Moving to Livingston

[Pbubz]

Me and my partner are moving to Livingston from England, my mum will be living with us and I’m just looking for some advice about a what the place is like, things to do etc.

We will have a newborn so schools will be a consideration at some point (from my understanding secondaries not great in this area but we are over a decade away from that). We have family in central Edinburgh but our budget won’t stretch to the city.

Reasons we are thinking of Livingston are:

> 20 mins by train to the city
> within walking distance or very short drive to train station and other amenities
> hopefully there are other families there and looks like there’s lots to do for kids

We currently live in the middle of nowhere, we do like our countryside walks but frankly looking forward to being closer to civilisation. We have never lived close to a gym or cinema 😅

I’ve seen the place take quite a bashing online and it’s been compared to Milton Keynes (not really an issue for us)… do our reasons for considering this as a place to call home ring true?

I understand there are areas to avoid, we’re also looking at the Calders, Queensferry and Dalkeith but not much on the market! We would need a 4 bed and our budget is £330 max.

Open to suggestions of other places but ideally looking for some experiences of people who live or have lived there.

There are nice bits and not nice bits, like every town really. Bathgate is on the quicker train line and a 5-10minute drive from Livingston.
East Calder has expanded massively recently, but no real improvements to the local infrastructure to cope with the influx, except for a primary school. Also not on the train line.
West Calder is on the train line(but the slower one with less frequent services).

One of my friends lives in Murieston which is a really nice area to the south of Livingston - Google it and its neighbour Bellsquarry.

Have you looked at Broxburn or Uphall? Livingston would be your nearest big town but it has a bit more of a small town vibe.
your budget for a 4 bed is VERY challenging so there will be compromises anywhere.

I think the thing with Livingston is you'll still spend half your life in the car, just doing shorter journeys. It's not a walkable place at all. Out of the places you've mentioned, Dalkeith and Musselburgh are better, agree re: Linlithgow but you won't get four beds for that budget. You might get a 3-bed in South Queensferry that has potential to extend though.

Also be aware we're slap bang in holiday season now so not much coming on - it will pick up again in September.

espc.com/property/4-society-road-south-queensferry-eh30-9rx/36171802?sid=628534

espc.com/property/19-echline-view-south-queensferry-eh30-9xl/36171429?sid=628534

There's a lot of these 1970s houses in South Queensferry, they have zero kerb appeal but they're very liveable homes.

I would choose Broxburn or Dunfermline over Livingston. Linlithgow and Queensferry are lovely but probably out of price range.

I’m really surprised at the votes for Dalkeith - it’s a grim old mining town with no station beside the clogged up city bypass and the high school isn’t great at all. You couldn’t pay me to live there. Eskbank is ok, another friend of mine lives there, but not sure what you’d get for your money. DH works in Dunfermline, the town centre is not great at anll and it’s becoming another commuter town with lots of new housing developments - again, I wouldn’t live there.

I think you really have to go your research OP - the towns that have been mentioned are very varied to say the least. If you do look at Livingston then definitely look at Murieston and Bellsquarry.

I live in Livingston (Eliburn) and have family over in Fife and I don't mind living here, I have a little girl about to start Primary so not really any experience of schooling yet. Although one thing to consider is that children here don't start school until 4.5/5 depending on their birth month, its a March cut off rather than a September. My child would have gone at 4 in England but will be 5 here. Also in West Lothian they don't go to school on a Friday afternoon (which is a pain in the....)

There are loads of great baby groups and things to do with little ones, there's a farm and a small zoo close by. A fair bit of open space and lots of parks.

Having also lived near Milton Keynes I get the comparison, it is a pretty new town and it does slightly lack in soul, it is more than just a shopping centre though...and you are only 20 minutes from Edinburgh for that. You can also drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction and be in Queensferry to access beaches or drive over the bridges and into Fife. Also 20 minutes from the airport so great for travel (although public transport for the airport is rubbish, actually public transport in general is rubbish)

When I originally moved here it was just a stop gap while i house hunted near Edinburgh and 10 years later I'm still here so it can't be that bad!