Cities in Scotland?

I don't know if this is the right section to post this in, but we are looking around at various places within the UK. At this point we are still in the "looking" stage as we won't be moving from Sweden for up to 2 years from now, though one never knows. 

For those of you living in Scotland, could you tell me what city you live in, your impressions of the area, and was it difficult to find employment (if you are working)?

I live in a small town outside of Edinburgh, and work in Edinburgh.
I'm not all that keen on Edinburgh, to be honest... it is a very beautiful city, visually.  But it is very crowded, and there are so many tourists and non-natives.   The public transport is not that great.  I find it a really difficult place to find your way around as well, but maybe that's just my problem! 

I lived in Glasgow for about 10 years... to me, it's a much better place.  It may not have the beauty of Edinburgh (although it does have some really nice bits), but it has great public transport (it has trains, a subway, buses, and a water bus... whereas Edinburgh pretty much only has buses).  I feel like the people are more down to earth and friendly than they are in Edinburgh.   Also, Glasgow is very easy to find your way around, partially because the streets in the city centre are on a grid system.  Shopping in Glasgow is fab, too.

Dont know how you like your architecture, but Glasgow's is very Victorian, and Edinburgh's is very Georgian.

I've visited other Scottish cities, but these are the only 2 i have lived in / properly experienced.
Hope others will chime in and offer their own opinions..

I've been in Glasgow for over a year and I'd say it's a great city too. As otterpop mentioned, the people are very friendly and laid back and it's easy to make friends, and it's very easy to get around. You don't need a car because public transport is everywhere, and it has everything you could possibly need right there. Edinburgh may be considered Glasgow's pretty sister, but it IS very touristy and almost feels fake to me in a way. It's nicer as a place to visit. Glasgow definitely has much more character and variety.

I live in a small town outside of Edinburgh, and work in Edinburgh.
I'm not all that keen on Edinburgh, to be honest... it is a very beautiful city, visually.  But it is very crowded, and there are so many tourists and non-natives.   The public transport is not that great.  I find it a really difficult place to find your way around as well, but maybe that's just my problem! 

I would agree w/you there.  A lot of tourists 'fall in love' w/it - but they don't see the real Edinburgh.  They see the New Town, the Old Town, etc.  There's a LOT more to it than that.  It's second only to London and Bristol for expensive - and the wages certainly don't reflect that.  As a result, the number of families is dwindling and primary schools are closing. 

In Edinburgh - you're either well off or poor.  There isn't a lot of in-between.  Or you live out of town and just come into work.

Trust me, it isn't at ALL what you experience as a tourist.  Not even close. 

I think it's more suited to singles and professional couples, so if you fall into that category, it might suit you.  Then again, the nightlife is better in Glasgow.  So is the shopping, IMO.

Work opportunities are also far more plentiful in Glasgow.

My husband is a native, and so is my daughter, but after my maternity leave is over we're looking to move into the Central Belt, West Lothian or Fife.  Now we've got a family, other places are far more family-friendly. 

Well thank you for the replies. One struck me in particular and that was "In Edinburgh you're either well off or poor". Is this also how it is in Glasgow?

Is the cost of living in Glasgow high? To give some reference to live in the center of Stockholm in a 1 bedroom small size flat (50 sq meters or 540 sq feet) it will cost about £118,000. This is probably cheap by London standards but is it cheaper or more expensive than Glasgow? We don't really want to live in the center anyway, we'd like maybe 10-15 minutes outside but still close enough to commute. Are there areas that any of you could recommend that I should start looking that fits this criteria?

Is it hard to find employment in Glasgow in the IT field?

Thanks once again!

To give some reference to live in the center of Stockholm in a 1 bedroom small size flat (50 sq meters or 540 sq feet) it will cost about £118,000. This is probably cheap by London standards but is it cheaper or more expensive than Glasgow?

For that price in Glasgow, you could get a 2 or 3 bedroom place... depending on the area.

