Moving to Edinburgh

Eoiniom1

So I am moving to Edinburgh in couple of weeks and am looking for some advice....

I will be hoping to get as close to princess street as possible... I am happy to rent any room for the first while once its a good location. Anyone know a good site that i can trust to rent off (i have contacted a person off 1 site and turned out to be a complete scam, wanted me to transfer money). So anyone recommend a safe place to find some accom?

Other Q's i have would be is there any 'no go' areas, kind of places you wouldn't risk going late or alone maybe? What is best phone network to go with etc....

Just looking for info that you wish someone would have told you before you went over

So really I mean that any advice is welcome

razorblunt

There are a good few threads on this topic already, should have all the info in greater detail there.

Gumtree is probably best for shared lets, citylets and rightmove then for "proper" lets.
Edinburgh is pretty small so you're never too far away from Princes St no matter where you are really.

Generally dodgy areas for me are out of town Sighthill, Pilton, Granton and the likes.

What's on Princes St that you need to be that close?

Eoiniom1

Thanks for reply

Yeah had a look at some of the other threads but I was thinking that they may be outta date by now.

To rent a room city centre seems to be average 475is pounds per month then plus bills and council tax on top of that.

Working out a bit more than I'd have hoped.

I don't really have to be that close in fairness, just my laziness ha. Will start work just off Princess street and I was thinking if I could get somewhere close enough that I wouldn't need to pay for transport would be ideal. Was kinda thinking there be more to do in the evenings there as well, maybe I am being silly by doing this

Fysh

Eoiniom1 wrote: »

Thanks for reply

Yeah had a look at some of the other threads but I was thinking that they may be outta date by now.

To rent a room city centre seems to be average 475is pounds per month then plus bills and council tax on top of that.

Working out a bit more than I'd have hoped.

I don't really have to be that close in fairness, just my laziness ha. Will start work just off Princess street and I was thinking if I could get somewhere close enough that I wouldn't need to pay for transport would be ideal. Was kinda thinking there be more to do in the evenings there as well, maybe I am being silly by doing this

Princes St isn't actually the best place to be for what you want - yeah, there are some pubs & clubs there but they're generally overpriced. A better bet would be to find an area with things you like which has good bus routes to Princes St. Leith or the closer parts of Newington might work for you, as both seem to have a fair amount going on. Stockbridge and Dean Village are also nice but very expensive.

Also bear in mind that a ridacard will cost you £50 a month and cover unlimited travel (including night buses, tram and airport bus) on Lothian buses within the city, so it's worth considering - especially for when the weather's not so good.

Eoiniom1

Thanks for the info about the radicard, exactly what i need.

I was finding it very hard to get a place close by princess street so started looking at rooms up leith walk and also down in old town... seems to be expensive everywhere until I go quite a good bit outside the centre.

FortySeven

Meadowbank is a nice spot, handy bus route straight in to city center and nice walks up Arthurs seat. Plenty supermarkets locally within walking distance and a nice athletics facility if you're into that kind of thing.

Leith walk gets dodgier the further down you go. The 'foot of the walk' is getting into places you don't really want to go in the dark. Leith links is cheap if you fancy a bit of paid for 'how's yer father' with a junkie with no teeth after dark. Halfway doewn leith walk is as far as I would consider, about where the hipster bars turn into the old mens pubs.

Anything city center you are looking at tiny room for massive money. Just get a map of bus routes or the tram routes and work from there. Public transport is excellent in Edinburgh.

Blackjack

Leith walk would probably be best for you, it's near enough to princes street, but princes street is fairly long so it would depend on which end. If you are going to be working the airport side of princes street, then Dalry (pronounced Doll-rye) or Haymarket would probably be better.

As someone mentioned, Edinburgh is fairly small and has one of the highest number of central city residents in the Uk, if not the highest. You'll probably be able to find something in your budget within walking distance of your work.

You won't get to live on princes street itself. I read a few years ago there was only one single resident who had some sort of permanent club residence or some such. That was at least 10 years ago now and the chap was fairly elderly, so he may have shuffled off by now.

One piece of advice I will at as soon as you can, registe to vote. It's not important whether you vote or not, rather that's how you get tracked by some of the credit rating agencies. If you're looking for a mortgage or something later down the line you'll need that.

Also, opening a bank account over there is a pain, so if you can organise something before you go, that works best.

