Contemplating a move from London to Scotland (Edinburgh outskirts )

JJG

fewcloudy said:

JJG said:

Just so you know. You and your children must have been living in Scotland for three years or more to qualify for free tuition fees.

@JJG I'm sorry, this is quite incorrect.
You need to be resident on the "Relevant Date". For most students that would be August 1st in the year they are starting Uni.
You also need to have been resident in the UK for 3 years, perhaps this is what you are thinking of?
And can't just have come here for the free tuition fees.

*Edited to add
https://www.saas.gov.uk/files/288/saas-exceptions-to-the-general-residence-conditions.pdf

https://www.saas.gov.uk/guides/guide-to-undergraduate-funding

I’ve learnt a lot from those links. I had no idea about the ordinary residence. Thanks!
It could still cause issues for the older child though if they move up with only two years of education left though. They would have to satisfy the SAAS that the move wasn’t mainly for education.

Arfa__

Yep, all good info on Uni fees eligibility. Granted saving the kids a bunch of debt as they start out in life is attractive, it most certainly is not the sole reason for decisions on moving. We just love the country, the scenery, we're keen to escape London and the busy South East and switch to a more chilled out lifestyle. It's not gonna be a cheap move, we're anticipating £10k on moving and £11-21k on LLBT (stamp duty), we'll certainly be staying put for a good while, purchasing our long-term home that'll see us through into retirement.

I suppose if my eldest is declined Uni funding after living there for 2 years, she could consider taking a gap year if she really wanted to still avoid the fees...

davidmcn

Arfa__ said:

LLBT

LBTT (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax). Catchy it ain't, admittedly...

[Deleted User]

Arfa__ said:

@zagubov Yes, I like the look of Stirling too and would consider there as my most Northern point.

@fewcloudy Yep, Linlithgow is on my list of places to check out. I was also looking at others on those routes like Polmont, Bathgate and Livingston.

Currently, the kids seem keen on Uni and future careers that would necessitate Uni. Sure, they may not live from home (and I'd probably encourage them to move out for a few years for the experience), but for them to return home at weekends/holidays easily has advantages. However, it is probably my need to travel that is a higher priority to be near Edinburgh.

@Lover_of_Lycra yeah, it's this quick jump to Uni after S5 that I'm struggling to get my head around. So used to there being 2 years of A-levels between school and Uni. Agreed, for her to jump into 1 year of Highers in S5 after GCSEs could be tough, but on the flip side, I worry about pulling her out of current school mid-way through GCSEs... This is our biggest dilemma, when is the best time to move for our kids' education? Last year, this year, next year or the year after? 

I do wonder if we should look at a private school/college that does A-levels or the IB instead of throwing her into Highers...

There’s nothing to say your eldest would have to go to university from 5th year. Many people stay on and do 6th year before going to university. I just wasn’t keen on staying in school another year when I didn’t have to. 

zagubov

This webpage has more detail about eligibility for tuition fee support. Your kids should be fine. Fewer questions might be asked if you're all resident when the UCAS form goes off.
Posters north of the border could let correct me if i'm wrong, but I think you can apply through UCAS in S5 and get an offer for a secure place a year earlier than in the rest of the UK. If you don't want to go to uni at 17 which I don't think is quite so common now, instead of a gap year, you can stay in school and take S6 but might not get much out of it if you've had an unconditional offer already because of your good Highers results.
Still, good problems to have.

[Deleted User]

zagubov said:

This webpage has more detail about eligibility for tuition fee support. Your kids should be fine. Fewer questions might be asked if you're all resident when the UCAS form goes off.
Posters north of the border could let correct me if i'm wrong, but I think you can apply through UCAS in S5 and get an offer for a secure place a year earlier than in the rest of the UK. If you don't want to go to uni at 17 which I don't think is quite so common now, instead of a gap year, you can stay in school and take S6 but might not get much out of it if you've had an unconditional offer already because of your good Highers results.
Still, good problems to have.

You can apply in S5 but you’ll have a conditional offer as you won’t have sat your Highers yet. If you apply in S6 you’ll have your Higher results so can get unconditional offers which makes planning easier because you know where you’ll be going after the summer. 

getmore4less

I really liked Glasgow,  when I did a stint there I lived in city centre and there was loads going on.

Thing I noticed is Edi is not that far away so you could live anywhere between the two and access the cities and the transport links Airport and train quite easy. I did the jump on the bus to Edi a couple of times for the day out.

We have friends in Dunfermline and they are regulars into Glasgow.

As a family I think I would focus on schools,  job opportunities for yourself, heath care jobs are never far away and let that drive a location.

IN the past I have day tripped(by air) to Edi for work from the south and it is not something I would want to do on a regular basis, So any trips South(family,friends,work) I would plan to be at least 1+ overnight so the proximity to the main transport link at the Scottish end can be eased up a bit.

scottiescott

It rains all day, every day in Glasgow or the west!
And don't count on Scotland re-joining the EU any time soon, if that matters to you.

Greymug

Skiddaw1 said:

Edinburgh is lovely, but as has been said, relatively expensive. Have you considered further north? Inverness is a splendid town, as is Aberdeen.

Whoever says Aberdeen is a splendid town has clearly never stayed in Aberdeen

Greymug

youth_leader said:

I researched the Portobello area as I wanted to live near the beach and found nothing suitable there, but a little further along the coast at Joppa there are some beautiful houses.  

Portobello and Joppa are nice only in winter. When it's warmer, all the Edinburgh neds flood the Portobello promenade, making it feel like Magaluf.

If you want a nice beach, and you don't mind living in a smaller community, Gullane would be my choice. Although there's lots of wealth in Gullane so house prices tend to be quite high.