Settle in Kilmarnock?

[TSeeker]

We are planning to buy a house and have been actively looking for around 2 months now. We are temporarily renting in the north of Kilmarnock to look for houses in Ayrshire & Glasgow region.

We were/are very interested in Troon/Barassie area but have been severely out-bid in couple of occasions. Old houses are going as high as £50-75K over the valuation. New builds (off-plan) are getting booked with reservation money paid within hours by ppl who didn't even bother to visit the show-home or the site - at-least that's what the EA told us when we called them. There's a lot of panic-buying frenzy.

So... Kilmarnock seems within our budget. We have heard pretty bad stories about Kilmarnock (Internet is rife with them). However the north side around South-Craig where we are seems like a good area so far. Wanted to ask if anyone lives around here and if you would recommend we buy a house here. Apart from that, it almost ticks all the boxes - theater/cinema, 24x7 ASDA, Aldi, Dunlem (probably the only one in Ayrshire?), Hospital, station, good access to Motorway etc.

We have remote jobs so we don't really care about much else like job opportunities etc. Only high speed Internet which too Kilmarnock has. However we have children who will soon be school going age. South-Craig seems to go to OnThank primary. We didn't grow up in the UK ourselves so don't quite know how the education system works here. Just a bit concerned that if our children go to an ill-reputed school they might have no motivation to study well or do well in life in general. Ofc it's a pretty sweeping statement but any parent out there would hopefully find a modicum of rationality in that or at-least understand our concerns.

Would you have any advice for us? Will schools or environment here be really bad for education or that's not how it works and we could try and instill good values in our children and hope they gravitate towards other good kids? The reason for fear is that the south of Kilmarnock is the opposite - videos from a few years back show teen gangs and drug addiction and fatal stabbings (among teens). Not sure how they end up that way when in the UK the education for kids is compulsory and the State should normally nudge them in the right direction continually. Not so where we came from and there we would understand why certain places have appalling literacy and huge crime. Bit confused about UK (or Scotland specifically).

Kilmarnock isn’t for me, but we have friends and family who love it.
Yes Ayrshire’s only Dunelm but they deliver and I think nothing of driving to have a look from Ayr. In all honesty how often do you use 24hr Asda?!

Onthank primary would be a no for me, Annanhill/the grange campus are better.

Where do you live now? What are you looking for in a lifestyle and what sort of budget?

Im in Ayrshire and I wouldn’t want to raise kids in Kilmarnock. However the advantage is you are easy placed for getting to Glasgow, perhaps not so much of a draw if you work remotely though.

Having lived in Ayrshire all my life (I wont give away my exact location!) I would opt for South Ayrshire wherever possible. As you have said though, the housing market (pretty much everywhere) is still frantic. Houses on our estate (new build estate, houses are 5/6 years old) are selling for frankly crazy prices, I wouldnt pay anywhere near what our house is currently worth. There are lots of villages in South Ayrshire, but if a town is your preference, as well as Troon/Barassie, you might also consider Ayr and Prestwick (widening your search will improve your chances of finding something).

Also the trains from Kilmarnock are terrible. Only 5more min on train from Ayr to Glasgow with a far better timetable. Same time as Prestwick to Glasgow with Troon etc taking less time.

Granted longer by road however if working from home that can be weighed up.

Hello other south ayrshire mners

Waves back from my newest name change…

Just to add, I dont know Kilmarnock terribly well, however I know people who have bought houses on the new build estates next to Crosshouse Hospital, which is on the outskirts, and they are very happy where they are.

I've visited Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock a lot, and the houses surrounding there look nice too.

Not from Ayrshire but no to I thank primary (cf The Scheme tv programme at in onthabk a few years ago)
Kilmaurs is nice

Sorry lots of typos!

0h dear, that bad! We were looking for 4bed detached for under 300K. Troon and Ayr had a few advertised as well under that but ended up going for well over that. That's when we thought of trying South Craig in Kilmarnock. One possibility is to ask for placement request at Fenwick primary if OnThank primary is going to be that bad (I just finished watching the 1st 2 episodes of "The Scheme").

But I get the hint - I suppose we continue renting for sometime and hedge out bets on getting an in-budget house in Troon/Ayr/Prestwick.

How's Irvine? It has some blue (ie., good) bits in SIMD map So does South Craig and Annadale in Kilmarnock, being rated even above Troon in Decile value, though so not quite sure how to read into that overall).

