Edinburghers- Braids or Greenbank!

[ocelot41]

OK so we now have just over a week before The Big Move. DS is going to be going in S Morningside school and we are renting a friend's wee flat to start with, so no major rush on buying a new home. I had thought we start looking for a terrace or double upper somewhere around S Morningside but the gardens often seem to be tiny and I have a VERY active DS. An earlier thread recommended I check out the Braids/Greenbank. You certainly get tonnes more for your money!. But what we are after is somewhere really kid- friendly and down to earth. Is there much to choose between them?

Thanks for your really detailed post KingLooie. I would much prefer to live in Morningside proper rather than further out and don't mind a tenement at all but the few properties I saw had the teeniest gardens. Maybe I just need to keep looking - there is not much coming up at the mo. Perhaps it will get better in Sept?

Legend has it it's time to put your property on the market when the daffodils come out, but there might have been a drop off over the summer because sellers are away or sellers don't want to miss buyers that are away.

We have got to sell up here first anyway. Was hoping there might be some turnover in autumn but sounds like spring is the time! We are renting a wee flat from friends for 6 months to tide us over but I think our mates will probably want it back spring/summer time as they usually use it for Airbnbs.

Check your catchments carefully - I think Greenbank is Oxgangs/Firhill catchment (which are fine but might not be what you want).

Also not all tenement flats are created equal. We live in a very large main door flat with private front and rear garden and direct access to huge shared garden. This is in Bruntsfield/Merchiston (so same or pricier than Morningside) and a lot cheaper than buying half a villa (which we also looked at). Once you are in your flat you can explore the market - the housing stock is a lot different to down south - we ended up buying something much different from what I thought we would - but I love it.

Ooh thanks Creative - good tip!

Something like that could suit us very well as long as we didn't have students living nearby. I stayed in a halls of residence recent for a conference when most were away and Oh.My.God.The.Parties! Never again.

That said, we would prefer being able to walk to a buzzy area easily - having lived in a grubby bit of Sarf East London for a decade, suburbs that have nothing going on but homes just feels WEIRD to us.

Happy with shared garden if could put up tramp for Destructaboy!

As another poster says, no one uses the shared gardens so I asked our neighbours (after 3 years) if I could put up a trampoline and they all said yes. The garden is so big you can't even see it. And I only pay 1/8th of the cost for the gardener because that is shared across all the flats! I am a big city person and even the central parts of Edinburgh are like a town to me. There are lots of really lovely places still in town where you could have a detached house but they are just too suburban for me.

But you will love it. It is great (except for the weather).

Wow! That sounds AMAZING creative! Did you just see it and snaffle it asap or did you ask estate agents to keep an eye out for you? Are your DC at school nearby? I love Bruntsfield but its a bit of a hike to S Morningside school.

We started looking as soon as we moved here so had seen a fair bit by the time we bought this. There was a lot of competition for this one but you probably know that it all moves a lot quicker up here. My boys got to St Peter's in Morningside. How old is your DS? Did you know South Morningside is in 2 buildings? The younger children (P1-3) are in a building right next to St Peter's. It's about a 15 minute walk from here.

Greenbank is def in South Morningside/Boroughmuir catchment according to this.

Brilliant Rogan. Our DS is 6 creative and has got into S Morningside. He will be going into P3. Incidentally the double upper that someone posted earlier has just been reduced so we are going to have a look see.

My boys are 6 (p2) and 8 (p4). Pm me when you are settled in if you want to meet for a coffee and a play.

That would be lovely creative thanks. It is really kind of you as we know v few people in Edinburgh.

BTW, creative, what happens with grocery deliveries in a tenement if you aren't the ground floor flat? Do deliverymen help you up with stuff or no? Could be a bugger if you were right at the top?

I'm not sure about grocery delivery but I am assuming they bring it up. When I lived on the fifth floor in London they always did!

Waitrose bring it up. Not 100% certain about the others but I reckon they probably do. There's always buses and scooters to speed up the walk to school.

I grew up in Greenbank, spent most of my time with my friends in the Braids. I went to St Georges & my friends went to James Gillespies high school & lived in S Morningside.

Well, we have just had a couple of offers on our English house so hopefully will be in a position to start house hunting properly soon!