Taking sides: Marchmont vs New Town

These are two districts in Edinburgh. Marchmont is south of The Meadows, rather green and solidly middle class. The New Town is just north of the West End, a series of very grand crescents built around private gardens and 'pleasure grounds'. This is where I was brought up. It's kind of like St Petersburg must have been in the time of Dostoyevsky. Or Bath in the time of Jane Austen.

Is this what you meant?

I find it difficult to compare Marchmont and the New Town as they are both so different.

The New Town is certainly beautiful but has little in common with the vast majority of the population of Edinburgh. When you're looking at upwards of £250k for the smallest flat there it's always going to be a minority concern.

The character of Marchmont has changed over recent years due to the upsurge of student numbers and shared flats. Absentee landlords are allowing the properties to decay and are forcing permanent residents out due to the problems associated with transient tenants. Edinburgh Council are bringing in new regulations to try and curb this but i won't hold my breath. I live in Newington on the other side of the Meadows which has much the same problems.

Then again, i'm probably just bitter because i can't afford to buy a flat of my own in my home town on my paltry civil service wage.

New Town is rather more austere(large townhouses, cobbled streets) and Marchmont is less so with student flats and so on. Both, however, are lovely and I can afford to buy in neither as the prices are just silly.

Currently stay in Newington=great views over Arthurs Seat and Salisbury Crags.

marchmont is a bit of a dreary expanse and new town is too full of braying posh kids. I'll take stockbridge and ask the question...

gorgie vs wester hailes

My knowledge of Edinburgh is very limited, but I feel I have to contribute to this thread to say that the Hop, Step and Jump near the Meadowbank Stadium (on Easter Road? I can't remember) is one of the strangest and best pubs I've ever been to: atmosphere like an amiably rough backstreet boozer, terrific beer and decor like the waiting area of a fairly chic Chinese restaurant. I love it.

I'll second Stockbridge. Lovely part of town. Heard on the news this morning that the Oxfam there is going to be the first in the UK to only sell music with shops in Glasgow and York to follow.

Guess I'll have to arrange a trip down to Stockbridge then.

Tim -- Easter Road is home of Hibs. There is a MEadowbank Stadium nearby as well (MeadowBank Road or some such) but it is council athletics and the like. I will look out for the pub you mention as other half has just bought a flat nearby, between Leith Walk and Easter Road (she's a Hibs supporter).

Marchmont: Great because I live there. Rubbish because it is full of students, so very noisy at night when us working folk are trying to sleep. Actually when I moved back to Edinburgh I swore I'd never live in Marchmont, but a year living in a room so small there was no gap between my bed and my table above a takeaway on a major bus route persuaded and the offer of living with a good mate meant persuaded me to move.

New Town: Another planet. Too many Edinburgh Uni students live here too, which tells you something about the Uni.

Stockbridge: nice, but pricey. Also home of Edinburgh Floatarium. Symptomatic of something, I feel.

Places vaguely in town that people c.25-30 can afford to buy flats: Polwarth, Meadowbank, some bits of Leith.

Polwarth's too expensive for me - all i could possibly afford is the scummier part of Leith or Gorgie.

I'll stick to lodging with mumsie in Newington - more cash for music and make up.

'Hop, Step & Jump' on Marionville Road, behind Meadowbank. Two of my friends live here, and CB flat purchase on this street fell through due to subsidence.

There's some street in Polwarth (other side of the canal, so perhaps it counts as Dalry) on which there are apparently a million tiny 1 bed flats of reasonable price, but which are horrible... Newington sounds like a much better bet. I like Abbeyhill too -- and now I think about it, I know a lot of folk who live in Gorgie / Dalry too.

Back to original question -- Marchmont / New Town -- I suspect the response is that anyone who can afford to choose between them is a tosser with too much cash.

Wardlaw place? - there's always loads up for sale there - that would count as Gorgie

Tollcross or the Grassmarket would suit me - nice and handy for Argyle House