Areas/letting agents in Glasgow?

red678

Hi

Apologies if this has already been covered in another thread, I couldn't find one.

I'm hoping to relocate to Glasgow in the next couple of months and wondered if anyone could give me any advice on areas to rent in and the most reputable agents to try and use?

I know the centre quite well, but not the areas around it so am currently doing as much research as possible.

I'm looking for a small 1 bed flat. My budget is around £450 a month, less would be great as with bills that will be a big chunk of my income. Ideally I'd like to look for somewhere unfurnished but know the majority of places seem to be furnished. With my budget I've obviously ruled out the west end! Could anyone suggest other areas?

I've lived in various cities in houseshares before so hate to say 'I'd just like to be somewhere safe', but are there any areas I should avoid? Are there any up and coming areas? This is the first time I've ever been in a position to rent alone (I've been saving for almost a year) and am really excited about it, but also aware of the cost so want to try and get it right.

Thanks in advance.

lauraland

Dennistoun is a really great area to live in - a lot of people who have been priced out of the west end tend to move here, including me! Its very close to the city centre, transport links are great plus its really easy to get to get to the west end via train. Any of the streets that run in between duke street and alexandra parade ('The drives' as they are known) would be the preferred area to live in.

Shawlands is another great area but I think its popularity is driving housing costs to roughly the same as the west end now.

When are you moving? I'm moving back to ireland around october time so my flat in dennistoun will be up for let then....

19lottie82

Hi OP - I live in Glasgow in the West End (ish). Plenty of people (and estate agents) will describe parts of Glasgow that are in the West "Side" of the city, as the West "End", but there is a bit of a difference.

I agree with lauraland, Dennistoun is good if you get the right end of it, as she has described. Towards Duke Street Station is fine, towards Haghill is not.

Shawlands is also good. Nice pubs / restaurants, and good transport links.

Other areas to think about include Anniesland (about 3 miles out, westward of the city centre, great amenities, and fantastic public transport links), and Scotstoun (close to the "real" west end, and there is a new express bus route that runs every 10 minutes into the city centre along the expressway).

Another lovely area is what the estate agents call "North Kelvinside", basically the nicer part of Maryhill, just on the brink of the west end, and very close to the city centre. I live here and I love it. The amenities are great and you can walk in town / west end in about 15 - 20 minutes. You might get something for £450 if you keep your eye out, but if you were to stretch to £500 you should definitely be able to get something.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-29394409.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-35173780.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-42454733.html (this one is garnethill, it's at the back of sauchiehall street, at the edge of the city centre, but also close to the west end.)

If you chose this area you could generally avoid public transport costs in to town and the west end, both are less than a mile away.

Dennistoun, is also within walking distance of the city centre.

I would avoid anywhere in the East End (bar Dennistoun) and certain areas in the South Side. Feel free to PM me if you want any advice.

If it were up to me, I'd rent a room for a month or so, until you get your bearings and a feel for the city. You don't want to be stuck in an area that you hate for 12 months.

cr1mson

If you are moving in the Uni hols then you can often get Uni accommodation cheap for a month or so to get your bearings. I did this when I moved to Edinburgh although not sure what Glasgow Uni accommodation is like.

My SIL used to live in Shawlands and loved it. The one thing I would say about Scottish cities is that the very posh can be very close to the very rough. I can remember driving through a rough part of Edinburgh knowing my temporary accommodation was not that far away and worrying.

19lottie82

cr1mson wrote: »

The one thing I would say about Scottish cities is that the very posh can be very close to the very rough.

Very true, hence why I would get some insider advice about an area before committing to it, rather than just relying on an agents word.

gaz141

I don't know what it is like now, but I rented a flat in Langside for a while when I lived in Glasgow and really liked the area and felt very safe, maybe someone could offer an up to date evaluation

sufcfan1

I live just on the edge of Shawlands, and there are other areas around there which would offer houses in that price range, such as Mount Florida, Battlefield and parts of Queens Park. I think they are nice area, all within walking distance of Shawlands (10 mins) and have train connections to the city centre (take about 8-10 mins every 15 mins).

19lottie82

gaz141 wrote: »

I don't know what it is like now, but I rented a flat in Langside for a while when I lived in Glasgow and really liked the area and felt very safe, maybe someone could offer an up to date evaluation

A lot of the south side is nice like shawlands langside queens park and kings park but there are a few areas to avoid ie govanhill

red678

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the advice and sorry for the late reply, I didn't see the responses!

From my research so far Dennistoun looks pretty handy and I hear there is a lot of regeneration going on around there? I enjoy walking around when I can and that could maybe save a bit on transport costs too. Lauraland - I'm hoping to move towards the end of August but perhaps I could keep an eye out for your flat in October just in case?

Thanks for the all the tips 19lottie89 and the links, those places look really good. I was thinking if I went over the west side with my budget that I would have to compromise quite a lot on the standard inside. Having done a lot of housesharing I was hoping to go for somewhere a little more comfortable this time around, and it looks like with a bit more research it may be possible! I agree completely that I don't want to be stuck in the wrong area for a whole year, I'm just a bit reluctant to houseshare again, especially with any moving costs etc on top with two potential moves but definitely something to consider!

Cr1mson, that's brilliant advice. I will also look a bit more at Shawlands etc on the south side, it seems very popular there.

Having lived in different parts of London before too my experience was that travel connections were a bit easier north of the river than the south, perhaps because a lot of the 'attractions' and very central parts of the city were above the river. Would you say it's at all the same in Glasgow?

Thanks very much gaz141 and sufcfan 1 too.

19lottie82

I wouldn't say certain sides of the city have better links in general.

The transport links in Glasgow are quite good most places, and they are being improved even more at the moment in preparation for the commonwealth games.

The underground (tube) is pretty handy as it is just a big circle and no station is more than 13 minutes away, plus the trains are every few mins and the tickets are cheap, so IMO if you live near to one, that's always a bonus.