Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are late 20s, we have a 2 1/2 year old and are planning to move to Scotland (my husband is from the UK).
We both love art, indie music, cafes, vintage/ artsy clothing shops, foreign food (or just good local food) but would also like plenty of great activities for our child and a safe area to raise her.
Any opinions as to which city would suit us better?
My husband and I are late 20s, we have a 2 1/2 year old and are planning to move to Scotland (my husband is from the UK).
We both love art, indie music, cafes, vintage/ artsy clothing shops, foreign food (or just good local food) but would also like plenty of great activities for our child and a safe area to raise her.
Any opinions as to which city would suit us better?
Thanks!
In Edinburgh you might like Newington, Marchmont or Morningside (look at the area between Minto St. and Morningside Rd). You've got lots of stuff on the main thoroughfares, the Meadows greenspace, and a nice woodland walk in the Braids. There's also Stockbridge and the area near the Botanical Garden. One might call parts of these areas "posh", however.
Trinity may also suit you.
Leith is quite funky but comes with its share of neds and weirdos.
Glasgow is rough. It may have some areas that check your boxes but personally I say the less time spent in that pit of despair the better.
Glasgow is rough. It may have some areas that check your boxes but personally I say the less time spent in that pit of despair the better.
What a load of nonsense, this is not the 90s anymore. Glasgow has a beautiful city centre and the west end which attracts a lot of students and tourists from all over the world.
To the OP:
Personally I find Glasgow better in terms of costs, the nightlife in Glasgow is very good and so is the shopping and dining scene. My cousin lives in Edinburgh city centre and loves it, though there isn't as much to do and its quite expensive to live in Edinburgh compared to what you could buy in or outside of Glasgow. I guess it all depends on what you want.
Thanks for the tips so far. Here is some other stuff to help.
We are not big night life people in terms of partying, but we do like to see music shows sometimes at night.
In your opinion, does Edinburgh have an international feel to it? Are there foreign people there? For instance, I speak Japanese, and may further my studies in it. would I be able to do this there? Would I be able to take say, a belly dance class? I am just trying to get a feel for things.
As far as posh areas, yeah we wouldn't want to be in a posh area, maybe just a step down from that. Some place that has a lot of little cafes to go to, art galleries, interesting music.
For me Edinburgh without a doubt. Glasgow has been revitalised in the last few years and is now a much nicer city than it used to be, it does have some great Museums like the Burell Collection and the Kelvingrove and some wonderful grand Victorian Architecture but cannot compare to "Auld Reekie".
Glasgow is younger and trendier I would say but Edinbrugh is much more cosmopolitan . They are completely different cities. I lived near Glasgow for almost 5 years and I'm afraid I never connected with the city much. We used to have to drive to Edinburgh all the time to get our "culture" fix and I prefer the fact that Edinburgh is more compact. Edinbrugh has a fantastic selection of restaurants too as a foodie. Glasgow is not too bad either.
I found people from Edinbrugh a lot nicer , reserved but a lot friendlier to "outsiders". During our five years we managed to make one friend in Glasgow and felt very excluded because we had not grown up in the city and coming from "posh" Southern England were considered persona non grata. We actually found it so depressing that eventually we could take it no longer and left. I would move to Edinburgh in a heartbeat though.
Scotland is a magnificent country, the Highlands and Islands have some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth and I love the Scots. Outside of Glasgow.
Edinburgh can feel terribly touristic but once you have been there for a while you start to get to know all its nooks and cranies and it is a wonderful, bewitching city. Superb architecture, very classy , lots of wonderful elegant shops. Lots to see and do. My only complain with it is being on the wrong side of the best scenery !
Nice areas in Glasgow would be the West End and in Edinbrugh the New Town ( very expensive though some pockets are better), Bruntsfield is quite nice too and the modern revamped Leith has its charms. Dean Village is also quite lovely as is Morningside.
The Old Town has some great buildings but is a tourist trap especially around the Royal Mile.
Hi,
Any opinions as to which city would suit us better?
Thanks!
I was born and grew up in Glasgow, but I did one of my degrees in Edinburgh. I don't know Edinburgh that well so don't feel qualified to talk about it, but I can say that Glasgow has a lot of things to do and has some very nice areas to live in. I spend my childhood in Cathcart in the south side of the city--residential, nice terraced homes and near the Lynn Park. I moved to Polokshields when I had my first job--another nice southside neighborhood. Shawlands is also very nice. Queen's Park is near both of them. All three neighborhoods are on the Cathcart circle train service that runs every five or ten minutes into Glasgow Central Station--you don't need a car.
When I got married, I lived in the west end near the University of Glasgow and Kelvingrove Park. I loved living near the university because there are lots of nice restaurants and coffee shops within walking distance. Check this website out: Byres Road
The underground circle serves the west end of the city and goes to Polokshields too.
Edinburgh is more obviously pretty since it has the castle, but Glasgow has stunning Victorial architecture, not to mention Charles Rennie MacIntosh designed buildings, like the Art School and the Willow Tea Room. It is was the European City of Culture as far back as 1990. It has Scottish Ballet, the Scottish Opera and the Scottish National Orchestra. They are all in Glasgow for a reason
You can do belly dancing in many parts of Scotland: Belly dance classes in Scotland and there will be lots of places to study languages.
Check this out too: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/ArtsDevelopment/festivalsandevents.htm (broken link)
Last edited by CaroleF; 03-24-2010 at 07:31 PM..
Reason: added a link
What a load of nonsense, this is not the 90s anymore. Glasgow has a beautiful city centre and the west end which attracts a lot of students and tourists from all over the world.
Ah the old Edinburgh Glasgow debate rages on.
But in seriousness, I have never, and I mean *never* seen a city centre where I've walked past more junkies and prostitutes than Glasgow. Maybe there are worse places, I just haven't had the misfortune of spending any time there.
To Glasgow's credit it's not the 90s and things are much better. But considering where the city started it still has a long way to go. The bit near the uni is nice, I'll grant you, but you're still surrounded by the rest of it.
And then there are all the beautiful square concrete buildings and the motorway flyovers. Charming.
All my opinion, of course. Take a virtual drive through Glasgow...it's all on Google Street View. Prove it to yourself.
Never been to Glasgow and never lived in either city but I've been to Edinburgh and LOVED it!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
