[Closed] Positives/Negatives of moving to Glasgow?

Rain. Lots of it.

Great city, good transport links to Highlands, borders, England and abroad. Good value for money, great people. Easy to meet people/make friends IMO. Plenty of affordable and nice areas to live.

I grew up here, but have lived in loads of other places in UK and abroad for over a decade. Just returned a few years ago and forgot just how much I love the place.

Major plus is being in the pub in Glencoe 2 hours after leaving work in a Friday night 🙂

Buzzy place, lots going on, trails aplenty nearby.
Rain, more than c_g said

I lived in North Wales for over 4 years and love Penmachno so rain is not a problem. You can only get so wet!

Peterfile - reasonable cost of living? Plenty of good places to eat and drink?

ste, it's much cheaper than Edinburgh (particularly if you're buying) and it's possible to live in a nice place in a good area on a modest income.

If you're single, a nice apartment in the west end won't cost you much more than £600-700 per month for a one bedroom. If you are coming with a family, a 3 bed semi in good area in the southside (with the best schools) can be had for £900 a month. You can obviously find places for much less and much much more money, but those are ball park for nice places in nice areas.

Plenty of good places to eat and drink in Glasgow. Even if you do get bored, Edinburgh is only an hour away and offers an alternative night out.

Come up for a weekend, you'll soon get excited about the move. It really does have a good vibe and plenty going on for a city of only 1 million.

Its a great city. Big enough to have everything on your doorstep but not overwhelming like London.

Good access to the countryside - Loch Lomond is 30 minutes away. Reasonable property prices with lots of nice neighbourhoods

It still has its issues, there are a lot of shitty bits too but you can avoid them

Its wet.

I live on South East outskirts of Glasgow and love it.

IMHO it just gets the usual "big" city nonsense but has all the right positives going for it.
Its a bit of a cultural gem now (granted a way behind Edinburgh still) but has so many things going on its hard to keep track.
If you do wintersports - Glencoe an hour and a half drive away, Fort Bill just over two hours and Aviemore under 3 (to name just a few).
MTB - 7 stanes (for example) all within 2.5 hours max and most a good bit closer than that (~1hour ish). Also lots of natural riding to be had within an hour of Glasgow. City also has commonwealth MTB circuit which is ok for a midweek blast in the evening.
Lots of good airport links to further afield for holidays / biking abroad.
Easy to get back to Brum when required.

Single, no kids, renting a 2 bed at the moment for £550p/m, so somewhere small in a relatively nice area would be ideal. Grew up in Walsall so I do not want to live anywhere comparative to that!

Job is opening/running a restaurant so having somewhere different to eat is a bonus!

Which areas are worth looking at whilst avoiding having to drive into the city centre? Latest time I would finish work would be 1am

Loads of great places to eat and drink, especially in the west end.

I can dimly remember the club/music scene being great.

Loads of decent local riding, and some of the very best UK riding within a couple of hours drive.

Couldn't say much about comparative cost of living, as I've never lived elsewhere long-term as an adult.

Never been convinced by its reputation as being particularly rough. It's got plenty of bad areas, but I wouldn't say it's any worse than any similarly sized UK city. Is Nottingham still pretty bad for gun crime? Very little of that here. If I correctly recall, recent crime figures indicate that it's a bit less stabby these days,too.

I'm from Glasgow. Lived there, moved away, moved back, moved away.

It's an interesting city, one of the best in UK for "liveability" in my experience. Good transport links, plenty to do, lots of culture etc, housing to suit all budgets and needs. Significantly better than Brum, IMO.

Great for the outdoors, so much amazing stuff around the city and even more a short drive away.

The downside in my experience are that it has a high percentage of neds (the local word for scrote / scally etc). It just does. The poorer areas are generally a bit out of the way so it isn't always obvious. The city has massive inequalities in income, health, education etc.

If you're gonna be working in the city centre with 1am finishes, sounds like you might like the occasional walk home to clear your head.

I used to be in the hospitality industry in the city centre, and I lived in the Yorkhill/Kelvingrove area. Walking home at that time was safe enough if you knew how to read the route ahead, and could be done in 30-45 mins.

Meeting new people should not be difficult. It's a city with a reputation (not THAT one) for friendliness. If you're in hospitality then there's a likelihood drink will be involved. That'll help.

