Moms of young families - if you could live anywhere in Scotland where would you live?

[TheLilacLlama]

We're a young family looking to move to Scotland. We are self-employed so won't need to commute. We understand school catchment zones and we understand the housing crisis. We also know where most of the top schools are located (East Dun, East Ren and Stirling, here's looking at you). We understand budget restrictions. We are sensible, successful people who do a LOT of homework before we take on something new. But let's for a moment just put these very real, very practical things aside: if you could raise your kids anywhere in Scotland (say they were ages 6 and 12), where would you in this ideal fantasy world settle and why? Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your thoughts :)

Linlithgow, it's a lovely wee town with everything you need, good schools. Excellent transport links to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Or perhaps South Queensferry, for similar reasons. Although less accessible for Glasgow, very close to Edinburgh with being right in the hustle and bustle of the city.

I'm just being nosy but why does it have to be Scotland?

Ooh. Maybe East Lothian. Gullane or North Berwick for the beaches and proximity to Edinburgh.

Or, Edinburgh itself. Fantastic city.

Inverness

Moray/Speyside is lovely. Great location, coast, country, city and rural all within reach.

I second Linlithgow, I'd love to live there. I live in a much less desirable place close by but visit frequently. Great train links, a little high street, beautiful area for walks and I've heard good things about the schools.

Helensburgh.

Dalgety Bay is lovely, we lived there for a few years.

It sounds strange "looking to move to Scotland" because it's a country, rather than a type of place to live. You can't compare living on Lewis to living in Edinburgh. Apples and Oranges. Easier to say "We're looking to move to a remote place/an island/somewhere that is dark by 4pm in Winter/a Scottish city" because each of those options makes more sense. You cannot want to move to somewhere like Iona, Aviemore and Glasgow.

It's like me saying "I want to move to England, where do you recommend?" Big difference between Ripon, Isle of White and Birmingham. Only thing they have in common is that they're in England!

A few places come to mind:

West coast - either Helensburgh or over the water, Gourock, or on one of islands out that way, or down Campbeltown direction.

East coast - Gullane or similar.

Or somewhere up north (vague, I know).

Somewhere relatively rural or a small village, anyway.

I wouldn't particularly want to be near Glasgow / Edinburgh or any of the other cities / big towns. Nor would I fancy the suburbs, East Dun / East Ren.

It depends what you're looking for, but those are the types of places I'd like.

It depends what you're after and what's important such as travel time to England etc which can quickly rule out the islands and Highlands!

For us it's the mix of activities options (indoor and outdoor) plus airport and train access which is important. We find Aberdeenshire a good balance for having a young family but property prices are higher here then a lot of other areas.

Scotland is a very big and varied place I I have lived in Scotland in various places all my days, and visited many more. Its not possible to tell you the best place based on your op. Do you want city or sticks? Middle of nowhere or central?

It would depend on budget. What's yours, OP

It would entirely depend on whether I could afford private education or not.

Going private gives you so much more freedom to find a lovely house and not worry about its catchment.

Eg Inverclyde has some of the best views in Scotland but awful state schools!

In a similar vein, the nearest private schools to Inverness are Gordonstoun (1 hour away) or Strathallan (2 hours away). We also have little in the way of private medical practices, shopping, travel connections etc. BUT it is good if you like the outdoorsy lifestyle, so swings and roundabouts.

What is important to you OP? City or country? Do you prefer culture or outdoor activities? Do you need to be close to a big airport for travel connections? Would you want to be near a main hospital? Could you see yourself living on an island?

Also make sure you can get a visa before you make too many plans!

I love where I live (East Dunbartonshire) because we're close enough to the culture and work options of Glasgow and Edinburgh to be practical for interesting jobs and nightlife but also an easy drive from both coasts for sea options (weather choices are kinda handy) and not too far from mountains for walking and skiing, which pretty well covers everything we want to do. Wouldn't want to go as rural as Fintry but Balfron, Strathblane and Kippen also appeal as nice options too.

Linlithgow seems very nice as well.

Scotland has a nice balance of stunning scenery, some of which is very convenient from the major cities but the central belt isn't super rural and as the country is so narrow at that point the entire central belt is very accessible offering a lot of options.

Exactly!

Some of the most desirable places are the most expensive - obviously. There's no point people saying they'd live in a six bedroom detached house in Morningside if your budget is £100k.

Also you might not need to commute to work, but again, recommending somewhere in the rural north west like Gairloch would put you 90 minutes away from the "big shops" in Inverness, and there's an obvious cost to driving 150 miles round trip each time you want to do a supermarket shop. It's as much about lifestyle as budget, and although adults might be happy on an island with a dozen other people and a few sheep, it's not a dream for most 12 year olds.

Scotland is a massive place with cities, villages and everything in between.

Is this a journo piece OP ?