Relocation - East Lothian - comments?

onlyroz

Regarding your current house - could you keep it and rent it out? If you have some equity then you could remortgage it as far as possible on an interest only basis and then use the money as a deposit on your new house. The rent on the old house should cover its mortgage.

mountainofdebt

Personally (and experience from friends have borne this out as well) but I would rent if I was moving that distance.

Not only are you not pressured into buying something that may not be all its cracked up to be but you can have a feel of the area and then decide if its you.

Dunroamin

Whereabouts in Surrey would you be moving from.

cloudy-day

Having moved from Sussex to Edinburgh I would say that the only thing I hate is the weather - bloody freezing in the winter and cold summers. Yes we have the odd nice week, but not often. I managed to sunbathe in the garden TWICE this year. Today its -4.
Some people might prefer it to the warmth of the South Coast but I don't.
Other than that Scottish cities are much like English ones - nice areas and bad ones.
I don't get racist comments, but people do go on a bit that I'm English, can be a bit boring but nothing to worry about.
Best of luck.

zagubov

cloudy-day wrote: »

Having moved from Sussex to Edinburgh I would say that the only thing I hate is the weather - bloody freezing in the winter and cold summers. Yes we have the odd nice week, but not often. I managed to sunbathe in the garden TWICE this year. Today its -4.
Some people might prefer it to the warmth of the South Coast but I don't.
Other than that Scottish cities are much like English ones - nice areas and bad ones.
I don't get racist comments, but people do go on a bit that I'm English, can be a bit boring but nothing to worry about.
Best of luck.

Yep, I'd expect it to be on average about 3-4 degrees colder at that latitude but less so if you're in the city or further west. There's a weather sweet spot in the Central belt west of Edinburgh where you don't get the wind from the east or the rain from the west. However it sounded like the OP is having to think of east rather than west.
On the plus side you can go skiing in five different resorts.:beer:

gibson123

I agree with most of the posters, and I am assuming your new job would be Edinburgh, so don't filter out easy commutes from South Queensferry, Fife, the Scottish Borders and the Forth Valley (Falkirk and Stirling). Also think about Linlithgow and Polmont. There are many bustling towns around and having lived in Surrey, I think you will probably find less rather than more racism in Scotland where religious bigotry is more common that racial bigotry.

RLM79

Dunroamin wrote: »

Whereabouts in Surrey would you be moving from.

We're moving from outside Epsom (south of, to be precise)

skintscotslass wrote: »

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!

The job offer for my husband is in east Lothian, and I'm hoping to fet work in Edinburgh. He drives, but I don't, unless I really have to!
My husband also laughed when I mentioned the 'motorway' (he's originally from the Borders)!:D

rising_from_the_ashes

zagubov wrote: »

There's a weather sweet spot in the Central belt west of Edinburgh where you don't get the wind from the east or the rain from the west. However it sounded like the OP is having to think of east rather than west.

RLM79 wrote: »

The job offer for my husband is in east Lothian, and I'm hoping to fet work in Edinburgh. He drives, but I don't, unless I really have to!

Dunbar is the driest place in Scotland and there's a railway station with regular trains to Edinburgh (20 mins to city centre) - so would be easy for you to commute.

valk_scot

RLM79 wrote: »

We're moving from outside Epsom (south of, to be precise)


The job offer for my husband is in east Lothian, and I'm hoping to fet work in Edinburgh. He drives, but I don't, unless I really have to!
My husband also laughed when I mentioned the 'motorway' (he's originally from the Borders)!:D

If you're hoping to find work in Edinburgh while using childcare in the town you're living in then it would be best to stay in close to Edinburgh rather than rely on rail transport. The East Coast Line closes down at the drop of a hat...or leaf....and it's expensive. Musselburgh is seven minutes by train to the centre of Edinburgh however, has four primary schools and all the amenities for bringing up small kids. It's not what you might call a pretty town but it is busy and it's near a lot of other places including the A1 and the end of the Edinburgh bypass.

katglasgow

I grew up in Dunbar, its a lovely town and has got a lot bigger now due to recent housing developments, but that has brought a lot of extra people into the town and its a very vibrant friendly place. The high street is lovely, it has a new primary school, leisure pool and an asda. Lots of things to occupy a family, beautiful countryside. The train into edinburgh is only 20 mins BUT there is ofter a 2-3 hour gap between trains so this could be an issue for a working mum. Saying that, the A1 is now dual carriageway all the way to edinburgh so depending on where you were working driving might be an option.

North Berwick is also nice, slightly more expensive housing. The train journey to Edinburgh is longer, but the trains are more frequent. It also has lovely countryside and surroundings, leisure facilities anda tesco. It does also have a large number of retirement homes, but plenty families too. The high st is a bit naff and it feels a bit more "quaint" than Dunbar - it really just depends what you are after. The road link to Edinburgh isnt as good.

Haddington is also a nice town (think market town) decent enough local shops, tesco and a swimming pool. People commute to Edinburgh by express bus. Its handy for getting into the hills but further from the beaches. Also the river tyne has been known to flood so bear that in mind when looking at properties.

Nice villages on the North Berwick train line into Edinburgh are Drem and Aberlady.

Tranent - I am not so keen on, but it is definitely on the up and up. There are lots of new housing developments popping up. My best pal moved to one and has a great social circle locally she is very happy. It would be much more convenient for commuting, but it is not as rural and self sufficient as all of the places above.

Hope that helps.