Where to live near Glasgow? suburbs or commuter town/village?

[Requinblanc]

Hi everyone,
I am planning on moving to Scotland from London in the next few months and I want to buy a small house (2 bed is all I need) somewhere near Glasgow. Could be up to 45 minute commute as I usually work part-time from home or a part of the city that I could afford. I love the sea and I am looking for lots of green space so rural or seaside would be fine. I am an arty, vegan and I although I am British I was born in an EU country. Schools are not a worry as kid has flown the nest.

The main thing is that it needs to be quiet and safe. I had some big health problems in the past few years and now I want to lead a less stressful life and this will be my 'forever home'.

My budget is £250,000 absolute maximum but ideally I would want to spend less. Any suggestions most welcome!!

Bridge of Allan or Dunblane - under your commute time by direct train, lovely "villages" with own amenities but access to more in Stirling and plenty countryside on your doorstep. Quite an arty farty vegan scene as far as I can see though not my thing :)

Troon or Prestwick. Fifty minutes to Glasgow but 4 trains an hour. Two airports within 40 minutes. Theatre in Ayr. Quiet towns. A lot of golf courses if you like that sort of thing. Both towns coastal.

Both towns have BT and Virgin cable. Prestwick has excellent broadband due to an ATC centre which means the exchange is surprising large for a small town. Both towns are well served with shops and restaurants. Direct trains to Edinburgh.

Both towns have interesting non-chain shops. An excellent lack of fast food chains, neither town has a MacDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Starbucks, or Cafe Nero. I believe Troon has a Subway and Prestwick has a Costa.

Pubs in both places cater for all patron types from "Shandy please" - "We don't do cocktails" uo to "How much for a pint?". Pub food is generally very good as it is highly competitive and bad doesn't survive.

A 3 bedroom house in Prestwick in a nice central area would cost about £170,000. Troon you can add another £30,000.

Two teaching hospitals within 30 minutes.

I was also going to suggest Troon or Prestwick, but @cdtaylornats has it covered!

Both are really lovely towns.

Agree that if you like the coast, Troon or Prestwick are nice. Also Largs but a bit not as nice. Or Helensburgh, which also has good train links into the city.

Look at this one in Helensburgh - it;s a cracker!
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75683974.html

Helensburgh and surrounding areas are nice and you would get something within your budget there.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!!

I had my eye on Troon or Prestwick so it is really good that some of you have confirmed that they are lovely places to live. Thank you cdtaylornats for mentioning the proximity of hospitals. Definitely a factor although I am much better now healthwise.

I keep forgetting that thankfully Scotland does not have our awful English 'leasehold' system for flats, and that I should not limit my search to houses.

Yes that's true Requin. 😀

Would you consider and island, Arran perhaps, or Bute?

If not I'd also say Helensburgh or Troon are great options. Further inland there are lots of lovely villages such as Milton of Campsie or Strathblane which are rural but within 45minutes drive of Glasgow. Not as well connected with public transport though

Helensburgh or Troon if you’re wanting by the sea are great options.
If you’re easier about being by a loch/countryside instead then there’s drymen, luss, killearn are all nice

Closer in you have East Dunbartonshire. Kirkintilloch easily in budget for a nice 2 bed, Lenzie is leafier but surprisingly affordable for smaller houses. Also Milton of Campsie, Twechar, Strathblane all should be in budget.

Kirkintilloch is good for walking/cycling with the Forth and Clyde Canal (Glasgow to Falkirk and onwards to Edinburgh) plus Strathkelvin Railway Path (south a bit but not sure where to exactly and north to Milton of Campsie, Lennoxtown and Strathblane.

We've lived in Kirkintilloch for 4 months and it feels really safe, including late evening runs on my own) lot more convenient than the villages further out for shops (Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury's in town)

Thank you again to all of you. Some wonderful suggestions.

Kirkintilloch looks good too. Quick commute and it seems very nice and safe @randomsabreuse.

This is all so different from London where you have to pay a fortune to live in a not so safe neighbourhood and where we are all on top of each other...

I can't wait to go back to the countryside/seaside :)

@randomsabreuse I am just down the road from you!

