Where to live in Scotland? Advice needed.

Sorry to post this the other post I can find was from 3 years ago and I couldnt think of another forum where I could ask this kind of random thing, the possible job is in Dumbarton, where would you live?

Myself, Wife (works in secondary education), Daughter 3 and another due to be born in Feburary + a Springer Spaniel.

Both our families are in Northumberland where we live now so we would come back at weekends quite regularly to see grandparents etc.

Sorry but Im 90% roadie these days and the other 10% Cross racing so I would be interested good road rides from my door like I have now, mixed with a local Road Race and TT scene. Semi rural in a smallish town, few hills but not too many main roads. Id like to commute by Bike as much as I could also, I generally commute once a week now at 70 mile round trip so anything below or about that would be good.

Mrs likes to use local high street for fruit and veg shopping so we would like a smallish town environment. Another point would be option to have some parks, we would ike a beach or park to have familiy walks in and places to have small bike rides with the kids on tag alongs.

I think we should really look at Melbourne but as yet thats not an option 😉

I’d say Milngavie. Close enough to Dumbarton, good cycling on your doorstep. Good train link to Glasgow central.

Outlaws stay in Milngavie ,not cheap ,is Helensburgh any good ?

Balloch. Milngavie is full of wrinklies or newly rich pompous types.

Seems like you want West: Helensburgh has nice schools, beaches, shops and is on railway etc. It does, like so many Scottish places) have a real divide between areas, so consider budget and where street by street carefully.
For ‘more adventure’ you can head up the west line some more to Arrochar :).
Alternatively, look at the back road from Dumbarton – Balloch to Stirling. There are some nice villages there, and not far from shops and provisions.
You will not be short of access to nice green spaces anywhere in Scotland – and you will soon forget the park when the lochs, beaches, woods, waterfalls and suchlike are on your doorstep. Helensburgh, train for an hour = middle of Rannoch Moor, or 1.5 hours = Oban. Half an hours drive = proper wild west coast etc etc 8)
We just left proper highlands behind (Killin) and I miss the proximity to nature and mountains a lot. But the benefits of now being in Dunblane, with amazing local services and variety of people is great, and we can still jump in car and be at proper hills, lochs and rivers very quickly.

You don’t ask for much eh?

Ayrshire, for me has some of the best road riding in Scotland, decent number of clubs, near to the central belt too. Most Scottish CX races are central belt. Kilmarnock (no much high street), or Ayr would be 50mins/1.10 respectively from Dumbarton.

Milngavie/Bearsden would be a decent shout, especially as the west end is near for yer fancy dan farmers market and shopping. Not that expensive if you look around too. Loads of clubs, downside is I don’t reckon the roads North of Glasgow are that great – busy, crap surfaces etc.

Helensburgh could be a good shout, great road riding and near enough Glasgow/Dumbarton.

Kirkintilloch/Lenzie may also be good.

I think the semi-rural market town may be a bit hard to satisfy unless you’ve got great wads of cash – the ones that spring to mind are places like Bridge of Allan, Peebles etc. Most towns in Scotland of that size are total backward shit holes.

Helensburgh or Cardross (between Dumbarton and Helensburgh) would be good.
Lenzie is nice, very handy for schools, motorways, train, etc but it’s pretty soul-less (I grew up there)
Milngavie is nice, over-priced and you’ll end up trying to convince people that you’re actually from Bearsden don’t you know 😉
Drymen, Killearn and Kippen are the places that spring to mind for more rural living. All in nice areas with great riding from the doorstep, but you do lose the train links to Glasgow and the likes

Mrs likes to use local high street for fruit and veg shopping so we would like a smallish town environment. Another point would be option to have some parks, we would ike a beach or park to have familiy walks in and places to have small bike rides with the kids on tag alongs.

On reading this paragraph, Helensburgh probably fits the bill best imo (certainly not Lenzie which is a ghost-town during the day)

fruit and veg shopping

Scotland has yet to discover such items.

There is a massive choice of places to live if you’re working in Dumbarton. Dumbarton itself is a hole, but you can chose anything from nice city living to rural villages with 30mins of Dumbarton. There is a good network of cycle paths to Dumbarton (it’s on National Route 7) so easy to commute to by bike from a range of places. Also good by road or rail.

Lots of good on or off road riding around Glasgow. The first round of Scottish CX series was held at Auchentoshan last week, just a few miles from Dumbarton.

dragon – Member
Scotland has yet to discover such items.

I’ll have you know that some of us have been eating vegetable pakora for years!

Chips are veg, no?

Milngavie. Low crime compared to most places in the west of Scotland.

Pleasant pedestrianised town centre for walking with kids. No fruit and veg shop but there is a butcher, a fishmonger, a hardware shop. The precinct has a Marks and Sparks food shop for fruit, or Tesco is 2 minutes walk away.

Good schools. Trains every 15 mins to Glasgow during the day. Good sports centre. Excellent off road riding on the doorstep at Mugdock Country Park/West Highland Way.

Only downside is it is further from the motorway network than most places in the Glasgow area so more time to get to work if commuting by car to a 9-5 job anywhere in the Glasgow area.

