Moving to Edinburgh

Well, you never know till you try!  The links I've provided have details regarding fees for EU nationals.

There is ample housing in the form of houses in the 'burbs of Edinburgh, and of course there are trains and buses into the city.  These can be both newly built and older places.  There's a lot of new development in the 'burbs and transport links are improving. 

There are several members of the board who live in outlying areas who can provide more information about life there.   

In Edinburgh itself, you will find a good majority of the actual houses are in the form of what Americans call a duplex, but what is called a 'semi-detached' here, although there are far, far fewer 'terraced' houses - a group of townhouses in a row - than in some areas of England.  And those that are tend to be in an area of Edinburgh, close to the University, known as The New Town.  These are often divided into flats, but those which are whole can be quite costly indeed - even into the £1m range. 

The University couples housing, however, is flats.  But it's a good way to start out and get a feel for the city and make new friends.  Also nice and centrally located for job hunting and travel outside the city, as the train station is nearby.  Some even have car parks.  If you have a Swedish driving license, you won't have to sit the British driving tests.

By living in University housing or just about anywhere in the New Town, you'll be in close range to all the best that the city has to offer - it's all in easy walking distance.  It's also a relatively safe area.

One place to avoid is ANYWHERE on Lothian Road.  This road is full of clubs, 'massage parlours' and superpubs.  Since the city's tolerance zone - where law enforcement did not pursue prostitutes and clients - was dissolved, this business has moved into the Lothian Road area.  It's also incredibly noisy.

That is true about the fees. I sent the Math department an email, so let's see what they will say.

That's good to know that there is ample housing around Edinburgh and that you would be able to commute via buses and trains.

We probably plan to stay in a flat at first, and like you said, we hope that would be a good start to get a feel for the area and everything, and then when we are more established start looking for other housing options.

Also, thanks for letting us know about Lothian Road, I'll be sure to avoid that street!

Just to add to the discussion (altho as always, expat_in_scotland knows her stuff!) we've recently moved to one of the 'burbs of Edinburgh from London.  We're in West Lothian at the moment, about 15-20 minutes drive to the centre of Edinburgh, 7 miles from the airport, and about 1.5 miles from a train station that takes us into the centre of town in 18 minutes.  And we love it here. 

Edinburgh is indeed full of flats and that is mainly what people live in if they live in the city.  There are some homes there, but they are incredibly expensive, and you don't get much for you money really.  We looked at a few flats in Edinburgh when we were making the decision to move up here, and to be honest, I wasn't happy with the style of most of them.  (But I'm a bit of a snob, so you may love them!)  We were also disappointed with how expensive even a small flat was...and we were looking to buy.  So we decided to go just outside the city.  We've recently bought a detached house in a lovely neighbourhood, three bedrooms, garden, garage and gorgeous views of the Scottish countryside, for £20k -£30k LESS than we would have paid for a little two bed flat up three or four flights of stairs (in a darkened entryway), with no parking.  So we feel like we've made a pretty good decision, especially given the proximity of the city if/when we want to go there. 

As for the differences between Scotland and the US, well, I think they are largely the same as the differences between all of the UK and the US.  I think I've probably been here a bit too long now to really appreciate the differences because this is my life now, but there are cultural differences, sure.  I think expat_in_scotland hit it on the head though, because it really depends on your current lifestyle as to how you'll adapt to a British life.  I moved from a horse farm in Hole-in-the-Wall Tennessee to London...that was a bit of an adjustment, that's for sure!  Best thing to do is come and visit for a bit and see what its like.  Edinburgh is a beautiful city.  It's fully of history and students, shops and pubs, and lots and lots of theatres.  It's also crowded...there's a lot of traffic and congestion.  And it's a very expensive place to live, with a history of affluency. 

But the people here are much, much more friendly than "down south" and I have found living here to be more in line with what I wanted my lifestyle to be than London ever was.  It is a very individual thing whether or not you'll like one place or another. 

Aww, Wishstar... your post sounds so happy!  I'm glad that the move has worked out so well for you and your DH.

Stockholmaren, I too have been here far too long to be able to make comparisons... i've been here nearly 20 years.
I live in Linlithgow, which is about 15 miles outside of Edinburgh.  I work in Edinburgh, which is about a 30 minute drive on a good day, and nearly an hour on a bad day (traffic-wise, i mean).   There is a train station in my town which gets you to the centre of Edinburgh in 15 minutes, and there are buses.   
It's very easy to get IN to town... sometimes getting home is another matter, though.   The last train from Edinburgh to Glasgow (stopping at Linlithgow) is at 23.30, which generally means that if you're on a night out, pub crawl, etc, you've got to be watching the clock to make sure you leave the bar in time to catch that last train.   

