a look (45 mins ish from Glasgow)

Thanks everyone, it’s really helpful
currently down in Devon.
wouldn’t be working in Glasgow, but kids are there (one is in helensburgh too - dead giveaway haha)

Seriously?! 🙄🙄. I’m Scottish - born and raised and live there and am currently “down” in Somerset. Talk about creating a stupid problem where there is none - not doing the chippy Scot cliche many favours there.

This is a very odd comment. I’m Scottish but live in London and I came up to Scotland yesterday and will be up again during the summer. I will also go through to Edinburgh and then back down to London.

what on earth are you talking about?