Moving to Edinburgh

[Naetha]

Hey folks, looks like me and my husband are gonna be moving to Edinburgh next year from Leeds, and just wondered if there was anyone on these boards that could give us any brief info on life in Edinburgh and that part of Scotland? Gonna be working in Leith and hopefully living within easy travelling distance

Interested to know where's a good place to live, what its like getting about (car/traffic/public transport etc) how expensive it is, what local people think of nasty English types moving in (well I'm Welsh but I doubt they'll be able to tell the difference ); how easy it is to get out into the wilds and/or good beaches

All info/urban myths/links/scare stories etc appreciated, thanks

 

[Tom]

Don't forget your passport for the border police.

 

[Will]

Edinburgh...I wrote a long reply, but I lost it. Bah, I'll try again.

Leith is a pretty nice area, to the East of the city centre, and down to the docks. You've got a huge range of places to live, from flats near the centre of town, to luxury penthouses down at the docks, and everything inbetween.

Driving to and from work is probably ok, but parkig is terrible, and the buses are very good, so i'd recommend them if you don't cycle.

Its a fairly expensive city, about £2.60 and upwards for a pint, and house prices are pretty high, either for buying or for renting. I get paid extra in my salary as an Edinburgh living allowance.

Edinburgh has such a huge number of non-Scots living here, that it'd be unusual to get anything more than a wee bit of banter, if even that, about not being local. Its not really that kind of place. We are used it it, both due to the universities, and also due to the huge number of jobs in financial services that are here.

And the wilds are pretty easy to get to. You've got the Pentland hills at the southwest, where you can cycle or walk, you've got the Forestry Commision centres near Peebles (about 45 minutes drive) for biking, walking, and horseriding, and for beaches you've got plenty of stuff in the Borders for surfing and windsurfing, as well as windsurfing in the Firth of Forth. I wouldn't recommend any spots for sunbathing though.

 

[old.user4556]

*Warms up for an Edinburgh rant*

<arnie>

I'll be back...

</arnie>

 

[Milkshake]

I really like it

Bit expensive tho, if you really wanna move into Edinburgh then go for it, but there's lots of towns outside with really good rail/bus links to the centre.