[Closed] Moving back to UK, Edinburgh or London?

I've never been to Edinburgh and would love to know how the trails compare to Surrey Hills? Are there trails accessible by train or is a car needed?

I'd say simply you can't compare the 2 they are so different!!
https://www.trailforks.com/region/london-116/
https://www.trailforks.com/region/edinburgh/?lat=55.943873&lon=-3.325572&z=9&m=trailforks
Whats the main driver for location is it work or something else sending you there.

Yes, mainly work. We chose the UK as I can work there being Irish and she can get a work permit easily. I work in Software Development (been on an extended career break in a Whistler Ski Resort :D) and my girlfriend works as an Accountant. Edinburgh and London seemed like good choices career wise. Edinburgh appeals to me as its smaller than London and not so expensive.

Unless you are set on those 2 places I'd probably condsider spreading the net further for the right job in the right place, personally it would take enough money to work 3 days a week to move down to London so I had enought time to escape, from Edinburgh you could nip down to Peebles/Glentress in an hour. Glasgow is well located too along with Manchester/Leeds etc.

Edinburgh, if you want to stay in Europe..

Plus, access to heaps of natural riding very easily.

They are quite different, one is a provincial town in size (though called a city) the other a true 'world city'.
Depending on what you are looking for either might suit.

Bristol!

[i]They are quite different, one is a provincial town in size (though called a city) the other a true 'world city'.[/I]

Not 'quite' but 'very'.

Two totally different places (I've worked in both and use to live 40 miles from London and now live 40 miles from Edinburgh).

And yes you'll need a car in Edinburgh, tbh you pretty much need a car in any city IMO if you want the flexibility to go MTBing as/when.

Check out:

https://www.trailforks.com/nearby/?lat=55.950254&lng=-3.187606

Look south of Edinburgh, Tweed Valley. MTB mecca.

I live close to London and regularly ride-out to the Surrey Hills. I've also been making regular visits to Scotland and the Tweed Valley and there's no real comparison. Evening trips to Glentress on a bright, sunny day and you'd have the place literally to yourself. We'd move to Scotland tomorrow if circumstances were right. Furthermore, drive an hour or two north from Edinburgh and you've got some real mountains.

I lived in London for about 4 years, and whilst managed to mtb a lot, found it a massive pain. As much as I loved living there, and like going back, I can't recommend to anyone who wants any type of outdoors lifestyle.

They are poles apart, riding from your doorstep in Edinburgh, cheaper to live, better all around quality of life probably. Without question I would choose Edinburgh.

Another option is Bristol, it's where I moved, trails close by town, and amazing riding within an hours drive.

Also, crying out for Software developers in and around Bristol.

In Edinburgh you will get double the size of flat for your money!

I have a house in Edinburgh (on the edge of the Pentland Hills) and a place in London (Essex border - very close to Epping forest) and for mountain biking there is no comparison, Edinburgh is vastly better. If you wanted to balance access to decent jobs and lifestyle with access to mountain biking I can't think of anywhere better in the UK, especially if you pick a location right on the edge of the Pentlands. I find that in Edinburgh most of my riding is mountain biking, where as in London I mostly do road biking.

If your job allows think about the Bristol area, south Wales, FoD, Quantocks, Dartmoor and BPW, Afan, Cym Carn all within easy reach

@northerntom living in Guildford I had a fabulous outdoor lifestyle with superb riding and walking on my doorstep. 1 mile to the station and 35 mins on train to Waterloo. 1hr to coast. Alternatively lived in central London and 45 min drive on a Sunday morning to Surrey Hills.

OP depends upon your balance between work and play. Work wise I have to believe London will be much better in terms of opportunity and pay (double?). Edinburgh is going to win hands down for outright play opportunities. Yes younwill need a car, services like ZipCar are great but quite expensive (£50 a day which makes a ride £££ but freely available and bookable via the app) or just buy a £1-3k small-ish weekend car you can put bikes/kit in.