Three universities in the city, each with their share of foreign students, so a far more cosmopolitan place than it was as I grew up there. Lots of cultural distractions too.

Despite what others say, it doesn't rain all the time. Being on the west coast, it rains more than it does here in Edinburgh, but even then...

You don't have to drive or travel for too long before you get away from the urban sprawl, that's true. Coast, mountain, desert, grassy plain - we've got them all!

See if you can force a weekend away there out of your employers as a research trip before you make any rash decision. if they say yes, enjoy it.

Brother used to live near there and I've stayed in the city a couple of times - really like it. Nice vibe to the place IMO with lots going on, and you're not too far from some really great walking/climbing/riding.

positive close to the Highlands
negative it's Glasgow.

real negatives the traffic is bad it always seems close to grid lock, I get the impression that there are a significant number of Neds by proportion to the general population . winter is greyer and longer and colder. I have only ever visited . My Niece lives on the outskirts every time she posts pictures of her family walks into the local countryside I get jealous.

It's a decently big city, but doesn't sprawl too much - from where I live it's a 15-minute train ride to the city centre, or 5 minutes by bike to the countryside. Traveling a bit further, the hills and lochs aren't far away.

Compared to the bad old days, Taggart etc, it's remarkably cosmopolitan now - loads of good restaurants, free museums, clubs, loads of live music, but still with a bit of an edge, not over-run with tourists the way Edinburgh can be.

Downside is the poverty - Glasgow was hit hard by the industrial decline, and that's led to a lot of deprivation and poor health. Won't affect you directly, though.

And it's got the only framebuilding and recumbent specialist in the West of Scotland 😉

[i]The downside in my experience are that it has a high percentage of neds (the local word for scrote / scally etc). It just does. The poorer areas are generally a bit out of the way so it isn't always obvious. The city has massive inequalities in income, health, education etc. [/i]

No worse than any other big city in the UK in my opinion, have you ever been to Middlesbrough 🙂

[i]I used to be in the hospitality industry in the city centre[/i]

As did I and I lived just off Byres Road. If we were having a few drinks after work I always walked home if I was on my own. And I still do if I'm staying in the west end and out in the city centre.

[i]real negatives the traffic is bad it always seems close to grid lock, I get the impression that there are a significant number of Neds by proportion to the general population . winter is greyer and longer and colder. I have only ever visited[/i]

Complete nonsense about the traffic, yes it can be bad at rush hour but that's city centre motorways for you. The town centre itself is generally okay, its only when you try to head onto the motorway at peak times that it's bad - but I've not been to a City that isn't like this, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Leeds are all the same.

Not so sure about winter being grayer/longer/colder, than the south coast then possibly but its not that bad. And it doesn't rain all the time.

It is a great city, there's better, but there's also a lot worse.

Nah it's rubbish, nothing to see here, move along! 😆

[i]The downside in my experience are that it has a high percentage of neds (the local word for scrote / scally etc). It just does.[/i]

And meant to add that just because someone sounds and looks like a 'a ned' to you then it doesn't necessarily mean they are non educated delinquents.

Meeting new people should not be difficult. It's a city with a reputation (not THAT one) for friendliness

[b]negative it's Glasgow.[/b]

real negatives [b]the traffic is bad it always seems close to grid lock[/b], I get the impression that there are a significant number of Neds by proportion to the general population . winter is greyer and longer and colder. [b]I have only ever visited[/b]

FWIW _ i used to drink on Byers Road at the weekend and walk home after the pubs/clubs shut - Merchant City so the walk was pretty much down Sauchiehall St and across George Sq. No bother , ever.

Mind you, I did used to drink with this dude
[img] [/img]

The traffic is actually OK, the M8 can get a bit jammed but other than generally works pretty well. There are a lot of neds. I had no idea a bus was a practical mode of transport until I left Glasgow.

My wife, who isn't from Glasgow, backs me up on the high ned quotient.

And meant to add that just because someone sounds and looks like a 'a ned' to you then it doesn't necessarily mean they are non educated delinquents.

Away off your moral high horse. I've lived in Glasgow for 2/3rds of my life, I can spot a ned. Ned is a corruption of "n'er do well" anyway, that "non educated delinquent" thing is pish.

