Moving to Edinburgh - need *all* the advice :)

[NeedCrisps]

Hi all,

I hope you’re safe and well during lockdown.

We are considering a move to Edinburgh in the very near future. We’ve heard good things about the education system, and my husband has always wanted to live there. His sister lives there too (bonus).

We have one son, he’s 5. We currently live in England (Coventry). The sale of our house is almost complete and we will rent until we find somewhere suitable. My husband is currently wfh and we are hoping he will be able to continue doing so.

We would like to live in the centre as we like a bit of bustle. However I’m now wondering whether it is family-friendly or is it mainly young professionals living in the centre?

I guess where we live will depend on the school. So using that as a starting point which schools would you recommend please? I’m more keen on a school that has a gentler nurturing ethos than one focused on academic excellence.

Our budget is £550-650K. Which areas should I focus on and which ones do I avoid? Even if we don’t live right in the centre, I would like to be able to walk there I think. I don’t drive, but I’m hoping this won’t be an problem.

Finally, how ethnically diverse is Edinburgh? I’m Indian, and my son is mixed race. Given recent events, this is an issue that is preying on my mind.

I would be grateful for your advice. The idea of moving feels like a crazy leap of faith, but we’d like to try it!

Edinburgh 'City Centre' is tiny to be honest, but it's surrounded by places that are residential and within easy walking distance. The bus services are frequent too, so you really shouldn't have any problems accessing the shops on Princes Street, George Street etc no matter where you live within the City.

It's a multicultural and cosmopolitan city, being that it has numerous universities that attract students from across the globe, is teeming with tourists pretty much year-round, and is also a huge services industry hub, so you certainly shouldn't feel out of place either.

Schooling is pretty strict in terms of local catchments, so you wouldn't be able to simply pick and choose a State school outside of your local area, but there are numerous fee-paying private schools, which as far as I know, aren't bound by the same strictures.

Regarding racism in Scotland - I don't think you'll encounter much in the way of overt racism from Scots. That's not to say it doesn't exist or you wont encounter it at all, there are narrow-minded idiots everywhere of course, but we generally don't have the open, organised racism you see elsewhere in the UK with far-right groups marching through the streets uncontested. There's simply no appetite for it here. Nigel Farage was kettled in a pub by everyday ordinary locals and sloped out of the city with his tail between his legs for instance. Scots on the whole are quite a tolerant and liberal bunch.

Edinburgh is a pretty small city, outside the city centre, areas of poverty sit right beside areas of gentrification. A high percentage of pupils are privately educated, especially at secondary level where i think it's over 20%.

Lots of nice areas around the main centre (probably New Town or West end for flats) such as Stockbridge/Comely Bank, Morningside, The Grange, Marchmont or further out such as Barnton. Primary school places in these areas would mean you would most likely need to be in catchment for the likes off Flora Stevenson and especially Morningside.

I'm not in Edinburgh any more but if you check back some older threads on here you'll get lots of useful info.

I don't think you'd encounter any racism in these areas, it tends to be a few idiots and it's better than the west coast for sectarianism as well.

We looked at secondary school performance and worked back from there. Catchments are rigid and follow on from feeder primary catchments.

As @XDownwiththissortofthingX says the city centre is tiny and is very well connected by bus. Also it is normally over run by tourists so I would probably avoid it as a permanent place to live.

I would say that Edinburgh is an international city but not as multicultural as say London. It has a big mulicultural Diwali celebration though!

In terms of schools I think you need to decide if you want a state school or private. If it's state the catchment is strict and most are oversubscribed. In fact you would be lucky to get a place for next year in some. I live in the south and the schools here seem good at least from talking to people and what I see at the school my child goes to. But they are big with lots of children. If you want the smaller classes then I also hear good things about Watson's. Hope that helps!

I can’t really advise on schools, but you can walk to the centre from most of Edinburgh. Stockbridge/Dean Village/Comely Bank are lovely but expensive, Leith or Newington are friendly and up and coming and multicultural and value for money. Morningside/Corstorphine/Duddingston are a bit further away but posh and nice. City centre translates as New Town or possibly Old Town - OT is v touristy and NT is probably the least multicultural bit of Edinburgh and v posh.

