Who lives on Broxburn?

[john18722]

I am considering moving to Broxburn and have my own list of pros and cons. Having never lived there before I would appreciate everyones thoughts on what its like as a place to live?

[Hibbyhoff]

Hi mate, I've stayed in Broxburn for about 6 or 7 years, so can give you a some info.....

Pros
Amenities
Loads of shops - choice of 3 big supermarkets, plenty butchers, bookies, greggs, subway, chineses, indians etc.
Livingston shopping centres (Asda, M&S etc.) and Tesco (Bathgate/Herm Gate) fairly close
Council seem to be generally good and responsive - I've called them on a few occasions (to kill a wasps nest! and fix traffic lights) and they've replaced a lot of town centre roads and pavements as well as resurfacing a lot of country roads

Transport
Bus service to Edinburgh is regular (but expensive - £2.70 single :grr:)
Train line from Uphall station if you have a car (30-50 mins walk from Broxburn). The line is opening up to Glasgow in December, but currently only goes to Edinburgh/Bathgate
Speedbumps on all the streets off the main road so no Corsa neds flying round past your house (unless you live in the main street)
Park and Ride at Ingleston which is excellent

Housing
Most new estates are pretty family friendly - lots of my friends' kids play out in the streets
Good mix of houses from 1 bed flats/houses up to big detached houses, old and new
Lots of people have moved here from Edinburgh, so it is more of a commuter town than a small-town-in-west-lothian which it was more like when I moved here - there are plenty of hibs and hearts fans here whereas it used to be more rangers/celtic only

Entertainment/Sports
There's a snooker/pool club that often has entertainment on and is open until around 2/3am on Friday and Saturdays
There's a good local swimming pool and sports centre, as well as a number of local football teams
I (road) cycle a lot in my spare time and there are a good mix of flat and hilly roads to cycle round

Schools
Not sure if this interests you - I didn;t go to school here, so can't comment on what they're like....


Cons
Lack of restaurants for sitting in for a meal with the bunny you pulled in the snooker club (see above) :wink:

Bus fares expensive, as no Lothian Buses (First monopoly)

Main road areas are busy at weekends, and fair few kids hanging about (no worse than anywhere else tho)

Not a great selection of pubs if you're used to Edinburgh. Some have a definite Rangers (Clifton/Strathbrock) or Celtic (Buchan) slant.


Broxburn is connected to Uphall, which is a smaller town, served by the same buses, but closer to Uphall Station for the train (15/20 mins to Edinburgh). Uphall Station is a separate town from Uphall.

Any idea what area/street you're looking to move to? Bound to be some folk on here who live near them........

Hope this is helpful

[Gatecrasher]

i thought the new train line was going to airdrie not glasgow?

[Hibbyhoff]

It's going all the way to Glasgow via Airdrie - check here:

http://www.airdriebathgateraillink.co.uk/raillink/

Although.......looks like it is going to the Queen St Low level and not Central.....

[Gatecrasher]

It's going all the way to Glasgow via Airdrie - check here:

http://www.airdriebathgateraillink.co.uk/raillink/

Although.......looks like it is going to the Queen St Low level and not Central.....

ah cheers :thumbsup:

[BroxburnHibee]

The hoff has covered most off what I could tell you. :greengrin

[john18722]

I was looking at houses in Nicol Place in the north of town but also a couple in the new development to the south west near the cemetery.

I have had a drive around both areas and both seem quiet and family friendly. Does anyone know how much a taxi fare to Livvy or Edinburgh is just incase I have the urge for a big night out.

Like the idea of the train line opening up to Glasgow. Good for commuting and also for the Hibs away games!

Anyone know of any good gyms in the area?

[Twa Cairpets]

I was looking at houses in Nicol Place in the north of town but also a couple in the new development to the south west near the cemetery.

I have had a drive around both areas and both seem quiet and family friendly. Does anyone know how much a taxi fare to Livvy or Edinburgh is just incase I have the urge for a big night out.

Like the idea of the train line opening up to Glasgow. Good for commuting and also for the Hibs away games!

Anyone know of any good gyms in the area?

If it is just a kind of general West Lothian thing you fancy, Linlithgow is great, very family friendly and great amenities pretty much all round. Its also got the advantage of having a train station on the mainline. Tends to be a bit more expensive for houses, but the school, for example, is generally always in the top ten state schools. I moved out from Edinburgh 13 years ago and cant see me ever moving back. Good pubs/restaurants too.

[john18722]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I work in Perth so need somewhere close to access to bridges for commute in the morning. Girlfriend works in central Edinburgh though so don't want to move to Fife as her commute would be a nightmare. I reckon Linlithgow is a bit further from the bridge and therefore potentially longer commute for me. Linlithgow is nice though just a bit far from bridge i reckon. Anyone so a similar commute?

[Twa Cairpets]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I work in Perth so need somewhere close to access to bridges for commute in the morning. Girlfriend works in central Edinburgh though so don't want to move to Fife as her commute would be a nightmare. I reckon Linlithgow is a bit further from the bridge and therefore potentially longer commute for me. Linlithgow is nice though just a bit far from bridge i reckon. Anyone so a similar commute?

Its 10 mins from Lithgae to the Bridge. At rush hour it is a 40 minute drive to Perth. To be honest, the difference in timing between Broxburn and Linlithgow is a couple of minutes at most. i wouldnt base a decision on that factor alone. (I have nothing against Broxburn by the way, i just think Linlithgow is a great place to live)

[john18722]

Fair enough. I do like Linlithgow. Seems like it has a nice centre etc. I'll ask the same question then. What is it like to live in? Isn't it quite small? Or are amenities quite good?

[Twa Cairpets]

Fair enough. I do like Linlithgow. Seems like it has a nice centre etc. I'll ask the same question then. What is it like to live in? Isn't it quite small? Or are amenities quite good?

About 15,000 people, one (very good) high school, five primaries. Two supermarkets (Tesco + Sainsburys) at opposite ends of the town. Good range of restaurants and pubs catering for most preferences from basic bevvy shops to right good boozers. Amenities are good - Leisure centre with good swimming pool and good, pretty new gym, tennis courts and the like. Dead easy to get onto the motroway for Edinburgh/Glasgow and by rail (its a stop on the mainline).

Like everywhere its got good areas and less good areas, but I think its a great place to live.

[john18722]

Sounds quite good but having a look on espc and there definitely aren't as many houses available at the moment in Linlithgow. Looking for a detached houses with a garden, garage and at least 3 bedrooms which seems to be readily available in all the newish developments in Broxburn but not so much in Linlithgow. Probably due to it's smaller size though.

Thanks for the advice though. I have a lot to think about!

[BroxburnHibee]

I've been in Broxburn just over 10 years and don't regret it one bit. Good place to live - not had any problems at all. There is the odd walk through the summer but I've not noticed them as much the last few years. Maybe the dinosaurs are gettin the message :greengrin

Linlithgow probably is a nicer place but house prices are probably a bit higher. The rail link is a plus though.

Taxi from the gyle has cost me between £15 to £20 in the past. Bus service is ok but I havent used it much. Last bus from the city centre is 11.20 from west end - I've used that a few times :greengrin

Hope that helps.