Jamba - how many software developers have you hired to work in Edinburgh? No shortage of opportunity and rates are good (not quite London silly, but then house and beer prices are only crazy rather that totally ridiculous). But obviously the streets of London are paved with gold.

jambalaya - Member
Work wise I have to believe London will be much better in terms of opportunity and pay (double?). Edinburgh is going to win hands down for outright play opportunities.

Not sure on pay. I'm not a software developer but work in IT in Edinburgh. The difference in salaries for my role between the two cities is minimal and definitely doesn't offset the extra cost of living in London. I'd be a lot poorer living in London than in or near Edinburgh.

@jambalaya – Guildford isn’t London (as I’m sure you’re aware). The OP is talking about London. When I lived in hammersmith it was usually at least an hour drive to Peaslake, and usually worse on the way back, up to 2 hours on a Sunny Sunday.

Whilst Guildford is a great compromise for working in London and still having a bit of the outdoors, it doesn’t compare to what is on offer in Bristol and especially Edinburgh. Industry dependant, pay certainly isn’t double for living in London. I would say anywhere from 5-25% higher. I took a £10k paycut moving from London, and I am better off because of it.

I’ll put it this way, my mortgage for a 2 bed house in central Bristol is the same as my rent for a room in a 3 bed flat in Hammersmith.

Go to London! I guarantee you'll either be mugged or not appreciated. Catch the train to London, stopping at Rejection, Disappointment, Backstabbing Central and Shattered Dreams Parkway.

I'd be choosing Edinburgh all day long.

Tech companies seem to be springing up all over the place at the moment, house prices are reasonable and with the tram and trains in place even commuting isn't too much of an issue.

Edinburgh, easy winner.

Surrey Hills riding is brilliant, but the Tweed Valley is on another level - metaphorically and literally.

PS. Mentioning Tweed Valley as it's similar journey time as SH from London. Quicker in a lot of cases.

Not sure on pay. I'm not a software developer but work in IT in Edinburgh. The difference in salaries for my role between the two cities is minimal and definitely doesn't offset the extra cost of living in London. I'd be a lot poorer living in London than in or near Edinburgh.

It's an interesting question. When I moved from Edinburgh to London my salary increased by 50% however when attracted me to moving wasn't really money but more the access to opportunities as pretty much all the larger consulting firms are HQ'd here (and even when they have offices elsewhere they still prefer their senior folks to be London based). In my current role I'm not specifically required to be London based however I couldn't really do my job effectively without being down here a lot, hence the move.

Edinburgh.

London is oppressive, and sod driving that long to still be somewhere as rammed as the Surrey hills.

@jambalaya – Guildford isn’t London (as I’m sure you’re aware). The OP is talking about London.

When people say London what they usually mean is "reasonably commutable into London".

Edinburgh, even if I didn't ride bikes.

Bristol would be alright too, but Edinburgh is just the best.

I worked at the Amazon development centre in Edinburgh (can recommend). The difference in pay between Edinburgh and London for a graduate was about 10K.

Cardiff worth a look too.

I was brought up cycling in the borders including the tweed valley before it became famous, on a rigid bike with v-brakes. When I moved south, to Colchester then farnborough, I kept looking for all this great biking that the mags talked about near London but was disappointed (spoilt by what had gone before). Sorry but the South Downs are nice but there's no comparison.

You could buy a 4 bedroom detached with garden and an hour commute into centre of Edinburgh for less than a two bed flat with the same commute in London. One will be in the green countryside the other off a high street.

Scrap that, you could by a small estate for the price of a two bed in streatham

I moved from Wellington to Edinburgh, have also lived in London.
Very different cities and depends what you want but for sheer access to hills then Edinburgh has some, is near some and lets you drive to lots !
There's loads of alternatives I'm sure but as said before depends on what you want.
On jobs, there's plenty of opps here but as epicsteve said if you want to climb the ladder get ready to join the sheep on the 06:40 to City on a monday morning. I hold a senior role and manage it down to a couple of days every few weeks with lots of Hangouts and Webex time but I work hard to do that as I hate being in London.

