Edinburgh isn’t one city – it’s about fifteen small towns stitched together, and picking the wrong one is how people end up hating a commute they could’ve avoided entirely. We’ve moved families and professionals into pretty much every postcode in this city, from New Town flats with cornicing older than most countries to new-build semis out past the bypass, and the honest truth is: the best area for you depends entirely on what you’re optimising for.
If you want the quick answer: Stockbridge and Bruntsfield suit professionals who want village charm close to the centre. Morningside and Corstorphine are the go-to for families chasing good schools and gardens. Leith and Portobello are where you go for character, a beach (yes, a real one), and prices that haven’t caught up to the hype yet – though they’re catching up fast. New Town is for people who want to live inside a postcard and can afford to.
Below, we’ve broken down every major neighbourhood with real numbers, real street names, and the kind of detail you only get from actually being on the ground during moving day – because we are, most weeks of the year.
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Stockbridge
Stockbridge is the “if I could live anywhere” answer for half of Edinburgh. It’s a Georgian-and-Victorian village tucked into a bend of the Water of Leith, five to ten minutes from Princes Street by bus, yet it feels like its own world.
Character: Independent delis, a Sunday farmers’ market on Kerr Street that’s been running since 2001, and the Stockbridge Colonies – those narrow terraced cottages built for Victorian tradesmen that now sell for well over half a million pounds.
Housing: Mostly Georgian and Victorian tenement flats, with a scattering of the Colonies cottages and a few New Town-adjacent townhouses. Expect one and two-bed flats mostly, with family houses rarer and pricier.
Prices: Recent Rightmove data puts the average sold price in Stockbridge at roughly £460,000 over the past year, with flats averaging around £440,000 and terraces pushing well past £1 million for the rare full house. Renting a one-bed flat typically runs £1,100–£1,400/month.
Transport: No tram stop directly in Stockbridge, but Princes Street and Haymarket are a 15-minute walk or a short hop on Lothian Buses routes 24, 29 or 42.
Green space: The Water of Leith Walkway runs right through it, plus Inverleith Park and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are a five-minute walk away.
Who it suits: Professionals and couples with money to spend, retirees who want village life without leaving the city, and families who don’t mind a flat over a house.
Leith
Leith is Edinburgh’s regeneration success story, and if you’d told locals twenty years ago that it would become one of the most talked-about places to live, most would’ve laughed. Now it’s anything but a joke.
Character: A genuine working port with Michelin-starred restaurants (The Kitchin, Martin Wishart) sitting a few streets from social housing and student flats. The Shore is postcard-pretty; further up Leith Walk it’s grittier, with a huge amount of new-build development.
Housing: A real mix – converted warehouse flats, new-build apartment blocks along Ocean Drive and Newhaven, traditional tenements on Leith Walk, and a handful of Victorian terraces further inland.
Prices: Flats in Leith typically sell in the £180,000–£320,000 range depending on how close you are to The Shore versus further up Leith Walk. Rent for a one-bed sits around £950–£1,150/month, still noticeably cheaper than Stockbridge or the New Town.
Transport: This is Leith’s trump card. The Edinburgh Trams line now runs all the way to Newhaven via Leith Walk, connecting straight through to the airport in one journey, and Lothian Buses routes 16, 22, 25 and 49 run constantly into the centre.
Green space: Leith Links, plus the harbourside walk out towards Newhaven and the Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean Terminal.
Nightlife/amenities: Genuinely the best food and drink scene in the city right now, alongside a big Ocean Terminal shopping centre.
Who it suits: Young professionals, first-time buyers priced out of the centre, and anyone who wants character without the New Town price tag. Less ideal for families wanting quiet cul-de-sacs, though the Newhaven end is calmer.
Morningside
Morningside is the classic answer to “where should I raise kids in Edinburgh.” It’s leafy, settled, and has that unmistakable well-heeled Edinburgh feel – think tweed, good coffee, and independent bookshops.
Character: Victorian terraces and villas along Morningside Road, with a proper high street feel – butchers, bakers, and Bruntsfield Links a short walk away.
Housing: Predominantly Victorian terraced and semi-detached houses, plus larger villas further south towards Braid Hills. Family homes with gardens are common here in a way they aren’t in the city centre.
Prices: A three-bed terrace typically sells for £450,000–£600,000; larger villas go well above £700,000. Flats are more affordable, from around £280,000.
