To live in Glasgow or Edinburgh?

[SpunkyGlory]

I'm after some first-hand advice from people who live or have lived in Glasgow or Edinburgh.

I shall shortly be moving to Scotland with work and have the option to live in either of these cities. The commute is not a concern as I shall only be in the office in Glasgow one day a week, the rest of the time will be split between the two cities.

I'm 25, single and don't know a single person in either city at the moment so would therefore like a city that offers me the opportunity to meet similar people to myself, as there won't really be the option through work. I love music (dance/house music/raves etc), mountain biking, sports (would probably try and start playing rugby again). I've spent the last 3 years living in Essex but spend most of my time in London and love the buzz of the city.

From what I've seen, heard and read so far:
- Edinburgh is the more attractive city
- Edinburgh is leagues ahead in terms of culture but art galleries etc are not really my scene
- Glasgow has the better night-life/shopping
- Edinburgh has a lot more tourists
- In terms of property, money seems to go further in Glasgow

Now I know both cities are university cities and so neither will be short of young people. At the moment I think I'm leaning towards Glasgow but I'd be keen to hear opinions as I won't really have the chance to experience either city for more than a day or two before I have to commit.

Admittedly it's slightly daunting moving to a new city and starting again, but I'm looking forward to a fresh start and a new challenge.

[SpunkyGlory]

I'm quite familiar with the West and the roads, albeit not Glasgow itself, as my grandparents live in Applecross.

[SpunkyGlory]

Thanks for all the replies, looks like Glasgow is the best place for me.

Chunkymonkey71 said:

Edinburgh is leagues ahead in terms of culture?

Are you high?

That's only what I've heard or read, is it not true? Presume people are basing that on that little castle up there.

[SpunkyGlory]

Bushman1 said:

If you decide on Glasgow give me a shout and I'll tell you areas to live and avoid. West end is the preferred choice it's good for nightlife etc south side is similar and generally cheaper but post code dependent. Both have easy access to motorway and M77

Thanks, I'll take you up on this closer to the time.

jith - No offence intended, it was purely what I had read on various forums etc. You've certainly helped to sell Glasgow even more.

Just need to find a rugby club to join now - any recommendations?

[SpunkyGlory]

Andrew[MG] said:

Depends how good you are and whether you go with the Southside or West End.

Who are you coming up to work for?

Used to be okay, haven't played in about 6 years now so not expecting to be great to begin with! Will probably be looking at West End, someone has mentioned Glasgow Accies as being worth a look?

[SpunkyGlory]

Gramrugby said:

It's worse than that. The city centre is a disgrace. Back to topic, you don't mention how old you are.
In my opinion forty plus and it's Edinburgh. I live there 50 / 50 and Aberdeenshire. Love it.

I thought I covered that when I said I was 25..?

[SpunkyGlory]

Thanks for all the replies, it's much appreciated.

I think Glasgow is definitely the one for me at the moment. I've started having a look at places on Rightmove etc and I've noticed some places that look really nice but when I show them to my Weegie manager, he tells me they're in 'the ghetto' or other rough areas so I'll need to be careful with that. The West End is looking like a good prospect.

[SpunkyGlory]

MitchyRS said:

Does Glasgow not have one of the highest murder rates and one of the lowest life expectancy rates in Europe? It's also a city blighted by poverty and sectarianism. I'd think twice about moving to Glasgow.

Edinburgh is a little like London, expensive and full of tourists. Night life, Glasgow wins, but Edinburgh isn't a bad night out, a classier crowd if you like so you're less likely to get stabbed on a night out.

There's also Dundee and Aberdeen to consider.

Dundee is the most central of the 4 major cities, an hour drive to Edinburgh/Glasgow and Aberdeen (North to Aberdeen, South to Edinburgh and West to Glasgow) so it has the best location geographically for travelling around Scotland. It's undergoing a massive regeneration with billions being pumped into new developments at the waterfront, it's the smallest of the 4 cities and probably doesn't have the nightlife Glasgow does but it has one of the best Universities in the UK (Leader in Medical Science) so is always full of students propping up the nightlife.

Then there's Aberdeen,

A rich area of Scotland with a lot of wealth, Aberdeenshire is beautiful and a gateway to going further north (Inverness) It's a bit out the way from Glasgow though and the locals can be a tad strange. Downsides would be traffic (Airport and oil industry within the same few square miles, traffic is horrendous if you're on the north side, much worse than Edinburgh)It's an expensive city too.

If it were me, I would pick Edinburgh over Glasgow if that's your two choices. I'd also pick Dundee and Aberdeen over Glasgow too, the neds, sectarian nonsense and some of the poverty and violence you will see in Glasgow will put you off for life. Everyone knows someone that's either been murdered, stabbed, slashed or has died of a drug overdose, that's just Glasgow.

Thanks for the input.

I'm by no means an expert on Glasgow but isn't the high murder rate and low life expectancy slightly out of date now? A quick Google suggests Glasgow has changed massively in recent years and the murder rate halved between 2004-5 and last year. I'm sure most cities have rough areas with violence and drug problems, but I'm pretty sure I've seen equally as bad violence in London, Nottingham, Manchester etc.

[SpunkyGlory]

Thanks for all the replies, it's good to hear opinions from both sides.

I think I'm going to move to Glasgow, I appreciate it might be a bit rough around the edges etc but it sounds like the better place to enjoy being young, free and single. I love the 'city life' and so moving to one of the places slightly outside the city doesn't appeal to me at the moment. It looks like I'll be moving in the next 4 weeks and I honestly cannot wait!!