BBSB - me too! Actually, I used to serve him drinks, but I am acquainted with him. Our sisters were pals at school.

Oh get you. Your definition of ned is wrong, I was brought up on a Glasgow housing estate in the 70's I know exactly what a ned is and what it means.

I live on side of Glasgow and have done for the last 20 years, after living in a town obout 35 miles away. Woul dnever go back to a small town. The transport links, whether it be road (great motorway links for other parts of city of travelling North and South), rail (branch lines to take you to city centre are usually quite handy - mine is a 5 minute walk), airport is a 10 minute drive then there is also the subway. 45minute drive from any direction and your in countryside ideal for riding. There is also the Velodrome. Great range of outdoor and bike shops. Great range of shops throughout the city. More takeaways than you can shake a stick at and masses of decent eateries and bars. You will soon get to know which parts of the city to avoid. CPlenty of bike clubs to choose from. Glasgow Moutain Bike Club for starters.

Glasgow is ace.

I moved up 5 years ago and love it.
It takes a while to settle, and to realise that the gruffness is usually friendly. You'll only have to look lost and someone will offer help. dont be put off if they 'bark' at you, they are being friendly.

Glasgow likes to drink, really likes to drink.

It is a city of two stories, the deprived areas can be downright dangerous, but mostly honest and friendly provided you are sensible and don't provoke attention, the west end is downright posh, mums with big sunglasses buggies and range rovers.

You will need to get used to / learn to live with the casual racism, being English will be pointed out to you within two sentences by most folk, and the bias is on accent regardless of birth or citizenship, no one bothers to ask me that. But it is mostly very friendly and banterful. You will need to accept being a slightly second-class citizen if you have an English accent. This is more evident in Glasgow than Edinburgh.

The cycling and all outdoor stuff is bloody ace, GMBC are a brilliant bunch, with a good ride calendar and many away trips.

I'm currently up in the highlands, but hoping to return to Glasgow.

I went back to the midlands and out on a road ride with mates the other day, and it felt aggressive and over populated. Glasgow traffic is not a patch on the traffic down south, not even close. the subway is good, the trains are good.
It is not London, but that is the charm for me, it is honest, it is a warm friendly place, where you feel part of the camaraderie..... once you settle.

Yes it rains, but as they say, if you don't like the weather on the west coast... wait twenty minutes.

Edinburgh is better for biking, but north glasgows good too. Southside has a few areas to ride and it's never more than 2 hrs driving to superb riding. Single guy I'd suggest west end, hyndland, kelvindale, slightly further away than hillhead as its shite for noise and parking, though a penthouse in park circus would be a prime babe spotting base! Also look at shawlands/southside, a fancy bach pad in pollokshields to woo the ladies. Avoid springburn, Milton, Maryhill, possil. Your chances of ending up with nightmare neighbours would be quite high.

Northside has small quality riding in lennox forest and is only 30 minsfrom aberfoyle and stirling for amazing natural riding. 15 mins to kilpatrick hills and mugdock. 1hr to ben lomond, perth, tiny bit more to dunkeld, and 1h30 to innerleithen.

Southside and west end are better for eating out than northside.

It rains a lot less than most people think, but when the sun comes out the place comes alive.

There's such a good buzz about the city right now and there's so much to see and do. Brilliant social scene, fantastic restaurants, great music scene, brilliant culture. More importantly as others have said, its easy to get out into the wilderness. So much biking close by and really easy to get to other stuff. Just over an hour to the tweed valley. 2 hours to kinlochleven, Aviemore in 2.5 etc.

Its a real melting pot and that adds to the charm. Yes, there are some really widespread deprived areas but they're out of the centre, but where I live in the south side you've got £1 million+ mansions and in the next street massive high rise flats which adds to the loveable mad charm of the place

Avoid springburn, Milton, Maryhill, possil. Your chances of ending up with nightmare neighbours would be quite high.

Hey! I live in Maryhill. Or maybe I'm the nightmare neighbour 😉

This is relevant to my interests.

