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!

It doesn't appear to be either raining or snowing, maybe they like a nanny state.

OP, I grew up on Bute as an incommer.
It does have people who move there, often older people.
DH when he first visited had abuse while on the local putting green because of his English accent.
Some of my adult family members had local accents some didn't.
The ones who didn't were superficially accepted but in reality they weren't.

You also need to understand there is a very alcohol based culture and to some people a surprising amount of drug use. Partly because of the lack of other activities. Kids regularly started drinking at 14 as an evening activity.

What activities do you see yourself doing?
There are some festival weeks to be fair but they only the odd week.
The weather on Bute is mild but wet. You could keep bikes and cycle.
Kayaking is good but in a small flat could be problematic storing them.
You could wildlife watch but unless you are all into nature that could get old quickly.

You could consider a boat maybe? The sailing in the area is good.

I just have visions of your poor kid stuck in a grotty flat, with the rain lashing down and absolutely nothing to do. The more you like outdoor activities the happier you will be I think.

@IseeScottishhills

I'm curious now will have to go to Kinross when lock down is lifted .

Me too.

@elastictastic

Oh well, if your Granny is from Kinross and that makes you qualified 😂 I’ll just shut up. Living here clearly isn’t qualified enough.

I wonder why someone from Kinross would think Kinross is nice? 🤡 Good for you! We are all entitled to different opinions ☺️

My DD's boyfriend is a Brandane but she's a Highlander so fits right in but yes, there are a lot of drugs through there and some might consider alcohol use among many to be high.

I think endlesssnow has a point and a lot of what she said re: what activities you see yourself doing applies to a lot of Scotland.
We love the total peace and quiet, as I regularly say the silence is deafening, we live on the Solway Coast my DH is an avid kayaker, (we have loads of space to store kayaks) we have a dog, we love walking, watching wildlife etc. But we're boring middle aged, our DCs have grown up, we have led very busy lives and had successful careers and we moved here looking for a quieter life. Friends visit they love where we live the views, the sea, our nice little local towns, but many say they couldn't live in our tiny very rural village permanently.
I guess it depends how often your planning on visiting, if I had a holiday home that I planned to visit on a regular basis I would not want to be stuck in a relatively uninspiring flat, I'd want stunning views from my window essential because its often raining, lots of good local amenities/activities that cater for all my family, restaurants nearby, and other things to do within a sensible commuting distance. Then don't forget you will have to pay house insurance, probably some sort of maintenance for communal areas, and the cost of keeping your flat decorated/maintained internally etc house not lived in deteriorate quickly, if you live overseas who's keeping an eye on what's going on, what happens if a pipe burst or similar? Will you pay someone? Currently with lock down restrictions you are not allowed to stay in second homes only visit for essential maintenance. Your budget is very small OP I suspect you'd be better doing something else with it and renting a lovely holiday cottage for holidays then you'll have the freedom to go anywhere in Scotland

@endlesssnow

OP, I grew up on Bute as an incommer. It does have people who move there, often older people. DH when he first visited had abuse while on the local putting green because of his English accent. Some of my adult family members had local accents some didn't. The ones who didn't were superficially accepted but in reality they weren't.

You also need to understand there is a very alcohol based culture and to some people a surprising amount of drug use. Partly because of the lack of other activities. Kids regularly started drinking at 14 as an evening activity.

What activities do you see yourself doing?
There are some festival weeks to be fair but they only the odd week.
The weather on Bute is mild but wet. You could keep bikes and cycle.
Kayaking is good but in a small flat could be problematic storing them.
You could wildlife watch but unless you are all into nature that could get old quickly.

You could consider a boat maybe? The sailing in the area is good.

I just have visions of your poor kid stuck in a grotty flat, with the rain lashing down and absolutely nothing to do. The more you like outdoor activities the happier you will be I think.

Oh, thank you very much for your comment! We are very much excited about watching Bute wildlife, and sailing opportunities as well. However, the drugs/ alcohol / incomers issues sound alarming and worrying...

My kids go to school in Kinross, dont know why @Brunt0n is so agin it. It has the odd rough bit as most Scottish towns do but is definitely a cut above most of the other places mentioned on this thread and has very nice scenery. It often gets mentioned on "where to move to in Scotland" threads on here.

Oh I don’t know brunt. May be it’s Loch Leven/castle island, the heritage trail or good parks, restaurants, bars, outdoor pursuits, golf, curling, schools, property, commuter base etc however, I seem to have touched a nerve with you so I’ll wish you a good afternoon and move on. I’m off to watch the rugby 🏉

I really don’t have anything against Kinross, I have happy memories of spending days there with my granny ☺️
I just don’t think it fits what the OP is looking for, that’s simply my opinion!
We can certainly agree on who we want to win the rugby at least 😁🏉

@Brunt0n

I really don’t have anything against Kinross, I have happy memories of spending days there with my granny ☺️ I just don’t think it fits what the OP is looking for, that’s simply my opinion! We can certainly agree on who we want to win the rugby at least 😁🏉

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉🤞

I think we're all trying to get the OP to think outside her box.
I waver between admiring her optimism and enthusiasm and thinking she is dangerously naive.
Maybe some people think the tentacles of drugs, anti social behaviour, deprivation haven't reached the edges of the country, they are sadly wrong. Drugs are everywhere , even where i live which is supposed to be a posh wee town.

