Moving to Edinburgh area with kids

chuckalicious_2

Hi everyone. Looking for advice from anyone who has/lives in or around Edinburgh.

Currently live in Stirlingshire but about to move jobs to the Colinton Rd area so commuting from current home would be a nightmare and Id never see my kids - 15mths and 3yrs.

So we need to move. Question is where. Budget is between £275-350k and ideally I don't want to end up in some new build estate - they just don't sit well with me. Always lived in old stone house so feel far more at home in them. Preferably want a garden for the kids.

Would be nice to be near some green areas too.

Grew up in Musselburgh and never want to go back - horrible antisocial issues which I know are still there.

So does anyone know of nice areas that are commutable to that side of town? Happy to drive as will have parking provided, but also happy to use busses.

Big ask I know - I may be asking too much!

Thanks.

custardy

Well theres huge choices TBH. Many varying areas.

EH12 has some nice areas. (basically from the Gyle into Haymarket)
EH14 again has some nice areas or you could look out towards Currie/Balerno
You could live out in Sth Queensferry/Kirkliston if you dont mind the commute/traffic.
You will really need to look around and see what floats your boat.

chuckalicious_2

Thanks Custardy - those names crop up each time we investigate so that is promising.

slbhill

for Colinton Road area, with a garden - look at Colinton. You won't get much for your money there but it is a nice area, good community feeling and a fair bit of green.


With kids that age it's worth looking at what the local schools are in the areas you're looking at. My understanding is that a lot of the Edinburgh schools are over-subscribed so you'll probably end up at the catchment school and you might want to check that it's one you'd be happy with.

loadsacash

Balerno is nice - the High School is one of the better ones in Edinburgh.

chuckalicious_2

Thanks. Balerno comes up on our searches so will investigate further.

wallacebob

First place to look is ESPC website, (as I'm sure you know) see what's available in your price range. Reality is that housing in fashionable streets/areas is expensive. You don't have a large budget.
Then, my solicitor gave good advice; get in your car/bus/walk around the areas. Get a full size city map. Pinpoint the schools and draw a circle of reasonable walking distances. Are the bus routes right for you?
We ended up in a newish estate that we had dismissed, now very happy. Older properties can be a minefield - I have had long nights of DIY and expense in the past! Good luck.

chuckalicious_2

Yeah, we certainly don't have a large budget! I'm the problem in that I don't like estates because there is sod all for kids to do and there tend to be a lot of kids in estates. My own experience is that this tends to cause problems. I lived in what was considered a nice estate and it had terrible graffiti, fighting, underage drinking. Will never live in one again. They also tend to empty during the day so they can be a bit lifeless. Correct me if I've just been unlucky of course!

But yes we need to explore the areas and get a feel for them.

Thanks again.

gingerscot

Hi,

I live in Fountainbridge nearby which is nice (15min walk tops) however more a first time buyer area.

Polwarth which is even closer (5mins walk) has some lovely Georgian houses, quiet streets and v.nice area but is expensive.

If you want more slightly more central location and a bit more youthful/trendy (good mix of students, families) but only a shared garden then bruntsfield, marchmont is v.nice. Marchmont can be almost too studenty though so be careful with 7 bed room party flats!

Morningside is again about 10mins walk away and more upmarket (waitrose on the main street). Not quite as nice houses as polwarth and again gardens will be hard to come by.

Best bet for gardens but still c.close centrally is craiglockhart along the canal which is very pretty. Still only just down the road.

Further out I'm less familiar with but if you want an easy commute that there's no real train stations near colinton so it's a bit of a pain by anything other than a car and the bypass at rushhour is bad so it's a balance but personally i'd try and find somewhere within.

Loads of places outside, balerno is nice, could even take a risk and find a cheap place along the new railway being built south to the borders. You'd get a great house though some areas are a bit questionable!

For reference my 1 bed 1900 era stone flat in Fountainbridge cost £118K so it's definitely possible!