EDIT: Riding from town is not exactly hard, i live in Colinton mainly as its at the base of the Pentlands. You can ride from home to Peebles and Inners and back in a day offroad if you are that way inclined (I am). Also done a few train adventures, train to Perth Glen Almond then round that way. Train to Blair and ride to Aviemore etc. Heaps of access.

[I]You could buy a 4 bedroom detached with garden and an hour commute into centre of Edinburgh for less than a two bed flat with the same commute in London. One will be in the green countryside the other off a high street.

Scrap that, you could by a small estate for the price of a two bed in streatham [/I]

Yep.

We've an old mill with numerous outbuildings and about 1/2 acre an hours commute (train or car) from central Edinburgh (my wife works in the centre).

When we moved up 5 years ago it was worth exactly half what our 3-bed detached went for in Aylesbury (which isn't an expensive part of the SE by any imagination).

I live in London, and ride at Swinley Forest and (much more recently) the Surrey Hills via train. In your position, I'd choose Edinburgh.

You could buy a 4 bedroom detached with garden and an hour commute into centre of Edinburgh for less than a two bed flat with the same commute in London.

As it happens I own a 5-bedroom house in a very nice part of Edinburgh (Balerno) and a 2-bedroom flat in London (well, just into Essex but still under an hour into central London) and both are roughly the same value. The flat isn't on a high street though - it's in 200 acres of parkland.

10 minutes to the station and an hour to central Edinburgh. £2600 for a year season ticket. Surely London can't offer this for a work life balance for the money.

[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58641871.html ]no bad like[/url]

Have you thought about trying out New Zealand instead OP? Wellington is a pretty amazing place to live. I know it'd be you looking for the work permit there, but software devs are on the long term skills shortage list so you shouldn't have any problems...

If Edinburgh's on the list you might want to think about Glasgow. Roughly the same size but mountains (proper actual mountains) are closer and I found cycling around much easier within the city (canal towpaths, riverside walks and the like). Also, I found Glasgow a lot more vibrant than Edinburgh.
London has all the attractions of a swarm of exploding killer bunnies as far as I'm concerned.

If Edinburgh's on the list you might want to think about Glasgow. Roughly the same size

Glasgow is a fair bit bigger than Edinburgh and quite different in character. I quite like the place, and there are some really nice areas, but wouldn't really want to live there.

but mountains (proper actual mountains) are closer

Probably more of interest if you're a hillwalker than a mountain biker and not really that much of a difference anyway. On the other hand Edinburgh has the Pentlands and decent borders hills nearby.

and I found cycling around much easier within the city (canal towpaths, riverside walks and the like).

Edinburgh is also pretty good for cycling within the city as it also has decent towpath and riverside options.

Also, I found Glasgow a lot more vibrant than Edinburgh.

Vibrant as in, higher likelyhood of getting stabbed...?

I'd be choosing Edinburgh all day long.

Edinburgh, easy winner.

This! Quality of life is everything.

Glasgow

I think Living in edinburgh is a bit shit. Its fine but not great

Glasgow is much more betterer

Or move to peebles and commute.

For me mountain biking is going to be a substantial deciding factor

If you're serious about this, it's rare for anyone to put London high on their list. Particularly comparing it to Scotland

I live in London, I don't live here for the mountain biking. I love it here, but I was born here so I live here because my life and family are here. I've spent the last few days in Snowdonia and whilst I enjoyed it I'm a townie so a big city suits me

1 bed flat in Streatham now c£400k - you'll struggle to pay less than £400 for a 2-bed anywhere in a London postcode now...

Data shows 30-somethings are leaving London now - partly cost of living, partly it's having the soul ripped out of it culturally - all the independent businesses, the clubs, the music venues, the artists are being pushed out by corporate money and the huge sums of corrupt foreign money being laundered through property and the City... The immigrants as well as indigenous are leaving IME.

