Has anyone moved from south west London to Edinburgh? Morningside?

[Havekidsneedcoffee]

Hello, we have lived in London for 15 years and have 2 young children with one on the way. Husband from Solihull but not desperate to go back. I have family in Ayrshire and also in London.

We're thinking of a move to Edinburgh but worried about leaving London and all the activities (and jobs!) on offer.

Has anyone else made the move and been glad of it or anyone regretted it? It took us a while to settle into where we are in Putney and I would be worried about that again in Scotland especially as DH is English.

Are there any areas in Edinburgh similar to Putney? Thinking loads of activities on offer, all within walking distance of home and good state and private schools. Not much to ask I know!

Would be super grateful. I realise this is probably a commonly-asked question but kids are young so thinking it's now or never and with 3 we could do with more space.

Sorry, OP, I laughed out loud at your concern about DH being English. It isn’t Outlander, you know.

Morningside is very genteel and lovely and you will have a great time.

Depending on your budget I'd consider Grange, Bruntsfield, Newington. School catchments being Sciennes and James Gillespie. This area is closer to town, more bus routes, less congested, closer to parks, museums and if you really want to go to Morningside you can walk there.

Morningside has lovely big houses, coffee shops and independent gift shops but not much else. The main road into Morningside is always busy with big cars filling the air with fumes.

If you want to live closer to town and private schools Stockbridge, Ravelston, Murrayfield.

If your family are in Ayrshire would you consider areas nearer them? Lenzie, Giffnock? Lenzie has trains to Glasgow & Edinburgh.

Having made the same move whilst pregnant from SW12, I would think seriously about a few things:
Career opportunities are more limited here depending on your industry (having finished having kids, I have seriously looked at working down south for a few days a week)
Schools are quite different - state is fine, most private schools aren’t the same as you get in London (effectively they are private comprehensives 20-25% of pupils are at a private school), but much cheaper than London, one big public school in the centre, Fettes
Lifestyle is lovely, although you’d struggle to replicate Putney/Northcote Road, everything is so much closer so you don’t need to
Houses are significantly cheaper, but stamp duty/council tax are significantly more
Friends - moving with baby is a good idea as found it’s by far the easiest to meet people as lots of people have either grown up here or been here since uni, so don’t have a great need for new friends

It is lovely but in hindsight we would not have moved here mainly because of the career options, but slightly stuck now.

@Alwaysinahurrynow What is it that you do that is hard to find work?

(Edinburgh has a very, very low unemployment rate of

Unemployment rates are not the same thing. I have a job, there are lots of jobs, but few and far between offer significant career progression for me compared to other parts of the UK.

Thank you for your messages, really helpful.
We both work in finance so hopefully not hard to find work but it's always a bit worrying the idea of not being in work and it's just that there are more options down south.

Interesting to hear about the career progression comments and also about lots of people from Edinburgh having friends since uni or coming from there. That's partly what worries me and isn't such a problem in London.

Also trying to get away from air pollution and find cheaper private schools for secondary or good state schools for secondary. Where we are for secondary we either have to move or go private and private prices in London are astronomical. So I kind of think if we have to move we should just move up north where we can cycle to work rather than Home Counties with commute.

West coast is beautiful and in many ways makes more sense for us to move there but I think Edinburgh is a bit more multicultural and after living cheek-by-jowl for so long we need somewhere bigger.

Thank you I'll look into those areas too.

"I would be worried about that again in Scotland especially as DH is English. "

Stay away. He'll be burnt at the stake.

It isn’t Outlander, you know

😂😂😂

Glasgow is highly multicultural: the West End with the Uni has lots of different nationalities.

Ds' (excellent) old school on the South Side had 55 languages spoken in it I regularly argue passionately both in favour of the vibrancy and quality of life in the South Side (Pollokshields, Shawlands, Newlands, Strathbungo). It was a state school, but I'm sure the neighbouring private school (Hutcheson's) is also very diverse, as are the other private schools like Glasgow Academy and the High School of Glasgow.

I have South African friends with kids who are at Glasgow Academy and their circle of friends are from all over the world (including England )

In fact, technically, I used to be South African too (but I came to Scotland soooo long ago that I consider myself Scottish )

So if your one of your important criteria is multiculturalism, don't discount Glasgow, which if anything is more multi-cultural than Edinburgh (except during the Festival )

If you work in finance then Edinburgh is a better bet than Glasgow (sorry pretty bird!) . Most finance jobs will either be City centre or out at Edinburgh Park on the West of the city. I'd think there are plenty of opportunities for career progression in that area as there are many head offices as well as other related work there. I think you need to have a good think about what lifestyle you really want some requirements are better met in an urban area but that will not get you the fresh air etc that suburban or outer village type life will give you.

