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.

And I’m so sorry for your loss. Scotsnet isn’t always a very friendly place (and I often feel put off living in Scotland when I read it, despite having been here most of my life 😄) but you will get good advice here.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158969084#/?channel=RES_BUY

It is possible but rare to find a house like this in an area like this. Not sure that Milngavie is very diverse but the schools mentioned have a good reputation.

People rarely mention the East end however there are some great parts of it! I'm from Baillieston and have a 12 and 10 year old. It's got an ever expanding main street with some nice places to eat and drink now, trains into the city centre in 15 mins, plenty of different clubs for kids to go to and the schools are ok! The schools will never be top of the league schools but the primary school mine goes to values nurture so much and it has a proper family feel. You would definitely get something within your budget - but would recommend, like others have said spending time in an area and getting a feel for it!

If education if your priority then you want to live in east Dumbartonshire or east Renfrewshire.I don’t no east Dunbartonshire but have family in east ren, attending Williamwood . East ren schools are consistently in the top 10. In Scotland you are assigned a school based on where you live. So you need to move into the catchment area and attend a feeder primary school.

there is a list of feeder primaries here:
https://eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/our-schools

you then need to google the catchment for each school when you find a property of interest. Don’t rely on the estate agent websites as it’s not always the closest school.

if you would consider a flat this property might fit your bill
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159425705#/?channel=RESBUY

there won’t be many in your budget but the do come up from time to time and you will be attractive as a cash buyer so move quickly.

The suburbs of Glasgow are very different to the suburbs of London.

If your priority is education then East Ren or East Dunbartonshire are where you should look. Your budget is low for these areas though. But you might find something. Maybe try Neilston or even Eaglesham.

good luck and sorry for your loss

Are you english?

If the third bedroom is to be a home office. Could you manage with a two bed and put an office in the garden? This would open up a lot more doable options in east ren. https://www.urbanpods.co.uk/our-pods/ufficio-pods/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158988920#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158985677#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159201962#/?channel=RES_BUY
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159303044#/?channel=RES_BUY

I grew up (from age 9-17) in east Renfrewshire. We were in Giffnock. It was a leafy, safe place to grow up, surrounded by very good schools. Lots of green spaces and 20 mins on the train into town. Though choice might not be huge based on budget, any surrounding areas are the same. I had friends in Clarkson, Busby, Eaglesham and more I can’t remember. All were lovely areas. This info is slightly out of date, but I’m pretty sure nothing has changed (except they’ve gotten way more expensive).
Glasgow is a great city to become a teenager in. Loads of opportunity for gigs and art stuff but not so huge as London, not so unaffordable (I’ve lived there too as a YA).

Attainment in the Scottish state education system is worse than England - look at the PISA results. Violence in Scottish schools is a real concern - permanent exclusions are impossible. I know there are major issues in England but Scotland doesn't come out better on average.
I'd really question why you are moving to an unfamiliar area with no connections. 'Free' university education may not still exist for Scottish residents by the time your child finishes school.

You may get lucky in Bearsden. The schools are excellent and access to lots of green space. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159372761

I do agree that a move from London to Glasgow on what appears to be a whim, with no real connections to the place does seem quite extreme, especially coming off the back of a bereavement.

East Dunbartonshire is generally a nice area with good schools. Bishopbriggs, Lenzie, Milngavie, Bearsden all nice with good schools. Parts of Kirkintilloch are nice too. Schools are getting stricter generally with having to live in the catchment area to get a place so this might be a good thing to ask about. Douglas, Bearsden, Boclair, Lenzie, Bishopbriggs secondary schools all get good names. Not sure about the others. Milngavie usually has a few ex-council houses for sale which are not quite so expensive (still expensive enough!!!) so you might get lucky.

Sorry for your loss

Glasgow is a great city and super friendly (though previous poster who said this board can be a bit off is right, I have no idea why that is).

more diverse and London / big city feel you will want to stick to south side or west end. Catchment is everything. Look at Glasgow city council school catchment maps. Then compare to rightmove pricing filters. have a look at the maps on index of multiple deprivation (just google it) to get a feel for an area. Glasgow will have super luxury areas lying side by side with grinding poverty.
posters are also thrown by your specifying a house. As someone above said Glasgow is predominantly flats even for families. If house is important you won’t get the urban, diverse, big city feel. Can you make a few weekend trips with your son and see what you think. Go to the parks, cafes, walk about on streets in your price range, come in term time and get the feel of pick up / school out time.

let us know how you get on??

