Moving to Glasgow region

[Suilamhain]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice. We are considering a potential move to Glasgow/West Coast of Ayrshire region. Our potential jobs are South/South-West Glasgow (Newton Mearns). We have a toddler. We are looking for somewhere not too busy but with facilities/schools etc ideally near the coast with good access to countryside. Just wondering what areas people would recommend and how easy it would be to settle in up there and have a good quality of life. Currently we’re starting to feel priced out of where we live in Southern England. I would love to find a smallish town/suburb where I could walk to school with nice outdoor spaces.

Newton Mearns is quite a distance from the coast I'm afraid so you would be looking at quite a long commute. Troon, Prestwick or Largs are quite nice coastal towns but somewhere like Stewarton or Dunlop would give you a shorter commute and are lovely. Both have train stations, too. They are not on the coast, though. Fenwick is nice too but the catchment high school is not good.

As pp says, mearns is not on the coast but it does have great schooling at high school level

Troon/Prestwick/Ayr to Newton Mearns is really not that much of a commute - about 35/40 minutes. The M77 is a good road, although Fenwick Moor can be a bit iffy in very bad weather a couple of times a year. Many people commute far further every day.

Even if you are in Newton Mearns or somewhere close by like Eaglesham or Giffnock you can be at the coast in under an hour.

As a pp mentioned Newton Mearns is sought out for schooling, East Ren is the top Scottish authority for state secondaries. If this is a long term move and you can afford property there it's worth considering, then travel to the coast easily at weekends.

It's quick and easy to get to the coast from there down the m77 to the Ayr/Prestwick area.

You will need to be careful of areas in Ayrshire for schooling. There are areas with significant deprivation and social issues.

I know North Ayrshire better and Largs fits your criteria in most ways, pretty seaside town with decent school and facilities, but it is an awkward commute on longer country roads. Don't forget as well with moving north, that commute will be in the dark for a large part of the year which makes it even harder on those roads. Trains are no use Ayrshire to Mearns as you would have to go via Glasgow, so much longer.

Thanks for the info can you let me know the main areas to avoid?! Our budget is around 450. Is Mearns good for primary schools too?

Yes, all of east ren will have primaries more akin to private schools in demographic due to the cost of housing being significantly higher. Mearns primary itself is huge, but there are many others. Catchment is stricter than most of Scotland, placing requests are almost impossible, it will be essential to live in catchment.

Avoid on the coast (IMO) "the 3 towns" (ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston) some parts of Irvine.

I've heard Prestwick is nice. West Kilbride to Inverkip is all pretty lovely with decent primaries.

It is a stunning coastline, but think carefully about the commute through winter months.

How many bedrooms do you need?

Ideally 3 + office or 4 if no office space

What about Prestwick? This has 4 beds, looks like its a short walk to the beach and you could drive to NM in just over half an hour - https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142123991#/?channel=RES_BUY

Iv no idea what the schools are like or what the town itself is like.

I don't no if its true but I always hear people say that primary schools across Scotland are pretty good and its not until High School that catchment really matters. I am somewhat skepticle, I cant imagine excellent primaries feeding terrible High Schools for example but I dont know how primaries are measured. High Schools, you can look up the league tables and get an idea for the kind of results they are producing if nothing else.

Seamill in West Kilbride is meant to be nice but i dont think the roads are great so while its only 45min drive, i dont no if winter would be tougher.