Where to relocate in Scotland with a budget of £800k

[Theaccidentalgardener]

Where do you think offers a good quality of life in Scotland?

I have been living for too long in London and want to move back to Scotland. I’m originally from Edinburgh but going back to Edinburgh doesn’t feel like quite the “right” move. I also have family in SW Scotland but they live in areas too rural for DH who is originally from London to consider.

We currently have primary school aged children, so good schooling particularly secondary schools are key to determining our chosen location. Places I have considered are Helensburgh and Perth based on childhood memories which are probably out of date. Cleaner air, greener spaces and more house are what I am craving, but equally I am also seeking a place which is open minded and friendly to new people as potentially we will be moving to somewhere where we would know nobody. We both have flexibility with our jobs as we can work remotely.

Anywhere spring to mind?

We moved to Helensburgh end of last year from London (via Edinburgh for a few years) don’t have teen kids yet but have kids. Good mix of town but near incredible countryside. Husband works remote and I work in the central belt, really enjoying it especially with the amazing weather atm!

Thank you. I’m not familiar with Clarkston, so will check it out.

@GlasgowGal82 oops, meant to tag you in the above msg

@Silverbook are these good places for teens?

@TimesRwo thank you - I'm not familiar with Bishopton, will check this place out too.

We really do. It's a hard decision as there are so many areas of Scotland I love. If we were going back to Edinburgh I'd choose Portobello, but now we have decided to go elsewhere we are overwhelmed with choice. But having been able to think about it some more having been helped by the comments on this thread, we have narrowed it down (a little!)

Area: Central(ish) - or approx 1.5 hrs from Edinburgh

Prob furtherest north we'd venture is Perth

To be living by the coast would be the dream, but at the same time I don't want to become a taxi service for my kids once they become teens and would like them to have some sort of independence.

Southside of Glasgow and surrounds sound like a viable option.

I would say the list of places @Silverbook mentioned are appeal the most to me now with primary school aged children, but I need to think of high schools and teens as I really do not want to have to move again.

Gullane - about 40 mins to Edinburgh by bus or train. Stunning beaches if you like outdoor life. Really nice properties. Good state schools.
Dollar- half an hour to Stirling by bus, excellent (but big) private school, good state school, no coast but good walks, nice property, really good sports clubs and excellent facilities at Striling Uni. Between Edin & Glas airports
Helensburgh- 40mins to Glasgow, 80 to Edinburgh (direct trains to both), 30 mins to airport, good state school, excellent (and small) private school, 5 miles from Loch Lomond and on the Clyde, excellent sports clubs. Some exceptionally nice properties in your budget.
Dunblane- 15 mins to Stirling, similar to Dollar for most other things but I'd say.
Perth- not as accessible as the others but a lovely city. Lots of semi-rural property. Not on the coast but on the Tay which is very scenic. A range of school options- state and private. Excellent range of of sports clubs etc. Furtherest away for airports but still only about 90 mins.
Bridge of Allan- 10 mins to Stirling and similar to Dollar & Dunblane for clubs/schools etc.

Just did a straw poll of 3 handy teens- they said Helensburgh or Gullane!

Ohhhh, that’s interesting what your teens said as we’d love to be by the sea if possible. Thanks for summarising info about the places you suggested. They all sound good tbh - we will have to visit to decide.

I second this but it is expensive. Or St Andrews.

Dollar not good for teens (too small) unless they are at Dollar Academy as it provides a very good selection of activities for it's pupils. Public transport is rubbish in Dollar, if you have teens and live there you will be forever giving them lifts (been there done that).
Dunblane the better option of the other smaller towns mentioned as it has a very good high school, a train station and leisure facilities, sports clubs etc.
Bridge of Allan a similar vibe, station, better high street but lower ranking school.
Linlithgow is bigger so has more going on, good for sport, good transport links. Interesting High st. I don't like the countryside as much but pretty good compared to the South East.
Nobodies Mentioned Kinross, it's a good option. No station but good bus links to Cities for teens to use, free in Scotland for under 22s! Decent school, nice countryside, reasonable amount of clubs and activities, a lot of sport choice.

Lochwinnoch is nice.

Thank you. My old neighbour in London previously lived in Dollar and Dunblane and she preferred Dunblane for the same reasons you mentioned. Good point about the free bus travel. I did not realise it also applies to young adults - what a bonus for them!

I used to live in Lochwinnoch (North Ayrshire or thereabouts) and wouldn't go back. Dumfries is OK, and Oban. North Berwick, Musselburgh, just work your way up the east coast! Aberdeen, Inverness, St Andrews.

Glasgow west end or troon in Ayrshire or southside of glasgow

Troon is Glasgow's version of portobello and Prestwick close by quite lovely for young adults.

Is there a particular reason you've ruled out Edinburgh, or is it just that you fancy trying somewhere else. We're in South Edinburgh - good state school, lots of private options if that's your bag, countryside on our doorstep, plenty of coast within easy reach. Good bus service, lots for teens to do and easy to get around the city. Lots of people come from somewhere else. You won't get as much house for your money as elsewhere though.

Aberdeenshire has some lovely towns with good schools eg Stonehaven for coast, Banchory closer to skiing and mountains

I don’t think you can compare Troon and Portobello! Troon isn’t a suburb, it’s a good distance away and nothing like as cosmopolitan as portobello.

@Coronationstation och well. We'll have to agree to disagree x

Peebles? Lovely town centre and some fantastic mountain biking trails at Glentress. An easy bus ride to Edinburgh for adventurous teens

Peebles High School used to have a very good reputation. Don’t know if that is still the case.

I was confused with this too. Troon's nice but not exactly accessible. You can walk to Portobello in 20 minutes or so from Edinburgh city centre. Would take you a whole day to walk to Troon from Glasgow.

Agree that Peebles is a good shout.

North Berwick, Dirleton, Gullane, Haddington all near Edinburgh and the coast. Also St Andrews/East Neuk of Fife is so lovely.

Hi TheAccidentalGardener, we are Perth based. PM me if you want some info about the schools etc!!