Edinburgh commute/schools/surrounding rural areas advice

[undermycatsthumb]

Hi all, we are currently in Aberdeenshire but DH's work may move to Edinburgh in the coming years. I absolutely adore NE Scotland and am struggling a bit with the thought of moving to a city.

All the threads I've found on here talking about commuting into Edinburgh don't recommend it but I wondered if there are any pockets of countryside around the city that wouldn't have a horrendous commute and also have decent schools. We could go private if necessary but I guess they're probably more central anyway? Thanks in advance.

Where is he likely to be working? Going into the city from the outskirts is not necessarily a problem but living on one side of the city and commuting to the other is more of an issue imo.

Good question, and I don't know the answer. The company he works for currently has a very small central office but will be moving everyone so I guess needing bigger premises. Good to know that getting from outskirts to centre shouldn't be a big deal though.

I'm probably thinking about this all much too soon - just trying to abate my worries by looking at nice houses on ESPC!

The traffic in Edinburgh is awful - whether you're commuting within the city or coming in from outside it. I go against the traffic (head out of town in a morning and come back in at night) and that has got noticeably worse in recent years. The queues going the other way are mental - Queensferry Road heading west out of town in an evening can be solid almost back to the west end just after 4pm! I guess it's too early to say how much that will change post-Covid if a lot of people keep working from home.
I refused to even consider living anywhere that involved commuting round the bypass, particularly the eastern end of it!
If DH is going into the city centre you'd be best somewhere on a trainline.....probably either East Lothian or the Borders if you want rural?

Really important to find out where he'll be based as crossing the city is a nightmare.
I would second being on a train line if you want to be outside the city.
Loads commute in from east or West Lothian, borders or Fife.
But that also depends if his base is somewhere fairly central

I know a reasonable number of Borders people who use the Straiton park and ride quite successfully - mainly to the university area though, so it depends on where you live and where the office is, park and ride needs you to be on the right bus route or else it's a hassle.
I also knew somebody who came up from very close to the actual border and left his car at newcraighall P&R too. Again, only ok if the bus goes right to your office from there.

We made a similar move a few years ago and ended up buying in an E Lothian town. Although it’s a bit further distance wise, it’s so much quicker for DH to get to work (near Leith) than the other areas we’d considered on the west side of Edinburgh. It’s ~10 mins on the train to Waverley from our local station too and lots of nice countryside around.

Agree train a good call but make sure it's a frequent route. While waiting at Haymarket on the way up to Stirling from Liverpool at peak evening time, the platforms were heaving for the fife trains and some people didn't get on, not so bad if the next one is 15 minutes, not great if it's an hour. Train definitely better for city centre or Edinburgh Park, you would need to know before committing. Also depends on how much of a commute. Loads travel into Edinburgh from Dunblane/BofA and Stirling. Also Linlithgow or Kirknewton from the west side. Dunbar to the East is good to look at. If budget allows, then the South of Edinburgh city, morningside, brunstfield and those areas, look at the catchments for Boroughmuir & Firrhill maybe.

Bus service within Edinburgh was always good but i've not used for many years.

Thanks all. I hadn't even considered Stirling - we love Dunblane. I'd also completely forgotten about the P&R possibility.

Several private schools are outside of Edinburgh city: Clifton Hall, Cargilfield, Loretto...

Depending on budget and if work is in the city centre the south is a good option. Morningside, Greenbank, Grange, Buckstone, Fairmilehead, Colinton. Plenty of green space on the outer edges of the south - Mortonhall estate, the Pentlands and beyond in Midlothian.