Relocating to Edinburgh

[221129]

Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of advice if anyone can help, it's looking possible that I might need to relocate for work to Edinburgh from Devon in the next few months or early next year.

Now I'm not from the area at all, and having had a brief look, living in the city looks really expensive! I'm wondering if any of our local posters had any helpful hints or tips for areas to look at?

I don't currently drive so would need to have good transport links to Edinburgh city centre at all times of day and night (I currently live near Exeter and work in Bristol so am used to silly early hours coach commutes) I would be moving on my own so as small flat or something to rent would be perfect.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated, if you need any further info please ask. Thanks in advance.

 

[433N]

Could you give us some idea of ... (1) your budget for renting or buying , (2) how much time you are prepared to spend commuting and (3) whether you prefer to live in town , suburbs or country. Also, will your place of work really be dead, slap-bang in the city centre.

 

[221129]

Could you give us some idea of ... (1) your budget for renting or buying , (2) how much time you are prepared to spend commuting and (3) whether you prefer to live in town , suburbs or country. Also, will your place of work really be dead, slap-bang in the city centre.

Hi yeah, sorry,
1) I'm looking ideally for somewhere less than £800per month
2) I currently spend about 90-120mins on my commute depending on whether I get the train or coach. And I am reasonably happy with that.
3) not too bothered about the surroundings as long as I can get to and from Waverley where i would be working 24hrs a day.

 

[433N]

Within those parameters, I would say ...
1) I think you might be lucky to get somewhere central and walkable for that money unless you don't mind sharing. You might get lucky in somewhere like Gorgie or Leith. The ESPC website (espc.com) might help you in that regard.
2) You could definitely get somewhere for that money within 90-120 minutes, the problem being (3)
3) Travel at night (as far as I know) by anything but night bus will be quite erratic. The places that you might look will probably be dictated by this and it might be worth taking a look at the services on offer to see if they are adequate for your needs (https://www.lothianbuses.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NightBus_180729-2.pdf).
There is, apparently, a Citylink nightbus Glas - Ed which might open up the possibility of Livingston. Corstorphine would be good, but again, I think it would be out of your budget.

 

[greyman42]

Dunbar is a nice town and would come within parameters 1 and 2. The travel would be the problem as trains and buses do not run through the night. As 433N said, public transport at night is erratic to non-existent.

 

[SteveP29]

I live in Gorgie/ Balgreen, am 25 minutes from the City Centre on the bus in rush hour, 15- 20 minutes at other times. have 4 buses I can get into and out of town that run usually around every 10 minutes during the day
Lothian Buses Ridacard is £53 a month and gives you travel 24/7
the N25 is the Night bus to where I am to and from the city centre and runs half hourly iirc
Our council rent on a 3 bedroom flat is almost £500 a month, private rents are expensive, expect to pay £500 upwards for a one bedroom flat in a tenement, £700+ for a 2 bedroom and £800+ for a 3 bedroom (which a great number of are actually 2 bedroomers with the living room being classed as the largest bedroom and your living room will be the kitchen/ dining room)

 

[221129]

Thanks for the advice so far guys!

 

[DarloRich]

2) I currently spend about 90-120mins on my commute depending on whether I get the train or coach. And I am reasonably happy with that.

that gives you access to most of central belt Scotland !

 

[221129]

that gives you access to most of central belt Scotland !

Only if it has transport links at silly o'clock in the morning.

 

[DarloRich]

Only if it has transport links at silly o'clock in the morning.

I am sure Glasgow - Edinburgh lines run late/early

 

[gnolife]

I am sure Glasgow - Edinburgh lines run late/early

The last arrival into Waverley from Glasgow is 00:22, and the first departure from Waverley to Glasgow is 05:55 (Assuming that you don't want to go on a magical mystery tour of Shotts). Dalmuir has a later arrival (01:10)/earlier departure (04:50) by using the Fort William sleeper, but this isn't always very reliable.

There is an hourly coach through the night between Glasgow city Centre and Edinburgh though

 

[duncanp]

If you have a look on RightMove and put in your parameters, it gives 91 results.

Some of these are flat shares and parking spaces to rent, but there are still quite a wide choice.

As indicated in an earlier post, the Gorgie Road area of Edinburgh is not too far from the city centre, and is well connected by buses, some of which run through the night.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-57215793.html

is typical of the flats on offer, and the rent is £650 per month.

https://www.lothianbuses.com/ gives details of bus services in Edinburgh, and as indicated earlier a ticket giving unlimited travel costs £53 per month, which is also valid on Edinburgh trams.

Leith is another area to look at for accommodation.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-68367841.html is just off Leith Walk, the main road from the city centre to Leith.

If you were looking to buy a 1 bedroom flat in an area like Gorgie or Leith you could get something for between £100,000 and £130,000

 

[Journeyman]

I live in Winchburgh, which it has to be said is not the most delightful place, but it's pretty convenient for Edinburgh. It doesn't have a station yet, but it does have the 38 bus, which runs to Edinburgh every 15 mins at peak times, mostly half-hourly the rest of the time. Not brilliant at night or early in the morning, but you do now have the 600 as well, which runs to Edinburgh Airport every hour from 03.30 to 23.30, and connects into the Airlink bus to the city centre which runs 24/7.