Useful website for property: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/
Check this one gives details on areas from the postcode, but isn't as good as what upmystreet.co.uk used to be: https://www.checkmystreet.co.uk/
Also check uswitch.com

Best of luck.

razorblunt

Eoiniom1 wrote: »

Thanks for the info about the radicard, exactly what i need.

I was finding it very hard to get a place close by princess street so started looking at rooms up leith walk and also down in old town... seems to be expensive everywhere until I go quite a good bit outside the centre.

Regarding the 475 p.m., that does seem to be in the ball park for a one bed alright, any ones I've seen are ~550pm.

Saying that though I've seen flat shares for a double room in a 3 bed flat in Brunstfield/Tollcross go for 500 with bills included. That was sourced on gumtree.
Great area and only a 15 minute walk to the west end of Princes Street.

Quick search on Gumtree, finds these:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/1-bedroom-rent/room-available-to-rent-leith..-all-bills-included-/1156491334 (I'm not a huge fan of Leith, but that's just personal preference!)

Or Dalry as mentioned above, goes for £465 all in.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/1-bedroom-rent/double-room-to-rent-on-caledonian-crescent-dalry/1156266465
I've lived in Dalry and I'd recommend it, they're pouring money into the Haymarket area at the moment so it's really coming on.

NoCrackHaving

FortySeven wrote: »

Meadowbank is a nice spot, handy bus route straight in to city center and nice walks up Arthurs seat. Plenty supermarkets locally within walking distance and a nice athletics facility if you're into that kind of thing.

Leith walk gets dodgier the further down you go. The 'foot of the walk' is getting into places you don't really want to go in the dark. Leith links is cheap if you fancy a bit of paid for 'how's yer father' with a junkie with no teeth after dark. Halfway doewn leith walk is as far as I would consider, about where the hipster bars turn into the old mens pubs.

Anything city center you are looking at tiny room for massive money. Just get a map of bus routes or the tram routes and work from there. Public transport is excellent in Edinburgh.

Leith Links is actually very nice these days (lived there for a while last year), the kerb crawling is completely gone with the dawn of the internet, honestly I'd be coming home at all hours and never had anyone say boo to me.

NoCrackHaving

Eoiniom1 wrote: »

Thanks for the info about the radicard, exactly what i need.

I was finding it very hard to get a place close by princess street so started looking at rooms up leith walk and also down in old town... seems to be expensive everywhere until I go quite a good bit outside the centre.

I wouldn't be keen on living in the Old Town, very, very noisy during the festival (actually all year round really). Also due to the amount of protected and listed building orders a lot of the flats haven't been renovated since the 70s/80s and it shows.

First Up

I'd suggest somewhere around the Meadows if you want to be central. Take a look at Portobello too.

FortySeven

NoCrackHaving wrote: »

Leith Links is actually very nice these days (lived there for a while last year), the kerb crawling is completely gone with the dawn of the internet, honestly I'd be coming home at all hours and never had anyone say boo to me.

OK, just realising how long ago I was living there. My, I feel old! :eek:

Fysh

First Up wrote: »

I'd suggest somewhere around the Meadows if you want to be central. Take a look at Portobello too.

I think Marchmont is absolutely lovely and well-placed for the Meadows, access to stuff over in Bruntsfield and buses into town (I think the 41 would be the main one). Portobello is nice too but seems a bit...quiet? I've popped out there a few times for a cycle around and when the weather is good it seems great, but there doesn't seem to be all that much going on there otherwise. That's just my impression, though.

razorblunt

Yeah, I'd be disappointed with myself if I moved to Edinburgh and went straight to Portobello rather than experience the city first.
Nothing wrong with Portobello mind.

Eoiniom1

So i finally confirmed a place on sloan road. According to google maps about 25 min walk to city center. It is only a room in a 3 bed flat, 400 inc all bills so will be fine while i get settle and then look for something by myself perhaps.

I have a motorbike here, considering bringing it over which will allow me to find a place much further outside cc ( presumably a lot cheaper/nicer) and commute in. Not too sure what i'd have to do to get the bike legal over there, any ideas.

NoCrackHaving

Eoiniom1 wrote: »

So i finally confirmed a place on sloan road. According to google maps about 25 min walk to city center. It is only a room in a 3 bed flat, 400 inc all bills so will be fine while i get settle and then look for something by myself perhaps.