Transport: No tram, but Lothian Buses routes 5, 11, 15, 16, 23 and 41 run frequently into the city centre, roughly a 20-minute journey.
Schools: Morningside falls within the catchment for several highly regarded state primaries and is close to independent schools including George Watson’s College. Check current inspection outcomes on the Education Scotland inspection reports database before committing to a catchment.
Green space: Braid Hills and Blackford Hill are both nearby, offering some of the best walking and views in the whole city.
Who it suits: Families, retirees, and anyone who wants a quieter, more residential feel without moving out to the suburbs proper.
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New Town
New Town is the postcard. Georgian terraces, cobbled streets, and the kind of architecture that got the area UNESCO World Heritage status alongside the Old Town.
Character: Grand townhouses arranged around formal squares – Charlotte Square, Moray Place, Drummond Place. Elegant, historic, and expensive.
Housing: Almost entirely converted Georgian townhouses split into flats, with a small number of full houses that command eye-watering prices.
Prices: One-bed flats start around £280,000, but larger flats in the prime squares regularly exceed £700,000, and full townhouses can run into the millions. Rent for a one-bed averages £1,200–£1,600/month.
Transport: Excellent – the tram runs along Princes Street at the southern edge, and you’re within walking distance of Waverley Station for national and cross-border rail.
Green space: Princes Street Gardens and the private residents’ gardens in the squares (key-access only, a genuine perk if you live there).
Who it suits: Professionals and retirees with a healthy budget, and anyone who wants to be in the absolute heart of the city. Less practical for families needing outdoor space day-to-day.
Bruntsfield
Bruntsfield sits just south of the Old Town and blends easily into Marchmont, but it has its own distinct, slightly more grown-up identity.
Character: Bruntsfield Links (the green space, not to be confused with Links golf courses elsewhere) anchors the area, with a strong café and independent shop culture along Bruntsfield Place.
Housing: Victorian tenement flats dominate, generally larger and better appointed than equivalent flats in Marchmont, with high ceilings and bay windows common.
Prices: Two-bed flats typically go for £320,000–£420,000. Rent averages £1,000–£1,300/month for a one or two-bed.
Transport: Lothian Buses routes 11, 16 and 23 connect to the city centre in around 10–15 minutes; no tram stop, but it’s a genuinely walkable distance to Princes Street on a good day.
Who it suits: Young professionals and couples who want tenement charm with slightly more polish than Marchmont, plus a good number of families who don’t mind flat living.
Marchmont
Marchmont is Edinburgh’s classic student and young-professional tenement district, all sandstone and symmetry.
Character: Long, uniform Victorian tenement terraces built for the city’s expanding middle class in the 1870s–1890s. Hugely popular with University of Edinburgh students and staff given its proximity to the Meadows and the main campus.
Housing: Almost entirely tenement flats, one to four bedrooms, often shared by students or young professionals.
Prices: A two-bed flat averages £300,000–£380,000. Rents are relatively high given demand – expect £450–£650 per room in a shared flat during term time.
Green space: The Meadows is right on the doorstep – one of the best-used green spaces in the city for picnics, running, and festival overspill in August.
Who it suits: Students, academics, and young professionals who want to be a 10-minute walk from the university and a 15-minute walk from the Old Town. Less suited to families wanting a driveway and a garden.
Portobello
“Porty” is Edinburgh’s seaside town, and it’s had a genuine renaissance over the last decade.
Character: A proper promenade, a sandy beach, beach huts, and a high street full of independent cafés and vintage shops. It feels like a coastal town that just happens to be inside the city boundary.
Housing: Victorian terraces and villas near the seafront, plus flats further inland towards Bingham and Duddingston.
Prices: Terraced houses average £320,000–£420,000; seafront properties command a premium. Flats start from around £200,000.
Transport: No tram here, but Lothian Buses routes 26 and 45 run frequently to the city centre, roughly 20–25 minutes.
Green space: The beach and promenade are the obvious draw, plus Figgate Park nearby.
Who it suits: Families wanting space and sea air without leaving the city, and increasingly young professionals priced out of Leith who don’t mind the extra commute.
Corstorphine
Corstorphine sits on the western edge of the city and is one of Edinburgh’s most reliably family-friendly suburbs.
Character: Suburban, residential, and calm – home to Edinburgh Zoo and Corstorphine Hill, with a solid local high street.
