Relocating Newcastle to Scotland

[Barnarp]

We are Scottish but based in England for 20 years. I have new job in Glasgow and we are looking to move back to central belt. I grew up in the hillfoots villages and our current favourite places are either dollar, Stirling or dunblane. Have A four year old due to start English reception year next week (!)who will need to transfer to P1 I suppose. We are about 4 months behind because of lockdown and hoped we’d be up before the new school year but clearly that was not to be.

Have offer on our house and all progressing but not yet exchanged. Buyers say they are patient for completion to allow us to find somewhere but we’ve not done much but stalk Rightmove.

I guess the question is on the logistics of moving up. Our mortgage is portable but to avoid crazy fees we need to find a new property within 6 months of the English completion date. How easy will it be to find a property quickly ? The market seems really fast and our budget is maybe 375k tops. Conscious we are also moving into autumn\winter so not sure if things will slow down a bit ?.

One option would be to rent but then I worry about school as neither dollar nor dunblane seems to have much of a rental market and getting a temporary In catchment Rental address seems crucial to making sure we only need to change school once.

Also how is the commute to Glasgow from Alloa and Dunblane to Glasgow? I’ll be working near Queen Street so hope it won’t be too bad but concerned about reliability, car parking etc.

Both seem okay for family life.

Any advice welcome !

I'm from Dunblane but live in Dollar so should be able to help!
I like Dollar, its a very attractive environment and lovely for small children.
Dunblane also good for small children and better for facilities, significantly better for older children, more activities and more independence due to better public transport. If you have the funds for Dollar Academy and it suits your child, that provides a social life and lots of activities as well as a good education for your child, but its undeniable that Dunblane High is a good school that gets very good results, Alva has a more mixed intake and therefore does not achieve such good exam results but has other strengths. If you're from the area you'll know all this.
Commuting wise, both quite good, i think they are increasing the number of trains from Alva soon. Parking at both stations fills up so being able to walk to the station in Dunblane would be an advantage. Quicker onto the motorway from Dunblane, some of the wiggly roads out of Dollar can be a bit dodgy in winter.
I ended up in Dollar as I couldn't find a house in Dunblane in budget in time, I have liked living here, its beautiful and Dunblane is a lot bigger than when i was a kid, but there have definitely been disadvantages for my kids (the divide between Dollar Academy kids and other kids can be socially divisive for instance). If I had my time again, i think I'd hang on a bit longer to find a house in Dunblane.
The nursery and primary in Dollar are lovely and we have useful shops and a lovely new pub!

That should ne trains from Alloa.

I can't help cause I'm north east Scotland although Stirling is nice!
Just wanted to say welcome back :)

I know about Dunblane.

Pre Covid I travelled 4 days a week Dunblane to Glasgow Queen Street and the commute time is not too bad, around 42 minutes. Going into QS was ok, you'd get a seat and there's usually places to park near the station. Though there may be plans to change the free parking!

Going home was a different story.... obviously everyone is starting their journey at QS so it was a bit of a gamble whether you'd get a seat. But trains were fairly plentiful. You might need to change at Stirling.

Wifi is alright, not fantastic, on the trains; but good enough for the length of the journey.

Houses are selling really fast here. I'd suggest you call the local estate agents, Cathedral City Estates and explain your situation.

Hope your search goes well.

My post was a bit rambling, happy to answer any questions.
Have you thought of Bridge of Allan?

Houses selling fast in Dollar too, not sure if its pent up demand or something else, heard rumours about a big increase in property enquiries from down south!
There never seems to be a big choice of properties for sale in Dunblane, people seem to move in when kids are wee and then stay until they die, my parents have been in their house for 40 years!

When is your 4 year old's Birthday? If they are 5 after end February they aren't school aged yet, and could easily defer (majority apparently do) if after December, so you might have more time than you think before they start school! My DC did 2 terms in reception last year but as she's August has just started P1 this term...

We're in East Dunbartonshire so our local property market is crazy fast, have had a little look at Denny/Kilsyth direction but it's too far out for DH's on calls which is a shame.

Catchments are quite strict and can be small which is a pain for renting as the comfortable rental market seems very limited. We got lucky renting without viewing (although we had liked the area) and have a 3 bed semi with loft, very few houses.

There does seem to be no minimum rental period though.

I agree with randomsambreuse - when your child turned 4 is key as Reception is not the same as P1.

The P1s who started earlier this month will have turned 5 since March - as well as quite a few who deferred who will have turned 5 last November (unusual), December (less unusual), or January and February this year (common).

All those younger than that will still be at nursery.

The curriculum for the start of P1 (as per school provided information and post school forensics/questioning) does look more or less identical to what my DD did last year in reception. Very similar demographic in catchment areas too. Perhaps leafier catchments expect more reading to be done at nursery...

Other friends who moved for a year felt like English Y1 is about half a year ahead of P1 for content/expectations (so in line with the age of the cohort) so a bright hard working child from the English system from the 2nd half of the year (so March- August) and would find the English/Maths work in their "correct" Scottish year a bit repetitive and might be a better fit with the class above in a composite.

Less of an issue for reception/P1 unless you're planning to move back to England at some point.

