Move to Glasgow or stay put in Edinburgh

[FrizzledFrazzle]

DH and I currently live in Edinburgh with our 3yo DS. I'm also currently pregnant (5 months). We've lived in Edinburgh for about 5 years.

I currently work in Edinburgh, but have been offered a new job in Lanarkshire that will be in person at 2 hospitals (Hairmyres and Monklands). DH has a Glasgow-based job and currently commutes 2 days a week to locations to the north of Glasgow and the south west of Glasgow.

We are torn between staying where we are and sucking up a long drive each several days a week; and moving to Glasgow which would make at least some commutes substantially shorter.

If we didn't have a child, I think we would definitely be moving, but uprooting our life feels daunting and there are lots of reasons to stay put too.

Is there anyone that has made this move and liked/disliked it?

I've looked at some other Glasgow property threads, but realistically both DH and I like a more urban setting and would probably want to move somewhere quite central, so the general recommendations to move to Newton Mearns aren't a good fit.

So far, the main advantages to staying in Edinburgh seem to be:

• we love our flat and its location (good transport links to centre)
• current flat meets our needs as a family and has potential to change layout if we need an extra bedroom in future - lovely, really spacious tenement flat
• we're in catchment for a good primary school and DS has a place in a council nursery from next term (split with private nursery)
• Portobello and Silverknowes beaches, Pentland hills
• Small, bikeable city
• We have friends here (from mat leave, work etc)
• DS is settled in nursery placement (took a long time to get to this point) and has friends in the local area

Advantages to Glasgow:

• Shorter commute to work locations for both of us; cheaper commuting costs
• Cheaper house prices so could buy more centrally/larger place
• Bigger, more diverse city
• Good public transport
• More activities/places to go - love the science centre, Kelvingrove etc
• nearer West coast and Trossachs

Any thoughts/advice much appreciated!

and you need to factor in how flexible your working hours are.....if you're both fixed to a 9-5 work day then you'd need to be dropping the kids off by 7:45 and picking them up around 6, possibly later. A lot of childcare provision is only 8-6 and your commute timings would be tight. If you've got flexibility so that one of you can start at 8 and the other do childcare drop off and start later, then the other person finishes early and does pick up then it could work the 2 days you're both in Glasgow.

Ah well I'd move then. It actually doesn't matter if Edinburgh or Glasgow is better or worse or anything - that commute will kill you and you'll regret it instantly. Your kids are young and won't care and you can create a lovely life in either place. I 'happen' to like Edinburgh more but we do spend a lot time going back and forth to Glasgow as my daughter is a dancer - would be much easier if we lived there. So plenty of pluses to either city and they aren't that far away if you prefer one or the other on the weekends anyway.

Definitely move - start looking today!

You will need to decide where you want DC1 to go to school in time to have an address within catchment by the application cut-off date. So if starting school August 2026 the applications usually close November 2025

Personally being from Edinburgh I wouldn't live in Glasgow for all the tea in China... However, that commute would be a very impactful on family life. Glasgow isn't significantly larger than Edinburgh nowadays, most of the extra is going to be areas that you aren't going to be spending time in anyway. I don't necessarily think there are more general amenities, just different ones.

I think the cold wind is a feature of Edinburgh I don't miss though.

It seems you are set in being very urban so I guess there is no point suggesting mud points such as Stirling?

It's not where I would choose to live, but it does seem like moving west is a no brainier work wise.

@yhiata that's a good point - DS is only just turning 3 though, so I think our cutoff would be November next year not this year!

@BigBoysDontCry I'm not sure Stirling would really shave much time off a commute - it's a bit west of Edinburgh, but also much further north!

@Meeplemakeglasgow I think the areas you mention are also worth considering.

I do definitely prefer urban to rural though. Maybe we are just very lucky where we are now, but the streets feel safe and there are plenty of big parks. That feels worth the trade of a big private garden (that we realistically don't have time to maintain). Plus urban areas have good public transport, which is a huge bonus because I don't like to rely on a car for everything - and I think it helps teens have more independence before they can start driving.

I live in edinburgh and love it. But I’d love it 100% less if I was spending hours in a car a day. Add up how much time you’d be spending a week just going round in circles - logistically, financially and environmentally that’s a bit ridiculous if you both work that side of Scotland. Totally appreciate there might be plenty of reasons to choose a long commute but I can’t see why you would in this particular scenario.

Nursery and school pick ups are difficult to manage without a commute never mind a commute of an hour and a half. You'll be travelling at peak times as well.

I live in Glasgow and work in Edinburgh and could not contemplate how difficult life would be if I still had to do the school run.

You'll regret it if you don't move.

