Moving to Scotland - where would you recommend based on our criteria?

[UltramarineViolet]

DH and I currently live in England but we both love Scotland and relocating at some point between now and retirement would be our dream

Our DC are young adults just starting out in life. No idea where in the world they will settle in the longer term but let’s assume they are most likely to be in Manchester, London or Yorkshire.

our requirements would be:

• Beautiful scenery for walking and cycling, ideally near water with opportunities for sailing
• Not too remote, a train station within half an hour or so would be a bonus, we would want to meet up with DC on regular basis so not too far North
• Small town with supermarket, health centre or small hospital etc no further than 20 minute drive away
• property not obscenely expensive; would want something nice with 3+ bedrooms for under £300K or thereabouts
• a good community, not too insular or hostile to incomers

Thank you @Swanslikeme - very useful link

Burntisland is a dump. Don’t bother! There’s a reason it’s cheap (or lots of reasons)

Oban? Troon?

Southern Aberdeenshire/Northern Angus. Train line is easily accessible with stations in Stonehaven, Laurencekirk, Montrose and Arbroath. There are some lovely places to walk and plenty of coast to access water related activities. Population is mixed, in the village we live in there is those whose families have been here forever and incomers (we're the latter) from a variety of places such as South Africa, England, America, Canada, Denmark and Germany.

Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. Small fishing town with an amazing family feel, beach, harbour, great dining, ruins, hospital, all your amenities....train station thats on the aberdeen to london line. Stone through from aberdeen and lovely places like broughty ferry in dundee and also lots of lovely villages nearby. Its my happy place....

You will see there is a lot of blue in Perthshire and quite a few of the other areas mentioned in this thread (and not so much in some others also mentioned).

Not sure if Linlithgow would be in budget?

We were there last week. It was the first time I'd been and really liked it. Lovely harbour and a nice high street. There's a train station and you're not far from Edinburgh and North Berwick.

Lovely sandstone houses but I don't know what the prices are like as I imagine it's commutable to Edinburgh.

@Rainbow890 and @Dinosauratemydaffodils Stonehaven would be ideal in many ways but the drive back to England is a bit too long for my liking

Perthshire would probably be my choice but DH I suspect would want to be closer to water. Helensburgh and Kirkcudbright appear to be the best fit within our budget.

I am less familiar with the Ayrshire coast but Largs and Troon may be worth getting to know better

I think the nicer places on Berwickshire and Fife coast are likely to be out of our budget

Thanks again to everyone who has posted suggestions

You need to consider the fact that Highland Perthshire (Aberfeldy, Kenmore, Pitlochry) have really harsh winters with a lot of snow. I live about 40-50 miles south of Aberfeldy but have family there and they get snowed in frequently. I personally wouldn't live further north than Perth.

Broughty Ferry, Carnoustie, Invergowrie area of Dundee or the surrounding villages such as Monikie, East Haven etc

The East Coast has a LOT going for it. From Broughty Ferry I can be in the cairngorms national park in just over an hour yet still live by the sea. Excellent transport links, Angus Glens and beyond within easy reach as is Perthshire.

Dundee as a city is slowly on the up and as an outsider, I see a different place from those born and bred here, it has a lot going for it and change is happening.

Kirkcaldy is a dump these days,sadly.

Auchterarder does not fit the bill for reasonable as someone currently wishing to buy their house prices are ridiculous, £250 will get you a 2 bed bungalow.

Callander area? Aberfoyle? Lots of cycling and walking. I assume also water sports as lots of lochs. Callander is a bit bigger. Both are about an hour from Glasgow, little bit more to Edinburgh. Closer to Stirling for a big town/city. Or indeed Stirling itself.

I think that OP has ruled out Stirling/Trossachs as not being on the coast and so unsuitable for sea sailing, as Stirling and Crieff have been suggested several times but she hasn’t mentioned any of them in her subsequent posts.

ah, I’d assumed inland sailing not sea sailing but yes it’s quite far inland.

Borders
East Lothian eg north Berwick
Dumfries and Galloway
The trossachs

I think you need to consider proximity to main roads for driving south. For the A1 the borders are perfect, I live in Edinburgh and travel south regularly for work

This just isn't true at all.

I’d go Troon

Musselburgh or Dunbar. Or what about Penicuik. You've got the reservoirs as well as the sea not so far away and obviously the pentlands literally on your doorstep for walking and cycling. Loads of amenities in the town and a bit cheaper than the first 2 suggestions I believe despite its proximity to Edinburgh. I think it ticks all of your boxes. Ignore the comments about English retirees not being welcome- that's nonsense!

Around Largs? There's a marina, islands including Arran, lovely beaches and inland walking. The Manse

I think Kirkcudbrightshire might be a bit remote from what you’ve said on your list. You can spend a lot of time driving the a75.
Stirlingshire is a bit further north but with better and more varied access to shops and services such as hospitals. Linlithgow is very well connected and a lovely town with a railway station and only a short journey to Edinburgh. Lots of lovely walks in the area as well. It is expensive but there are cheaper towns nearby so it’s worth exploring the area.

Absolutely. I moved to Montrose from Glasgow and now live in Laurencekirk. I originally came up here for a 3 month contract but never left. Been here 25 years now. Fantastic coastline in one direction, the Angus Glens, Cairngorms and Grampians an easy drive in the other. Low crime, nice people and good travel links when I occasionally need a reminder that I hate big cities.

Agree with this. We nearly bought a house in Aberfeldy. Spent a week in a holiday let whilst we looked in October. The house was very damp but the cold cut right through us. We had been there in November in a previous year and the access road to the house flooded badly. We literally just got through an hour before it became impassable.

Aberfeldy is lovely but the cinema is under threat of closure now too. Which is tragic.

I would agree with this. DH and I would love to retire to Perthshire or D&G. However, as Yorkshire based southerners, we've hated being so far from our parents (4-6+ hours south of us) once we had our own children, and spontaneity and ease of travel becomes significantly trickier! This is doubly so once they start school, with the added "why does Granny never come to my birthday party/school play/football matches" from the dc. Retirement is still likely to be 15 years or so away though, but we're not going to deliberately move impractically far from family again. Obviously this will depend on where the now-teens land in their adult lives, but whilst a 4 hr Friday-night drive from Sheffield to D&G is accessible to the young and fit, it can quickly become a bind.