Note that the 38 and 600 are run by First, and not Lothian, so it does introduce the complication of having to deal with multiple operators if you need to travel onwards, and use Airlink.

Property here is cheap as chips compared to Edinburgh itself.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I live in Winchburgh, which it has to be said is not the most delightful place, but it's pretty convenient for Edinburgh. It doesn't have a station yet, but it does have the 38 bus, which runs to Edinburgh every 15 mins at peak times, mostly half-hourly the rest of the time. Not brilliant at night or early in the morning, but you do now have the 600 as well, which runs to Edinburgh Airport every hour from 03.30 to 23.30, and connects into the Airlink bus to the city centre which runs 24/7.

Note that the 38 and 600 are run by First, and not Lothian, so it does introduce the complication of having to deal with multiple operators if you need to travel onwards, and use Airlink.

Property here is cheap as chips compared to Edinburgh itself.

just looked on Rightmove, £120K just off Leith Walk, 1 mile from Waverley, bargain

 

[GW43125]

I don't know much about house prices or areas I'm afraid, but what i can tell you is the number 11 bus route is hourly through the night, 7 nights a week, so it may be worth seeing if anywhere along that route is suitable.

 

[SteveP29]

just looked on Rightmove, £120K just off Leith Walk, 1 mile from Waverley, bargain

Be prepared to pay through the nose for permit parking, otherwise you could develop massive leg muscles walking from Leith Walk to Waverley every day!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Be prepared to pay through the nose for permit parking, otherwise you could develop massive leg muscles walking from Leith Walk to Waverley every day!

Not sure I'd bother owning a car in Edinburgh, it's not a driving city. If it is too far to walk the buses are excellent. (I've not lived there properly but have done long term weekly commutes there and so got a decent feel for the place).

 

[221129]

Not sure I'd bother owning a car in Edinburgh, it's not a driving city. If it is too far to walk the buses are excellent. (I've not lived there properly but have done long term weekly commutes there and so got a decent feel for the place).

No driving for me at the moment!

 

[Bletchleyite]

No driving for me at the moment!

Definitely a good choice of city for the non-driver.

 

[Kite159]

And Leith is served by a number of bus routes towards the city centre area

 

[221129]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice! Here's hoping I get the job now!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice! Here's hoping I get the job now!

Good luck!

 

[SteveP29]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice! Here's hoping I get the job now!

Good luck to you.
You'll love it if you do if you end up up here, no little Englander syndrome up here, inclusion for everyone.
Never, ever thought I'd say that about Scotland, being English myself, but there you go.

 

[Basher]

Try, North Berwick. Had personal experience with a number of people on the Edinburgh to North Berwick service.
In March 2002, I was working on the bid for the new PFI hospital and when I travelled to meetings I often parked my car at a local railway station. On one occasion I decided to park at North Berwick, having the idea to look around after my meetings. On the train back to North Berwick some guy decided to jump in front of our train, but we did not hit him. The driver is now suffering from shock so we were not going anywhere. A couple of other passengers young women, were now getting upset in that they would not be back in time to meet their children from school. So I offered them the use of my mobile telephone (the brick) they telephone the school to make other arrangements for their children.Word got about on the train that I had one of those new mobile telephones so a few people asked to use it. When a relief train driver arrived we were taken to Drem Junction and put on mini buses to North Berwick. Two of the ladies then asked me why I was going to their town, I explained I was intending to have a look around the town. One of the ladies then spoke to the driver of the bus and requested him to give me a tour around the town, which he did with a tour commentary by the lady. On completion of the tour they saw me back to my car. What very nice people they are. Also I noticed that the fuchsias were in bloom, so on checking the climate for the area I saw that North Berwick has a micro climate.

 

[GusB]

So I offered them the use of my mobile telephone (the brick) they telephone the school to make other arrangements for their children.Word got about on the train that I had one of those new mobile telephones so a few people asked to use it.

In 2002? Mobiles were hardly new at that point in time, and they certainly weren't brick-sized!

 

[Basher]

In 2002? Mobiles were hardly new at that point in time, and they certainly weren't brick-sized!

Yes, I got the year wrong. It was 2 years before the millennium not after, well spotted.

 

[221129]

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice, I will be following it up in the next few weeks as I have been offered the job at Edinburgh so I will be relocating in the next couple of months or so. Exciting times!

 

[ainsworth74]

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice, I will be following it up in the next few weeks as I have been offered the job at Edinburgh so I will be relocating in the next couple of months or so. Exciting times!

Congratulations! I've never lived in Edinburgh but on many visits I've always liked it and a close friend has lived there for the better part of ten years and loved it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Congratulations! I've never lived in Edinburgh but on many visits I've always liked it and a close friend has lived there for the better part of ten years and loved it.

It is one of the few places in the world where I would drop everything to relocate to if the opportunity arose. Easily my favourite city in the world.

 

[Cowley]

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice, I will be following it up in the next few weeks as I have been offered the job at Edinburgh so I will be relocating in the next couple of months or so. Exciting times!

Well done for landing the job.