We could try villages as suggested but we found they lack high speed Internet which is primary for our remote work (at-least above 250Mbps, currently we're at 500Mbps in Kilmarnock).

Another option is to explore East Kilbride but we've never been there before and it's far from the attractive coastal setting of west Ayrshire.

Yeah EK is a different proposition really. There are some nice areas and you would get a detached for your budget there in many of the areas. Very much suburbia, Glasgow commuter belt but it has a lot going for it if maybe a bit soul-less. The town centre seems to be dying off which is a real shame and weird given how quickly the town itself is growing but I guess shopping is changing everywhere.

East Kilbride is part of my work area and it’s ok, Id consider it. It’s only half an hour down to the coast as well.

The market has been insane here recently. Prestwick has been going for ridiculous amounts over home value report for at least 4 years. Prestwick is hemmed one by the bypass and very little room for more housing so it tends to be at a premium.

The new housing in troon was move but over priced and very few amenities.

I don’t know the answer, it’s a bad time to be a buyer!

Bloody typos!

Hemmed in

New housing is nice
😬

Maybe the right do-er upper will come up in Troon/ prestwick/ nice bits of Kilmarnock that's in budget or if the market ever calms down.

Kilmarnock isn't great. Not friendly and very deprived. Try Stewarton or Dunlop or Kilmaurs.

Stewarton, Kilmaurs etc lack high speed Internet as I stated in my previous post above - correct me if I'm wrong though.

@LonelyWeegie, ah I'll look up Hutchie. Is that a well reputed school? Also isn't there this whole catchment thingy? Was told we can enroll in only what falls in the catchment and for others outside it would just be a matter of luck getting accepted and all.

Ah Hutchesons' Grammar School it seems. That's a private school with ~11K a yr fee. I don't think we can afford that after paying for mortgage.

@TSeeker

0h dear, that bad! We were looking for 4bed detached for under 300K. Troon and Ayr had a few advertised as well under that but ended up going for well over that. That's when we thought of trying South Craig in Kilmarnock. One possibility is to ask for placement request at Fenwick primary if OnThank primary is going to be that bad (I just finished watching the 1st 2 episodes of "The Scheme").

But I get the hint - I suppose we continue renting for sometime and hedge out bets on getting an in-budget house in Troon/Ayr/Prestwick.

How's Irvine? It has some blue (ie., good) bits in SIMD map So does South Craig and Annadale in Kilmarnock, being rated even above Troon in Decile value, though so not quite sure how to read into that overall).

We could try villages as suggested but we found they lack high speed Internet which is primary for our remote work (at-least above 250Mbps, currently we're at 500Mbps in Kilmarnock).

Another option is to explore East Kilbride but we've never been there before and it's far from the attractive coastal setting of west Ayrshire.

Yes, Irvine could be an option. You'd get a 4 bed detached in your budget - lots of development planned too, at the harbour and such like.

The montgomerie park estate in Irvine is very popular with young families, and building is due to start on a primary school and nursery to serve the estate.

Are you sure about the broadband? I'm a few miles south of Kilmarnock, and not in town, but got BT superfast about 18 months ago. Prior to that, I had a look at a satellite company who specialise in rural superfast broadband but couldn't help me because there's a farmhouse in the way! Might increase your options.

We used to live in Kilmarnock and I would never go back.

A bit of a fixer upper but great location, family friendly and good nursery/school options.

I would live in Kilmarnock long before Irvine and I really wouldn’t like to live in Kilmarnock

That alloway one is a nice house in a nice area, the home report isn’t available yet but it’s probably around £260/265 home report value and likely to go to a closing date. OP you’re at an advantage if you’re a cash buyer as well mind you and can move quickly.

The right thing will definitely come up it’s all a waiting game.

Onthank is not an "ill reputed school". Can you think a bit about what makes the outcomes for those children less than the ones you want for your dc? It isn't that they go to a school with crap teachers, it is growing up surrounded by poverty.
My best friend from uni came from Kilmarnock so I've spent a lot of time there. Very friendly place ime. Lots of beautiful houses, Dundonald road sticks in my head, several nice parks. Easy access to the beach at Troon.I wouldn't live there as I want to be more rural but if I wanted a town I'd be quite happy in Kilmarnock.