Where should we move to? Inspiration please!

[Herewego83]

DH and I have recently negotiated with our London based employers to work remotely from Scotland. I'm originally from near Glasgow but have lived down South for the last 15 years. We have one baby so far and expect to have another over next few years.

Our criteria for somewhere to live are:

• within 30 mins of Glasgow (for childcare) with easy commute to Glasgow/Edinburgh/airport as required

• 4 bedrooms, detached house with garden

• decent schools

• community feel, some local bars and restaurants within walking distance

• nice countryside nearby

• family friendly area

• absolute max budget is £500k but we'd rather keep to below £400k if possible

So wise Mumsnetters - where should we live? We're keen on Bearsden/Milngavie but mainly because we know those areas already. They are expensive though! Any predictions on what will happen to the post- COVID housing market in the Glasgow area would be very welcome too

Bishopbriggs? Not as pricey as Bearsden etc, one of the top secondary schools in Scotland, close to Glasgow, less than 10 mins to city centre.

East Renfrewshire- same feel/as affluent an area as Bearsden but schools are great, lots of outdoor nursery opportunities and transport to Glasgow is really easy.

Giffnock and Clarkston both have nice restaurants/bars... a couple of trainstops away is Shawlands which is a bit of a trendy cafe/bar mecca at the moment.

Newton Mearns has restaurants, but feels a bit more cut off. Not sure if it's just the size of it but I prefer the smaller towns.

All of the above spoiled for surrounding farmlands/outdoor space.

Houston? Eaglesham? Strathaven?

I second Bishopbriggs I know your a wee while off but the high school is outstanding, my kids have thrived

Thanks a lot everyone! I'll definitely look into all of these areas. Is Bishopbriggs town centre nice?

In a word, no. The shopping precinct is a bit of a blight.... but Bishopbriggs does have a lovely canal path which I have fond memories of!

I’d stay in the west end of Glasgow if I were you.

Or Bothwell, Uddingston or Strathaven

Lenzie? Possibly won't get 4 beds detached in your budget but the times I've been it seems very nice.

You say easy commute to Glasgow/Edinburgh in which case you might want somewhere you can easily get the to a stop on the Edinburgh - Glasgow train, so possibly Linlithgow. Again quite expensive and further from Glasgow but much more central and closer to Edinburgh. Lovely town and great schools.

Falkirk is cheap as chips and a bit rougher round the edges but not a bad place. There's also Croy and Polmont, can't remember where else is on that line as haven't been that way in a while.

If you go West of Glasgow you're making a commute to Edinburgh more difficult (although not impossible with a change of train) so it depends how often you're heading East.

Think you could get a house in west end for that. They are rare so you will need to have a good look. (Mostly tenements).

Troon/Alloway? Maybe a bit more than 30 mins from Glasgow if traffic is bad, but lovely countryside, beaches, restaurants, and you would get a great house for your budget.

Re housing market, mini boom at the moment and will be a crash in 6ish months time same as 2007 / 2008. Glasgow won't be as hard hit as London I don't think.

A 4 bed detached house with a garden in the West End for under £500k...? That is a vanishingly rare prospect. There are much more affordable places with great links and suitable housing stock. I do absolutely love the West End, it's impossible not to, but I'm not sure it's the right place for the OP!

East Dunbartonshire as a whole rather than just Bearsden/Milngavie. Lenzie and Kirkintilloch feel nicer than Bishopbriggs although the schools are not quite as good. The part of Woodilee that is Lenzie catchment would be easily in your budget.

Strathblane area looks nice, catchment secondary school is Balfron which is less convenient (but has a good reputation).

Not much is coming onto the market with 4 beds at the moment and they're apparently going well over home buyer's report value. So currently mini boom with people wanting to move out to get space/garden/walking to open space from home options...

Look at the Southside of Glasgow: Pollokshields, Shawlands, Newlands, Strathbungo. Good value, solid houses, especially if you're prepared to look at conversions (large Victorian stone villas divided into two or more, with the large gardens also divided: dh calls ours a "horizontal semi" ), which will have their own gardens.

Shawlands Academy is a good school (check catchments though, as parts of Pollokshields are in Bellahouston's catchment and although placing requests are currently accepted by Shawlands at least they were a couple of years ago , there is no guarantee that that will continue). Glendale, Langside and Shawlands Primaries are all good.

Good and plentiful public transport links into the city, good community feel in Shawlands, Nithsdale Road also developing as a bar/coffee shop locale, easy access to the airport, lovely parks (Queens Park, Maxwell Park, Pollok Park - in which next year the Burrell will re-open).

I was brought up in Bearsden/Milngavie (and went to Bearsden Academy a loooooong time ago ) but am a total convert to the South Side

Under offer, but this is very similar to our place, although the way that each house is divided is slightly different, as every house starts off different (one of the conditions when Pollokshields was built). I love what they've done in the loft - dh has aspirations to do something similar. Ds has the "dormer" room on the attic floor (where there is also a spare bedroom with a velux) but nowhere near as glamorous as that!

Catchment for this part of the road is Glendale Primary (good school) but you'd have to do a placing request for Shawlands Academy (which is still in comfortable walking distance).

NB: "Offers over" in Glasgow usually genuinely means "offers over" - so it may have gone for more than £500k.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94574822.html

You'd be able to get something in budget in Stirling, Bridge of Allan or Dunblane.

Access to the m9 and m80 to Edinburgh and Glasgow plus direct trains to either.

Decent schools, plenty to do and countryside on your doorstep.

Thanks a lot everyone, this is really helpful stuff. I'm starting to realise that 'offers over' tends to mean at least 10% on top of the Rightmove price so we'll need to factor that in to the search. Will be worth it to come home though!

www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sale/west-of-scotland/beatrice-meadows/homes/plot-85#content-extract
Kirkintilloch and Lenzie are nice places to stay. Local restaurants a bit limited but 10 minutes on the train to centre of Glasgow and 50 minutes to centre of Edinburgh .

Take a look at the Solicitors Property Centre websites too. We moved from England a few years ago and initially just looked at Rightmove. In the end we found a house listed on GSPC that wasn't on Rightmove.

@Herewego83

Thanks a lot everyone, this is really helpful stuff. I'm starting to realise that 'offers over' tends to mean at least 10% on top of the Rightmove price so we'll need to factor that in to the search. Will be worth it to come home though!

Indeed. People usually expect well over the home report value At the moment if its a desirable property. If it goes to a closing date then it might be 20%.

The market up here is very hot right now, properties are being sold within a few days. Remember you need a Scottish solicitor and your mortgage etc in place.

You will need to sell in London first and ideally rent up here first so you can check out the areas you want.

Sellers here fare unlikely to accept your offer if its conditional on selling down south. The timescales here are shorter.

You might find it easier with a new build as they're more likely to be fixed price and have a planned move in date.

Balfron Academy is a good school - Strathblane area falls into that catchment.

Convenient for both Edinburgh and Glasgow anywhere around Stirling/Falkirk. There's a load of developments in and around Denny.

A lot smaller in value but dh's deceased mum's house was put up for sale recently at "offers over" £5k less than the home report, and sold within a week to a cash buyer for the home report value.

Just to give you an idea of the speed that homes are moving in Glasgow.

I second Bridge of Allan / Dunblane. I grew up in Dunblane and it's great for bringing up kids. Brilliant schools, train station with links to Glasgow / Edinburgh and Dundee / Aberdeen. The Trossachs national park is on your doorstep and there are plenty of restaurants and pubs to enjoy. From both towns you can walk to countryside which is a huge perk and there is Stirling for shopping etc.

Helensburgh