Moving to airdrie?!

[santastolemycat]

Have found a lovely house in Airdrie that ticks all the boxes and is in budget but I have little knowledge about the town itself! Is it a nice place to live?! My family all live in Perth so it being handy for the M8 is a plus also. Hoping someone has some positives about the area!

It’s close to the M8… so there’s that.

Good train service and as you've discovered,property prices are low. Like almost everywhere of any size in Scotland,there are a mixture of nice areas and not nice areas. There's been a lot of housebuilding and I think this has boosted the town. The town centre seems to have held up a bit better than a lot of places- it still has a bank branch and a swimming pool open ,not to mention one of only 4 public observatories in the whole of the UK. The whole area is very interesting historically,the cycle route to Edinburgh would be worth doing at least as far as the Blawhorn Moss National Nature Reserve; All in all, I would say it is one of the rather better ,affordable commuter dormitories. It is certainly one of the more interesting and has really good transport links.

Interesting is a good description of airdrie!

You really need to go and spend a few days there to decide if it's somewhere you want to live.

Apart from the house what's important to you - schools, shops, leisure, transport, open spaces?

Check and see if the area you've picked meets your criteria.

As pp says there are nice and not so nice bits. It's nothing like Perth though.

I've lived in airdrie, it really depends on which area you are looking at.
Are you able to share that info?

@Michellebops it’s in a bit called plains?

I don't think I'd pick Airdrie if I could pick anywhere in central Scotland. Do you need good schools? If so be guided by that.

If you don't know an area the Scottish Index of Multiple deprivation -SIMD- is a good tool to help you. It is ranks small areas from worst deprived (dark red) to least deprived (dark blue). Yes there is much more to an area than this but it is a tool.

simd.scot/#/simd2020/BTTTFTT/14/-3.9385/55.8853/

I have a couple of team mates who live in airdrie and they like it. Can be a pain for getting to work and back If on a 9/5 shift. X

It's on the outskirts of airdrie and not somewhere I'd pick. And for context and absolute trek to the m8.
It doesn't even have a train station. And the round down into clarkston is horrendous in winter.

Plus it's a bit rough!

Only my opinion though.

Do you know people who live there? It has a bit of a village mentality

Road down to clarkston (airdrie)*

We lived in the next village along, Caldercruix, & I would pick it over Plains. Nicer village generally, good variety of newer build houses & has it's own train station on the Glasgow/Edinburgh line.
Is there a reason you're looking in this area of would you consider further afield?

I know Airdrie really well like most central Scotland Towns it has its good bits and it's bad bits and Plains is probably one of the worst bits. I have relatives stay there and to be honest if you offered me a house there for free I wouldn't take it. Clarkston, Moffat Mills or Cairnhill are the best areas I would say.