I'd agree with you about the quantity Wax

But both cities do have finance sector jobs, so it's worth looking at both.

Glasgow does, but it depends on exactly what OP and her DP do. I have quite a specialist role and there will only be about 3 or 4 people in Glasgow who do what I do but about 50 in Edinburgh (and 2 where I am) so for me Glasgow would be rubbish :) .

The state schools are far superior in East Renfrewshire than in Edinburgh.

Boroughmuir,James Gillespie's & Royal High are probably the best but nowhere near that level. A fairly high proportion go privately (about 25-30%) in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is great for culture during August, but out with of the festival it's not great for concerts etc. Of course there's the rugby, but I think Glasgow has got far better recreational/sports facilities & museums. And better transport.

The other thing to bear in mind is property prices, you will get soooo much more for your money in Glasgow. East Ren is cheaper than the West End, but less "mixed" cultures & more suburban.

Perhaps look at Morningside/Bruntsfield, West End of Glasgow & East Renfrewshire?

I’ll ditto Wax’s comments. I’ll also add that Edinburgh does have a reputation for locals being difficult for breaking into when it comes to making friends, but I didn’t find it that bad

I can’t comment on the state schools, but if you are in Morningside, you’ll have easy access to both Watson’s and Heriot’s (14% of Edinburgh primary and high school students are privately educated). We discounted Fettes as it’s primarily a boarding school and we had feedback from friends with day pupils who found it difficult to fully integrate.

Thanks so much for the comments. I know Glasgow and think it's a great city and we've done loads of the amazing activities there. We've considered it too but prefer Edinburgh as we like being by the sea and have a few friends there (more than in Glasgow).

Just trying to understand areas and how they work and where kids live depending on which schools they go to. I've visited two private schools and one state school and only the state school could actually tell us where the children lived.

We'd love to live somewhere where lots of children will go to the same school and all live locally and have play dates around the corner. But hey who wouldn't?!

I'll check out Murrayfield and Ravelstone thank you very much. Think I've got Morningside in my head because I've heard about it not necessarily because it has the most activities on offer in walking distance. Much appreciated thank you!

We moved up from SW London to bruntsfield. Great local school (and private options close by). and lots of good shops / restaurants within easy walking distance (which we had really enjoyed when we were in London so wanted to replicate). Love the area, made lots of friends through having eldest at school now and another baby (all obviously very local so handy play dates / coffees and always stopping to say hello to people on the street - although appreciate that isn't a positive for some!) Good luck!

Children come from all over to go to the private schools. DC are at Watson’s (we’re in West Lothian) and children stay as widespread as from Fife to the Borders. A lot do live within walking distance to school, though- mostly Morningside and quite a few slightly further out in Craiglockhart.

@PersonaNonGarter my cousin's husband has unfortunately encountered quite a bit of abuse in Scotland due to being English. Luckily he's thick skinned and doesn't take it to heart, but it's a shame.

Not so much on the private schooling, but have you considered Stirling/Bridge of Allan/Dunblane? Commutable to Edinburgh and Glasgow, good schools, great quality of life and brilliant area for raising children.

I know you've said you prefer Edinburgh OP but depending on your role don't rule out Glasgow for jobs. Barclays are setting up one of their 3 global hubs in Glasgow and JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are here too.

For me job progression could be an issue. I actually love my job but salary is a lot lower than I could get London, and there would even be more opportunities in Leeds/Manchester. But it is only a 15 min cycle ride from the kids school so I can drop them off and still get to my desk for 9.30!

I also have to say I don't think Edinburgh is multi cultural. I loved to Glasgow from Brixton and it felt pretty dull at first but in the last few years it has started to feel a lot more diverse, especially with so many overseas students.

What about west Edinburgh? Close to the financial areas of Gyle/Edinburgh park & city centre.

Also easier for getting back to Glasgow if you have relatives there.

Corstorphine has a lot going on, or Murrayfield is nice too (and within walking distance to town). And Stockbridge/Comely Bank might fit your bill too.

Barnton is nice.

I lived in the SE for a number of years before returning to Edinburgh with a cockney dh. He worked in the financial sector in SE and after moving up with no job he was only unemployed for about 1 week in total. I am not aware of him suffering any racism (except from our dd ). My dsis also works in finance and there are jobs around in certain areas but due to brexit worries at the moment everyone is a bit cautious. As said above lots of children in and around (25%) attend private schools and you will encounter many different nationalities there as well. My dh wouldn't even consider a move back to SE.

Most folk in Morningside are English. Your DH will be fine