Moving to Scotland.....Dunoon.

[macey70]

My husband has been offered a job near Glasgow. We currently live in London.
We have seen a couple of nice houses and the nearest high school is Dunoon Grammar School. Does anyone have any positive/ negative experiences with the school. I am worried that my son (12yrs) will be out of place or be picked on.

@TomDunoon of course you can do the commute, but in my opinion most people used to normal transport links would find the ferry/train journey miserable. Not even accounting for the winter months when those options are disrupted.

Personally I think Dunoon doesn’t have much to offer which makes its lack of connections and amenities worthwhile. I left Dunoon for uni and theres no chance I would consider moving back despite the fact most of my family are still there.

@Jingstohang

Dunoon is a ghost town these days. Move somewhere that's actually nice.

It's not that 'spooky' That's your opinion that it's not nice! As someone who chose to live hear I could take some offense at that... It's certainly not as busy as in the past (before we even moved here) but it's quiet rather faded seaside location is also part of it's charm. It also positively effects house prices for anyone looking to buy! Dunoon's USP is location, being both in the mountains and on the sea, and yet still commutable to Glasgow - for some the time traveling is also work time / time away from home! 1.5 hours commute is long in Scotland, but not for the quality of life you can have here.

Yes that's true. It's not somewhere i would want to live, but the scenery is beautiful. I grew up rurally and now live in glasgow so guess that shows where my priorities are. Everyone I know who grew up in dunoon left!

Hi @Teacaketotty I would agree that when the passenger ferries are cancelled / delayed due to the weather it's a pain, but the Western Car ferry is hardly ever off. A free replacement bus service mostly connects to complete the journey. But you also get used to keeping an eye on the weather and knowing when not to travel. I'm also able to work from home on those days, so I've never been stuck in Gourock.

All that said, the ferry, even with the current small boats is one of the best parts of living here! It's still exciting to get a ferry home, even after 8 years. It still feels like going on holiday.

"Much to offer" is in the eye of the beholder I think! It depends what you want from life. It offers me and others who've moved out of Glasgow, yet still travel there for work a great lifestyle.

Commutable to Glasgiw when you want to see a gig at the Hydro.
Easy to pop in for shopping.
A day out to the Chocolate cafe and checking out the second hand vinyl stores, or comic books in the west end.

All things my teen did.

She lives in Glasgow now, and has done from just before she turned 18.
Most of her old school friends from here do too.
They are all desperate to live in the city, and that's with fairly decent transport.

IHaveBrilloHair I'm also grieving the closure of that Waitrose. 😉

Morrison's just won't be the same.

Morrison's is better than the co op!

I do my shopping online, even though I live round the corner from CoOp!

@IHaveBrilloHair yeah, I try to get Tesco but no luck lately. Co is so expensive 😂

Im shielding so get Sainsbury's once a week.
Asda is usually available at 10pm, haven't managed a Tescos since this started.

@TomDunoon do you work for Dunoon tourist board?

I think Dunoon is the kind of place that is good to live if you are from there and have family there. If not, not so much.

@Ihavebrillohair
You're right, Morrison's won't be anywhere near as good, but it's better than the local alternatives I guess.

Dunoon Grammar is a good enough school, has done some really good work recently particularly in relation to entrepreneurial and IT stuff with kids making national/international finals, etc. Not that many kids are boarders at the hostel so wouldn't worry from that perspective but as somebody else said it's not a "grammar" school, and it's a pretty mixed catchment.

You will get good houses for the money because most people would view it as not commutable to Glasgow - but it does depend (a) where your husband's job is and (b) what his current commute is. People in Scotland don't routinely do the kind of commute that can be common in London...

Some of the schools in Glasgow/larger towns nearby would be more "cosmopolitan", Dunoon is a pretty small town.

I know Dunoon well and I think it really depends on you and your sons interests especially as he is reaching the teenage years.

If he’s outdoorsy then there’s loads to do - walking, mountain biking, kayaking, golf, fishing, sailing. But there’s not so much “entertainment” for teenagers. In my experience, most teenagers were desperate to leave and go to the city.

Also bear in mind that the secondary school is nowhere near the top of the Scottish school rankings:

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotlands-schools-ranked-best-worst-21981461

You can get amazing houses for your money in Dunoon but personally I’d rather stay in a smaller house with decent train links to the city. There are lots of small towns / suburbs where you can easily commute but be close to the countryside.

You really can't commute from Dunoon to Glasgow.

I used to work with someone who did every day.

I like Dunoon. I’d happily live there I reckon.

As somebody who grew up in Dunoon and lived there for over 15 years please do NOT go to Dunoon. Apologies for being dramatic but I can honestly tell you it is not anywhere near as nice as people make it out to be. There are some decent views, the school looks nice and in the 60's it was a nice tourist destination (that's why older people will tell you how great it is) but then the prisons decided to rehabilitate the criminals there and now it's awful. Someone who worked as a prison guard went there and she said that as she walked down the street she recognized a few pedophiles and burglars. I went to the school a few years ago and I know people who still do, it was terrible for bullying, from both staff and students. The attitudes of some of the people there are downright disgusting, they believe abuse and sexual assault is perfectly normal. I was physically, emotionally and sexually abused by my father and when I tried to tell people a large number of them tried to shut me up because it would leave the place with a bad reputation. There is a lot of crime but like I said they act like it doesn't happen and keep it quiet. I moved away 3 years ago and ever since people from there have been harassing me trying to drag me back. That's why people don't leave. I know it sounds over the top but its the truth and I can't stand hearing about people trying to move there.

This isn't just my experience but many other people I know have been treated so badly and it's not talked about. There are also a lot of drug users and violent people there.

Dunoon Grammar has kids from troubled backgrounds, having been relocated due to fostering or placed in care facilities in the area.

Its considered especially good to help children distance themselves from cities and city issues.

It's not a bad school but do consider the age of your own kids etc when making this move.

Dunoon has a drug and alcohol problem, a lack of jobs and the jobs can be seasonally dependant.

I'd consider staying on the Gourock side and look at towns upward nearer the commuter line to Glasgow. You don't want to be depending on Calmac or Western every day in winter, its a miserable journey.

Dunoon is trying it's best to regenerate particularly with the lovely Queens Hall etc but it takes time.

Personally I like Dunoon Im there weekly for specific job purposes, then leave. My job pertains to a certain criteria of resident, and therefore could not live there.

Morrisons is great too.

Welcome to Scotland 🌺

p.s. some great historical locations in Argyll & Bute, stunning.