I began searching for a home in this beautiful area whilst living in a new build property development in farmland a mere few miles along the way. Yes, I had the big spacious house with all mod cons and it was all shiny and new for moving in day. However, what I didn’t have was local facilities, of any sort. I had to put my daughter into the car seat for everything. From food shopping to baby groups to simply going for a walk. There was NOWHERE to walk to. It was all country roads with little or no pavement and cars whizzing by at 60 miles per hour. So after hours upon hours of searching for a new home, I finally found what I was looking for that fits in beautifully with my daughter and I’s lifestyle.
Don’t get me wrong there were some challenges along the way. For example, being outbid at closing dates on 3 separate occasions. Then there was the issue of space. Could I cope with living in a property half the size of the new build for a similar purchase price? Amazingly, I much prefer this smaller house. I am more organised and know where everything is as I previously had just spread all of my things out and ended up with 2 “storage rooms”! Not to mention a garage full of unidentified objects. Also, I can clean this house in an hour and I have regained many hours of my weekend for family/leisure time and work commitments.
That’s not to say there aren’t new builds here too. Just not in my budget. Cala and Robertson Homes are building the most beautiful family homes in prime spots around the area. One of which is just off of Milngavie Road and is next to the Allander Sports Centre.
Here is a list of reasons to live in this beautiful area:
1. Fabulous nurseries and schools within easy walking distance. The 3 main secondary schools, Bearsden Academy, Douglas Academy and Boclair Academy are all very impressively ranked within the top 11 of 339 schools in Scotland, with 60 per cent of pupils achieving five highers.
2. Several baby and toddler groups in the local churches along with other kids ‘groups dotted all around the area. We attended Music Bugs which I can highly recommend. We loved this class and I still catch my daughter singing many of the songs!
3. Shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and boutiques are all available within the Milngavie pedestrian precinct. There is a playpark here also and we often go for lunch in either Alba Café or Costa, then go for a wander and play in the play park.
4. Walking. There are many different walkways along the water and all easily accessible to the village centre. There is also the reservoir which is frequented by walkers, dog walkers and runners. Milngavie is also the starting point to the West Highland Way.
5. Parks. There are so many beautiful parks and most have a play park included for kids. My favourite is Lennox Park which has the addition of a large sandpit play area which is perfect for brighter spring/summer days and also has a skate park/ biking section.
6. Supermarkets. We are spoiled for choice here. There is Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Asda and a small Sainsburys. Soon there will be an Aldi too.
The list could go on but I think you may get the idea about how much I love this area.
For work, I am a Property Valuer and I run my own Estate Agency business working mainly from home. Since I began working from home, I have regained 2 hours of travel time per day to focus on my clients. Approximately 80% of estate agency enquiries come from an online source these days, shopfronts are not always necessary for my industry. My personal preference is to use the money that I save on office space for a good life for my daughter and also to put toward community projects and charity events that are close to my heart.
Having experienced the disappointing end of the closing date process personally, I decided to work slightly differently and give buyers the opportunity to increase their offer, rather than having only one chance at submitting an offer when they may have in fact come up to a higher level in order to secure the home. We give buyers this chance.
If you like what you hear and want to find out more, either about potentially moving to the Bearsden/Milngavie area or assistance with moving house within the area, then please do get in touch. I would be delighted to assist you in your buying/selling process and help you at every step of the way along your journey to your new home.
Yvonne Cochrane Mains Estate Agents
Direct No: t: 0141 378 8882 email: yvonne@mainsestateagents.co.uk
With thanks to Business Gateway and Fiona Outdoors for the magnificent, not to mention free blogging course I recently attended at Kilmardinny House Arts Centre in Bearsden.