Edinburgh questions about particular areas

[modernrubbish]

We decided to relocate to Edinburgh to be near a family member with a long term condition. DP was raised here but moved away long ago.

Specifics: we're looking for a 4 bed house with garden for under £1m. Ideally semi-detached period but we have looked at bungalows given the market. Will do state school starting at primary. I would not want to live in suburban fringes -- in a calmer market I would live in Morningside or (without DC) maybe Stockbridge. Clearly I'm very mumsnet "naice"

Questions:

• A friend recommended The Grange/Mayfield/Marchmont but when I visited I couldn't tell if it would feel too "studenty" -- any insight?

• It seems like we might be able to get a semi in Portobello or Trinity for our budget -- what's the local community feel there? (My husband's childhood neighbourhood was considered rough in the 80s and he witnessed frequent antisocial behaviour, which he is eager to avoid.)

• Are there any family areas (and not massive 7 bed detached houses) around the botanic gardens?

Thank you for any advice

Yes, good point re the Home Report value - that's essentially what a lender will take into account for any mortgage, and popular properties will often go for more than that so you need to be able to cover that additional spend in your own funds.

I would also agree that North Edinburgh to Swanson would be a pain, better to look in the south.

And yes, a popular house on the market for offers over £850k could go for a million. And the sealed bid system is nail biting!

If you’re helping out dps in swanston then I’d definitely be looking at south morningside. Trinity way to swanston is a nightmare journey. Porty is easier as you’d go round the bypass.

Agree with this - Trinity primary is amazing thanks to the very experienced HT willing to take on new ideas - play based learning in earlier years and focus on STEM and independent learning on top of regular curriculum for older. Great outdoor spaces highly utilised too. The high school does suffer on paper from the primary to private trend common in fairly wealthy areas but the bright kids with engaged parents still do exceptionally well there and the new head master seems very good. It also has new sports grounds and lots of improvements planned over the coming years. Very strong sense of community with Victoria and starbank park hosting lots of events. The little harbour at Newhaven is lovely and the bike path network that can take you pretty much anywhere is extensive in the area. Your budget sounds decent for the area too however gardens can be small. This is made up for for many by the amount of green space locally though.

You've had lots of good advice - I would add that the Marchmont student thing is changing rapidly. Almost every third property on the market in the area looks like an ex-student flat - I'm not sure if it's just the fashion for dedicated student housing that's driving it or something else, but I wouldn't let that put you off the area if it's right in other ways.

I suspect where you'll have to bend is style of house. If you're not used to Edinburgh tenements they really can be beautiful, spacious family homes. Though heating bills would be a worry rn...

Another difference in Scotland is the Land & Buildings Transaction Tax which would be about £78k on a £1M purchase price (about £35k more than stamp duty in England).

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/buying-a-home/use-our-land-and-buildings-transaction-tax-calculator-scotland

This information is so useful: thank you very much.

From reading your posts, I believe that our choices are either a house that we really like in a not-ideal neighbourhood or to be adjacent to a great neighbourhood in a house that's not "pretty." For me, a walkable "vibe" is important to quality of life and I would be happier with a nice-enough house a 10-15 minute walk to a nice coffee/park/restaurant neighbourhood.

So knowing that: maybe it would be good to prioritise viewing places in Greenbank, Polwarth and Trinity, and to look at places that are 900k absolute max. (DH will not consider a flat.)

Portobello looks good in many ways, but my worry is that if we didn't get on, it's a bit disconnected, and if we were in a position to consider private secondary, that would be a long daily trip.

Portobello is literally a stones throw to Loretto school. About a 10 minute drive, if that's a consideration. Less if you're at the Joppa end

If you're going to be driving to Swanston regularly, and potentially the royal infirmary then I would probably rule out Trinity and focus on the south side of town. Crossing town is an awful journey and could get worse when the low emission zone thing comes into force (well technically it's already in force but they aren't going to start charging until 2024 so go figure......)

