Hi all,
I have a job offer to go there for the summer. Free accommodation, so housing problem solved (which I suppose would be the main problem). Weekends and evenings free, how's the riding? How's getting around with a bike? Should I take a car? Are there plenty of day rides / routes from the city?
Cheers!
FM
No need for a car unless you want to get a long way out of the city - nothing is more than 40 mins away in the city by bike and we also have excellent public transport and it gridlocks in the summer for cars. A mix of great cycle provision and dangerous rubbish
Local riding is the pentlands - decent XC riding and enough to keep you occupied for a couple of months. Plenty of good gravel riding in East lothian and around queensferry. L0ocal trains into east lothian and fife for coastal paths as well.
It's great, Edinburgh is one of the great cities of the world and you will enjoy the experience. Biking around the town is great, you'll be jamming with traffic but also there are various off road routes. Cycling is very popular
I lived in leith for 8 years, I found getting out of town on a bike a chore but others may differ.Going east is easy along the coast though. I had a car, but you can certainly do without one. Parking is problematic like most cities
Tourists will be everywhere but then there will be plenty on, fringe etc etc
Without free accomodation, I think it would be prohibitively expensive and you might even struggle to find somewhere
Do it. Lived there for 6 months many many years ago. Similar setup, work paid for my accommodation.
Lovely city, lots to do and see. Can get a bit grey in the winter months but summer is lush. Would happily move back there if the right circumstances transpired.
Edinburgh is awesome. You don’t need a car unless you want to be heading 40 mins south to ride GT / Tweed. Great opportunity for you.
where is your accommodation?
Do you like busy cities with lots of people, tourists wandering slowly, expensive food and crowded bars?
do you enjoy culture: comedy, film, street performance, music, literature, dancing soldiers (the tattoo), architecture etc?
Do you want to get to the highlands at the weekends? That might be the only reason to consider a car - but getting in/out the city is so painful I’d say enjoy the stuff you can cycle to.
Edinburgh’s brilliant in summer. It's February that's a nightmare...
If you have a car and a place to park it, I would take it. If you don’t - it might be 20 mins bike ride from the centre to somewhere you can park free on the street, so it wouldn't be too terrible if you needed it for weekend trips.
Make sure to get there by 1st August so you can complain about all the festival ****s ruining everything for normal residents like you... there's nearly 24 hour light and 24 hour drinking during the festival...
https://www.bordersbuses.co.uk/using-the-bus
Take the bus to the borders with your bike...
Get a good bike lock. .
Get a good bike lock. .
This. When I first met MrsJ I left my bike locked outside the Canny Man to walk her home in the hope of some fun and games. No fun and games were had, and my bike wasn’t there when I went back for it. She still hasn’t replaced it 🙁
Bite their hands off - the Tattoo and Fringe make it mental busy but open up so much more off bike activities too.
Hi frank, I'll be living just over the road from Holyrood Park, so pretty central it seems.
"Do you like busy cities with lots of people, tourists wandering slowly, expensive food and crowded bars?"
lol, indeed, I already in live in such a city (albeit in Spain with more affordable and better food!), so I guess that won't be so unusual for me.
The other alternative is Durham, which I imagine will be a little more sedate.
The other alternative is Durham, which I imagine will be a little more sedate
It’s not even a close contest. Edinburgh is a beautiful city with an international outlook and masses to do. Durham is … err …. not. It has a tiny island of magnificent architecture in a sea of grot.
Echo @poly comments. It's a city, and its a capital city, only smaller. The art galleries and museums and history of the place are distracting enough, but the traffic's the worst in any city I've been in for a long while and the touristica get on your nerves after a while. It's expensive and crowded, and I had to resist the urge to do bloody murder on the next bagpiper I stumbled upon.
But get out of the main city drag and it's pretty cool, The beach front at Portobello was a particular favourite, and everything's within walking/cycling distance. There's some nice restaurants, bakeries that sort of thing, and its fun to explore them.
Nobody's said it so I will. It's cold. Like, stupidly so. I stayed there for a summer and it was never t-shirt weather despite the sun splitting the sky.
I only grew up a few dozen miles away, albeit on the other side of the country.
But it was dry so there's that.
Like all touristy places, the ant trail is narrow. In much of the city, you will not notice. I spent every summer here in my late teens, early twenties and then moved here (it was easy then). Summer is really enjoyable in Edinburgh. You have a winning ticket.
I'm psyched!
Thanks y'all 🙂
Do it.
I took a 6 month contract in Edinburgh 17 years ago. I'm still here (well, just outside).