OP if you are happy in a larger village/town then as a pp said, East Dunbartonshire has lots to offer e.g. this 3bed in Lenzie is on for offers over £195k, meaning it will sell for something like £210k. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81273238.html You pay a premium for being near schools though, so smaller villages like Torrance or Milton of Campsie will be cheaper, but have fewer local services and amenities.

Kirkintilloch seems like a real hidden gem. Hadn't heard of it until we started looking to move (from Shropshire) and we were initially looking at Bishopbriggs and Torrance (DH is based at Garscube) but ideally now want Kirky to buy in.

Woodilee looks nice but is unusually inconvenient for primary school (Gartconner Primary seems like a relatively awkward journey) so house prices in that part are much lower than the part that is zoned for Lenzie Meadow (I know you don't need schools OP but it might explain why the prices are so different in such a small area!)

What a coincidence @pinkcarpet I looked at that very property on rightmove earlier today!!

In term of 'offer over' is there a rule as to what percentage buyers expect on top of the price that the adds are showing? or is it completely dependent on the property/location?

I assume a good solicitor can advise once I get to that stage but it would be good to get an idea of how the system usually work.

Like others I’d recommend Troon or Helensburgh. Both have good shops/ facilities and are within 45 mins from Glasgow. Troon has a lot of retired people and Helensburgh is chock full of English people thanks to the proximity to Faslane. Both have lots of families and cafes/ restaurants.

Definitely Troon. Prestwick is nice too but has more of nightlife vibe and to be honest has been having a fair bit of bother with teenagers lately. Troon beach can be a party hot spot in the summer but it’s day time only on the really hot day and police Scotland and scotrail are both onto it fast now. I think they’ve been heading to Loch Lomond instead recently.

@randomsabreuse Just a heads up that Hillhead Primary in Kirky hasn't the best reputation.
Lenzie Meadow looks beautiful and seems like a very good school but didn't do too well in its last inspection. I would still send my ds there but thought it was strange as its the one everyone's wanting to get their kids into.

Hillhead seems ok from what I've seen from the staff. They certainly seemed to be making an effort with P1 transition. Will see how it goes as it's our catchment school and it's tough to make a placing request with no ability to look around. If it all goes wrong we'll sort it then!

Our catchment school in Shropshire had a similar reputation but actually it was great for the 2 terms we got, and fast improving generally.

Helensburgh.

Was there today actually and thinking just how nice it was...

If you like the coast Helensburgh and Troon are both nice. The east Dunbartonshire towns/villages are great and much closer to Glasgow. Bishopbriggs and Lenzie are just 10mins to central Glasgow by train or bus but still feel quite rural. Both have nice local cafes, restaurants and shops etc. Strathblane is lovely and more rural but not so well connected by public transport. Personally I think Kirkintilloch is a bit grim. I think there are some nice residential areas but I feel the high street is quite run down. It does have some nice cafes etc.

Basically my advice would be have a few places in mind and then come up for a visit and get a feel for the different places. Whatever you preferences (coast/rural/community/isolated/urban) there will be somewhere that suits your taste within an easy commute.

The ‘offers over’ can be a bit tricky. It can depend a lot on the area and what the market is doing at the time. For example my brother bought in December last year and most properties were going for 10-20% over the price and houses were selling very fast. However, when we bought our house 3 years ago the market was slower and we offered the ‘Offers over’ price exactly and got it. It will probably depend on how popular the property is and whether it goes to final offer sealed bids or not.

Offers over price also depends a lot on the home report. You can request the home report from the agent before viewing so you'll have an idea of what the difference is between the valuation and the offers over starting point. Some are close, others way off, a solicitor will be able to advise on specific areas and the current market.

There’s offers over and house values report to consider. In some places you’ll get it for house value price (usually more than offers offer) and in some you will be 5-20 % over that for some types of property, eg a bungalow in prestwick.

Of course that’s all pre covid...no idea what will happen now the markets moving again.

@Roseburn
You need to come back and eat, or even just have drinks in Sugar Boat once it's reopened, Its my favourite restaurant in town.