London will still be a great city IMO but it's losing the appeal it had which made it so popular in the first place.

You may find it easier to get a job if people are leaving of course but cost of living will still be astronomical and for me there's no point living in a city if you don't have the cash to make the best of all the opportunities it offers.

I've moved out now (50 miles away) but stay with a friend at weekends in zone 2. I'd move back if I could afford it but right now it's cheaper to live out and pay for accommodation at weekends than it would be to either rent or buy in a London postcode

Glasgow is a great city, feels more down to earth than Edinburgh. Do the stats say it's more violent?

b r 1hr from Edinburgh includes most of the central belt.

Edinburgh is great for riding from your door - road also. Glasgow is much bigger.

On that affordability point I suspect that'll be a significant factor in this. If you can afford a decent lifestyle in London (either because you've already got cash or can earn a lot more there) then it becomes a more viable choice. Edinburgh isn't cheap by most standards, but it most certainly is compared to London however there aren't as many career opportunities.

I'm still slightly torn as part of my is thinking that I could just downsize to an studio flat in London for when I'm down here, but make Edinburgh my main base. It'd mean my wife changing jobs though as she also works down here and doesn't have the flexibility I do with locations.

Of those two, Edinburgh by about a million miles.

However...if you're a software developer and she's an accountant, depending upon the industries/sectors within which you're each looking to work, you'll probably find jobs in pretty much any city of the UK. As such, if you're looking for easy access to great mountain biking, you can also add Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow (and probably others) to your list of possibilities.

Glasgow is a great city, feels more down to earth than Edinburgh. Do the stats say it's more violent?

Roughly double the rate of violent crime compared to Edinburgh.

Its a no brainer, Edinburgh every time. But then pretty much everywhere is better than London, especially if you like being outdoors and want to ride

[quote=cynic-al ]Glasgow is a great city, feels more down to earth than Edinburgh. Do the stats say it's more violent?

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14194780.Glasgow_loses_violent_crime_capital_tag/

Jan 2016

GLASGOW has shed its tag of the most violent city in Britain according to a new report.

Ten years ago crime levels for serious violence in Glasgow were by far the highest in Scotland and higher than Manchester Liverpool and Newcastle.

Now with a reduction of more than 50% crime levels per head of population the city is lower than the big northern English cities and has seen a faster reduction than anywhere in Scotland.

A report from Community Safety Glasgow to Glasgow City Council this week shows in 2001/05 Glasgow recorded 80 violent crimes per 10,000 of the population. It dwarfed other Scottish cities With Edinburgh the next highest at 37 per 10,000 people.

It was also above Liverpool the highest in England, outside London. Which has 73 per 10,000 and Manchester at 53 per 10,000.

Now ten years on [b]Glasgow has fallen to 30 per 10,000 while Liverpool has a smaller drop to 47 and Manchester increased to 67 overtaking its north west neighbour.

Edinburgh only witnessed a small decrease to 30 putting it level with Glasgow[/b]

This forum must have quite a few well paid folk on here as the parts of Edinburgh are pretty expensive areas no mention of Muirhouse, Pilton, Gilmerton but then Eh4 and eh10 have most millionares outside Londons celebrity bits but i like cycling in Edinburgh although you get the odd stab threat if you go to the front of the traffic lights legally

Be off with you and your actual evidence Colin!

Those stats look pretty dodgy to me - apparently there were no murders or attempted murders in Glasgow during the later period, which seems pretty unlikely.

The stats are quite hard to decipher - in fact the latest Scottish government stats show Edinburgh City as having the largest drop (11%) in crime levels over the last couple of years, with Glasgow city only a couple of percentage points behind. From 2006/7 to last year there was a bigger drop in Glasgow (42%) but there was also a big drop in Edinburgh (34%) which would seem to indicate that Evening Times article is probably bollocks.

Ok - finally found the governments stats for 2015/16 it looks like the rate of violent crime in Glasgow that year was about 2.5 per 1000 population, compared to 1.6 in Edinburgh.

