Relocating to Scotland

[CraftyKit]

Hi
I am originally a Glasgow Girl but moved away when l was little but looking to move back to Scotland but, not a big town like Glasgow as l currently live in a village and prefer the peace and quiet.

My OH and l are looking to move to Scotland and have been looking at areas but can't seem to settle on any.

We like Largs as it is near the water but we also like Thornhill (sadly there isn't much coming up for sale there). We also like Dumfries and Galloway but wouldn't like to live in the town.

What other areas would you recommend we look at?

Many thanks

@CraftyKit What kind of stage of life are you guys at? Is it the 2 if you moving? Do you have children whose education you need to consider?
And what budget are you working with?
That might help people give a better idea of areas to consider 😊

I know Largs and the surrounding area very well so am happy to answer any questions you might have 😊

If I was moving to the west coast, I'd look in Helensburgh and surrounding areas, seems lovely.

I'm originally from Glasgow but moved to Angus in my late twenties. Wild horses wouldn't drag me back to Glasgow, or indeed any big city. Worth you adding to areas worth considering. It's less rainy than the west coast, close to the sea and a short drive to the hills and mountains. Aberdeen and Dundee are a not unreasonable drive away for when you do need a greater variety of shops. There are a number of towns (Arbroath, Montrose, Forfar, Brechin, Kirriemuir) each with their own personality and lots of little villages to choose from.

Can recommend Aberdeenshire

We have visited Helensburgh once and did think it was pretty.

We much prefer the west coast to the east, so much lovely scenery to look at with the islands.

What about this if you're looking for dramatic views
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142392395?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Ooft that house is very close to the coastline. I'd be scared it'd be in the sea in 10 years.

Looks lovely but, sadly way out of our budget.

I'm in Helensburgh. If you want to ask anything

Many thanks. I need to have a better look around there to see what is available.

Houston/ Bridge of Weir/ Quarriers Village/ Kilmacolm

Village life is great but it can be frustrating at times, for instance when you have heavy snow as we have recently, as with single tracked roads you can get cut off if your local council aren't great with ploughing or gritting. We had our shopping delivery cancelled ,the pharmacists couldn't get in to dispense prescriptions, there was no post, the local wee shops didn't get their supplies topped up because of blocked and closed roads etc Thankfully the power stayed on this time.
But if you're good at being well prepared & stocked up it's bliss! What I'm saying is that it's really worth checking out what life is like in this kind of situation when you find somewhere you like the look of, good luck!

Thank you. Will have a look at Houston, Bridge of Weir and Kilmalcolm. Quarriers Village gives me a bad feeling (never been anywhere else like it - hope you know what l mean?).

chattyness I know what you mean. I think we are thinking of places outside large towns but not so far out we can't reach them in bad weather (hope that makes sense). We live in a large village with the closest town about 8 miles away.

I think you need to factor in what else you need access to, or are likely to need access to eg public transport, airport, hospitals etc

absolutely, that seems like a perfect solution, because you're more likely to have good transport links and easier access to schools, hospitals, dentists and the like too .

Yes, we will take those into consideration.
Really just trying to find the best areas/places outside large cities, which we really don't want.

Helensburgh is where you want to be. Best of everything. Small town but not too small, all the shops you need, leisure centre, cinema, cafes, restaurants, doctors, chemists etc etc. Good schools, friendly community, by the water, Lomond and trossachs on your doorstep, fantastic train links to Glasgow and direct to Edinburgh. I very rarely go in to Glasgow as we have everything we need here.

How about Troon/prestwick/Ayr?

I'm in Lennoxtown and love it! Good balance between village life and not being in the middle of nowhere

@CraftyKit if you like Largs, have you considered the villages etc round about? 😊 Fairlie is 3 miles along the road and lovely and quiet. Downside being there’s never much for sale!! West Kilbride is about 10/15 mins at most from Largs and has shops/doctors/dentist etc all there 😊

Dumfries and Galloway is a large region and very rural a mainly farming community with lots of tiny villages many running along its stunning coastline. Personally I prefer the Galloway 1/2 lots of nice villages around Castle Douglas and Kirkudbright. Obviously I don’t know your budget but I looked on Rightmove and and this house is a good example of some local properties bit dated inside but it’s in a quiet pretty village location but the small towns of Dalbeattie and Castle Douglas are a 10-15 minute drive away both have schools shops GP etc activities the coast is 15-30 minutes away and Dumfries which is obviously bigger has a hospital, station; trains to Glasgow and Carlisle and more shops is about 15-20 mins away and Lockerbie which is a better station for Glasgow and Edinburgh is about 35-40 mins away.
It’s a fantastic region largely unspoilt and it’s not a very popular tourist destination unlike much of the west coast. On a very busy warm day on my local beach there might be 6 people usually there’s no one. A popular biggish sandy beach with easy access to the sea the other side of Kirkudbright on a hot day during the School holiday 60 max.
There are lots of activities for adults going on in both towns mainly due to the large number of retired here IME all ages are welcome. Friends with kids don’t seem to find it hard to find activities for their children.

Ive also got friends who live in and around Moffat they all love it again stunning countryside Moffat itself has a good variety of shops and you’d be in Glasgow in about an hour.
The downside is it rains a lot especially along the coastline but if you’re from Glasgow you’re used to rain😀. But unlike the west coast there are no midges.

New Galloway according to my friends is also nice with lots going on for a smallish village properties might be cheaper than along the coast, the very useful small town of Castle Douglas is 20 mins away.

Lots of other good property in Aberdeenshire - Stonehaven is nice with decent transport links and accessible to Aberdeen and Dundee

If you aren't tied to catchment areas then you have lots of options up that whole stretch of the west coast in inverclyde and north Ayrshire, all with the great west coast views you are looking for and connections to Glasgow (some faster than others). Gourock, Inverkip, Wemyss Bay/Skelmorlie, Fairlie, Seamill side of West Kilbride could all be great options as well as Largs which you already know of. I wouldn't recommend the 3 towns (Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston) although the property prices for stunning old Victorian villas with spectacular sea views are very tempting. I don't know much about the ayrshire coast south of that but hear Troon and Prestwick mentioned as not bad. You could also consider not mainland. Bute and Cumbrae are fairly well served by ferries. Arran I imagine is expensive due to its holiday popularity. Or Dunoon (technically mainland but a long way round without ferry).