Thanks for the input folks, seems the positives far outweigh the negatives so far

bencooper - Member

Avoid springburn, Milton, Maryhill, possil. Your chances of ending up with nightmare neighbours would be quite high.Hey! I live in Maryhill. Or maybe I'm the nightmare neighbour

so it's YOU selling all those banger cars parked all over the street? 😉

I've been travelling to Glasgow for work for the last 8 years, I love it and would move there if the opportunity came up.
the stuff about bad traffic is nonsense, the M8 can be a bit poxy during rush hour but otherwise it it fine compared to down south.
Loads of great pubs, clubs and restaurants, and despite the sometimes gruff exterior, I've always felt pretty safe. (I've been to a few of the shitty bits as well)

Its got the big city feel of birmingham without the sprawling conurbation. Its a city where you're only 15 - 20 minutes from the sea, or from mountains, or from lochs, rather than being 20 - 30 minutes (if you're lucky) from Walsall, or Wolverhampton, or Bromsgrove

I had no intention of moving anywhere until I read this post. Now I want to live in Glasgow!

Spent 1 year there about 7 years ago.
Plus
Weather not as bad as you think
Lots of great places to eat & drink
fast access to the outdoors
good public transport on the trains
long way from Birmingham

Negative
Weather not as good as it can be

peterfile - Member

Great city, good transport links to Highlands, borders, England and abroad. Good value for money, great people. Easy to meet people/make friends IMO. Plenty of affordable and nice areas to live.

Major plus is being in the pub in Glencoe 2 hours after leaving work in a Friday night

If you are prepared to travel, there are some ace places to live not far away/edge of city by train or bike.

You will need to get used to / learn to live with the casual racism, being English will be pointed out to you within two sentences by most folk.... You will need to accept being a slightly second-class citizen if you have an English accent.

This is absolutely spot on. I spent the 14 of the first 18 years of my life being ashamed of being English.

When I look back now at the crap that [u]some[/u] Scots give to people just because of where they are born it amazes me.

The various posters above backing Glasgow seem to be a pretty cosmopolitan bunch, so I respect their input, but be aware that being a weegie is to love Glasgow and not understand why anyone would want to be anywhere else. They are generally very insular, inward looking and xenophobic. I emphasise the word generally.

My missus would frequently get asked why she moved away from Germany and lived in Glasgow... "Didn't you like it in Germany" was the standard response. They couldn't fathom out the notion that some people wanted to broaden their horizons and live somewhere different and experience a different culture.

There are of course numerous exceptions to this insular attitude... the ones that have moved abroad never to return.

There you go, a bit of balance to the debate 🙂

and in terms of sport, Glasgow is great in winter and shit in summer

Or at least it is if you like climbing, skiing and kayaking. If you also like biking then it's great in summer too now that they have open access laws.

Well just to add an isolated disagreement with most of the previous posts.... I moved to Glasgow when I graduated from Uni and signed a years lease on a flat which I almost immediately regretted. Despite being in the Merchant City (which I'd been told wasn't a bad area ), it is a year of my life that I've been quite happy to totally forget about. Found it an awful place. Regularly had to step over drunken bodies/urine/faeces on the doorstep of the block of flats on my way out to work, nearby stabbings were common. Most people I worked with were utterly, utterly miserable and it really tested my "half full" mentality. Two of my neighbours beat up their wives when Rangers lost. One of the two times in my life when I've been in urgent need of medical help and I was just laughed at as I was obviously drunk on my way to work at 7am.

I was delighted to move back into my parents when the year was up!

Where abouts in "merchant city" if you don't mind me asking? Actually in there or in a periphery that the letting agent pretended was in it? Like most places in Scotland it only takes two streets to separate completely different worlds, sounds like you got ****ed over tbh.

Aye, the estate agents definition of the merchant city is about as vague as the west end!.

Well just to add an isolated disagreement with most of the previous posts.... I moved to Glasgow when I graduated from Uni and signed a years lease on a flat which I almost immediately regretted. Despite being in the Merchant City (which I'd been told wasn't a bad area ), it is a year of my life that I've been quite happy to totally forget about. Found it an awful place. Regularly had to step over drunken bodies/urine/faeces on the doorstep of the block of flats on my way out to work, nearby stabbings were common. Most people I worked with were utterly, utterly miserable and it really tested my "half full" mentality. Two of my neighbours beat up their wives when Rangers lost. One of the two times in my life when I've been in urgent need of medical help and I was just laughed at as I was obviously drunk on my way to work at 7am.