At the risk of sounding boring and practical renting on air BnB is a minefield. We had a very twee old cottage in an area in England that's vey popular with tourists, our neighbours do Air BnB and its not easy to make it work and break even let alone make any decent amount of money.
For a start people have very high expectations, I'm not sure many of the properties posted on here would be considered desirable Air BnB properties unless they're dirt cheap. You will have to pay a very reliable person/company to clean it even more so now with Covid, someone will have to be available for guests and ideally welcome them, ensure turn around is done efficiently, probably wash bed linen towels etc, maintain it and replace anything that gets broken and you'll have to pay utilities etc on top of that, we were advised that a property that's rented out a lot will need redecorating every year; people don't care about your paint work when they're carting a heavy suitcase up the stairs. The times when you can charge the most rent are likely to be the time that you want to go. Use a holiday letting agent and you wont have the stress of marketing/organising booking etc but you'll be charged accordingly. All this will be costly and quite difficult if you're living overseas.
The general consensus from people and holiday letting agents we spoke too about this is that this who make any money or even covers their cost of owning the property had highly desirable properties in very desirable areas with extortionate rents (my neighbours charge up to £4k a week) and were ideally doing the turn around themselves. Guests complain at the drop of a hat and will cheerfully put their negative review of your property on Air BnB however ridiculous they may be and also your neighbours will often not welcome Air BnB guests particularly in small communities and will also complain if your guests are noisy which many staying in holiday rentals are.

If you like sailing maybe you would be better buying a boat?
You could then see more of Scotland.

Scotland as whole has significant alcohol and drug issues and deprived areas like Rothesay suffer quite badly from them.

It has real positives as well but deprivation is an issue in many west coast seaside areas.

I like Kinross, but is it a big holiday destination? The park is lovely, many happy memories of days out there when mine were wee. I can't take the rugby, fucking hell, the Welsh are playing thugby.

@endlesssnow

If you like sailing maybe you would be better buying a boat? You could then see more of Scotland.

Scotland as whole has significant alcohol and drug issues and deprived areas like Rothesay suffer quite badly from them.

It has real positives as well but deprivation is an issue in many west coast seaside areas.

But with that budget a boat would have its own issues, too, would it not? Love Rothesay but can't say I'd want to live there unless I were pretty minted. It is NOT cheap or easy to get to Glasgow often enough. One time, years ago, we took the Waverley in Summer as a treat/family day out. Beautiful day, fish and chips on the beach, took an open-topped bus tour of the island, had our return tickets and reported back to the pier. These wifeys were standing at the pier in tears with a gaggle of weans. They hadn't realised how early the last Calmac went back to the mainland for the last time in the evening and were stuck. Luckily there was room on the Waverley and then got the ferry to Gourock (and called their husbands to collect them there) otherwise it would have been the bus to Rhubodach, the wee ferry, then another long bus into Dunoon and then wait for the ferry there.

OP, where do you live?

A boat would absolutely have costs, maintenance, a marina, over wintering etc.

Your budget would just about get you a 2 bed ex council flat in Aberdeen. It may sound unappealing but the flats themselves are often spacious and some of the high-rises have stunning views. I think all the Council blocks have had the cladding replaced which is a big plus.

There are a few flats within your budget in Peterhead but as with many of the towns already discussed, I'm not sure it's somewhere I'd want to live.

You also need to factor in Council Tax, many LAs have done away with the second home discount/empty home waiver. A band B flat could be in the region of £120 per month.

Also utility standing charges which you pay even if you're not using them. You'd also need to factor in heating in the winter to avoid damp while you're not there.

It is worth noting that getting either on or off Bute isn't guaranteed.
There are suspensions of services due to weather particularly in winter due to high winds.
This could easily mean that you can't leave to catch a flight for example over the festive period.

Or as also happened to us on more than one occasion you leave the Island for an event and get stranded on the mainland.

Buckie

What about a shared ownership of a holiday cottage? Friends have one we stayed in a while ago. Not sure if it's a viable option for you.

@endlesssnow

It is worth noting that getting either on or off Bute isn't guaranteed. There are suspensions of services due to weather particularly in winter due to high winds. This could easily mean that you can't leave to catch a flight for example over the festive period.

Or as also happened to us on more than one occasion you leave the Island for an event and get stranded on the mainland.

That's very true. We once went over when even the wee ferry was pulled off shortly after we disembarked. It was bad. Can happen even in Spring or Autumn with the trains getting buggered up on the mainland and you're missing the last ferry, which is early from the Ayrshire side, and then being quite stuck.

Even the train, you have to change over in Paisley to get the one you need to access the Bute ferry.

And it is not cheap.

@blowinahoolie

Aberdour would be ideal but not getting a flat there for £60k!

If you can find a nice 2 bed flat for that in Aberdour I'll move there, forget the OP!

@RedPaperLantern

Ferguslie Park

Absolutely