Apart from that little annoyance, it's no problem living outside the city... and when it comes to Festival time, I am VERY glad indeed that i dont live in Edinburgh.

So on you go, Stockholmaren, to contacting the Informatics department about post-grad study!  Let us know how you get on.   

That's great news to hear Wishstar! I can understand that it's an expensive place to live, but in my opinion, the quality of life is more important, so sometimes you have to pay a little bit more.
I like the idea of living just outside the city like you do since I think you get the best of both worlds that way. We would probably live in the city while I'm in school though, and then a lot depends on what kind of jobs we can find and things like that.
What would you say that a 3-bedroom house costs on average outside of Edinburgh? Any site that you can recommend for property listings?

I can understand that it was a big adjustment from a farm in TN to London, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, and I've lived outside a similar size city here in the US, so from that perspective it may not be that different. It will probably be more the cultural every day things that may take some time to adjust to and just get the hang of how the whole system works.

Expat_in_Scotland, I did email the Math department, and I received a response, but it was a little bit vague. They couldn't say that much until they receive my application, so it seems I need to turn in my application first. It's just a little bit hard to have an idea if I would get accepted or not.
Do you know what US degree is equivalent to a British Honour 2.1 degree? The person at the university didn't know, but I had also emailed some other universities, and they said a 2.2 degree is the equivalent of a bachelor's degree with a GPA of 2.75, but I assume that 2.1 would be a more advanced/better GPA.

Expat_in_Scotland, I did email the Math department, and I received a response, but it was a little bit vague. They couldn't say that much until they receive my application, so it seems I need to turn in my application first. It's just a little bit hard to have an idea if I would get accepted or not.
Do you know what US degree is equivalent to a British Honour 2.1 degree? The person at the university didn't know, but I had also emailed some other universities, and they said a 2.2 degree is the equivalent of a bachelor's degree with a GPA of 2.75, but I assume that 2.1 would be a more advanced/better GPA.

Many honours students graduate with a 2.1 here.  It seems to be, in some areas, the most common class of honours degree.

Have you tried the College of Science & Engineering itself, rather than the department?  sciengpg@ed.ac.uk?  They might be able to better 'translate', if you will.  Also, the International Office might be able to deal w/different qualifications better.

What's the difference between an honors degree and a regular degree? Just that you have a higher GPA?

Thanks for the email address, I will email them when I get home today and hopefully they can shed some more lights over this. Without listing any information such as GPA and graduate entrance exam scores like we are used to here in the US, it's a bit difficult at first to determine if I can even get in the program I want.

What's the difference between an honors degree and a regular degree? Just that you have a higher GPA?

Thanks for the email address, I will email them when I get home today and hopefully they can shed some more lights over this. Without listing any information such as GPA and graduate entrance exam scores like we are used to here in the US, it's a bit difficult at first to determine if I can even get in the program I want.

In Scotland, the honours degree requires another year of study beyond what is required for an 'Ordinary' degree - and yes, graduating 'Ordinary' is actually a classification here, like 2.1 or 2.2. 

Don't know of any universities here that require standardised exams like the GRE or GRE subject exams. 

Interesting :-)
I was searching around some other school sites, and it seems that most base the entry requirements on the GPA when converting a US degree. For example, if you have above 3.5 and is in the top 10% of the class you have the equivalent of an honors degree. Hopefully I can get a definite answer when I email the schools directly, but at least that is good news if that's the case.

What would you say that a 3-bedroom house costs on average outside of Edinburgh? Any site that you can recommend for property listings?

Try  www.espc.co.uk

Thank you for the link Otterpop. I will definitely check it out!

I can second that ESPC recommendation.  We found our place through them. 

A three bedroom house on this side of Edinburgh can range from £90k - £200k, depending what sort of house you want really!  Just keep an eye on the ESPC website for a flavour of what is on offer.  And get yourself a good map. 

Try www.upmystreet.co.uk as well.

Some neighbourhoods may seem pretty inexpensive, like in the £60-£90K range for a 3 bed, but they can also be a bit, well, not the nicest place to live.

Upmystreet can clear up a lot for ya.