Merchant city is somewhere I'd never live, despite there being a few decent bars and restaurants. Too close to town (and the wrong end of it at that!)

Did you buy a flat in the Herald Building? It's reputation in Glasgow is now infamous.

I was much nicer on the South Side, so long as you stayed out of the bushes in Queens park, there was only 1 shooting and a kid getting beaten in the street but thats big cities really. Nicer than Liverpool and bits of Manchester.

Couple of mates drove up on a Friday night and ended up driving round the proper rough bits at about 9pm some interesting phone calls to navigate them back in.

Is the beer hall still under the station?

Letting and estate agents can be a joke... I saw farm steadings right beside possil being advertised as Milngavie!

bencooper - Member

And it's got the only framebuilding and recumbent specialist in the West of Scotland

related to Alan Cooper by anychance?

thegeneralist - MemberMy missus would frequently get asked why she moved away from Germany and lived in Glasgow... "Didn't you like it in Germany" was the standard response. They couldn't fathom out the notion that some people wanted to broaden their horizons and live somewhere different and experience a different culture.

I'd suggest it'd be more a case of people being a wee bit confused as to why they choose to broaden their horizons in Glasgow out of all the places in the world they could have chosen! 😆

Merchant city is somewhere I'd never live, despite there being a few decent bars and restaurants. Too close to town (and the wrong end of it at that!)

Did you buy a flat in the Herald Building? It's reputation in Glasgow is now infamous.

I'd suggest it'd be more a case of people being a wee bit confused as to why they choose to broaden their horizons in Glasgow out of all the places in the world they could have chosen!

I'd agree with this. Scots (particularly Weegies) are pretty self deprecating. You're more likely to be met with surprise that you chose Glasgow, than surprise that you left home.

Also, I'd imagine that the percentage of Glaswegians who want to "broaden their horizons" is the same as in every other UK city. To suggest otherwise is a little offensive.

related to Alan Cooper by anychance?

What's he done now?

and in terms of sport, Glasgow is great in winter and shit in summer

last 2 summers have been good, so that rules out another good one for atleast 8 years! 😆

I'm up there occasionally with work which means a wander across the town centre and then train out towards Cumbernauld where I normally stay a few nights (not in Cumbernauld - I'm not daft).

Despite my pre-conceptions about Glasgow being a dump, from what I've seen of it, it seems an ace place to be. A fantastic looking town centre for food/drink (I've sampled a fair bit of that on my way back from work trips)/shopping and some of the suburbs I pass through on the train like Lenzie look really nice. Plus theres the riding.

I loved living in Glasgow.

I lived in Dennistoun for 7 years with a fairly English accent. I have worked along side some of these neds as they are delightfully referred to they like to take the piss but the closest I have come to trouble has always been from people who are far far removed from that social bracket!

It's a lovely place with lot's to do and see. The people are friendly and as above "where are you from" has never been anything other than friendly curiosity.

And the weather is nowhere near as bad as people make out.

As an Englishman living in glasgow I must admit being about skeptical at first but I've warmed to the place massively to the point where I can see myself living here for the foreseeable future. Glasgow had so much going for it, and all the activities are so accessible.

The only downside for me is the lack of 'cosy' pubs. I do like my real ale, log fire etc but it's one thing glasgow/Scotland do badly. Plus cos the weather is mostly shite there's nothing like the number of beer gardens available so when the sun does come out they're all packed.

Edit: actually the weather is no worse than in the NW of England. The last 2 summers have been fantastic up here

Some great flats.

cheese - you tried the Ben Nevis in Finnieston? Sounds like exactly where you need to visit! The Goblet on Park Drive (by Kelvinbridge underground) is another good place, not got a fire but is very friendly. I'd have more suggestions but sadly a lot of the old places with character got ruined by "progress" (Uisge Beatha, Brunswick Cellars and more I've forgotten). Finnieston is a good bet in general though, a considered walk from Yorkhill to the SECC along Argyle Street should net you a few decent places.

I live in Edinburgh. The main thing I know about Glasgow is that I go to way more gigs in Glasgow than I do in Edinburgh. Glasgow seems to be very good for live music.

It also feels like the road system in Glasgow is designed purely to make outsiders (particularly those from Edinburgh) suffer.

Are you kidding?

