Moving from London to Glasgow

[oldschoolfamily]

Hello everyone,
My wife of passed away recently and I have a young child. Planning to move to Glasgow from London with a cash buy of around £250kish for a decent 3 bed.
State school education and family friendly areas are a must. Looking for recommendation please for areas suitable and also for secondary education which might happen in few years. Any pointers in the right direction would be appreciated.

£250k for a 3 bed you might get something in South Lanarkshire or North Lanarkshire. Both have their good and bad spots.

You could get lucky and find something in busby or stamperland (east Renfrewshire).

Id recommend coming for a visit as very different characters to each area and you will know what you’re comfortable with.

@YourLoudLilacGuide Thank you so much for the input. I am able to push my budget upto £280kish.Just unsure of the decent areas.My ds who is only 10 is from a mixed family background.Wanted to avoid the bad areas as unsure what would be bad as compared to london.Any recommendations of the areas please you have mentioned in your post.

Nice areas are the west end, in particular Byres road near the botanic gardens.
Kelvinside and Newton Means are nice and Bearsden in the north of the city.

Lots of nice areas in Glasgow but you'll struggle for a three bed house in any of them for that budget. You might get a decent tenement flat but probably not three bed.

Can't advise on Glasgow Remember Scotland has an "offers over" system for house buying. So if your top budget is 280k you'll need to look at properties at least 20-30k below that unless they're on at a fixed price.
You'll need a local solicitor and they will have the local knowledge of how much to offer for a particular area.

Anniesland. Lots of great schools and you could get a three bed flat within your budget.

Definitely come for a visit.

By mixed background I’m assuming your son is ethnically diverse. It’s definitely less diverse up here but we are seeing improvement.

East Kilbride might be worth looking at for your budget. If you don’t drive it could be harder though (same for most suburbs).

Also not sure what you plan to do for work. Do you need to commute into town? I’d recommend being close to a railway as the buses are terrible

You really, REALLY need to come and visit. And by visit I don't mean an afternoon in the Kelvingrove park. I mean making a shortlist of places you can afford by looking on Rightmove and taking advice from here, and then spending hours walking around the streets, checking out the schools and everything else which is important for your move.

Also consider selling in London and renting for 6-9 months before making a full commitment to buy.

We are okay with less diverse areas as long as they are safe and family friendly with decent neighbourhood. Lived in North east London for over 20 years, and don't really have much friends/family.I work from home in financial sector so public transport will not be an issue as will drive mostly. Green spaces, activities for kids will be a deal breaker. Someone has mentioned Paisley and Barrhead but unsure if these are considered good. Having looked on Rightmove East Ren/Dunbartonshire/Motherwell,Hamilton have been suggested,but unsure of the areas.

@SnoozingFox Thank you. Will definitely make a trip prior. Planning during half term as unsure how I as a single parent would be able to spend 7-9 months in Glasgow with DS's school education.Want to finalise the areas prior to avoid any confusion in a new city.Do not know anyone in Glasgow and relying on this forum.

Some areas of Paisley, Barrhead, Hamilton etc etc will be ok and others not. But they are not Glasgow. Why have you chosen Glasgow/surroundings? Some more info on what you're looking for might help with ideas.

Hamilton and Motherwell both have nice and not so nice areas. They are easy access to glasgow but also self contained towns so they are not glasgow. You won't get a 3 bed in a nice area in eg the west end of glasgow for that price. I'd echo what everyone else has said and definitely come and visit and really look around. And beware of the 'offers over' bidding system. I am nearby glasgow if you have any questions.

Friends have recommended Glasgow for (value for money, imitation of London albeit on a smaller scale) and it has been a shot in the dark to be honest. Looking at the prices it seems affordable enough, and considering my DS is still young we can adapt accordingly. Financially I am unable to purchase anything in London after downsizing within my budget and Glasgow offers better prospects in terms of education and family values.

A good Glasgow-adjacent option is the county of Renfrewshire. That contains towns such as Renfrew, Paisley, Bishopton, Erskine, Bridge of Weir (and many more).

They all have good public transport links to Glasgow City Centre, their own decent town centres and are family friendly, mostly safe and decent communities. Like everywhere in the world, they have certain spots that are less affluent that might not be what you desire but there are certainly plenty of lovely areas in there to be considered.

@Mintybum Yes moving away as my late wife had only surviving mother who has moved with SIL in sunny Spain. I am left in London alone with no one to call family otherwise. Education is priority for my child hence the decision.

Echoing everyone else you need to
come up and visit.

and remember a budget of £280k means you need to be looking at properties in the £240-250k bracket so that you can offer over

Friends have recommended Glasgow for (value for money, imitation of London albeit on a smaller scale)

@oldschoolfamily they are referring to Glasgow city. A lot of the places mentioned here are not Glasgow, they are suburbs in different council areas which have a very different vibe to the city itself! Bridge of weir, Motherwell and East Kilbride certainly do not have a London vibe!!
I know you've said less ethnically diverse is ok, but be aware once you get out of the main cities Scotland is still not really ethnically diverse at all, although things are changing.
My advice would be make sure you're in looking in Glasgow City council area as I think that's what your friends are referring to.

Obviously... but if you manage to narrow down your chosen areas then you could still take your time over buying a property. How old is your child? Are you looking at primary or secondary - and I am assuming you know the education system is totally different?

My DS turns 10 this year, and planning to move hopefully by early next year. I have researched the Scottish system and believe it sits better than the English system with our long term plans.

I guess you need the 3 bed for an office. East Dunbartonshire is generally good for schools and very close to Glasgow itself, Bearsden and Bishopbriggs are basically attached. But budget is likely to be tight in the desirable catchment areas for Bearsden Academy, Douglas Academy and the nicer bits of Bishopbriggs Academy catchment.

I think key thing is that in Glasgow tenement flats (purpose built and spacious) are the main accommodation in your price range. This is a specific Edinburgh and Glasgow thing that people from elsewhere are often surprised by (it’s a bit more like some European cities where flats are common even for families). In lots of U.K. cities people assume that family properties = houses, and you pay a premium for this in Glasgow city.
Once your child is settled in a school (ie even if you are renting in catchment) you won’t lose their school place if you move out to buy. Obviously would need to be doable in terms of travel to school though. I do think you should pick a school and try renting rather than buying blind.

So if he's 10, i'd be focusing more on secondary school catchment as he will potentially have only a year in Primary before he moves up.

Better news as that gives you a wider area to look for property in.

100% this.