Where to live to commute to cross house hospital...?

[Nhsquestion1]

Hello, I’m hoping to get a job at crosshouse hospital, will need to relocate with DP and baby. DP will hopefully find work in Glasgow. Can anyone recommend some places we should look to live? Have heard people talk about ‘Southside’ or ‘west end’ of Glasgow, but where exactly is nice? Just need a few ideas to get me started! Ideally we would buy a 3 bed with a garden somewhere that is within ok commuting distance for me and DP, but probably will start by renting and it will depend what we can afford. Anyone got any ideas? I’m from the east coast but living down south at the moment and have no clue about Glasgow!

Just to add we live in London currently so are fairly used to a long commute although would prefer a short commute! DP likes to cycle and if he could cycle to work that would be fab, I expect to need to drive to crosshouse. I have been to Kilmarnock once but didn’t fancy living there! (Sorry if that offends anyone! Perhaps I did not see its best side...)

Hi, I don't have any more knowledge than you but just bumping and also an idea of budget for buying and renting might be helpful? No point people suggesting places that are too high or too low, it's harder to guess what's appropriate when people are coming from London.

Hopefully someone be along soon to help.

Yeah we need to know your budget! Are you in one of those medical positions where you need to be in the hospital within 20 minutes or something?

Crosshouse is Kilmarnock. It's a very easy drive from the southern parts of Glasgow. The areas in East Renfrewshire which are very popular but have a great reputation for schools are Newton Mearns, Giffnock, Whitecraigs, Eastwood.

A little further into town along the M77 motorway you've got Pollokshields, Shawlands and Strathbungo - still nice, but much more mixed, more urban. Still only 30 mins or so from Kilmarnock.

Or if you'd prefer something seaside, you could look at the coastal towns of Troon, Prestwick.

As well as your budget it depends what your priorities are - if you envisage yourself out every night in clubs and bars then obviously more central Glasgow is going to appeal. If it's top notch schools, east renfrewshire. Or if it's beaches for walking the dog or a sailing club, the coastal towns.

One thing I would say is to keep in mind that Glasgow is a lot smaller than London and crossing the city for work isn't unusual. We live north of Glasgow and in non-covid times DH commutes each day down to Ayr. Takes just over an hour.

Also whether OP has DC and at what age? Are they looking for private schooling? lots to be considered I think so definitely a bit more info needed for those that know the area. I'm always wary as I don't know the roads or train routes so whilst I could mention places that I know via friends or from here, I could be completely wrong in that somewhere that looks alright on paper becomes completely impractical.

I wouldn’t advise kilmarnock tbh.

I’m very impressed @TheGenealogist that your husband makes it to ayr in about an hour. I live there and it takes me as long as that to commute to the south side - must be easier going in opposite direction. I’d say this way about 1 hour 45 to north glasgow at rush hour timings (fair bit less at other times obviously). Amazing how flipping a journey makes such a difference!

He generally leaves early - out of here around 7, hits the M77 before it's busy, straight down to between Prestwick and Ayr, takes about 70 minutes. Same coming back at night, he's driving into the city when everyone else is driving out!

I’m obviously going in the wrong durection! 😁

@TheGenealogist

Yeah we need to know your budget! Are you in one of those medical positions where you need to be in the hospital within 20 minutes or something?

Crosshouse is Kilmarnock. It's a very easy drive from the southern parts of Glasgow. The areas in East Renfrewshire which are very popular but have a great reputation for schools are Newton Mearns, Giffnock, Whitecraigs, Eastwood.

A little further into town along the M77 motorway you've got Pollokshields, Shawlands and Strathbungo - still nice, but much more mixed, more urban. Still only 30 mins or so from Kilmarnock.

Or if you'd prefer something seaside, you could look at the coastal towns of Troon, Prestwick.

As well as your budget it depends what your priorities are - if you envisage yourself out every night in clubs and bars then obviously more central Glasgow is going to appeal. If it's top notch schools, east renfrewshire. Or if it's beaches for walking the dog or a sailing club, the coastal towns.

One thing I would say is to keep in mind that Glasgow is a lot smaller than London and crossing the city for work isn't unusual. We live north of Glasgow and in non-covid times DH commutes each day down to Ayr. Takes just over an hour.

