What's Edinburgh like to live in?

[anti-pacer]

Anybody here from in or around the city who could give me the advantages and disadvantages of living in Scotland's beautiful capital?

 

[Busaholic]

I'd imagine it'd be brilliant if
(A) You won the Lotto jackpot
(B) You went away for the entire Edinburgh Festival period
(C) You chose somewhere that's not within about a mile of any planned new tram line, at least til after it's actually built!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'd absolutely love to live in Edinburgh. But my impression is that housing costs what it does in London, but wages are not equivalent.

 

[GusB]

The first time I "lived" in Edinburgh, it was over the summer in the mid '90s and it was fun. I was still a student, and until the end of term hadn't used much of my overdraft. That certainly wasn't the case by the end of the holiday period! It was fun. £1-a-pint nights were sourced and it was all a bit of a giggle.

The second time around I'd moved to take up a job that didn't happen in the end. I had secured accommodation, but ended up not having the funds to pay for it. When I did eventually find employment, it got to the stage where the commuting from the south side to Leith did my head in, especially during Festival time.

TLDR: mixed feelings - perhaps "Meh"

 

[tspaul26]

When I worked for the Procurator Fiscal, one of the jokes in the office was that in Glasgow you would be mugged and left in the gutter whereas in Edinburgh they just kill you.

 

[Railops]

Being 400 odd miles from London makes it instantly desirable.

 

[Busaholic]

When I worked for the Procurator Fiscal, one of the jokes in the office was that in Glasgow you would be mugged and left in the gutter whereas in Edinburgh they just kill you.

Burke and Hare live.

 

[J-2739]

Being 400 odd miles from London makes it instantly desirable.

Detroit sounds desirable

 

[radamfi]

I'd absolutely love to live in Edinburgh. But my impression is that housing costs what it does in London, but wages are not equivalent.

A quick look at Rightmove brings up 193 properties under £150K, including a 2 bed new build terraced house for £147K.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I will doubtless be dissagreed with and am not up for debating, this is my opinion

expensive, slow traffic, too many bluddy tourists, crappy weather, waist of space trams, expensive for what it is and I'll bet those rightmove propperties were a good way out.
Used to be a great city, now no longer is IMO.
Narrow minded in many ways, 5050 split between friendly and not.

All in all great to visit but Im trying to get out!

 

[radamfi]

I'll bet those rightmove propperties were a good way out.

They were all within the city boundary. Does it matter if they are a way out, given that the bus service is quite good? Buses run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Edinburgh so even if you are far out you can stay out in the city centre as late as you want and you can still make early morning trains.

Personally, I would probably live between Edinburgh and Glasgow, say Bathgate or Linlithgow, so you have access to both cities and take advantage of cheaper housing.

 

[SteveP29]

I've been up here 6 years now, here's a potted version of my thoughts:
Likes:
1. Great bus service (I have the choice of 3 buses from outside the front door and to within 500 yards of the office) running 24/7 (as already mentioned)
2. It's walkable, the city is compact enough to make it an option if there's a traffic jam (which happens often)
3. Edinburgh Leisure Card, one monthly payment allows you to use every council run swimming pool, gym, golf course (with an additional payment when you play), Meadowbank Stadium sports complex
4. Arthur's Seat, a mountain in the middle of the city
5. Portobello beach, a sandy beach a 20 minute bus ride away from the city.

Dislikes:
1.Festival/ Tattoo time, soooo many people who don't know where they're going and help prevent the locals going about their business
2. Property prices, massively inflated for what they are (my last flat before moving in with the other half had a bathroom, bedroom and living room, with a 6ft x 8ft kitchen in an alcove in one corner which cost me £600 a month)
3 bedroomed properties within the city are charging between £1000 and £1400 a month
4. Princes Street, all but a few of Lothian Buses fleet traverses Princes Street as part of its route, its permanently locked with buses, adding trams into the mix didn't help. One day coming home from work, I counted 26 double deckers in a row heading east.
5. Hockling, it seems every Scotsman feels the need to spit the contents of their lungs into the street, regardless of who is watching
6. The massive massive problem with alcohol. I've been to loads of places, lived in a few but never seen people walking down the street with an open can of alcohol, never seen people waiting at bus stops with their shopping and taking a bottle of wine they just purchased and opening it to take a swig, like I have in Scotland.

 

[dcsprior]

I've lived in Edinburgh since early 2003 - including: the New Town, near the Meadows, Collinton Mains, Balgreen and Ferniehill.

I like it as a city, but as time's gone on I spend less of my time in the city centre for various reasons, so I guess I'd be just as happy elsewhere - indeed if/when we move to a larger place, it's likely to be in Midlothian, outside Edinburgh itself.

Things that stand out:

• Renting or buying property is expensive compared to anywhere else in Scotland, but you don't have to be that far out of town for it to be a lot cheaper - here you may have to live away on the outskirts to get somewhere affordable, but we're not talking a similar situation to London, where you can live an hour away from work and still pay a fortune.
• Buses are reliable, frequent and well-priced. Having said that, they're not the fastest, and there isn't the commuter rail network that there is in some other cities. Let's not mention the trams.
• The festival is a great thing for the city, I say that because I don't have to travel across town every day. If you do, it's mainly a month-long PITA.
• It's quite hilly. I grew up just outside Stirling, which has it's fair share of hills, so I never really noticed it, but when I've had friends visit from elsewhere they've commented on it.
• The city council seem to spend most of their lives thinking up ways to make the city more car-unfriendly. This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective.

Anybody here from in or around the city who could give me the advantages and disadvantages of living in Scotland's beautiful capital?

Out of interest, is this with anything particular in mind - e.g. an offer of a Job or a uni place - or just a desire to move here? If you've something specific i mind, people may be able to give some more targeted thoughts.

 

[Harbouring]

I've visited Edinburgh for the festival the past 2 years and coming from a place that is 95% flat at sea even the hills were the most startling change, thank goodness for the buses. The thing that is annoying is looking at maps you never know which bits are junctions that intersect and those that are bridges over the street below, especially south of Waverley. But you get used to it.

I felt very at home there (and in Glasgow) must be the shipbuilding, the people are very friendly.

 

[43021HST]

Have you ever seen Trainspotting?

... Yeah like that.

 

[ninja-lewis]

Have you ever seen Trainspotting?

... Yeah like that.

Most of which was filmed in Glasgow!

 

[route101]

They were all within the city boundary. Does it matter if they are a way out, given that the bus service is quite good? Buses run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Edinburgh so even if you are far out you can stay out in the city centre as late as you want and you can still make early morning trains.

Personally, I would probably live between Edinburgh and Glasgow, say Bathgate or Linlithgow, so you have access to both cities and take advantage of cheaper housing.

24 /7 buses that Glasgow dosent even have !

 

[route101]

Living in Glasgow , Edinburgh seems much more an international outward looking city . Glasgow tends to look inward IMO . Glasgow has a better train system yet crap buses , Edinburgh the opposite .

 

[Busaholic]

Living in Glasgow , Edinburgh seems much more an international outward looking city . Glasgow tends to look inward IMO . Glasgow has a better train system yet crap buses , Edinburgh the opposite .

Lothian Buses as against First - comparisons would be odious.