As said, you won't need a car in the city and its arguably a much nicer experience without. For Tweed Valley riding, use the X62 bus as above, or ask for riding partners and a lift. For getting further North, use the train - plenty enough options to fill occasional weekends within 2 months.
It’s cold. Like, stupidly so.
Pffft. There's cold and there's cold.
You'll have a blast. Edinburgh's a fantastic city, I wouldn't really want to live there (cos I don't want to live in a city) but it'll be like an extended holiday.
It’s cold. Like, stupidly so. I stayed there for a summer and it was never t-shirt weather despite the sun splitting the sky.
Average daily temp in July and August is 18-19⁰ ie perfect tshirt weather
https://weatherspark.com/m/38026/7/Average-Weather-in-July-in-Edinburgh-United-Kingdom
It’s cold. Like, stupidly so
Having come back from a winter in the Yukon I can dispute this. Hardly had a frost in Edinburgh last few years.
Nobody’s said it so I will. It’s cold. Like, stupidly so. I stayed there for a summer and it was never t-shirt weather despite the sun splitting the sky.
I only grew up a few dozen miles away, albeit on the other side of the country.
But it was dry so there’s that.
I can only assume you've become confused - and assumed "its not hot" based on the fact that there were not fat topless men wandering everywhere like on the otherside of the country as soon at the sun comes out! I suspect the OP is going to find the temperature a bit of a shock coming from Spain - but then there is water in the taps so that's a trade off!
It's a very nice 18°C in Edinburgh at the moment and it hasn't rained for a whopping 48 hours. You could definitely live without your car for a couple of months. But if you want to explore further field a car is much more convenient. I drive in and out of Edinburgh most days and it's not too bad if you can avoid the peak times. ULEZ starts in June so that might be a consideration. Learn a few tram jokes, that'll help you to fit in during the festival.
I'll say it.
Living in Edinburgh is shite over the summer.
The festival rips the arse out of any enjoyment*.
Defo do it though. Two months would be a nice amount.
What joshvegas says, the festival makes Edinburgh a living hell in summer!
Can't be called cold back in the day Barcelona trained for a week at St Andrews further North to get away from the stifling Spain heat
A young 20 year old L Messi was there, wonder how he's getting on now
"Living hell" applies to people who genuinely live there and have done so for several years.
As a one-off it'll be a huge amount of fun, if I had to pick two months to live in Edinburgh it would certainly include the festival.
The festival rips the arse out of any enjoyment*.
OP should definitely learn a few phrases like this if s/he wants to fit in with the sourpuss locals. Come September 1st, they'll be back to moaning about how Princes St is a graveyard...
"Living hell"... strong words!
As regards a car, be aware that many residential streets require a parking permit - and even then you're not guaranteed a space. For a couple of months you could do without, relying on buses, trams, walking and cycling. Hiring a car for a weekend in the Highlands or Borders might be a good option if you've not visited them before.
Living in Edinburgh during the festival is great - you've got more exciting shows and events happening right on your doorstep than you could ever see, but there's no pressure to cram shows in because you've got a full month to do it. It's a pain in the arse to get through the middle of town even on a bike but it's manageable.
You don't need a car if you live anywhere within the bypass. Even if you want to get up to the Highlands, for the length of time you'll be there for the train will take you to enough good spots to bag some Munros. We forget where our car is and cycle everywhere, and if we're going away for the day we tend to catch the train. If you need a bike for a couple of months, send me a message.
It is cold, though. And tediously windy. Don't bother packing shorts.
The Enterprise Car Club is pretty good, of you want occasional car access.
You don’t need a car if you live anywhere within the bypass. Even if you want to get up to the Highlands, for the length of time you’ll be there for the train will take you to enough good spots to bag some Munros. We forget where our car is and cycle everywhere, and if we’re going away for the day we tend to catch the train.
This is very true.
Edinburgh is one of the best cities in the world. I moved up for 6 months in 1999 and stayed for 6 years. Only moved away as we wanted to bring up kids in the countryside.
If you do join the car club, bear in mind that you'll need to plan ahead - there's way more people wanting to use it than there are cars so you can't just get up on a Saturday and think "right, I'm going to rent a car today" - you need to do it a few days in advance.
Local riding is the pentlands – decent XC riding and enough to keep you occupied for a couple of months.
I agree with this - you'd get bored of it after a few years, but it'd be great for a summer. Personally I'd rent a few cars to explore the rest of Scotland as whilst there are trains, it's obviously less comprehensive.
It is cold, though. And tediously windy. Don’t bother packing shorts
Having spent the last 2 days in shorts and t shirt I would disagree with this.