I lived in Glasgow for 5 years and my brother lives in Edinburgh so I know both well. I prefer Glasgow anyway but the commute would be reason enough for me to move. It just doesn't sound doable with drop offs and pick ups l, especially if you and DH will get stuck in the same traffic. I don't think Edinburgh is significantly better than Glasgow to justify that stress. Sounds like you would enjoy the West End life.

My DS is Shawlands based with his family. I love it, a real buzz!

Areas also run into each other seamlessly, Battlefield, Newlands etc. We have friends with a gorgeous villa in Langside.

I moved from York to Glasgow (west end) 3 years ago and love it. My rather posh husband (grew up in Henley on Thames) absolutely loves it here and says it feels like all the best parts of London in communuty. We live just off Byres Road in a beautiful flowing 2 bed flat, overlooking the Dowanhill Tennis Club. 2 mins walk from Subway and 10 mins from Arts Gallery. Our flat would be at least £100k more in Edinburgh, so you will gets lots for your money here.

I know it sounds crazy, but actually traffic in the cities is so bad that it doesn't always make a huge difference.

I've had a job in Edinburgh where driving would easily have been 45 minutes at rush hour, mostly sitting in on stationary traffic to cover a distance of about 4 miles (I cycled instead).

DH has had a job that until recently moved him around the whole of the south of Scotland (Glasgow, Forth Valley, Lanarkshire, occasionally Dundee!) so he's used to longer commutes.

It also really helps to be going against the main flow of traffic: getting from Livingston to Edinburgh at peak times is bad, going from Edinburgh to Livingston is comparatively smooth.

That said, I've stuck all our work locations on Google maps and it's clearly a vastly shorter distance to all of them from Glasgow (and colleagues who work in Lanarkshire mostly live in Glasgow not Edinburgh), so it would seem sensible to at least consider the logistics of moving!

I get that - I used to live in Morningside and work out at Roslin and it was super easy. The reverse.. not so much!

As well as the West End, I’d look at g41. There are some fabulous flats around Queens Park area. It’s a really cool area, lots of families and independent shops and restaurants.

2 parents travelling along the same motorway and then both hitting Edinburgh bypass traffic would be a flat no from me.

I think your point about going against the traffic is a good one, I've done Edinburgh to Livingston, Glasgow, Stirling and Fife as a regular commute and there's no way I'd want to do them the other way round. The problem is you're going to be based on the east side of Glasgow so living on the north or west side of the city might be no better than living on the west side of Edinburgh!

You will absolutely not cope with that commute with 2 young DCs.

you have to move.

I'd move. The commute will add hours to your day and you don't want any extra stress.
I'd move to Helensburgh if I could, lovely place for kids.

The areas of Glasgow you are talking about would be a joy to live in. And lots of lovely hot sunshine this summer, Glasgow can have good weather too!

The west end ,Byres Road area of Glasgow.

You've got the botanic gardens, cafes etc, it's a trendy and diverse area

OP what did you do in the end?

At the moment, we're still in Edinburgh. DH's commute is a pain but not horrendous as his hours can be a bit flexible, he can WFH some days and he is doing a bike/train combo once a week.

I'm still on mat leave, but will only be p/t when I go back, so the commute shouldn't be horrendous for me either. I think there is only 1 or 2 days a month where we have a long commute each on the same day, so hopefully it is manageable.

One of the reasons we didn't end up moving is that the market for Edinburgh tenements is tricky at the moment, as the changes to short term lets etc has meant a lot of landlords are selling up. Our flat is great and works really well for us, but it's not as desirable as some.

Being realistic, we would have been looking at selling for HR valu, whilst trying to move to a fancy area in a rush. It felt like a recipe for an expensive mistake!

Where we are now, I'm happy with our catchment primary and secondary, which is really not a given. My son is settled in nursery and we are building good friendships and connections (for him and us!). Those things take time and effort and we didn't want to upend all that in a risky gamble.

@FrizzledFrazzle sounds like it all worked out in the end which is good 😊

FWIW OP I left Edinburgh for Glasgow almost 15 years ago and have regretted it every day since. If I had my time again you couldn’t pay me to leave. Maybe one day I’ll make it back…

You should look at Bothwell /Uddingston and shorter commute. Hairmyres/Monklands is a right trek from West End. Traffic can be awful.
Great schools , community feel, nice restaurants and train into Glasgow is 12mins!

I’d move.

Time really is the most valuable commodity there is. Wasting hours a day on a commute, especially with young children, would be a total no for me.

Sounds like the west end would be a good fit for you. I’ve never lived there but have visited lots as have friends in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. The west end of Glasgow is lovely, beautiful big sandstone properties and much cheaper than Edinburgh.

Somebody else who needs the area better will be able to advise more on specific areas but I think Hyndland / Dowanhill / Broomhill would suit. Or Jordanhill.