[i]b r 1hr from Edinburgh includes most of the central belt.[/I]

Yep, I know.

I'm Borders, just a couple of miles from the Tweedbank railway station.

[I]1 bed flat in Streatham now c£400k - you'll struggle to pay less than £400 for a 2-bed anywhere in a London postcode now...[/I]

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E2584&maxPrice=400000&radius=1.0&includeSSTC=false

This is what £400k gets you near me, only one flat though 🙂

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58135753.html

Glasgow is more my kind of city in a lot of ways, but it's further from some of the best riding, much wetter and (correct me if I'm wrong) may not have the same career opportunities for the OP and his other half.

Glasgow certainly has lots of jobs - JP Morgan have 500+ software developers there as one example. And accountancy jobs, i might know of a few of them for example.

Still rains a lot though.

😉

Oh christ it rains in glasgow discussion again

By the same token Edinburh is windy and cold

And thats just the people!

🙂

you get the odd stab threat if you go to the front of the traffic lights legally

It's been said already, but Edinburgh wins hands down for cycling on or off road (even without a car there is good stuff locally). It probably has the highest concentration of big financial services providers outside the capital, but London's software development market will dwarf Edinburgh.

And thats just the people!

😀

What does that make Glaswegians, clammy?

Anyway,

London, **** that shit

Edinburgh every time, and I don't even like the place.

Why. Why. Why would anyone want to move to the overcrowded, overpriced south east corner of Britain, let alone the throbbing heart of the beast that is London?

Edinburgh is a wonderful place, with ace access to great countryside. I would.

Why. Why. Why would anyone want to move to the overcrowded, overpriced south east corner of Britain, let alone the throbbing heart of the beast that is London?

Edinburgh is a wonderful place, with ace access to great countryside. I would.

There are reasons - I did it myself a few years back, although I haven't completely broken my links with Edinburgh. There is a lot to like about living in London, although like all big cities it does help if you have sufficient means to allow living somewhere nice and actually enjoying what the city has to offer.

It does rain a lot in Glasgow though, and I'm glasweeeeeegian. I work there 2-3 days a week and more often than not its dry and cold in edinburgh with outbreaks of stuck up snobby whatschooldidyougoto people, then around about Harthill where I have a nosebleed it rains. Then i get stabbed as I wait for my fish supper, for breakfast, with Buckie.

Why. Why. Why would anyone want to move to the overcrowded, overpriced south east corner of Britain, let alone the throbbing heart of the beast that is London?

10 million+ people seem to like it 🙄

NZCol raises a validpoint.

OP

Do you prefer

Cod or Haddock

And you would put what on it.

Salt and Vinegar or Salt and Sauce (brown)

That "salt and sauce" thing is an east coast perversion (I have a place in Edinburgh but am originally from further west).

10 million+ people seem to like it

That "salt and sauce" thing is an east coast perversion (I have a place in Edinburgh but am originally from further west).

I know

Haddock orcod for england or scotland

S&v or s&s for glasgow or edinburgh.

I think the OP should move where I live, as it's best.

Meringue?

Not London. Anywhere but London, not just because of mtbing issues, but due to cost of living, house prices, congestion, etc.
Edinburgh would be preferable, also as others have said Bristol, and also consider Leeds.
Anywhere but London. Anywhere but this craphole I'm currently existing in!

Accountant and Software developer would be fine in any major city.

I'd go for Edinburgh out of the two you offer but would also recommend a look elsewhere.

Newcastle has accountancy firms a plenty. The big 4 all have offices here if I remember (I've certainly seen Deloitte and PWC). Lots of IT as well. My wife is working for Accenture out of their Newcastle office, UBI soft have a development centre here. I'm sure HP, CapGemini and others have offices here.

It is a nice place to live and cheap.

London is a great place to live, if you earn a decent amount, or if you are young. However, if you aren't then I imagine it is pretty tough - having said that there is loads of free stuff to do.

