Commuting to Edinburgh - Stirling / Falkirk?

[aforestgrewandgrew]

Ideally we'd like to be in Edinburgh but on a budget of approx £180K I'm not sure we can afford it!

We've got family in Glasgow so I was thinking Stirling / Falkirk could be good. Plus although we're looking at working in Edinburgh now, I guess easy access to Glasgow for future jobs could be good too.

My other half is Scottish but not me, my only knowledge of Scotland is visiting not actually living there. DP is very easy going, happy to go with what I want (i.e. leaving me to do all the research!) so I'm hoping MN can help!

What are Stirling / Falkirk like? What are the schools like? Is the commute OK?

Are there other areas I should be considering?

Alternatively any tips on how to live in Edinburgh for £180K would be amazing!

A good friend lives in M'burgh. No children though, so no idea about schools. They like it, being near the city and the country, places to walk the dog.

Trains from B of A are usually the slow/ stopping ones. Likewise Dunblane though not every time! Changing at Stirling and getting a faster one is a quicker way to reach Glasgow. The fast train to Glasgow is just Perth-Stirling- then to QS.
Many of the trains from Stirling to E'burgh stop often - serves places like Falkirk and Linlithgow every time but misses Edinburgh Park sometimes. Generally quite slow service. There's another Perth to Edinburgh route through Fife - takes about 1 1/2 hours. Great for reading/working as not that crowded.

I know a few ppl in Livingston. The primaries seem good. High schools a bit variable.Town itself has nice areas and others which are less so. Again good for country and city visits.

This is a good link for quick school information
www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/how-well-your-kids-school-5407127

Dd2 and her BF have just bought their first flat together...in Bridge of Allan. Am jealous!!!

My advice is that you prioritise the things that will affect your quality of life most.

E.g. Best schools for your children , they go every day
Your commute to work - ditto
Type of house / area that you want

I'd not worry so much about travelling to see family, which you might do once a month and they might come to see you once a month . Being half an hour away from granny won't help you if you kids hate their schools and you are stressed out by your commnute .

Some people get very hung up on being near shops, when In fact we have the internet here in Scotland . But you can't send your kids to dancing lessson / Scouts / karate online .

If you live in the country ( I mean outside a town, not a remote area ) then you will spend the years between your children being 7 -17 driving them around for their social lives . This is hard to do if you both work long hours, so if you have FT demanding careers I'd recommend a city ( not suburbs ) so your young teens / pre teens can be more independent .

We live in a village with a train but no bus. Our kids can get to school and into the nearest town centre . But they need lifts to and from everything else, like visiting friends, extra curricular activities, sports etc .

We factored this is when we moved here but it's a big committment. Visiting granny once a month is nothing compared with the taxi runs every night.