Commuting to Aberdeen (Bridge of Don)

Tallverdant

I know this question been asked before but bear with me please!

I could end up working in the Bridge of Don area within the next few months (near the exhibition centre).

To date we've been thinking of relocating to Banchory since we need both a primary and secondary school and Banchory seems to have very good ones, especially the academy (the schools where we currently are both very good also).

However large (4/5 bedrooms) property in Banchory is rare and quite expensive and it's not exactly close to Bridge of Don. Common sense therefore suggests we should be relocating to the north or north west of Aberdeen to limit the commute and keep house prices down and the choice up but schools would have to take a lower priority in this case.

• I would love to know what other people think of their commute to various parts of Aberdeen and how it affects their quality of life.
  
• I also wonder whether the new bypass will make a big difference to commuting from the south.
  
• And are we worrying too much about the quality of the schooling?

To put things in context we currently live in a small rural village of around 800 people with 1 pub and 1 wee shop and it takes me 15 min to drive to work - no traffic at all. I have also travelled around the Aberdeen commuter belt area during a flying visit so am vaguely aware of the make up of the larger villages and towns.

Mattjimf

If your working near the exhibition centre, your probably better off looking at staying near there, look at Ellon, Newburgh, Potterton, Cruden Bay, Newmacher or Pitmedden.

Getting from Banchory to BOD will be a nightmare at the best of times, never mind with the building of the bypass.

mrs_T

I live in BOD and only commute to uni for work but it's still a 20 minutes to half an hour crawl each way most days.

Bypass not due till 2018 so your kids might have left school by then. I have 3 kids educated locally and the two that have left school are both students, a lot of education is what you make of it and the support you get at home. I think it's a decent place to bring up a family, plenty of mother & toddler, scouts/guides, sports groups etc. if you want it. You might want to look at the difference in council tax between the city and shire.

Tallverdant

Thanks for the answers all. Confirms my thoughts.

lanavdt

Balmedie is not too far away from BOD

missile

The primary school in Balmedie and secondary school in Ellon both have pretty good repuation.

poodlehorse

I agree, Balmedie has a good rep and I have friends who are very happy with the school there. Ellon certainly was excellent, haven't heard lately but have no reason to think things have changed, it is the largest Academy in the Shire though. Hving said that we moved from Aberdeenshire to the city and we are very impressed with Hazlehead Primary and I hear good things about the Academy too. My son came from a tiny village school and he has settled in well here as it is not too big and is really friendly and well run. Not sure how long it would take to get to BoD but it wouldn't be too much of a nightmare. I know I can head straight down King's Gate and hit the beach in ten minutes after I drop my son off at 8.40am. I am generally just behind a friend who works at BoD who while perennially a bit late hasn't been sacked yet. I find my area ideally situated. I wouldn't even consider Banchory, yes the schools get a good rep but there are just as good ones out there and I worked in a school that was supposedly good and I thought it was a pretty brutal place actually. Results league tables don't tell the whole story although I have never heard a bad word about Banchory. And I agree, schools and education are often what you make of them. You also have to consider where the entertainment is, do you want to have to commute for that too? I got fed up driving an hour to do ANYTHING and weather sometimes made that impossible too. HTH and feel free to PM me.

djthomson

Hi,

I've lived in Balmedie for the last 11 years and have to commute to Altens every day, so if you only have to go to Bridge of Don then depending on what time you leave and which bit you need to get too then your journey times should be quite short.

I used to live just ouside Newburgh, but the main issue is that at peak times you will be crawling at around 15-20mph due to the volume of traffic. There is a bottle neck between the end of the Tipperty dial carriageway and the Balmedie Dual Carriageway and I know a number of people who live in Ellon who say that the daily commute drives them crazy on a daily basis.

Balmedie does have a good selection of houses available - but perhaps more limited if you need 4/5 bedrooms.

Its also got some ok facilities including a Co-op with Free ATM, other small convenience shop with Post Office, Chemist, Chip Shop, Library, Lawrence of Kemnay (Balmedie branch!) and local pub. Doctors and Dentists are in Bridge of Don or Ellon.

I am not sure if you are buying or renting but I would strongly advise trying the commute on a normal work day in both directions to see if you can cope with it. Some can, others cant. Bear in mind it could be as much as 1.5 hours from Ellon to the other side of town (garthdee end) if you ever need to make that journey and if you are ever running late or in a hurry then you can forget making up time!

mommabear_2

We just moved up here in October when husband was offered a job at Kintore, so he doesn't have to commute into Aberdeen itself, but we stay near Oldmeldrum, not a bad run into Aberdeen or Bridge of Don from here, schools are great, rental properties are available, circa £800 - 1000 a month for a 3/4 bedroom property, depends on what you want. Hope this is of help.