Housing: A mix of 1930s semi-detached houses, post-war bungalows, and some newer developments. Gardens and driveways are the norm here, unlike much of the city centre.
Prices: Semi-detached three-beds typically sell for £280,000–£380,000, making it noticeably better value than comparable family housing closer to the centre.
Transport: Corstorphine has strong bus links (routes 12, 26, 31) and is close to Edinburgh Gateway tram/rail interchange, making it genuinely convenient for the airport.
Schools: Well served by primary schools with generally strong local reputations – always worth cross-checking current reports via Education Scotland’s inspection database.
Who it suits: Families wanting space and gardens without a full move to the suburbs, and commuters who fly regularly given the airport proximity.
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Best Areas for Families in Edinburgh
If you’re moving with kids, the calculation changes: garden space, school catchments, and quiet streets matter more than nightlife.
Corstorphine – gardens, good primary schools, zoo on the doorstep, strong value for a three-bed semi.
Morningside – established family homes, excellent secondary school access, Braid Hills for weekend walks.
Fairmilehead/Colinton – quieter still, larger plots, some of the lowest crime rates in the city.
Portobello – beach life for kids, growing community, slightly longer commute trade-off.
Most families we move into these areas tell us the same thing: they picked the school first and the house second. That’s the right order.
Best Areas for Young Professionals in Edinburgh
Leith – best food and nightlife scene, tram access, still relatively affordable flats.
Bruntsfield – polished tenement living, walkable to the centre, good café culture.
Marchmont – if you want to be right next to the Meadows and don’t mind tenement-flat living.
New Town – if budget allows and you want to be dead-central.
Best Areas for Commuters in Edinburgh
If you’re commuting daily, transport links should drive your decision more than anything else.
Along the tram line (Leith, Haymarket, Corstorphine/Gateway) – direct connection to Edinburgh Airport and the city centre without changing.
Near Waverley or Haymarket stations – best for anyone commuting further afield by ScotRail, including to Glasgow or the Borders.
South Edinburgh (Morningside, Bruntsfield) – strong bus frequency into the centre even without a tram stop.
Cost of Living and Rent by Area
Edinburgh isn’t cheap, but it’s still meaningfully less expensive than London, and prices vary hugely by neighbourhood. Rough current ranges, based on recent listings data from Rightmove and Zoopla:
Area | Avg. flat price | Avg. rent (1-bed) |
|---|---|---|
New Town | £280,000–£700,000+ | £1,200–£1,600/month |
Stockbridge | £440,000+ | £1,100–£1,400/month |
Bruntsfield | £320,000–£420,000 | £1,000–£1,300/month |
Marchmont | £300,000–£380,000 | £900–£1,200/month |
Morningside | £280,000–£600,000 | £950–£1,250/month |
Leith | £180,000–£320,000 | £950–£1,150/month |
Portobello | £200,000–£420,000 | £900–£1,150/month |
Corstorphine | £180,000–£380,000 | £800–£1,050/month |
For context, the Office for National Statistics tracks UK-wide rent and house price trends, and Edinburgh consistently sits among Scotland’s most expensive cities – but still well under London-equivalent costs for comparable properties.
Safety by Area
Edinburgh is genuinely one of the UK’s safer cities overall, but crime rates still vary block by block. According to ward-level crime data compiled from Police Scotland statistics, Colinton/Fairmilehead and Corstorphine/Murrayfield consistently record some of the lowest crime rates in the city. Morningside, Stockbridge, New Town, Bruntsfield and Marchmont also rate well, helped by high foot traffic and active community presence.
Areas with comparatively higher reported crime include parts of Wester Hailes, Niddrie, Muirhouse and Sighthill – worth being aware of if safety is your top priority, though even these areas are far from dangerous by UK city standards.
Schools in Edinburgh
Edinburgh has a strong mix of state and independent education, and school catchment often drives the whole house-hunting decision for families.
State primaries and secondaries are assigned by catchment area – always confirm the exact catchment for any property before offering, as boundaries can be surprisingly tight street-to-street.
Independent schools – George Watson’s College, Fettes College, and Edinburgh Academy among them – draw families to areas like Morningside, Merchiston and the New Town.
Inspection reports for individual schools, covering leadership, teaching quality and wellbeing, are published via Education Scotland’s Find an Inspection Report tool – worth checking before you commit to a catchment area.
Transport Links Across Edinburgh
Getting around Edinburgh without a car is genuinely easy, which is part of why so many people choose flats over houses here.