Thanks everyone all really useful. We do know the geography of area but very, very out of date and disconnected so the insights are appreciated especially about schools.

In terms of birthday daughter is 5 in December so I guess P1 age in Scotland?

Dollar is pretty but it’s interesting what you say about the divide with the Academy. And remember the wiggly roads are a bit annoying. When I grew up Alloa station didn’t exist but does seem to make commuting to Glasgow more reasonable. I don’t need to be in daily but somewhere with a reasonably stress free commute is high on the list.

Dunblane obviously bigger and very desirable too because of the good results in the state schools.

Houses in both seem to be going very fast recently but I wasn’t sure if this is the normal pace of things or some post lockdown craziness.

I think moving from the city suburbs we are looking for somewhere with a good sense of community, safe, decent school, easy for kids to make friends locally etc. Nice countryside and walks. On paper Dunblane maybe seems like the ‘better‘ choice overall but I’m not sure.... Also not looking forward to the rain as have got used to the dry east coast

I definitely think Dollar is wetter than Dunblane, the rain shadow from the Ochils has an effect but anyone used to much drier climates would probably think I'm splitting hairs!
Its difficult to do the sensible thing sometimes, i fell for a particular house that wasnt in the more sensible location, couldnt bring myself to buy an uninspiring house in the "better" location like my sensible sister...
The Academy divide thing in Dollar doesn't bother everyone, my kids are all a bit shy so have found it awkward at times. I have managed to maintain good friendships across it but have had to listen to a lot of chat about the school over the years, some people seem a bit over invested by my standards!
Theres a lovely wee school in Dunblane called St Mary's that not everyone knows about.
Theres also planning applications in for a lot of new housing development in the fields round Dollar, which the residents are not very happy about, feeling they will strain traffic flow and services.

I wouldn't discount bridge of allan or that end of stirling either. Schools are good. Wallace has really moved up the charts. New head a few years ago came from Dunblane where he was a deputy. Plenty of community things even though Stirling is bigger. My DC are adult now but we would come across the same kids at lots of different activities. There are loads of clubs and activities all over the area.

Thanks! We do like over the Bridge of Allan side as it seems very convenient to everywhere and noticed that Wallace seems to do pretty well considering it’s diverse catchment.

I work in Bridge of Allan, its a great place. The University really adds to the area.

If she's 5 in December she may not need to go into P1. Our education department is happy to defer December, Jan and Feb children.

The other consideration - which might seem a long time away - is at the other end of school. If she goes into P1 now (or without deferring), it means that she will be only 17.5 when she finishes S6 and so will be 17 for the first semester at Uni (assuming she's goes to Uni ) which may or may not be a good thing (and in theory could go to Uni at 16.5 if she were to go after her Highers/S5 )

On the other hand, it gives her scope for a gap year if she doesn't feel ready for Uni.

It’s a minefield . Thinking of Stirling end besides Wallace does anyone know how the other school catchment areas are? We Also looked at Causewayhead but I wondered if it’s too busy around there and from what I remember the roads can turn into rivers there

Unless you are looking for Catholic provision, the other option in Stirling town would be Stirling High - look around Torbrex area as that would be in catchment as is Cambussbarron and Gargunnock.

I live in Wallace catchment but DC went to Dunblane due to some bullying issues in primary we needed a break from.

There is a popular new estate where the old Wallace High sat. As for rivers in the streets, still sometimes the case but then that run might be snow once you hit the Keir roundabout up to Dunblane. Houses on my estate are going to closing dates very quickly at the moment (a few days mostly).

Would it be worth looking at new builds as then you buy ahead and have more or less a fixed date (if they finish on time)?

Yeah I noticed on Rightmove stuff is flying off the shelves. The only new build I can see are the miller homes at Barbush in Dunblane but they seem to have quite a long wait. How is Stirling high ?

Stirling used to be the best of the town schools, Dunblane and Balfron and McLaren not counted. I think Wallace has maybe been doing a little better lately but I don't know anyone who hasn't been happy with Stirling High. It has a fairly decent catchment and a nice new building like the others. I think there are new houses being built out Cambussbaron way, Kings seat or something - I'll have a look.

Ogilvie homes are building at Kings Meadows

I have friends with DC at Stirling High - all are achieving. All their DC have secured good college and/or university places. Overall though I think Wallace is a school that’s achieving really well and hear v positive things from parents that have DC there.

I think the Miller homes at Barbush are v expensive for what you get. As a pp said call Cathedral City estates to get their take on the current market - a few more properties came on today and I’d expect things to start calming down as we more away from the start of the school year and furlough comes to an end.

Thanks folks this all really helpful. I think it all just feels quite hard when you are 150 miles away even when you know the basic geography! How would it work with school if we temporarily rented in one area and then bought elsewhere. Would we need to change school twice ?

Theoretically you would change schools, but if you like the school you are in you can put in a continuation placement request or from day one put in a placement request for your preferred school. If you go out of catchment then you will be responsible for the cost of any travel. I think the only school in recent years that has needed to consider whether they can accommodate a placement request is Dunblane HS but I don’t think that’s a problem at the moment - hopefully someone closer to the detail on here will be able to comment.