I agree with all of this. It's also much quicker commuting to kilmarnock than to Glasgow (as most people going opposite direction).

What are your priorities? If you want more suburbia then go east renfrewshire or newton means etc. If you want loads of cool shops and cafes and a city feel, go southside of the city

Eaglesham is lovely too, nice community near the motorway good luck with the job, big move but am sure you’ll find somewhere nice.

Glasgow southside / East Renfrewshire are perfect for commuting to Kilmarnock, if you have a decent budget. Look at postcodes G41, G46, G76, G77.

If you prefer a small, rural town with good links to both Kilmarnock and Glasgow, look at Stewarton. It's pretty, has plenty of amenities including good state schools, supermarkets, parks, etc, and it's very family-friendly.

Thanks everyone. Sorry for lack of detail in original post. We’ve one DD currently 9 months old, no plans for any more kids! Won’t be private schooling, won’t need nightclubs, a couple of restaurants/wine bars/cafes would be nice (not essential!) Outdoorsy stuff, beaches etc welcome but don’t need to be on the doorstep. Our rent for an upper floor small 2 bed flat in London is £1500, that doesn’t include bills/council tax. We thought about buying down here pre pandemic and our budget would have been £400k, for that we might have got a 2 bed probably no garden. Because both our salaries are likely to drop when we move I’d probably hope to spend between £300-350k, depends a bit on what happens with DP’s job. Thanks for all the suggestions and info so far!

Oh and don’t have to work on call so no need to be within a certain distance of the hospital, other than wanting to avoid a crazy commute.

I’d go Troon with something like this

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89394928#/?channel=RES_BUY

@Hobbitch - thank you! Will look at all of these. I’m a bit torn between rural/urban - will probably look into both options and final decision will prob be dictated by how quickly DP can get a job set up and therefore how much we can afford. We rent at the moment and although I’m desperate to buy another year of renting wouldn’t break me!

@Tinkerbellfluffyboots79 - thank you! It’s daunting!

@Redtartanshoes - wow, I’ve been in London so long that place looks like a palace to me! Will look into commutes from Troon to crosshouse and the city.

@TheDaydreamBelievers - yes I do think it might be easier to live southside somewhere so DP could get into Glasgow more quickly. If we live on the coast/more rural it would be lovely and might not affect my commute to crosshouse too much but sounds like the traffic could be tough for DP. He’d prefer a train or a cycle to a car journey definitely.

We actually live in Kilmarnock and my husband commutes to London.

Kilmarnock isn't the nicest of towns but we like it because of its close proximity to Glasgow but also the coast, we can go either way and be where we want within a 1/2 hour easy and we've obviously got an easy route to the airport.

There are a couple of nice new build estate's quite close to the hospital called Moorfield and Fardale Hill.
There are a lot of nice parks, restaurants, coffee shops too.

Troon, Ayr and Prestwick are all nice too, just that little bit extra of a commute to Glasgow though.

@TheGenealogist - very helpful, thank you so much!

NoOne ever regrets moving to the sea side. Troon is a stunning beach…
As you can see

If it were me I’d choose Ayr, Prestwick, Bridge of Weir or Lochwinnoch. You’d get a nice village feel, a beach or rural walking areas and still be within 20-40 mins train commute to town.

Bridge of Weir and Houston are nice. Not really bike-able into Glasgow though although there's a station.

Remember the "offers over" aspect of house buying in Scotland - I'm not sure of the local market but something advertised at offers over £350k isn't going to sell for that, it's going to be more. Your solicitor (who is the one who puts your offer forward for you, unlike in England) should be able to advise.

Troon isn’t far at all from Crosshouse and is a great place to stay

Having made the move many years ago now from London back up to Glasgow, I’d recommend renting first until you get your bearings. If you don’t link the area, it’s easier to move.

We thought we wanted to live on the city centre, based on memories of student days and found the reality very different to our imagination and we’re very relieved to be renting and have a bit more flexibility to find a more permanent home.

@cazzyg - thank you, that is a good point.
@Redtartanshoes - gorgeous!
@CheekyR - sorry if I offended re Kilmarnock I’m sure there are nicer bits than the area I saw! interesting to know about your DP commute, we have discussed whether it would be possible for DP to keep his London job and commute/work remotely so that is something else to consider!