Moving close to Edinburgh form the Big Smoke

[SurferDude84]

Hi all

Firstly, I'm a dad (sorry for crashing the party ;)
Secondly, I might find myself in a position to be moving to Scotland in the coming year, but would like to ask for recommendations on where to look to rent?

We (Me, wife and DD) have been living in London for years and years and we have another baby on the way soon. We have family in Edinburgh and want to be close to them, but would like to improve our quality of life as well. The short term plan is to rent a place (around 1K a month) with 2-3 bedrooms, so we can save and eventually look to buy a house later.

Where should we look for family/friendly community orientated places around Edinburgh. I would love my daughter to have an outdoor upbringing but not feel so remote from a city. And most of all, grow up in a safe environment.

Thanks so much for your help.

How close to Edinburgh?
Price ? Edinburgh is pricy
City or country ?

Hiya! I am also originally from London. Great decision to move up. Have a look at cupar, we moved there 3 years ago and have never looked back.

Affordable houses with relatively massive gardens (compared to London and Edinburgh), a forest nursery, the local schools have lots of green space, easy access to loads of clean water beaches for surfing, kiting, sailing, cycling trails, pool ,dance school, very friendly local community that are big into the environment. Cupar's close enough for us to commute to Edinburgh for work (1 hr train or car) but far enough away that it has its own little community.... It's also that bit closer to the Highlands for skiing/camping/general weekend or evening adventuring.

Good luck!

@mudgetastic

How close to Edinburgh? Price ? Edinburgh is pricy City or country ?

I'm thinking within 30 minutes drive as far as distance goes. I'm not too fussed if its city or country living at the moment (still looking at options to consider), but ideally around £1000 a month for rent is our budget. Green space is a bonus though. But as definitely safe environment for the kids is a must. We really want to lay roots there. Stuff for the kids to explore and do is also important.

@Outsideisfree

Hiya! I am also originally from London. Great decision to move up. Have a look at cupar, we moved there 3 years ago and have never looked back.

Affordable houses with relatively massive gardens (compared to London and Edinburgh), a forest nursery, the local schools have lots of green space, easy access to loads of clean water beaches for surfing, kiting, sailing, cycling trails, pool ,dance school, very friendly local community that are big into the environment. Cupar's close enough for us to commute to Edinburgh for work (1 hr train or car) but far enough away that it has its own little community.... It's also that bit closer to the Highlands for skiing/camping/general weekend or evening adventuring.

Good luck!

Cupar looks like a great place. Looked at some of the houses and they are amazing. Thank you.

I would think Cupar is too far. Commuting from Fife to Edinburgh isn't always good!

Perhaps look at South Queensferry or Linlithgow, both much easier access to Edinburgh.

Dunbar!

Aberdour is very pleasant, or somewhere in East Lothian.

You need to narrow this down a bit, where do your family live in Edinburgh? Even if you don't want to be in the exact area there's no point people suggesting Balerno if you'll be visiting family in Musselburgh every weekend!

Linlithgow always gets a good write up on these threads, family town with lots of access to countryside and good train service. But if you want to be closer to town then look at Corstorphine, suburb with green space and lots of young families.

Currie and Balerno are a bit further out but better access to the countryside, again lots of families there.

Renting in Edinburgh is not easy at the moment.....hundreds of posts on an Edinburgh FB page from people looking for 2/3 bedrooms, more so if you want decent school catchment areas and with garden or close to nicer parks etc.

You may well be better looking out with Edinburgh but as PP stated, it might be helpful to know where your family is located as some areas won't make much sense if you are going to be in the car for an hour to get there.

We visit Ratho quite a bit and it is really lovely, but no idea of prices I am afraid
The canal goes through so lovely walks and it's under ten miles from the centre, the airport is near, so you do hear planes, but not overnight.
There seem to be plenty of children out and about and the people are friendly!
As a PP said Linlithgow is lovely too, bigger than Ratho, good shops, busy train station.

Lots and lots of building of new houses at Winchburgh too, not sure if that's between Linlithgow and Edinburgh or a little further out but they are close. Also unsure where WInchburgh is in the facilities vs new houses league so it might be a bit of a desert for social stuff, but as I said, we visit a fair bit and are not local!

Half an hour's drive to Edinburgh is not going to get you all that much for £1000pcm, especially in the smarter towns eg Linlithgow, Aberdour. Property is very sought after in those areas and rentals very limited. Cupar is fine but is an hour and a half's drive even without traffic on the bridge.

I live in Fife and absolutely love it, but I'm very close to a train station with superb links to Edinburgh. I love the mix of countryside and town living and the very high standard of living we enjoy here.

Other areas to consider would be south of Edinburgh such as Dalkeith, Midlothian such as Kirkliston or a little further afield but much more for your money (and a bit more 'life') in Falkirk. It has really excellent train links to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I suppose it's quite a personal thing, different strokes and all that. Good luck with the move!

Do you know what your budget to buy will be, roughly, when the time comes? It would be a shame to rent somewhere that you then can’t afford to buy. So I’d have an eye on this too.

If you think you would be commuting in regularly then consider somewhere with good train links. Edinburgh rush hour traffic is horrible, and you would use up more than your half hour just getting into the city from the bypass.

Why not look at the towns you can commute to Edinburgh from buy train

Bathgate, polmont, even airdrie isn’t so far

www.scotrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/assets/download_ct/20210721/TKBPz_zTxCf5FUvIa_nrufO7jQAolLH6fIfyOuIkRmQ/cs1_route_map_2020.pdf

South Queensferry is lovely and about 30 mins driving or by train to Edinburgh.
Not much about in the rental market though although this will give you an idea of something over budget (£1300)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120131606#/?channel=RES_LET

Definitely depends on where in Edinburgh you want to be close to and how often you need to get there. When we lived in Edinburgh South it would often take me 30- 45 min to get to trinity or Portobello by car due to road works/one way streets.. So even if you are IN Edinburgh it can take ages if you need to cross town at rush hour. Much quicker to cycle or run if you can!.... Or alternatively somewhere outside of Edinburgh but on the right side of Edinburgh with a train station. Get a coffee, stick on a podcast and enjoy!

30minutes drive from the centre of Edinburgh only really puts you within the city bypass, maybe slightly outside e.g. Dalkeith, Balerno, Musselburgh, South Queensferry if you're doing the journey by private car outside of rush hour. Factor in rush hour or doing it by bus and you're talking much longer. I'm a couple of miles from the city centre and 2 bed flats in my development are currently renting for around £1100 a month.
I think you need to start doing some research on school catchments, commutes, property prices etc and narrow down your search. It's a great city to live in but it's not cheap!

Thanks all for the great suggestions. I will spend some time considering options.

Thank you.