Relocating to Scotland from USA. Looking for local opinions on good communities to settle in around Dundee, Stirling, and Inverness

[NovaSkycrest]

Hello everyone.

Our family is relocating to Scotland in the Summer of 2024 for my wife's work. I will be over there again in May 2023 to scout out neighborhoods in 3 towns we have kind of narrowed things down to for settling in when we arrive; Dundee, Stirling, and Inverness.

We are looking for local feedback for areas to consider for me to scout out during my upcoming visit. We are looking for a community that is family friendly, has good public schools, and has good public transit as we will not have a vehicle when we first arrive. I know "affordable housing" is subjective and markets shift back and forth, so we are watching all the local websites for home sales and renting.

My wife and I are over planners and have spreadsheets of information that help us prioritize our decision making in matters like this. But there is only so much numbers and data can tell us. Thus why I am coming to walk areas in May and get a feel for these towns and neighborhoods.

We have been to Inverness on vacation, but never really left the city center other than taking a cruise on Loch Ness. We do love the highlands, but we read that Dundee and Stirling are also good potential locations for us to settle as well.

Any information is greatly appreciated. We look forward to joining the Scottish community.

If your wife has to travel then I'd recommend Stirling. It's about 35 minutes drive to Edinburgh airport, or train to Edinburgh park and take the tram, or there's an express bus that runs pretty frequently and takes an hour. There's also a mainline train station with two trains daily between Stirling and London. (I can be in Leeds by 9.30am and home for dinner).

For leisure the university and the Peak have great sports facilities, you can be in the Trossachs in 20 minutes, and regular trains to Glasgow and Edinburgh for concerts etc. Small enough to get around but big enough to have plenty of choices.

Thank you @Fundays12
that is the kind of feedback. We are looking for.
Very helpful information for us to consider.

I live in Dundee and wouldn't recommend it. The schools are all pretty bad unless you go private. The people in Dundee are lovely but the city isn't nice (the centre is awful once you get past the waterfront). I also wasn't keen on Stirling! However, Dundee is family friendly and it does have good transport links. If you choose Dundee you'd want to look at settling in the west end if city-based and Broughty ferry for better schools. Newport on tay is nice (over the bridge) and puts you in the catchment area for Madras (at andrews). so I'm throwing Newport into the mix as that's where I'd choose if I settled in the areas you mention again

Inverness is great, you're a 30 minute bus ride from Nairn and its lovely beaches and golf courses. Paddle boarding and beach cafes.
Aviemore is 40 minutes down the A9, with is mountains and skiing.

There are good schools, Culloden Academy I've heard is good.

The city centre is small, but has most things you need, and Elgin city is an hours bus ride away.

You've also got UHI, the university of the Highlands and Islands on your doorstep, you've got Inverness and one in Elgin, for when the kids get older.

The Highlands are a beautiful place to explore and bring up a family.

@WhyPie I like Newport too, all those massive Victorian houses, some of them with a slight air of dilapidation, nice views, some nice shops, it feels a bit quirky to me.
Stirling has nice bits ( I'm more or less a local) but the town centre isn't what it was, everyone in the area loves their cars despite it being in theory a walkable town so the footfall isn't enough to keep things lively, I am detecting a few signs of improvement in the centre though.

Thank you everyone.
Based on recommendations and reviewing new information, we are completely change most of our options. LOL

We will be looking primarily between Glasgow and Edinburgh to be more centrally located and so that when I get work I be within an hour train ride to either city should I end up working in one of them.

I'd keep Stirling on your list in that case. Easy commute to both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Oi!!😂

I’d agree with this, although it’s part of Dundee it bears no resemblance to other parts of the city, very much still a village feel within city, despite the housing estates which have sprouted up over the last 20 years or so.
Excellent primary and secondary schooling, NHS wise we have Ninewells hospital in Dundee, a huge teaching hospital, I’ve not heard horror stories about GPs’ practices locally.

I know your kids are younger but if you’re still in the area when they hit university age, we have 2 amazing universities in the city, and constantly rate highly in “student experience“

We’re also the UK’s sunniest city!😎

I find BF a bit strange and grey and I don't get why it's bigged up so much! There are some nice wee shops and cafes though.

Also re the universities, it depends what you're studying. Major financial issues and restructuring at both Dundee and Abertay

I agree with this. Lovely beaches, train line and the east coast is sunnier!

I love Inverness but it's very remote, getting to anywhere else means a car journey or even a plane. Do you need decent access to an international airport in which case within an hour of Edinburgh and Glasgow makes sense. Stirling out of those to me seems a good bed though I've personally only driven past on the A9

OP, your likely property purchase budget and what you’ll be looking for will massively guide where we would suggest you end up. There is enormous variability from area to area - £200k to £1.2million for a 4 bed period semi completely feasible within a few miles of each other. And what are you in to? What are you looking for from where you live?

Linlithgow is nice

Linlithgow is where my Sister and BIL ended up when they returned after 5 years in New York. They choose it for the commute versatility, as they weren't sure where they'd get permanent jobs, and the decent schools. They are still there 20 years later!

Inverness has it's own airport :)

What will be your budget for buying in Scotland?

Its been a while since OP posted lol but I would hope he's done more research as he did seem to have a very naive, romanticised view of living in Scotland.

Also needs to learn the correct terminology to help them settle in quicker - state schools not public, holiday not vacation, primary not year (and his kid will be in primary 4 not 5).

Yes I have done more research and been over many times now throughout the year looking at places. I have learned a lot since the original post.

I believe I did acknowledge my ignorance in the original post.

We are scheduled to land in Scotland in June 2024. Thank you to all that provided helpful feedback.

Fab.

Ignore the previous poster. People are very welcoming here and will understand what you mean!

FWIW Inverness is fab and has everything a family needs - beaches, bowling, ice rink, swimming pool , trampoline park, very easy access to the Cairngorms and an international airport.

We moved up from the central belt ( Glasgow) and family life is much easier up here as everything's close by.

Good luck.

@NovaSkycrest hope the plans are going well. Ignore the previous poster that was rude...you are not ignorant, you just don't live here, which people understand and is totally fine so use whatever terminology you like....you won't be long in learning any local lingo.

Have you decided on a location yet?

I'm going to agree with Newport/Wormit - just over the bridge from Dundee so easy access to the city, good primary schools and kids are in the catchment area for Madras High School. I'm not loving the hate for Dundee!

@Givemestrengthorvodka Thank you.

It is looking like we will be probably closer to the Glasgow area for when we arrive. I have spoken with a lot of people in my field of work and that area looks to be the big area for it. Since I will be relying on pubic transit for my travels to and from work in the beginning, we wanted to try and get me as close to where I will be working as possible. Plus my wife needs fiber internet for her work since she is remote and it looks like that area will be able to provide that as well. (Before anyone says something about remote work, her company is moving her “main office” to one of their UK locations.)

I’ll be back over as soon as we have our paperwork for “right to live” so I can secure a rental. I have lots of alerts set up on Right Move to keep tabs of properties over there.

I have been over a few times throughout this year exploring different areas and communities. We plan on doing lots of exploring all around the country as a family once we are all there to try and find where we will permanently settle and buy a home.

Thank you again everyone. Have a Happy New Year and we look forever to joining your country in the coming months.

Exciting stuff @NovaSkycrest . I would recommend Linlithgow as a place to check out. Direct trains to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling, and a lovely town in itself with loads to do and surrounded by countryside. Good luck with the move.