Edinburgh Trams run a single line from the airport through Haymarket, Princes Street and St Andrew Square out to Newhaven via Leith Walk – handy if you’re anywhere along that corridor.
Lothian Buses operate the bulk of the city’s public transport, with over 100 routes covering nearly every neighbourhood, most running every 10–15 minutes at peak times.
Waverley and Haymarket stations give ScotRail and cross-border rail access – key for anyone commuting to Glasgow, Fife or further south.
Edinburgh Airport sits at the western edge, roughly 25–30 minutes from the centre by tram, which is why Corstorphine and areas near Edinburgh Gateway appeal to frequent flyers.
For an area-by-area breakdown of what settling in actually involves – visas, timelines, and general relocation logistics – our guide to relocating to Edinburgh covers the bigger picture beyond just neighbourhoods.
Moving to Edinburgh? Don’t Forget the Move Itself
Choosing your neighbourhood is the fun part. Actually getting your belongings there in one piece, without three weeks of stress, is the part people underestimate.
We’re EcoGreen Movers, and we’ve completed over 400 moves across Edinburgh, Manchester and London – into New Town flats up narrow Georgian staircases, into Corstorphine semis with driveways for the van, and into Leith warehouse conversions with lifts that never quite work on moving day. We know which streets need a permit for parking a removals van (much of the New Town does), and which tenement stairwells need extra care with sofas.
A few things that matter on moving day in this city specifically:
Tenement flats (Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Stockbridge, much of Leith) often mean narrow stairwells and no lift – factor this into your quote.
New Town and Old Town streets frequently require parking permits or loading bay bookings arranged with Edinburgh City Council in advance.
Suburban moves (Corstorphine, Portobello) are usually faster and cheaper simply because van access is easier.
We’re fully insured for every move, and we do things differently on the environmental side too – we’ve planted over 100 trees through our move-offsetting scheme, and we run our fleet and packing process to minimise waste wherever we can, from reusable crates to carbon-conscious route planning.
Whichever Edinburgh neighbourhood you’ve landed on – Stockbridge, Leith, Morningside, or somewhere further out – our home removals Edinburgh team can handle the whole move, and we’re happy to talk through logistics for tricky tenement stairs or tight New Town streets before the day itself.
Get a fixed, no-surprises quote for your move via our contact page – we’ll ask about your specific street and property type upfront, not after the van’s already booked.
And if this is your first house move altogether, our complete house move checklist is worth reading a few weeks before your date – it covers everything from meter readings to redirecting post, most of which people forget until the last minute.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best area to live in Edinburgh for families? Corstorphine and Morningside are the two most consistently recommended areas for families, thanks to gardens, strong school catchments, and quieter residential streets. Portobello is a growing third option if you want beach access and don’t mind a slightly longer commute.
What is the cheapest area to live in Edinburgh? Leith and Corstorphine currently offer the most affordable flat prices among well-connected neighbourhoods, with one-bed flats available from around £180,000 and rents starting near £800–£950/month. Areas further from the centre, like Wester Hailes, are cheaper still but come with fewer amenities.
What is the best area for professionals and nightlife in Edinburgh? Leith has the strongest food and nightlife scene right now, backed by direct tram access. Bruntsfield and Marchmont are good middle-ground options if you want walkability to the centre with a calmer evening scene.
What is the safest area in Edinburgh? Colinton/Fairmilehead and Corstorphine/Murrayfield consistently record the lowest crime rates in the city, according to ward-level Police Scotland data. Morningside, Stockbridge and the New Town also rate as reliably safe, well-monitored neighbourhoods.
Is Edinburgh expensive to live in? Yes, relative to most of Scotland and much of the UK, but it’s still considerably cheaper than London for comparable housing. Average flat prices in Edinburgh range from around £180,000 in Leith or Corstorphine to £700,000+ for prime New Town or Stockbridge property, so cost genuinely depends on which area you choose.
Where should I live in Edinburgh if I work at the university or hospital? Marchmont and Bruntsfield are both a short walk from the University of Edinburgh’s central campus and the Meadows. For the Royal Infirmary, areas further south like Morningside or the Grange offer a shorter, calmer commute.
Wherever you land, the neighbourhood decision only solves half the puzzle. Get in touch via our contact page when you’re ready to book your move – we’ll make sure the logistics match the postcode you’ve picked.
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