North Glasgow Relocating Advice

[Nland85]

Looking at north Glasgow and relocating from England for DH work. Combination of Glasgow office (1-2x weekly) WFH and occasional train to Edinburgh office (maybe 1x fortnight)

Schools are really important given 6 and 3 year old children.

Bearsden and Milngavie seem to be well thought off, but we have also seen some nice property in Bishopbriggs area.

Budget of around £600k - prefer a bit of character compared to a large new build estate but would not rule anything out. We want a good family friendly location that appeals to young families and also as they also get older.

Where would you look? Any thoughts?

I'm in Bearsden, moved here 15 years ago and more than happy here. For your budget you will get something very nice. You will need to get your head around the "offers over" system and get advice from a local agent. Also, property is moving quickly here at the moment. Something like this is well within budget for you.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138520820#/?channel=RES_BUY

or

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140116853#/?channel=RES_BUY

One thing to remember is that school catchment areas in Scotland are fixed and you are guaranteed a place when your 3 year old is old enough. The older child - will be given a place in your catchment school IF there is space, if not, in the next nearest school. It's a good idea to think about what secondary schools are linked with which primaries. What I mean is... say you bought the second house I linked, which is in catchment for Mosshead. Kids from there go on to Bearsden Academy. If there was no space for your child at Mosshead, they would get a place at maybe Bearsden Primary, or Baljaffray. Those two also feed into Bearsden Academy. On the other hand, if you buy in a different part of the area, you might be in the catchment for Bearsden Primary, but allocated a space at Killermont Primary - which feeds into Boclair. You want to avoid the scenario of being really happy with a school, your kids making loads of friends, then all of P7 going to one school and yours somewhere else. Or having to accept a place in an out of catchment school, them settling, and then you facing moving them again.

For ANYONE making such a big move, I would always advise renting first, or at least coming up and spending a good few days mooching about and wandering around the streets to get a feel for whether you'd be happy here.

Thanks for the reply. I agree about wanting to make sure there is not another move to a different catchment high school.

Nice properties, not huge amounts available at the moment but I think it’s probably time of the year.

Should be more after the holidays I think.

Bearsden looks like a good bet, and all schools in that area are well regarded.

Would you consider Lenzie?

It's on the train line to Edinburgh & schools are good, an easy commute to Glasgow.

Agree, Lenzie is nice too.

Absolutely, it’s on the list, but not much for sale there at the moment.

I really like Bearsden but I wouldnt consider it if I had to go to Edinburgh every fortnight. It depends how much you can tolerate commuting. An old colleague lived in Lenzie and at the time we were also mostly working in Glasgow but occasionally Edinburgh - I think a couple of the rush hour trains go direct to Edinburgh otherwise he had to change somewhere. Not the end of the world though and lots of nice houses walking distance from the station. He found the journey fine and raved about the school. Another colleague at the same place lived in Bishopbriggs, he cycled to the Glasgow office and im sure he changed trains in Glasgow to get to Edinburgh! I think the area is well thought of and the high school scores very well in the league tables too, my colleagues children were younger than high school age so no direct feedback. I don't think you could go too far wrong in any of the three areas but I personally wouldnt want the Bearsden to Edinburgh commute so regularly.

Thanks for the comments. Bishopbriggs and Lenzie are on the express line to Edinburgh, so definitely a big advantage…just very little for sale.

Keep an eye out in the new year. A lot of people will wait for spring but I would think once Christmas and new year is out the way things would start to pick up. The issue with all of these places though I would guess is because of the schools, once families move in, they might never move again for considerable time.

Would this work - https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142805438#/?channel=RES_BUY

You shouldn't rely on the property sites for school catchments, I checked the address on this link and it looks like its in catchment for Bishopbriggs Academy (double this!!) -
https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/residents/schools-and-learning/school-catchments/school-catchment-areas

Or theres this if you didnt mind a bungalow. Not checked catchment area -
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139882475#/?channel=RES_BUY

Double check*

Thanks, the semi is lovely and looks to be on a nice street!

Start at High school catchments and work backwards - kids grow up quick!. Do your research on the school.

Research the catchments for these - transport links, size of catchment, mix of housing available (do they have lots of the kind of house you like, can you afford what you would want?), proximity to things to do.

If possible go and visit the primaries of the high schools you like and see if they are all okay or if you have strong preferences for a particular primary to help you understand if you need a particular catchment.

Don't be afraid to rent in the catchment you want - we did for 16 months and it meant we were in a great position to buy and could wait for the right house.

This is what we did when we relocated to Scotland and it made it all so much less daunting.

Basically - don't start at individual houses that happen to be for sale in the depths of winter. It may be me, but for a big decision like this I think you've got to be way more systematic!

i don’t live in the area but visit regularly - if you end up in Bearsden/Milngavie you must try Helmi’s cafe/bakery. It’s an absolute delight.

both towns get a very good rep.

Lenzie is another one to consider.

You can also call the primaries and ask if they have spaces. Things might change between calling and moving though.

@Mountaindhew Helmi's is the BEST. Their halloumi and salad wraps, and those little pistachio patisserie cakes. Lovely people too.

We are also looking a bit further west, out towards Houston etc - bit further out but still good schools etc. thinking Gryfee High catchment area. Anyone from out that way offer any thoughts?

I have a friend who lives in Houston - great community feel, good schools & is very happy there. Close to the airport & Braehead .

However there is not a train station & it's always tricky for her to get back after nights out, on Sundays etc - transport options are quite limited.

Wouldn’t consider Houston if you have to travel occasionally to Edinburgh. Definitely a good idea to choose somewhere directly on a train line.

That’s going to be a pain in the arse for a commute to Edinburgh. I don’t live in Houston but not far away.

East Renfrewshire have very good schools. Giffnock and Clarkson have excellent public transport, 15 minutes by train into the city centre so would be doable for periodic travel to Edinburgh.