Have a look at houses/flats for sale here:

www.gspc.co.uk

Wow, thank you! That is a very helpful website. I was clearly looking at the wrong places and was starting to think that Glasgow was MORE expensive than Stockholm. Thankfully, now I see that it is not. Yeah! 

Now in Edinburgh it is far from unheard of for a one-bed flat to sell for £118,000.  And for a 10-15 minute commute by bus you'd be talking about an area like our neighbourhood - Leith Links, where you could expect to pay handsomely for a flat, especially as one-beds can be quite scarce.  The two bed/boxroom flat directly across the road from us just sold - for £183,000.  On the second floor.  No double glazing, lift or off-street parking.  The building is Georgian period with high ceilings, so I'll bet it's cold in there in winter, especially as it's living room faces north.  But this area, 'The Shore', around the corner from Bernard Street, is getting trendy.

We rent an unfurnished two-bed on the second floor for £500/month, excluding council tax.  Water, sewage and rubbish removal is included in the council tax bill, which is £131/month for this place in Band 'B', the second to the lowest band.

We also pay a higher council tax than Glasgow. 

As for employment I'd suggest really casting your net wide - all over the UK.  IT places can be easier to find in some places more than others.

Thanks ex-pat! Yes, we are looking elsewhere in the UK as well especially because of my fiance's field. For me working in education it might not be as big of an issue though.

After I wrote the £118,000 quote I realized that this was a conservative estimate. Apartments here are very small even by European standards (so far the ones I've seen online in Scotland are larger) and a 1 bedroom here in a more central part of Stockholm will be a very basic apartment. It will also probably not have a washing machine, and no parking whatsoever. Parking is a premium here and there is no such thing as parking garages (for apartments) or even "off street parking". One would have to park the car on the street and pay metered hourly rates. That is very expensive so most people that live in a more central part here don't own a car.

I have to say that this is a gem of a website. It's wonderful to get tips, information and advice from all of you. 

It will also probably not have a washing machine, and no parking whatsoever. Parking is a premium here and there is no such thing as parking garages (for apartments) or even "off street parking". One would have to park the car on the street and pay metered hourly rates. That is very expensive so most people that live in a more central part here don't own a car.

That sound about spot on for here.  I don't know many people who live in town centre who own a car, b/c parking is atrocious around there and the parking enforcers LOVE to ticket.  The tickets aren't cheap, either.  £30 and up. 

Petrol also isn't cheap, nor is road tax or insurance.  A new driver over 25 with a full compensation can expect to pay about £90/month.  Of course, this decreases for every year the person drives with no claims or tickets or that. 

Good luck in your search!

We've just recently moved to West Lothian from London and personally, I'm tickled pink about everything in this area so far.  We're about a 20 minute train ride to the centre of Edinburgh, but I've only actually been into Edinburgh three or four times since we moved here in May.  (And three of those times were for meetings, so that hardly counts really!)  And we're only about 30 minutes away from Glasgow.  But everything I could want for is here without having to go into the city.

Here's a great website that otterpop shared with me when we were thinking about moving here.  It gives you a flavour of this area. 

http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/

I suppose it may be too early still, and I have yet to actually visit Glasgow, but I'm loving this area.  I do have the luxury of working from home from a company based in London, so I don't know what the job market is like, and I'm getting paid a London salary (which is rather nice!) but as far as standards of living and access to the stuff I need in life, West Lothian is the place for me. 

West Lothian is the place for me. 

So far, it's looking pretty good to us as well  .

What is the current cost of petrol there? I know that gasoline in the UK is sky high. Currently the price of petrol here is 11.50SEK or about £.85 per liter or roughly $5.60 a gallon.

I was rather amused when we travelled to the US this past June and visited family and friends. They all bemoaned the high costs of gasoline. It's a fraction of what we pay here!  

I didn't realize that West Lothian was so close to both cities.

I think the last time we filled up our car petrol was 87p - 89p per litre. 

just read in the paper today that petrol prices have broken £1.00 per litre for the first time in Scotland.  (In the Western Isles).