Relocation - East Lothian - comments?

RLM79

Hi,

We have been given the opportunity to relocate to East Lothian from Surrey

I imagine its a nicer place to bring up a family, but can anyone provide any comments on the area? I've had a quick nosey at North Berwick/Prestonpan/Dunbar areas, and I am trying to work out if its worth uprooting for a better quality of life (and making our money stretch further!!)

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated!!

skintscotslass

Hi there

East Lothian is a lovely place, but like everywhere, there are nicer bits and not so nice bits Gullane is probably the most expensive place to live. Prestonpans and Tranent are cheaper. Have you looked at Haddington? Musselburgh is much closer if being near a city is important.

How old are your children? Our education system is different to the English one, but I guess if your kids arent at high school, it would be less of a trauma for them to move.

Exciting stuff...when do you need to make a decision?

dll74

I'm from Edinburgh with family in both Musselburgh and Prestonpans. Musselburgh I think is lovely with a bustling if smallish High Street (Century 21/B+M/Poundstretcher/Poundland etc) and the usual charity shops/bakers etc. It has a quaint sort of feel although obviously I can't comment on actually living there but speaking as a regular visitor I think I would quite like to live there myself - I do know that the houses are far better value than Edinbugh.
Prestonpans - and apologies to anyone who lives there as this is only my personal opinion - I would describe as grim (speaking only for the part I am most familiar with) My inlaws live there and although the house was fantastic value for the spec (room/garden sizes) I think it has a run down sort of feel.Their house was 70k cheaper than my equivalent in Edinburgh. There are of course many lovely new builds there which offer great value but I believe these are mostly popular with commuters. My choice would be Gullane (home of Ronnie Corbett!) then Musselburgh then Haddington then Dunbar then Tranent and then Prestonpans. I hope this helps

RLM79

skintscotslass wrote: »

Hi there

East Lothian is a lovely place, but like everywhere, there are nicer bits and not so nice bits Gullane is probably the most expensive place to live. Prestonpans and Tranent are cheaper. Have you looked at Haddington? Musselburgh is much closer if being near a city is important.

How old are your children? Our education system is different to the English one, but I guess if your kids arent at high school, it would be less of a trauma for them to move.

Exciting stuff...when do you need to make a decision?

Thanks for this. We need to decide in next month (Dec) - not sure what will do about where we live at minute, as there are major works planned for our property so I foresee problems selling (as detailed in my other thread). If we can't sell, then I am not sure what we will do.

Our child is 7 months. I know it sounds silly, but after hearing horror stories from others, I was worried about him getting grief for being born in England (and being mixed race!) - but after visiting the places, I don't think that will be such a problem.

Does Haddington have a train station?

bride2be2012

my parents are orignally from Prestonpans, and I still have various aunts/uncles/cousins scattered about East Lothian. Prestonpans wouldn't be my first choice in East Lothian, there's just not much there TBH (though I haven't actually been there in about ten years lol). It really depends what you are looking for though, whether you want to be nearer to Edinburgh city centre or nearer to the coast and the countryside in the Borders...From memory, Haddington doesn't have a train station, you'd need to go to Drem which is about 3 or 4 miles away.

RLM79

Thanks - Prestonpans didn't look like it had much to offer, so may give that a miss.

I notice that no one has mentioned North Berwick - does that mean it should be avoided?

skintscotslass

RLM79 wrote: »

Thanks - Prestonpans didn't look like it had much to offer, so may give that a miss.

I notice that no one has mentioned North Berwick - does that mean it should be avoided?

No, North Berwick is nice, but (again, apologies to anyone who lives there) I think its a bit retirement townish. Its a bit small. Its a while since I was there, but I think the High Street is full of charity shops and not much else. Longniddry is another option. Near to Edinburgh, got a train station.

My partner is English and to be honest, in a small town, you can get some people being very small minded. Edinburgh is far more multi cultural, obviously. Have you ruled out living in the city completely? Is the job offer in Edinburgh or is it in East Lothian? If you dont want to say, thats fine. I imagine it could identify the employer.

Also, dont make the mistake of thinking that our A roads are like the A roads that you are used to. The 2 lane motorway cracks my OH up. If you decide to venture further afield, say to the Borders and its near the A7, it wont be a great commute!

stu20vt

North Berwick would be a lovely place to raise a family. You have miles of beautiful coast/beaches, not to mention the nice beach, good schooling and not too far from Edinburgh. But don't go expecting to get cheap houses in this area, have a look at rightmove and put in North Berwick, you'll see its not 'cheap'!
My wife is English and we live in a small village in Scotland and she has never encountered any anti-Englishness from anyone in the 15 years we have lived here.

vegasvisitor

I'm from the West Coast so I only know some of these places vaguely. I have been in North Berwick, and thought 'I would love to retire here', so that is similar to what has already been said. Lovely town though, so no offence to anyone who lives there.

Could you possibly take some time and get a drive up and a feel for the area before making a decision?

zagubov

I've lived in England and Scotland and if you're used to Surrey (where I now live) I think you might find the Scottish countryside quieter and less convenient than you're used to.

In Scotland everybody goes to the cities for everything .( and the cities do have great facilities). and to the countryside for nothing (there's nothing like Guildford where you're going).

Transport systems in the surrounding counties around Edinburgh are a bit basic. No offence to anyone living in these towns and villages but I'd consider moving as close to Edinburgh as possible.;)

Edit: Read loads of good things about Musselburgh though so maybe check it out!

rising_from_the_ashes

RLM79 wrote: »

Thanks - Prestonpans didn't look like it had much to offer, so may give that a miss.

I notice that no one has mentioned North Berwick - does that mean it should be avoided?

I might be slightly biased but I wouldn't choose to live anywhere else ..... and when I say I've moved 32 times and lived as far afield as Inverness to London, York, Brighton, Newcastle, Edinburgh ..... etc etc

Have a look at this site for an idea of things to do http://www.visiteastlothian.org/home.asp