Edinburgh Hitchers...

I would look at south Fife if it was me.

Inverkeithing, Rosyth, Dalgety Bay areas.

There is a massive park and ride at Inverkeithing for either bus or train link. Train would be 10 minutes into central Edinburgh.

Thanks Maxi, that's a good starting point. I'm really just trying to get an idea of prices at the moment until wwe know if he has the job or not.

Hmmmm thats a difficult one. A lot of properties in Edinburgh are flats - there's not much in the way of houses - but mind you we don't have kids so we haven't really looked. You might want to try East Lothian - villages like Gullane or Longniddry are nice. North Berwick is about a 30 minute train journey from Edinburgh and is a beautiful seaside town - great for kids. East Lothian is pricey though.

There are suburban towns like Penicuik and areas like Gilmerton but you need to pick and choose your areas wisely - price will give you the indication of how nice (read safe) it is. Out towards West Lothian - you can try Linlithgow and towns towards Livingston for commuter towns.

You could try some lovely New Town townhouses in the heart of the city but you pay through the nose.

As for schools I really don't know, having no kids and all..... I will keep wracking my brains!!!!!

Penguin - I'd love to live in North Berwick it is just beautiful isn't it. Would be so pricey though.

I lived in a high rise in Gilmerton for a while <shudders at memory> Gilmerton is either very very nice, or horrid!

As penguin says do your research.

I travel around fair bit with my job visiting all sorts of businesses, so i've been in most villages/towns in the east coast of Scotland. Happy to give you my honest opinion on any areas you are looking at.

ETA - You're likely to get more value for your rental money in south fife than you would the 'burbs of Edinburgh.

Thanks for all the advice Maxi and penguin, I'll certainly have a look at those areas and will no doubt "shout" again at some point, lol.

K x

I echo Maxi. I lived in the nice part of Gilmerton for 4 years and moved to Dalgety Bay last year when i married hubby. My 10 year old son from first marriage had to move schools and is a different character. The freedom he has here rather than in town is great, the school (Dalgety Bay Primary) is not only great but has a huge playground which he loves (the city one he went to had hardly any) and our house here has a big garden front and back. The mortgage we have here is half the price of the house i had in edinburgh but the house is bigger. I drive in to the south side of town daily for work (i sometimes take the the train which is easy to use) but choose to take the car due to my hours being off peak and therefore quicker (10am to 6pm). We are all very happy here.... Hope i have sold it to you and fingers cross for your OH with the job!

Sx?

Thanks Shar, that's great. I have to say having had a quick Google of everywhere mentioned Dalgety Bay does sound ideal. I have two children, my three year old is due to start reception in September and my daughter is 8 (almost 9) and due to go in to year 5 in Spetember. They're in a great school now so it's really important to me to find them another one that they'll love.

I am from Edinburgh and always lived in the North part of the town. The areas I liked are Balerno, Currie and Juniper Green all areas where you could get a nice family home but great links into the city.

My sister lives at the Gyle which is ok and there is Corstophine as well but that might be a expensive option.

If you want to be out of the city, then Linlithgow is worth a look. It's a 15/20 min train journey into central Edinburgh with a pretty frequent service.

The town itself has quite a lot on for families - for example during the summer there are a lot of activities and events held in and around the palace and loch. Schools are good and there are also lots of cafes and nice places to eat. There's also a country park nearby, soft play and so on.

House prices do tend to be quite expensive though.

I grew up there and it was a fab place to live as a child, we don't live there at the moment but plan to move back for the schools and because it's a good place to bring up a child. It's home to many families so there are active children's activities such as brownies, scouts, dancing classes, theatre groups etc.

I live in South Queensferry an it's a really nice town. There are great schools and the town has a local secondary. I like that it has some nice restaurants and bars so you don't have to head into Edinburgh for a night out. It's around £170k for a decent sized 3 bed house, fife is quite a bit cheaper but it can be more hit and miss with good and bad areas which is why local knowledge is fab. Linlithgow is also really nice but was too far from Edinburgh for me but the schools are good and it's a lovely area. House prices have dropped a lot in the last few months too. Balerno and currie are nice but they are expensive due to the fab schools and easy access to Edinburgh. The espc website has all the houses for sale in Edinburgh. Hope that helps a little.