I have a motorbike here, considering bringing it over which will allow me to find a place much further outside cc ( presumably a lot cheaper/nicer) and commute in. Not too sure what i'd have to do to get the bike legal over there, any ideas.

Edinburgh isn't like your typical Irish city, the further out the cc you get the worst neighbourhood's generally become with crappier facilities and worse housing. This isn't a hard and fast rule obviously but the likes of Sighthill, Muirhouse, Oxgangs, Gracemount etc. are nowhere near as nice to live in as say Bruntsfield or Marchmont or Meadowbank even though their much further out.

HarborcOat

I'm living in Edinburgh 20 years and, if by living outside the city you mean a cottage way out in the countryside then go for it, there are some lovely places in the Borders and East Lothian. However, if you're thinking more about on the outskirts or some of the towns surrounding the city then I'd tend to agree with NoCrackHaving; the outer parts of Edinburgh tend to be the rougher council estates, and when you get further out it's a mixture of crummy overspill towns and super-bland Stepford-Wives-style commuter developments. Far better to be in town I'd say.

If you're on Sloan Street then you're really central, so you'll be grand. Loads of great pubs around there - Victoria, Boda Bar, Woodland Creatures. They're mostly on Leith Walk. And you're just around the corner from the Out of the Blue Drill Hall which is great for exhibitions, has a great wee cafe in it, and has a pretty interesting flea market once a month.

mud

Hi OP, I sent you a PM about your move.

I'm moving myself in around 6 weeks. Is it possible to secure a flat from over here or should I book into a hostel for a couple of weeks?

If anyone could advise I'd very much appreciate it.

razorblunt

mud wrote: »

Hi OP, I sent you a PM about your move.

I'm moving myself in around 6 weeks. Is it possible to secure a flat from over here or should I book into a hostel for a couple of weeks?

If anyone could advise I'd very much appreciate it.

What about an air b'n'b or a gumtree flat share?
If you go through a company, you'll probably get reference checked and all that.

On a related note, one of the girls in work, found herself requiring a new flat on really short notice (not sure why, didn't want to ask) but one of the lads recommended this site:
https://www.spareroom.co.uk/

crushproof

mud wrote: »

Hi OP, I sent you a PM about your move.

I'm moving myself in around 6 weeks. Is it possible to secure a flat from over here or should I book into a hostel for a couple of weeks?

If anyone could advise I'd very much appreciate it.

There can be a good few short term flat shares available (people going away for a few weeks and renting out their rooms) on Gumtree. Definately possible to make an arrangement over email / whatsapp if you make a good impression! But hostels are a good option also as they are central and there's some pretty good ones. I stayed in one when I arrived, heard some horror stories at first, ie it would take a month to find a room. But I was slightly lucky and managed to get a place within a week.

mud

razorblunt wrote: »

What about an air b'n'b or a gumtree flat share?
If you go through a company, you'll probably get reference checked and all that.

On a related note, one of the girls in work, found herself requiring a new flat on really short notice (not sure why, didn't want to ask) but one of the lads recommended this site:
https://www.spareroom.co.uk/

Thanks for that. I'm hoping it will go smoothly.

crushproof wrote: »

There can be a good few short term flat shares available (people going away for a few weeks and renting out their rooms) on Gumtree. Definately possible to make an arrangement over email / whatsapp if you make a good impression! But hostels are a good option also as they are central and there's some pretty good ones. I stayed in one when I arrived, heard some horror stories at first, ie it would take a month to find a room. But I was slightly lucky and managed to get a place within a week.

That's what I'm hoping for. I lived in a hostel there in 1998, going to book the same one again for a week and fingers crossed I'll be lucky within the week jobwise and homewise.

On a different note, should I take my academic parchments with me or is that ridiculous?

razorblunt

Regarding the academic parchments, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking? If you're just out of college, I'd say maybe, or at least photocopies.

Admittedly I've only changed jobs once here (first job was as a Grad) but I wasn't asked, I've been part of the hiring process since and we've never asked for parchments, presuming that's part of background checks when jobs are offered.

mud

razorblunt wrote: »

Regarding the academic parchments, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking? If you're just out of college, I'd say maybe, or at least photocopies.

Admittedly I've only changed jobs once here (first job was as a Grad) but I wasn't asked, I've been part of the hiring process since and we've never asked for parchments, presuming that's part of background checks when jobs are offered.