Anywhere but London. Anywhere but this craphole I'm currently existing in!

Hull?

Cardiff.

I love Edinburgh and think it's beautiful.

I love London and thinks it's majestic and exciting.

I love Cardiff because it's home, and has everything a big city has but on a smaller scale. I can be in some of the most beautiful roads/trails on the planet from my inner-city door step in a matter of minutes, and I've got the sea within a stone's throw of where I live.

As much as I genuinely appreciate many other places in the U.K., I would strongly urge the OP to consider Cardiff.

It's got to be Cardiff!!

You have steep techy trails rideable from the city centre, plenty of trail centres nearby and big mountain riding in the Brecon Beacons which is 1 hour drive away. The coast is also near. There's plenty happening and it's cheap compared to other cities.

The added bonus of Cardiff is that the OP's girlfriend could have a knowledgable conversation about rugby with anyone, including the merits of Andy Hayden and Frank Oliver. You can also tell her grandad/dad/uncles etc that I live 2 doors down to where 'The King' used to live.

I lived in London for nearly 5 years and currently live 10 miles from Edinburgh city centre. I love London but Edinburgh wins by miles for nearly everything . Great little compactin city with everything you could need and as for biking and has been said 45 minutes to the tweed valley and within 2hrs you could be in Glencoe or just south of Aviemore. Also some great beaches in East Lothian , I'd say it was a no brainer.

didnt read the entire thread however..

Not sure on pay. I'm not a software developer but work in IT in Edinburgh. The difference in salaries for my role between the two cities is minimal and definitely doesn't offset the extra cost of living in London. I'd be a lot poorer living in London than in or near Edinburgh.

is correct..No where near double, even if contracting

Unless I couldn't get a job in Edinburgh then it would be a no brainer

Glasgow

Sorry Geoff, have to disagree. Despite being born and dragged up in the west, 30 mins from Glasgow, I can't think of a single reason that would see me choose it over Edinburgh.

Very sadly, London's looking increasingly screwed. Property is unaffordable and the new stuff being built is being taken for speculation. Employers are moving jobs out because they cant afford the salaries their workers need (HSBC to Birmingham, JPMorgan to Bournemouth, KPMG getting special mortgage deals.
As per this thread - people are thinking twice about coming because of the better deal from living elsewhere in the UK (London salaries not covering cost of living)
The 30-somethings are moving out so they can start a family or emigrating for better job opportunities.
The artists are leaving because they can't afford it either.
The immigrants are finding it less attractive from the fall in the pound and the message that we don't want them...
If it means a better balancing of the UK economy then good in the long run but for long-term London residents who love it's culture and energy it's very sad.

I stay near Edinburgh, and I've worked up here as a software engineer for more than a decade.

The market up in Edinburgh is pretty buoyant ATM, but I'd be wary as the local market is largely fintech jobs, some of which might be at risk depending on what companies do due to the current Brexit saga. It only takes one big company (e.g JP Morgan, Tesco, RBS, Mastercard, Lloyds etc) to relocate and you then have a local market flooded with job seekers. This is my own paranoia, of course, but I've recently moved away from fintech because ultimately it's not particularly interesting (pays well though).

As has been said throughout the thread, London will have better opportunities but I'd argue a lower quality of life due to the cost of living. In Edinburgh you have decent riding from your doorstep without taking the car anywhere. Plenty people I know previously said "I'll move to London and only do it for a few years" but then seem to be based down there indefinitely, so it can't be all that bad!

Thanks for all the info!! Wasn't expecting so many reply's!

Have you thought about trying out New Zealand instead OP? Wellington is a pretty amazing place to live. I know it'd be you looking for the work permit there, but software devs are on the long term skills shortage list so you shouldn't have any problems...

New Zealand would be a good option but my girlfriend wants to spend some time in Europe and I want to be closer to family for a while.

Bristol is a place that is being mentioned to me more and more, both on this thread and elsewhere. I will have to look into it.

Edinburgh sounds like a good spot.