Second home in Scotland

[Frizzyspider]

I'd be grateful for some guidance & recommendation.
We live overseas, and would like to have our second home in Scotland.
Having a tiny budget, we're looking for a 2-bed flat (not a house).
We do homeschooling with our son, so the local schools are not important.
What would be important:
a/ definitely the seaside
b/ vibrant community (to make friends & contribute to the local initiatives)
c/ an inspiring place regarding history, local landmarks, art, museums, libraries, etc.
d/ easy train/bus access to the Edinburgh/Glasgow airports.

We'd love to buy sth near Edinburgh, but the east coast seems to be too pricey. That is why we consider Rothesay on the Isle of Bute or generally the west coast.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Because people won’t want to go on holiday to the places you can afford.

Campbeltown? Your money goes a long way there, but you'll have to drive a pretty long way to get there.....

@MrsAmaretto

Because people won’t want to go on holiday to the places you can afford.

This!

For that kind of price? I think you're going to have to compromise on the 'easy train access' part and the nice area part. It's all offers over usually and places like what you want are going like hot cakes because people want to be near open space in case of lock downs.

Bute is gorgeous but it's not 'easy access' to Glasgow, there's no train, the ferry is limited and expensive.

People very erroneously believe it's all so cheap.

Personally think second homes should be banned anyhow, but for that price, you're talking ex council in Greenock or something.

If you are just using as a base, an ex council flat would do the job. Being flexible means casting net further offering more choices.

I know of a couple of London creative types moving up to Burntisland post divorce but they are buying flats in big period properties on the seafront, cheap by SE standards but more than your budget.
I mean i have a soft spot for Fifers but the cheap bits are not holiday destinations. Would you go on holiday to an ex mining village?

Properties only go for the price you're talking about if almost no-one wants to live there. Either because of location or deprivation or very poor condition.

If somewhere ticked all your boxes then a 2 bed flat would certainly be selling for more.

Would you consider Cumbrae ? www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Isle-Of-Cumbrae.html
Property is very affordable and some market for holiday rentals / Air BnB . Nicer than Bute IMO.

If i were going to go for Fife, Newburgh, has surprisingly cheap period properties and a historic main st. Its more rural than south Fife and is less handy for Edinburgh but closer to Dundee, I think you may even manage to do Air B&B there. You may struggle to get to know locals if your kids don't go to the school or you don't work locally. Scottish small towns can be a quite close minded.

[quote WaxOnFeckOff]Burntisland?:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/39278655#/[/quote]
b/ vibrant community (to make friends & contribute to the local initiatives)
c/ an inspiring place regarding history, local landmarks, art, museums, libraries, etc.

In Burntisland? 🤣

@Timeandtune

Would you consider Cumbrae ? www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Isle-Of-Cumbrae.html Property is very affordable and some market for holiday rentals / Air BnB . Nicer than Bute IMO.

Not 'easy access' to Edin and Glasgow, though. No one's travelling just now and may not be for some time, either.

@Brunt0n i went to Burntisland Highland Games a couple of years ago, it was certainly vibrant!

[quote Wbeezer]@Brunt0n i went to Burntisland Highland Games a couple of years ago, it was certainly vibrant![/quote]
😆 that might be the nicest thing anyone has said about Burntisland in a while

OP you may need to forget seaside location on such a budget, possibly choose a flat that is fairly central and travel to seaside by car etc.

Kinghorn might be a good shout, or further in towards Kirkcaldy where you will have more choice to use a flat as a base.

OP you will not find anywhere in a nice area for that money. I grew up in Scotland, you don’t want to live in some of the deprived towns that have been mentioned

It's been a long, hard week (well year really!)
But this thread has really made me laugh.
Hilarious🤣

Bit unfair to write off certain villages and towns tbh. Lots of hardworking people live in some already mentioned. Wow, narrow-minded much😬

There are increasing numbers of threads with people wanting to move up to various areas of Scotland with unrealistic budgets.
I think it's a bit of a gamble moving to cheap seaside places in Scotland hoping for them to become Scotlands answer to places like Margate that have been colonised by creative types down from London and have interesting cultural things going on, maybe one day in the future but you might get lonely waiting for like minded souls to turn up. I could be wrong.
Glasgow seems to attract artists and musicians and has affordable areas more than rural places

There are increasing numbers of threads with people wanting to move up to various areas of Scotland with unrealistic budgets.

It's the typical property show bollocks about how 'cheap' it is. It's usually offers over. I live in a place that shall remain nameless but the property prices are spiking here because people are wanting more space as further lockdowns will happen and so many are now working from home for good. They want as much space as possible for the money.

I'm shocked at what some houses around here, that are pieces of shit, have sold for recently.

@blowinahoolie

Bit unfair to write off certain villages and towns tbh. Lots of hardworking people live in some already mentioned. Wow, narrow-minded much😬

Lots of hard working people, including some of my own family, but not what OP is looking for and it’s disingenuous to pretend that they will suit

But again, you dont want to live in the bits of Glasgow where a 2 bed is going for £70k.

And you certainly don't want to be leaving it lying empty half the time.

*b/ vibrant community (to make friends & contribute to the local initiatives)
c/ an inspiring place regarding history, local landmarks, art, museums, libraries, etc.

In Burntisland? 🤣*

Aww come on...I'm trying!! :o

As a child I only ever went on 2 holidays. First was to Dunbar for week in a caravan with 9 of us when I was 7. The second was to Burntisland for a few nights as the caravan was tiny and we could only go in shifts, think i was about 14. Given i lived in Edinburgh at the time it was hardly world travelling :o

You could maybe get something half decent in Inverclyde with that kind of budget. Half an hour from Glasgow, and easy to get to Rothesay for the day if you wanted to visit Bute (I wouldn't want to live there though).

I don't think any property goes for £60k these days, surely that's 90s prices.. * away to do a whole Scotland search 0n Rightmost