I'm in my 30s, I got my master's degree last year hence why I wasn't sure. I may just take a scan of them as a backup. Thanks.

Fysh

FWIW, I'm 34 and was asked for my parchments (undergraduate degree and post-graduate HDip, along with a couple of technical certs relating to the job I do) for the first time when I interviewed for a job at one of the universities. Not the first university job I've had but the first one where they asked for the paperwork as proof. Just something to bear in mind.

Eoiniom1

I sent this reply to Mud but thought it good idea to post public as well, might help others..

I tried to sort a place while I was still back in Ireland but I found most people just didn't want to engage or didn't trust me which is fair enough. Also there was 2 people who asked me to transfer money over and when I asked for ID etc they sent fake documents. So be very careful of that.

I was going to stay in a hostel for a week to get setup but some hotels had a special offer that week which meant it worked out at 20 quid extra for my own hotel room so I took that and spent the week viewing flats. I used all the normal sites gumtree, spareroom.co.uk, citylets.co.uk, zoopla.co.uk and couple others (all straight from google). I viewed a lot of flat shares and found the good ones were always gone when I finally got there or that the place/room mates were awful. In the end I got a studio flat in the New town which works out more expensive but I have my own space and also means I can airbnb it when I go back some weekends and make a few bob.

Also I came across a couple of ROOM shares. I just thought this was another phrase for flat share but soon realised it was actually sharing a ROOM with others. So watch out for that and save yourself a wasted trip to view.

Regarding the parchments etc, I didn't bring any of that stuff with me and wasn't asked for it either so i guess that depends on the company.

razorblunt

Good stuff. Welcome to Paradise*.


New Town should be an ideal base too for you to suss out the city and move on again if needed. It's very easy to get use to though, so that might not happen too soon! Get yourself acquainted with The Wally Dug.



* 2nd Paradise, after Cork.

Django99

Hi, I'm moving to Edinburgh in September to study in Napier university. I'm 22 so I probably won't want to live in the campus accommodation. I'd preferably house or flat share with other students.

What would be the best areas to live in does anybody know? It's the Craiglockhart campus I'll be studying in. And also what sort of price would I be likely to be paying? The campus accommodation seems to be over 100 pounds per week but I'd assume private accommodation would be cheaper?

razorblunt

Living in decent area you're probably looking at 450-550 for a one bed too rent, so student accommodation seems cheaper.
You might be better off with a flatshare.

That campus is served by quite a few bus routes, if it were me, I'd probably stay in the Tollcross / Polwarth area for heading out there.

Django99

razorblunt wrote: »

Living in decent area you're probably looking at 450-550 for a one bed too rent, so student accommodation seems cheaper.
You might be better off with a flatshare.

That campus is served by quite a few bus routes, if it were me, I'd probably stay in the Tollcross / Polwarth area for heading out there.

Thanks for the reply! Yeah flat share or house share would probably be what I'd go for definitely not a one bed flat anyway. I assume sharing would be a good bit cheaper?

razorblunt

Yeah, it should be a friend of mine was living in a decent flat, great location for (I think) 580, which covered bills and council tax.
It would definitely be the route I'd go down if I had my time back and was just arriving to the city. He found it through gumtree.

Battleflag

Django99 wrote: »

Hi, I'm moving to Edinburgh in September to study in Napier university. I'm 22 so I probably won't want to live in the campus accommodation. I'd preferably house or flat share with other students.

What would be the best areas to live in does anybody know? It's the Craiglockhart campus I'll be studying in. And also what sort of price would I be likely to be paying? The campus accommodation seems to be over 100 pounds per week but I'd assume private accommodation would be cheaper?

Moved to Edinburgh nearly 4 years ago to start in Napier, about to do my final exams. Was 23 and decided to go with student accommodation. Met loads of people around my age very quickly, one of the big benefits of student accommodation. I would highly recommend you do that for first year.

Bainfield opened up last year, close to merchiston campus and has a bus stop right outside it for craiglockhart

Fysh

Craiglockhart Campus is nice but kinda in the middle of nowhere. Well served by buses though so it shouldn't be hard to find something that'll work for you. Have a look at Bruntsfield or Marchmont - both usually have a fair amount of student housing available, and you can get the 36 bus right to the campus around there. Alternatively Tollcross or thereabouts puts you in the vicinity of the 4 or 27 buses, and there are a few other options too.