I was just thinking that, TJ you are confusing Linlithgow with Livingston.
Linlithgow is an old town, it has a palace FFS ! MQoS stayed there so they say, but like BPC, she did get about. Its lovely, a loch in the town centre, nice old houses, regular trains to Edinburgh.
Livingston is a hell on earth with tons of cheap identikit housing. I worked there for 6 months once, terrible place. Far too many roundabouts for a start. No high street, a shopping mall with a council benefits office. Most people that live there are either living off the state or employed by it. And the car park at ASDA was rammed full on a tuesday lunchtime once when I (er literally) looked down on it from the building next door. Not a good sign.
Anyways, yes Peebles is nice, but a bit “are you local, this is a local town, for local people”. And the bus takes over an hour to central Edinburgh. Can’t fault the biking tho ! Good schools, sinister local festival every year. Pubs still to catch up with all the metro types that have started moving there. Very good wine shop, and a couple of restaurants that think they are good and charge accordingly, but aren’t really all that.