Highlands or East Coast move?

[dostopwaffelinggeremy]

Family are planning a move to Scotland within the next 12-18 months hopefully. We are in the process of narrowing areas down.
I am thinking Inverness-shire/Highlands whereas Dh thinks the East Coast would be less chilly.
Being within reasonable public transport links but not for daily commute is necessary.
Obviously good schools are essential (Secondary)
More rural but not too rural.
Would love to hear the good, the bad and the ugly about the North and the East.

My brother has lived in Inverness for many years; it's nice, plenty going on, gets the haar sometimes, doesn't get as much snow.
We are in a small town in Aberdeenshire on the Dee. We're about 20 miles from the city so easy access and our area is gorgeous, friendly, safe with one of the best state schools in Scotland. We get pretty cold in the winter but are usually warmer than the coast in summer and no haar!
The area you're considering are all pretty nice, hope you find somewhere that suits you

What about Edzell in Angus, lovely village, couple of hotels, lovely butchers, couple of cafes, local shop.
Brechin High would be your catchment secondary (don't know anything about it) but Mearns Academy in Laurencekirk is supposed to be a great school!

I'm from the west coast, live in Edinburgh....to me, west coast is wet. It's maybe a bit colder here, but I prefer the weather in the East tbh.

Seems a bit odd that you're not tied down by job tbh. Do you have particular school requirements / are you going private? (In which case being near a city may be more relevant as rural transport links can be a bit hit and miss tbh, especially in the highlands...)

I used to love Edzell, but haven't been back for many a year.