Milngavie – Dumbarton is about 12 miles by bike on decent roads. Or tarmac surfaced cycle track from Bowling to Dumbarton.

On Helensburgh just remember it is 25 minutes west of Dumbarton adding another 40 minutes to the time to Northumberland compared to Milngavie or anywhere much east of Dumbarton.

Some nice wee towns not far over the erskine bridge, the likes of bridge of weir, Houston or kilmacolm. As said above, there is some awesome road riding in Ayrshire, which these towns are on the border of, and only 15 minutes from Glasgow airport, 25 minutes from the city centre.

Dumbarton and the surrounding area is a bit tasty, I’d avoid. IainC will be along In a minute to tell you to move to East Kilbride, the Scottish equivalent of Milton Keynes, but just ignore him, everyone else does 😀

As above, other side of Erskine bridge has some nice places in Bridge of Weir, Houston and Kilmacolm.

Between Balloch and Drymen and up to Balmaha is nice.

I would avoid most of Dumbarton, Bonhill, Renton and Alexandria.

Milngavie is over rated and expensive.

If I was working in Dumbarton, I wouldn’t really want to be any further south that the lower edges of greater Glasgow ( such as bridge of weir etc). The trip up from deeper Ayrshire would be a PITA to be honest and subject to quite a lot of traffic .

The road riding south of Glasgow and out into Ayrshire and beyond is very good, with plenty of riding that you can link up and with good climbs too.

Striking out west across the other side of the clyde is fab as well.

IainC will be along In a minute to tell you to move to East Kilbride, the Scottish equivalent of Milton Keynes, but just ignore him, everyone else does

bawbag 🙂

In normal circumstances I would say EK, but it’s a long way from Dumbarton !

Milngavie is nice but waay pricey. I’d be looking Houston area too

😀 😀 😀

Agree with fisha re ayrshire, anywhere further west than lochwinnoch and you’d be commuting on the A737, pain in the arse of a road.

Stirling?

Stirling?

35 mile each way commute on unlit 60mph roads. Bit much for the bike IMO.

Its what I do here once a week so managable to get some winter base miles in. Other than the bike commute how is it around there, prices seem more reasonable.

how is it around there

Go for the Raploch in Stirling. It’s lovely…

Dumbarton itself is a hole

Tis true, a lot of Dumbarton could be considered dire and the town centre is, well, a real hole but there are some really nice parts, one of which I have lived in happily for 10 years. I’ve got fantastic views over the Craggs, a nice wee MTB loop out the back door and round Loch Humphries, Loch Lomond and Arrochar are close by, plenty of mountain biking to be had. As for the OPs criteria, Im afraid that Dumbarton only meets two, it has a park, and its near Dumbarton! So go on, give Milngavie a try 😆

Go for the Raploch in Stirling. It’s lovely…

Looks great from my office window…. 😉

My vote would be Helensburgh. Lived there until I was 21, moved away, then came back as it is a great place to raise the kids.

The threat of fatty Salmond and his merry band of eejits does hang over Helensburgh and surrounding area, so I wouldn’t suggest buying until after the vote next year.

On the up side, lots of money being pumped into the burgh presently, some more subs due to be located (again ego maniac Salmond depending) so that should bring a bit more spark to the area.

Would also suggest Rhu, drymen (very small tho and possibly too isolated), Stirling and surrounding villages (expensive mind) milngavie, Bearsden. South side of the Clyde has some good towns as mentioned also.

Houston has a couple of cracking pubs and a great micro brewery.

Not much MTB in the immediate area and the road surfaces are pretty shocking.

I would probably be looking around Drymen but it may be too small for what you want.

I’d work on the theory that you go to work 5 days a week, and don’t 2 days – live somewhere nice that is easy to get to work.

This is based upon now having a 9 min commute. So my entire weeks commuting is now less than the journey to work I use to have to make (Bucks into Central London).

Carbon337, are you not a sailor? Stay west for access to RNCYC, HYC etc. Stirling to Dumbarton is like a race track in the commute.

I was a sailor yetid, rarely dabble these days but could make a comeback when I get a bit older and the kids get to an age when they can be involved. I’m too busy monitoring watts and shaving my legs these days.

Thanks for all the advice will see what happens and take it from there.

I stay in Milngavie, its too good for the poor. 😉

The best place I’ve lived in Scotland for road cycling was Cambuslang – on account of Eaglesham Moor, Strathaven area and round WHitelees, Darvel etc. Lattydavid is spot on…Ayrshire kicks arse for road cycling. I live in Appin now which is x10 for hillwalking etc., but not cycling.

In short, road cycling round south Argyll & Bute, Dumbartonshire involves busy roads….you are after the impossible.

Dumbarton, cardross, helensburgh, all have posh bits and dodgy bits. You want to be on the north side of the Clyde and avoid a82 m8 otherwise it will be commuting hell.

That’s nonsense, I commuted out from Gladgow to Faslane in the past (A82) and it was a doddle. If you’re heading into Glasgow it’s a pain, but when the OP has a job in Dumbarton it’ll hardly be an issue