Glasgows roads are no effort at all unlike Edinburgh where, from North Bridge I was in Straiton before I found a sign directing me to Glasgow! (and don't get me started on trying to do a simple journey across town from haymoarket to said North Bridge).

bencooper - Member

What's he done now?

ha ha ha - I know Alan from work and I remember him mentioning a relation that built bikes.

Edinburgh roads/traffic are bonkers! Glasgow is just squares - how hard can that be? We don't have a mini M25 going round our city that does nothing but cause havoc. I don't recall the last time I got stuck in traffic more than 3-4 mins up here.

Comment above calling Lenzie a suburb! I don't think many Lenzonians would agree with that. It's a separate village in a separate county.

There are cosy friendly pubs all around but you have to look for them or know them. Some even have fires!

Bike Kinetics - I popped in one day years ago with a rusted GT Bravado frame with a crack, got it sorted and it's still running strong now, appreciate it! Selfishly it's a shame you moved from Milngavie.

joshvegas - unless your're in the prison service or police I doubt you worked along side any neds!

ha ha ha - I know Alan from work and I remember him mentioning a relation that built bikes.

Yes, he's my father 😉

Bike Kinetics - I popped in one day years ago with a rusted GT Bravado frame with a crack, got it sorted and it's still running strong now, appreciate it! Selfishly it's a shame you moved from Milngavie.

Good stuff - yeah, the old landlord was a real PITA, I was glad to get out of that lease. The new place is owned by a charity who are fantastic.

Ben, just noticed the new address...you must be able to walk to work now?!

Huh, never realised you were pretty much next door to Bikelove. Well that makes things handy, have a job needing done...

Ben, just noticed the new address...you must be able to walk to work now?!

It's actually about the same distance, just in the opposite direction 😉

Yup, 6 doors along from Bikelove - so I can pinch normal bike bits off him and he can get stuff welded back together. Works well.

Comment above calling Lenzie a suburb! I don't think many Lenzonians would agree with that. It's a separate village in a separate county.

Nah, it's a commuter suburb.

Legend of Lenzie

P.S. I'm borrowing 'Lenzonian' for future use!

tomd - Member
joshvegas - unless your're in the prison service or police I doubt you worked along side any neds!
POSTED 5 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

When you are the only one to rurn up on a monday morning to cut grass because rangers were playing and they haven't been let out the cells yet and half of them have to take a half day to sign on... You work with neds.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardle/glasgow-is-amazing-aplm?s=mobile

The Goblet on Park Drive (by Kelvinbridge underground)

The Doublet on Park Rd?

haha, bob I just saw that a few minutes ago on FB and was about to link it here 🙂

Glasgow's a great city, it probably takes a while to figure out mind

glasgowdan - Member

Edinburgh roads/traffic are bonkers! Glasgow is just squares - how hard can that be?

Squares work well til you introduce a non-euclidian one way system. Glasgow uses its grid to make you feel like you're really close to where you want to be, til the exact moment it makes you turn through 90 degrees and go off in the wrong direction, and for the next 5 minutes absolutely no roads go the way you want.

Edinburgh city centre is terrible too, but it doesn't sprawl the same way.

Squares work well til you introduce a non-euclidian one way system. Glasgow uses its grid to make you feel like you're really close to where you want to be, til the exact moment it makes you turn through 90 degrees and go off in the wrong direction, and for the next 5 minutes absolutely no roads go the way you want.

There's a trick to driving in Glasgow. You need to have the vague location of where you're heading in your head all the time and then also think "So to get there, I currently need to be heading [right]". Then every time you get thrown off track, just update the "I need to be heading" bit and you'll get there eventually. I know what you mean though, there's been plenty of times when I think "I need to be heading right" and you get to a "Left Turn Only" junction 🙂

For me, the biggest issue with traffic is in the West End, and it's not cars. For some reason, pedestrians think that cars give way to people. No one even looks when crossing the road, they just expect you'll stop. I've never noticed anywhere else in Glasgow.

The Doublet on Park Rd?

Oh cock. Yes, that one. You'd think I was never a regular over a period of around 7 years or so wouldn't you?

No one even looks when crossing the road, they just expect you'll stop. I've never noticed anywhere else in Glasgow.

Well there is the famous city-wide saunter - "if I don't look at the car, it won't hit me".