Edinburgh Suburbs?

[MonsterKidz]

I know there have been a few threads on Edinburgh lately.

We have recently returned to Scotland to live after several years abroad. Both my DH and I are from Scotland but opposite ends of the country, we went to uni in Edinburgh years ago and have always wanted to love there and finally have our chance!

Looking for recommendations for nice suburbs for family living - 2 DC primary age, but one will be
approaching secondary in the next few years.

Looking for somewhere with plenty of access to open green spaces, cafe culture, restaurants, sports for the DC, somewhere with a sense of community.

Any and all advice welcome.

I reckon you get more community in one of the smaller towns and villages surrounding. Balerno is lovely.

The main things to know are how much you have to spend and what size property you need and where you'd be likely to be working.

It totally depends on your budget and whether you’re looking for state or private school. From the “cafe culture” comment it sounds like somewhere close to Morningside or Stockbridge would suit you. Colinton is also nice.

How far out do you want to be? Bear in mind that most of the "suburbs" are part of Mid/West/East Lothian and not Edinburgh city council area if you go further out.
From what you describe I think Morningside and Stockbridge really fit the bill but they are both still quite central and if you want family sized housing with a garden you'll need a pretty hefty budget.
South Queensferry has less of the cafe culture but it's popular with families and commuters. I've been hearing good things about Kirkliston for families although it wouldn't be my choice!
I would come for a few days and have a look round some areas then wait until you've got jobs before deciding where you want to live as the commute could be a big factor.

I grew up in the Slateford area. I'd always dreamed of Craiglockhart but ended up 23 years in Corstorphine. Walkable to most activities, hills to climb etc. Easy access to the airport and fife.

My 2 have left school now. But despite going to a school a lot of people look down on, they received good results and fantastic pastoral care at the school. My half sisters went to the school in the 70's and were horrified that I sent them there.

A few friends are in Colinton and I work over that way.

I'd start with the high schools: Royal high, Craigmount, Boroughmuir, James Gillespies are the good ones.

Have a look on ESPC (you search by school catchment).

Lots of areas of Edinburgh have those attributes, apart maybe from the restaurants, as most of the outer suburbs don't have much restaurant choice - however as Edinburgh is pretty compact it's not that far to a good restaurant. I have found a pretty good sense of community in Edinburgh, but obviously this can vary from area to area or even street to street.

I would agree with pp, start with the secondary catchments you want, and then work from there.

Just looking at the school catchment areas on espc website:

• Royal High - very suburban with a good range of family houses across most price ranges in Blackhall, Davidsons Mains, Silverknowes, Cramond, Barnton and the north side of Clermiston. Easy access to the beach and promenade at Cramond / Silverknowes and the Cammo and Dalmeny estate for walks / cycling. Good access to the airport and driving north / west. Bus connections into the city centre are ok but not amazing. Less of the cafe and restaurant culture though.
• Craigmount - similar housing stock and areas to Royal High but you could be closer to Corstorphine which has a decent little high street with shops and a couple of pubs and coffee shops. Bus connections are excellent into the city centre. maybe less green space
• Boroughmuir - catchment area covers Morningside, Bruntsfield, Comiston and Greenbank so a good range of housing stock although you'll probably pay more for a house than you would in the areas above. Morningside & Bruntsfield definitely fulfil your cafe culture request.
• James Gillespies - covers the old town, Tollcross, Newington, Southside, Marchmont and the Grange so probably areas you're familiar with from your student days. I'd say housing stock is predominantly tenement flats (think £400k+ for 3 beds and on street parking) with houses more to the south of the catchment in the Grange and Blackford. There's some more affordable options round Blackford but the Grange is very big houses with very big price tags.

Don’t forgot that lots of lovely Murrayfield is in the Craigmount catchment. Not v near the school is the only issue.