Cities in Scotland?

Eeep. It sounds a bit more expensive than here then though not too much. On the other hand it looks like income taxes are lower, and the VAT is certainly less expensive at 17.5%. It's 25% here.

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).

Holy moly!   

I'd like to second what others have said about Glasgow -- I recently returned home to Chicago, but I lived there for the past 9 months and found it very friendly, easy to navigate, and loaded with things to do (e.g. great shopping, restaurants, cinemas, pubs).  I lived in the Pollokshields area, which can have some dodgy bits, but on the whole, I found it to be very safe and convenient for accessing the City Centre.  I do have to say I prefer it to Edinburgh (sorry!) because it has a more "down-to-earth" feel, much like I was accustomed to in Chicago. 

Parking in the City Centre can be extortionate (₤3.60 every 2 hours for street parking, or roughly ₤8.00 a day for one of the parking garages) but luckily, public transport is very reliable and affordable.  Also, all of the streets are one-ways, so that will take a bit of getting used to if you're driving there.  What's nice, though, is that everything in the City Centre is within walking distance, and as others have said, it's impossible to get hopelessly lost because of that grid system. 

I also lived in the Stirling/Bridge of Allan area for a year, and while it was very clean and picturesque, I felt that aside from historic attractions, there wasn't a lot to do there.  They do have a pretty nice shopping centre, good public transportation, and a few nice pubs and restaurants, but being a city girl, I felt it was far too quiet for me, if not a bit isolated.  It's great if you like that sort of thing, but I missed the hustle and bustle of urban life.  I found Glasgow to be a much better fit.

The nice thing about Scotland is that you can jump on a bus or a train, and be someplace else within an hour or less, so you can experience both country and city life whenever you wish.  There's also loads of majestic places up North where you can go for a long weekend mini-break and escape for a wee while.  I was able to see so much of the country while I lived there, which was fantastic.

If you haven't already been, I'd suggest making a visit and checking some places out to see what feels like the best possible fit for you.  I don't think it's possible to really visualise living in a place until you've experienced it first-hand and gotten a good vibe from it.  I think if I'd had more time to spend in Stirling before I stayed there, I probably would have chosen Glasgow for uni instead!

Good luck with your decision! 
~Michelle

Could some of you recommend some cities or towns outside of Glasgow that are within a 15-25 minute driving or train ride? Two of you mentioned West Lothian, but are there any others that you think are worth a look at?
We would like to live a bit outside of the city but so many of the places are larger homes. It is just the two of us and although a home would be lovely, we're aiming for a larger flat (2 bedrooms, maybe 3) or a small cottage house with as many bedrooms.

Just in case we werent clear, West Lothian is a COUNTY, not a town.  The county has some pretty sh*tty towns in it, to be honest, but there are a few nice places.   And it's more than 15-20 minutes outside of Glasgow.   It's handier for Edinburgh.

Ah. How far outside is it? I think we could swing up to 30 minutes outside.

Are there other counties, cities or towns that you'd recommend closer to Glasgow but not in the city proper?

Sabeine, why do you want to live outside of Glasgow?  Do you mean outside of the city centre, or do you mean outside of the city boundary?  (It's a huge place!)  Do you want to live in the country?

Sorry. I meant outside of the central part of the city.

Here if it's "outside of Stockholm" that pretty much means the city proper which is mostly the central part of the city. Even suburbs 10 minutes outside aren't considered a part of the city. They are usually their own city, as in our case.

If you want to live in Glasgow, outside the city centre, in the nicest possible area... if you can afford it, i would recommend just about any place in the West End...  it is really, really fab... especially the area around Glasgow University / Byres Road.

Read this...

  http://www.glasgowwestend.co.uk/about/

Not all of the links on this site are working, but it still might be of use...

Flats in west end...

http://www.letting-in-scotland.co.uk/glasgow-west-end.htm

Going out in west end...

http://www.myglasgow.org/glasgow/bars&music-eating_drinking.htm

Well his photos certainly are beautiful! Hopefully all the links will load later.
I looked into the west end yesterday and I'm not sure we could afford it though you never know.
Is there an area that would be a bit less expensive?

renting or buying?

I think we'd rent first, then buy. My only concern with renting is that we have two cats so that limits our options considerably. I think it was you (or was it someone else?) that mentioned contacting an agent that will supply pet friendly apartments for rent.

The map below of the West End shows the best/most desireable area... but if you follow the Great Western Road further west, those areas can still be very nice, but will get cheaper the further out you go...

http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/maps-full_west.html

Other areas apart from the West end that have nice bits are on the South Side... Pollokshields & Pollokshaws, Clarkston, Battlefield, Cathcart, Queens Park, Giffnock, Newton Mearns... these all have nice bits (and a few bad bits), and are generally cheaper than the West End.

Just my personal opinion, but i would stay away from anyplace in the East End, and im not too keen on the North side, like Maryhill, etc.   

It should be said that although i lived in Glasgow for a long time, it has been 7 or 8 years since i have actually lived there!!  So it could be that these areas are not as nice as they used to be, or that areas which were not previously nice, now are!   

Yes, I understand. Places change a lot even in just a few years. I recently was in the US (San Diego) and areas there that used to be considered bad parts are now up and coming neighborhoods with home prices soaring.
10 years ago no one was buying in those neighborhoods.

Does the East end have crime problems or is it just ugly therefore you wouldn't recommend it?

Thanks for the link it seems very helpful.