moving to fife ??

A question about : moving to fife ??

my hubby, me, and 8mth old ds are moving to fife from Yorkshire and will be looking for properties next thurs and friday.

Any advice on areas to avoid, or that are up and coming (esp for those with a baby/small child would be gratefully received !!

Thanks

Best answers:

• depends what you are looking for...rural..town?...near the sea?....and the old chestnut..lol...how much?
  do you have to commute anywhere?
• my hubby has new job with fife council and could be working out of one of many offices, he will be studying at dundee uni too (but gets mileage paid so not too much of a prob if not close).
  We are loking to spend around Ј70K (could borrow more but would prefer lower payments if poss) - this includes offering over (as i believe this is how buying a house is done in Scotland).
  We have several areas in mind : Ballingry, Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes, Methil, Dunfermline, Oakley, Crombie, Blairhall (these are just areas where properties have come up online within our budget)
  I prefer somewhere a bit quieter but with at least some bus links.
  Would need at least 2 bedrooms of a good size (prefer 3 or 4 - dare to dream)
  Would also like gardens, or nearby allotments so rural may be better.
  AM I ASKING FAR TOO MUCH lol ????
• if you go less than 10 miles from the large towns kirkcaldy and dunfermline you can save quite a large amount of money when buying a house the transport system is quite good but there is some areas you should avoid at all costs
• I would avoid ballingry and methil....and I say that at the risk of people from there being offended. Crombie is quite isolated and small. Oakley and Blairhall...again quite out of the way bit rough.
  Glenrothes is a new town..bit of a concrete jungle in places but it does have a lot of amenities. Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline..main areas of population in Fife, have good areas and bad.
  I think at that price point you will struggle..you are realistically looking at ex-local authority homes in poor areas.
• unfortunately my husband will be on a low income for two years until he finishes his masters - we figured it was better to but than to do a council swap as we may have a little more control over the area we end up in.
  I have to say I am not filled with confidence dogrose - you seem to have said all the areas we have looked at are no good.
  Thank you for your honesty but a ltle positivity would be appreciated however small - is there anywhere you'd recommend (kelty, cowdenbeath, cardenden ??? - i have to be realistic with what i can afford - also we would be planning on looking for somewhere a bit better within 2-5 years when my husbands salary will rise significantly).
  Please can somebody help ?
• As someone who lives in Fife, I would suggest Glenrothes. Your budget will get you a good ex 'local authority' house. Don't be put off by the fact that these are ex-rental houses, in some areas over 90% of these house are in private ownership now. Bus services are very good and so are facilities for younger children. Older ones moan of lack of things to do. Travel links to Dundee are very good. I don't have young children now, but our local primary school is regarded as very good. You will see a good selection of houses in www.your-move.co.uk and www.remax.com. Like all locations, there are pockets of areas to avoid, but these are usually fairly obvious when house viewing.
  Hope you find something suitable. There are, of course, lots of rental properties available until you find something to buy. Best local newspaper for housing adverts in Glenrothes area is Fife Free Press.
  If I can give any other information, just ask and I'll try to answer.
• consider smaller places, auchtermuchty,strathmiglo, newburgh in north east fife. Great for getting to Dundee and brilliant places for bringing up small kids. Though teenagers will get bored. Ex-council housing in these areas is still reasonable compared with the rest of north east fife. Have just moved into muchty and found the locals very friendly.
• right...trying to be positive Didnt mean to be a downer!! Fife is a great place to stay! Been here 15 years now!
  As Silverlady said there are pockets to avoid. I didnt mean to sound I was coming down on ex council housing...they are normally good sized well built properties.
  As someone said Glenrothes in particular would be a good area for travelling to Dundee. Maybe even a little further north..Ladybank etc. Prices round about Dunfermline are dearer with the Edinburgh folks moving over to cheaper housing. Ј70K wouldnt go far... East and north fife are more reasonable.