Ok , ok, bits of the east end too I guess. Before I’m jumped on!!! 😅

Pick your desired school then look at homes in those areas. Catchments are fixed in Scotland. You do t chooose from a selection of local schools. You are guaranteed a place in your catchment school. There are some placing requests but they are a big gamble for popular schools.
look at the Scottish school league tables.
only the west end, southside & Dennistoun have anything like a London feel. Shawlands is the most ethnically diverse school.

dont dismiss tenements. That’s where most weegie families live. Some 2 beds will have room for a home office.

some of these towns suggested will make you feel like you’ve landed on Mars!!!

Hi. I am from Scotland but live down south atm, but go home lots. And I would really encourage you to visit before you commit. One point to consider is the weather - it is genuinely what puts me off going home full-time. It rains a lot. Honestly, it is astonishing how much rain they get.

Anyway, in terms of area, you might as well look at cheaper areas outside Glasgow since you seem to have no real reason to be in the city. A smallish town might allow you to make connections more easily - if you are working from home it won't be easy. I would suggest you look at places in Renfrewshire like Lochwinnoch or Howwood. They have railway stations and are less than half an hour from Glasgow.

If you see properties you like, ask for the home report from the estate agent. My area properties generally go on as o/o about 5-20k below the home report and then go for 3-15% over the home report.
West end of Glasgow/E Dunbartonshire properties tend to go on at least 10% below the home report and go for at least 10% over the home report so a property on Rightmove could be on for £225k but easily go for around £270-300k.

There are lots of towns outside Glasgow where you can get the train to the city centre in 20-40 mins.

To put my 2-pence worth in, Scotsnet always seems to have a rose-tinted view of London and the South-East in general.

While it’s true there are some nice places there it is also true there are a lot of places that make even the areas considered bad in Scotland look like paradise.

There are a lot of comments about places that are as similar to London as possible, only you can decide if that’s what you want but a change is not necessary a bad thing.

Your budget suggests if you stay in London you will not be living in an area that will be good for bringing up kids, will have to deal with issues that most here would struggle to even imagine.

That budget however will give you a much better lifestyle in Scotland, you won’t be the first person who has moved with no connections here and the areas/towns around Glasgow are reasonably diverse.

There is also a habit here of only suggesting one or two areas around Glasgow based on school performance, in reality there are loads of nice areas with good schools around, even the areas which are less desirable have better (and more importantly safer) schools than inner-city London states.

Good luck and really hope you are happy here.

Don't come to Glasgow because it is like London on the cheap.
Come to Scotland because it is Scotland.
Islands, coast, mountains, glens, empire biscuits, irn bru, red cola, deep fried Mars bars, no prescription charges.
I think if I was doing such a move, Glasgow may not be my first choice.

Google Scottish secondary school league tables. East Renfrewshire or East Dunbartonshire schools have been in top 20 for thirty/ forty years due to the intake - east Renfrewshire is I think the highest ‘owner occupied’ area in Britain. Im sure there are other good schools but these seem the safest bet.

This may set some backs u, but ….The school intake and parental attitude is very important in Scotland as the scope for exclusions for bad behaviour- including violence - are very limited in secondary school and almost non existent at primary.

My daughter lives in Anniesland right by the canal and she loves it

Scot living in the south. Lots of good ideas here, but Scotland is not always that welcoming of incomers, esp those from the south. Plus, there is no real diversity. I think there is a lot of pressure to be the same as everyone else. Have no wish to upset anyone, just my opinion.

I would also look at Yorkshire. Leeds is v vibrant city with good education and many economic opportunities (important for later). Very diverse. So much on the doorstep. Plus v good connections. Harrogate also good and superb schools, but more ££. But you can find opportunities if you hunt/are flexible.

Really good luck with your choices.

@GrumpyMuleFan This is nonsense, can’t speak for rural Scotland but Glasgow and surrounds are extremely diverse.

The last 15 years have had huge demographic changes here.

@EvelynBeatrice All very true, however it pales into insignificance depending on where you’re coming from.

Would rather send my kids to school in Kilmarnock than Kilburn.