Tbf I live in north Edinburgh and spend half my life travelling to the other side of the city due to DC's hobby. It's not that bad and if you're used to living rurally you're used to travelling for appointments and to visit friends and family etc. i sat nav every journey so I can see where the traffic is better. Sometimes cut through city centre, other times join the bypass. Temporary lights can be a problem especially at the moment with the city fibre being installed and tram works but then I travel at peak times.

Polwarth is nice but it straddles 2 secondary catchment areas, Boroughmuir and Tynecastle, so check which one any potential house is in.

If you like Morningside, I'd focus on Greenbank, the Braids. Both are within walking distance of the hustle and bustle of Morningside but also within easy distance of Swanston. They'd be in the catchment areas for Boroughmuir which is well regarded. Comiston would tend to be in the catchment area for Firhill but if you are lucky there are some period properties. Trinity is lovely but if you had to travel across town at the wrong time of day it could be a bit of a pain.

Can anyone recommend good nurseries (1 year plus) around Braids and Greenbank?

Trying to get a sense of what our current up through secondary options look like :)

City Nursery - up in the old city hospital - you can cut through on foot from greenbank on the ashy path.

And greenbank preschool in greenbank church.

Think it's the care inspectorate Scotland website you need to look at for inspection reports.

Honestly, we did the commute from Trinity to south Edinburgh every day and it's a nightmare. Roads always closing, roadworks, the infamous 'spaces for people' road narrowing makes what used to be a fairly okay commute a really stressful one. If you are having to be Swanston way to help out, then def stay south Edinburgh for your home.

Another good nursery is Kidzcare, Norwood Housenin Dick Place in Marchmont/Bruntsfield.

Polwarth feeds into Bruntsfield primary and on to Boroughmuir. Some of Polwarth Terrace stretches into the Tynecastle catchment (as does a good chunk of Merchiston) but I wouldn’t class that as Polwarth.

Tynecastle is actually one of those schools which does well for its pupils.

City nursery is really good.
it’s little city up to age 2, we didn’t use little city as we lived elsewhere but we were very happy with city from age 2.

www.city-nursery.co.uk

For that money Joppa and Portobello. Great community. Beach. Not suburban feeling. Whizz around the bypass to south edinburgh.

Trinity feels suburban to me. No centre. Porty is great.

Might have changed now but a few years ago looking for nuseries for DCs in the city centre and north was a nightmare with years long waiting lists and zero flexibility about hours. Most demanded full time 8am-5pm attendance with some requiring Mondays and Fridays for example.

As mentioned above, the top performing high schools are quite seriously over capacity, and with population growth and new build estates it's going to get worse over the next 10 years. This is forecast on the council website and will likely lead to changes to catchment areas at some point.

We moved to the outskirts.

If the offers over system is off putting you could go for a new build. In the areas you are considering craighouse has 4 bed townhouses just under 1m. www.qmile.com/craighouse-edinburgh-new-homes/edinburgh-apartments-craighouse/new-build/townhouse-collection/new-craig-mews/new-craig-mews-availability/item/128:ncm02&Itemid=197&rid=197

New build is a good suggestion, but wow you don't necessarily get much for your money with that one. I'm sure it would be fitted out beautifully but there is no guest toilet or any toilet on the main floor? The one with the other bedrooms on it has no window and the 4th bedroom would need to either access the ensuite or go down 2 floors. For me the advantage of a new build is that you get a practical family friendly layout. That looks like a house for a couple with rooms for guests. Not slagging your link PP, slagging the builder!

Not much on the market at all at the moment. Keep your eye on the market OP, I happen to know of a lovely 3 storey, 5 bed period property (semi detached) in Newington (South Edinburgh) about to go on the market in the next few weeks . Not sure if it will be in your budget though. In fact if I remember I'll come back and post a link when it does.
Ps. It's not mine, I wish 😂

Yes, I'll take this one please