  Would watch about travelling times too....some of the places you mention dont look far out but the roads here are quite slow and journeys can take longer than you think.
  Its also difficult with the offers over system knowing how much a property is actually going to cost.
  Have you tried www.espc.co.uk
• This part of the Rimbleton is always quiet and peaceful. I've never known the residents to suffer any nuisance. The windows and doors are double glazed so passing traffic, on the road out front, wouldn't be bothersome. It's also handy for the Roman Catholic and the local mixed religion primary school but not too close.
• For the kind of money you want to spend Glenrothes is probably your best bet. As vital spark says Rimbletons ok, Newcastle is ok and south parks has a good reputation but houses are a little more expensive. I live in Tanshall which is supposedly rough but in my 18 years here I've never had any bother, its very quiet and we have excellent neighbours.
  The drive to Dundee from glenrothes usually takes about 30-40 minutes, but bear in mind the Tay road bridge gets busy at peak times so journey times can lengthen.
  Personally I would avoid Kelty, Methil, Ballingry and Lochgelly.
• Aurora, it's a small world, isn't it? There's you in Tanshall and me in Rimbleton but we have to come onto the world wide web to meet. LOL!
• Newbiemum, I'm sorry to report that the house of which I spoke seems to be a 2 rather than 3 bedroom and, given that there was a light on it it the other evening, I think it may have already been taken.
  I will continue to keep an eye open for vacant houses in this area and pass on the word in this thread.
  If your hubby's going to be working for Fife Council, surely they will get him a house: specify Rimbleton, Caskieberran, Southparks, Newcastle (if there are any houses left in Council hands in that area). As far as I know, much of Tanshall is okay too but maybe Aurora will direct you of which streets to steer clear.
  Some parts of Woodside, the original town, are beautiful with bigger rooms and gardens for the most part. Dovecot is good as is Finglassie where, I believe there are a number of new houses plus some housing association developments.
  I know someone, a friend of my friend, who has a family run estate agent. I'll ask them for ideas. However, if it were me, I would rather rent, Council or housing association, in town first then look to buy when my incomce increased or I found something I really liked.
• I'd second Glenrothes or some of the NE villages such as Muchty as good choices in your budget. I'm originally from the Howe, but have been in Glenrothes for about 25 years now (on and off) and it suits us just fine. There are some very good ex-corporation houses within your budget in Glenrothes and, as has been pointed out, most are now privately owned and there are few areas to be totally avoided. Some parts of Auchmuty and Tanshall (but by no means all) are a bit dodgy, but everything is relative and I'm not aware that there are ever any serious problems in the town (well, not since the original neighbours from Hell left Auchmuty - I'm sure Aurora and Vital Spark know who I mean ).
  I'm familiar with all the Scottish New Towns and Glenrothes is by far the least 'concrete-jungley' of them all. It has lots of green areas, two wonderful parks (the Town Park and Balbirnie Park), four golf courses (Town, Balbirnie, Leslie and Thronton) with the wilds of the Lomond Hills on the doorstep, the seaside just seven miles away and loads of other amenities.
  Check out www.rightmove.co.uk and Remax websites for most of the property in the area. If you see something you fancy, post the street name and we can advise on whether to view or avoid.
• Hi, i can vouch for Glenrothes too. I grew up in Kirkcaldy, and moved to Glenrothes at 18. Newcastle is a really nice area. Don't be put off by the 'new town' image, yes there are lots of roundabouts, but it's a great town. Lots of lovely green spaces, nice parks and good shopping centre. As a Kirkcaldy gal, i was horrified when my parents wanted to move to Glenrothes, but when they moved, I loved it. Now I'm in the big city, but do enjoy going home for visits.
  Catherine
• I used to live and work in fife and agree that Glenrothes probaly offers you the best value in cost versus amenities. There rae some great ex council buys. I don't know what you would get for your money now, but it is a good place to get on the property ladder.
• Hi
  I would also suggest Glenrothes, as it has a little bit of everything, and you can get some houses still reasonably priced.
  Some of the little villages north of Glenrothes would be worth looking at, but these have seen a rise in prices as they are mostly used as commuter villages now.
  Have a look at https://www.fifespc.co.uk/ as well.
  Good luck finding somewhere!