@XDownwiththissortofthingX this is massively reassuring, thank you for writing back. The image of Nigel Farage being kettled in a pub warmed my heart haha.

@WaxOnFeckOff your name sounds so familiar, I’m sure I saw it when trawling previous posts! Thanks for your advice. No idea how we’ll arrange viewings during lockdown (we’re shielding) but hey ho, one hurdle at a time!

@GreyishDays this is very good advice, thank you. I hadn’t given any thought to secondary school because it seems so far in the future but I guess the time will pass before I know it!

@Callisto1, we can’t afford private so it’ll have to be state schools! I love the idea of a big Diwali celebration ❤️

@MaryLennoxsScowl this is grand, thank you. I’ll get googling these areas. I’m not aspiring to poshness (is that a word?) as such, more keen on a nice family friendly area that’s not too far from the centre and within catchment of a good school. Is this realistic or more moon on a stick?

If you want to walk into the city but be in a more multicultural area and family friendly you’ll be looking at bruntsfield or tollcross in the South/west, towards leith to the north/east.

As pp said, when you’re looking to buy start with secondary schools then feeder primaries. You can see the catchment maps on the council website. Of the areas I mentioned, the south west has the best state secondaries (boroughmuir and James Gillespies), I don’t know the schools around leith.

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/download/12864/whole-city-catchment-maps

@museumum, thank you for this. I’ll focus on the South/West then. Not keen on Leith because my SIL lives there. She’s lovely, but a little distance is best I think.

Move to Bruntsfield! We moved here 7 years ago. Wide, leafy roads, good schools, pretty cosmopolitan, 20 minute walk into city center.

@hapagirl, this sounds really good. Which schools do your children go to, please? Is Bruntsfield far enough from the centre that it isn’t swarming with tourists?

Bruntsfield def not swarming with tourists.

If you’re looking at property, you also need espc.com/ as not everything is on Rightmove.
On espc you can search by school catchment.

I’m not a Bruntfield expert though, but nearby Morningside seemed very Boden when we were looking. Can anyone comment on whether Bruntsfield is similar? Just thinking it’s good to know the general vibe.

Bruntsfield feels more central and there is more in terms of restaurants and cafes. Morningside is quieter but still quite central, though with a small child in tow you would want to take a bus if you were going to the city centre.

Bruntsfield is definitely not as Boden as Morningside! You get the best of all worlds in Bruntsfield as it's handy for Morningside and town but has it's own shops, restaurants bars etc. but more green space than Morningside. Good schools too.

In Bruntsfield you will probably be looking at a garden flat and some have very nice communal gardens where all the children of the surrounding flats play together (they are sought after). Morningside has more terraced housing with private gardens for the budget you have. Depends what you want.

Be aware when you look at ESPC that whenever you read "offers over" the houses usually go for 10 - 20% more than that. It's a closed bid system where you offer as much as you are willing to (can afford to) pay. You do get a free survey here called a Home report that should tell you the value of the house. The buying of houses is a bit different to England. Good luck!

Thanks Tinkletwat

Nothing against Boden, but it’s just good to know. We were always more ‘Boden via eBay’ and I felt a bit of a pleb wandering round Morningside when we were looking.

Bruntsfield is younger, more hip, more International and more affordable than morningside. Also look at “Polwarth” for houses/flats in Bruntsfield primary catchment just another five min walk from the Main Street (but no further from the centre of town).

@GreyishDays and @Callisto1, I didn’t know about ESPC and the “offers over” bit, very useful tips, thank you. Also I’m not very Boden, so thank you

@Tinkletwat you’ve painted a really lovely picture of Bruntsfield. I really wish I could visit and mooch around but the lockdown has put the kibosh on that plan.

Does sound lovely! I might go and explore as I don’t know it (clearly).

@museumum I’m not very hip, they may not let me in :)

I will have a look at Polwarth, thank you.