Expert: Willie Wallace - 10/15/2004

Question
Hey Willie,

I've quite a few questions about Edinburgh, as it is one of my three choices to attend school for an MBA.  I'll be moving with my wife and dog for at least a 15 month stay.

To keep it short, I'll just list my questions:

How hard will it be to find a flat/house around 500/600 GBD that will a) allow pets  b) be within a block or two from a park and c) be within bicycle distance from the University of Edinburgh?  If you know of any specific areas to look into, can you list them.

What areas are best areas to look for a flat/house in general?

How do most people in Edinburgh view pets in public generally? As a nuisance? Don't mind?

How would you compare living in Edinburgh as opposed to Warwick, Cranfield, or London?

Thank you very much in advance for any information you can give me!

Cheers,

Jeremy Sims

Answer
Hi Jeremy,

Is Edinburgh Best?  Easy.  Next question.  Seriously, there is a LOT of accommodation to let in Edinburgh, because of the housing boom.  It is a big university town and lots of people bought accommodation to let.  The first thing to do is to look at Citylets web site

http://www.citylets.co.uk/edinburgh-index.htm

There is a lot of reasonable accommodation for around £400.  I saw one at £395, all wooden floors, at Meadowbank which is a perfectly good area with reasonable accommodation, about 10 minutes walk from Queens Park, which is huge, right in the centre of Edinburgh and has an extinct volcano, Arthur's Seat, in the middle.  It is also the route to cycle to the Uni and that shouldn't take more than a ten minute ride through the park.  

That one's unfurnished, but you can easily furnish places cheaply.  A new bed and a new 3 piece suite can cost you £600 combined and all the things like wardrobes and chests, cookers and refrigerators can be bought second hand from charity shops for very little.  It doesn't matter if it is old, as long as it a) works and b) is clean.  Don't tie yourself to finding furnished property, when furnishing it yourself will cost less and with the important things like the mattress and the comfy chairs bought new, you will know you are the first to use them.

Right, with the citylets site, each property you click on brings up a new window with short description of the property and maybe photos.  Most important, it shows the agent who is renting the property.  What you need to do (this site is useful, but doesn't answer all your questions), is register with all the individual agents, with the key information that you have a dog.  That cuts away all the property which, after investigation, you'll find won't take the wee fellow (I hope he's a wee fellow.  Big fellows are not always as welcome).

They'll also guide you to the better areas.  Marchmont, Morningside, Meadowbank, all the newer developments in Leith are the kinds of places where you will find good standard stuff to rent.  The furthest away of these is still only about 20 minutes cycle to the Uni.  Uphill going, downhill coming back.  Edinburgh is built on seven hills, so cycling is great exercise.

Pets are not a problem in Edinburgh.  LOTS of people have cats and dogs.  I have two cats.  Much easier  to look after than dogs.

Edinburgh is the most beautiful city in the word.  Honestly, it really is!  The skyline is magnificent, the New Town AND The Old Town are World Heritage sites.  It is just a fabby place.  More pubs and restaurants than you can shake a stick at (obscure expression I know, but take it to mean there are a LOT!!!).  Warwick is a bit too close to Birmingham and while not a bad little town, it is rather caught in a huge urban sprawl with that typically English, endless rows of houses, all joined together.  London isn't worth talking about, nasty, smelly, dirt, unfriendly traffic snarl-up and I don't know much about Cranfield, but with three campusses (campii?) all miles from each other and all in very obscure places, it doesn't sound too appealing.  Their web site is incredibly uniformative for anybody hoping to attend.  Their one plus, it is for postgrad study only.

None of the other places can compare with the standard of living and the quality of living in Edinburgh.  Home to the world's largest international arts and music festival which takes up about a month of the Summer, with all kinds of add-ons like book festivals.  THe biggest New Year celebration in Europe.  Close to the sea, loads of great, world-class golf courses within 45 miles, just an hour's drive from the mountains in the highlands, dotted with lovely parks.  I will tell you one more thing.  I have travlled all my life, "finally" leaving Edinburgh when I was 20 and have lived in seven countries.  I was ever more glad with a decision, than when, after 22 years away, I came back to live in Edinburgh, seven years ago.  A Result, as we say here.

I hope all this helps.  Sorry if there are spelling/grammar mistakes, but I haven't the time to check it all.

Cheers,

Willie Wallace
http://www.rental-cars-scotland.com