Living In Dundee

At Cairn we know that the market is such just now that it would be madness to make a decision as big as buying or investing in a property without doing a little research first of all.

Previously we’ve created blog posts about living in Glasgow and about living in Edinburgh. Although reading this post isn’t the only research you should do we believe it’s a great starting point and will also give a flavour of what it’s like to live in Dundee.

Scotland’s city of discovery is an ever-evolving city. Often in the shadow of Scotland’s other cities, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, Dundee is fast becoming one of the country’s most metropolitan cities.

As well as being home to the ship, Discovery, Dundee is also home to thousands of students. It is actually home to two of the largest concentrations of university students per head of population in the UK with around 20,000 students currently residing there.

Not being a large city like Glasgow or Edinburgh comes with its advantages. Dundee enjoys low levels of congestion making it much easier to get around the city.

In addition, the City Council operates a successful car-share programme giving Dundee the reputation of the UK’s most car-friendly city.

And while on the subject of roads, if you ask a local for directions, you’re likely to hear the term ‘circle’ used a lot. This is what Dundonians a roundabout.

Getting parked in Dundee shouldn’t be a problem. Those driving have no less than 25 car parks at their disposal.

But if taking your car into the city, you should note that it may cost you with tolls operating on the Tay Road Bridge southbound.

Feel like leaving your car at home? Public transport is pretty good. There are a number of bus companies that operate in the city as well as two main train stations – one behind the waterfront and the smaller Broughty Ferry Station towards the east end of the city centre.

Peckish? You’ll never go hungry in Dundee. With such a high number of students in the city, it’s no great surprise that the majority of restaurants and bars can be found in close proximity to the University of Dundee‘s main campus.

But it doesn’t all happen around the university campus. The centre itself does have its share of pubs and restaurants tucked away down various backstreets.

Only a few miles east of Dundee, there’s the stunning and picturesque seaside town of Broughty Ferry. The town which used to boast the title of the ‘richest square mile in Europe’ on the count of its wealthy residents is known for its excellent restaurants, bars, and shops.

For those more suited to life in the city centre, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to shopping destinations.

You can choose between the Overgate and Wellgate shopping centres which both offer popular high street names such as Debenhams and Gap.

However, Dundee has much more to offer than just shopping and dining. The city is also fully of culture, narrowly losing out to Hull to be crown City of Culture for 2017.

The Culture Quarter in Dundee has many offerings. It’s home to the Sensations Science Centre as well as a number of arts venues such as the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA).

And of course, how could we forget the RSS Discovery? The ship, captained by Robert Scott, which set off to explore Antarctica from Dundee in 1901. Now a tourist attraction, visitors can climb aboard the ship and see what life was like onboard as well as learn all about the successful expedition.

And if you take a walk through the city centre you’ll perhaps stumble upon a statue of one of Dundee’s most famous creations, Desperate Dan. The character who was a regular in Dandy comics is actually a Dundonian, and someone locals are proud to call one of their own.

If you choose to live in Dundee you get the best of both worlds. The city has went through a lot of modernisation, but still retains some historical features such as wide Victorian streets and late 19th century architecture.

It’s easy to see that Dundee is a very attractive city to consider living in. With the retention of its history coupled with a modern slant, residents can enjoy a very diverse city.

In addition, as modernisation continues and as more people continue to visit the city to see all it’s tourist attractions, it’s also a perfect location for those looking at the buy to let market.

Prices will continue to rise, but the number of those visit the city, especially students, will also continue to increase. Buying a property there could make a lot of business sense.

If you think Dundee’s a place where you’d like to invest email us or give us a call on 01382 329016.

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