[hyacinth]

Hello,

We're moving from Canada to Glasgow in 2 weeks ... does anyone have a suggestion about which area of the city is good/safe/clean to live? Our budget for rent is 400 to 450 pounds pcm.

Thanks very much.

[Bluey]

West End - as its popular it might be a bit expensive or because its popular with students at the nearby Uni, some of the properties might be shabby. It's a coveted area to live around the Byres Road/Great Western Road/Sauchiehall Street/St Georges Road/Dumbarton Road area. (But avoid North Kelvinside/Maryhill areas).

Loads of good shops, bars, restaurants, cinemas and a couple of tube stations in that area.

City Centre & Merchant city (though these can often be modern properties as opposed to the old sandstone/redstone tenements). Garnethill is one of my favourite places - on a hill right next to the Art school and Glasgow Film Theatre.

If you don't get too much for your money, consider nice areas on the Southside - Queens Park and Crosshill, for example, as they will take just 5-10 minutes by train into the city centre. Not as trendy but if you haven't got a trendy budget, tough.

East End - only Dennistoun usually gets the thumbs up because of its large spacious cheap tenements and its only 10 minutes walk to the Merchant City/City centre. However, there's not many amenities there (not that there has to be as its walking distance to town). Popular with students at nearby Strathclyde Uni. Suffers from a bad reputation due to its proximity to the poorest and most deprived parts of Northern Europe and the influx of Neds (uneducated delinquents) that pass through it. Still a gem, though.

Check the availability of properties to rent in those areas on your budget on www.gspc.co.uk

Check the location on www.streetmap.co.uk

Check out the National Rail journey planner and Scottish Passenger Transport websites for train and tube connections.

[sunny22]

Hi there,
Having lived in Glasgow for 5 years I would say West End is your best bet however I think It may be a bit above your budget. I have lived in several flats in the West End and paid £500 between two of us at the very least excluding bills and council tax.
However if you are a couple I guess you will be looking for a one bed so £400-£450 may be do-able I think. But do remember to bear in mind council tax (everyone earning a wage has to pay this) and in Glasgow rates are quite high.
I have lived in the City Centre too and that was fine but i just love the West End. I also have friends living in Denniston and Bridgeton (there are a few lovely new build developments there) and they like it but I personally prefer to be near and underground station. Shawlands in the south side is also a great place, quite like the west end, but again there is no underground here (but lots of buses and low level train). All depends on your preferences.
A great website for finding flats in Glasgow is www.citylets.com, and as you will prob be aware there is a glasgow section of gumtree. Council tax rates depend on the 'band' of the property. To get an idea of council tax rates find out the postcode of properties you intend to look at and enter the postcode on this site http://www.saa.gov.uk/glasgow/. Most landlords should be able to advise you on this but it's a good resource if you need it.
I don't know whether you have spent time in Glasgow before but it is such a great city! I am moving south of the border for work and although i am looking forward to experiencing another city i am sad to be leaving Glasgow! Good luck with the move and let me know if you have any more questions re Glasgow, i will be happy to answer them if i can!

[hyacinth]

Thank you very much Bluey and Sunny. That is just what we needed to know. You have been very helpful and I appreciate it very much!

[jintyb]

What about further afield & commute in.?
Don't forget Partick which has good transport links & near too Byres Rd etc.
If you go further afield you don't have to compete with students etc & you will probably get to know your neighbours.
Shawlands,Ibrox(some parts).etc & not forgetting Yoker,Clydebank.

[Bluey]

I agree with you about Partick if its not too far north - train station in the centre plus tube station in the south. Might be cheaper than the central West-end areas yet only 10 minutes walk away.

I'd disagree with you about Ibrox - it can be the wild-west out there and it's too small to have good/bad parts. Handy because of the tube station but too Neddy/Jakey. My mates living there had a nightmare over the bon-fire period with kids throwing fireworks in the street, came across a freshly mugged girl at the bus-stop in Paisley Road West and have seen kids kick out the windows of ground floor flats on a number of occasions (they run and leap up to smash them for fun). I've trundled past the tenements there and seen the top panes of the windows above the door in the Closes seemingly all shot out with pellet guns. Another one of my pals wouldn't let her son out to play because there were too many junkies and gangs.

[KellingtonDawg]

What about Paisley??? Is that a good place to live?

[Bluey]

[montyzuma]

april 2004

Paisley, once wealthy and world famous for its textile, shipbuilding and engineering industries, has lost its cutting edge over the decades. These days the depressed Clydeside town is more commonly associated with high unemployment and social disadvantage than leading the world in industrial innovation.
But this week Scotland's largest town will once again be at the forefront of British industry when it becomes host to what is thought to be Britain's first topless hairdressers.

Women's groups, anti-porn campaigners and church leaders have expressed outrage at the opening of A Bit Off The Top and plan to demonstrate outside the premises when it opens on Wednesday.

But the owners insist there is demand in the town for hairdressing staff working naked to the waist.

Four former lap-dancers, three of whom are qualified hairdressers, have so far been recruited, and customers will be able to choose a woman to give them a £25 haircut or a massage in a private booth.

The Rev Tom Cant, the minister at the nearby Laigh Kirk, branded the enterprise 'sordid' and degrading to men and women. 'There is no place for this shop in Paisley,' he added.

West of Scotland MSP Sandra White, who will join the demonstration, has raised a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for a ban on topless barber shops.

'This is a massage parlour by any other name,' she said.

'It's an insult to pretend it's normal for a girl to be topless while cutting hair.

'It reinforces the idea women are just sex objects. The men pay for the women and they control them.'

Last week, the owners of the salon provoked further condemnation when they erected a banner of a woman cupping her breasts.

White added: 'The banner doesn't even show the woman's face. It only shows what these people consider to be important about her.'

The Urban Group, which will run the salon, insists there is a demand for this type of shop in Paisley and says it is a bit of harmless fun.

A spokesman for the company said the salon would be properly run and assured residents they had nothing to fear.

He also revealed plans to have a monthly ladies' night when 'sexy male dancers would keep female customers happy'.

He added: 'There are people who don't want the salon here but there are plenty of other people who will want to come along and take advantage of the service we provide.

'We're aware the salon is controversial but I'm sure that, once we have been open for a while, the people of Paisley will realise that we are not out to cause any harm.'

One of the hairdressers, Leanne, told the Paisley Daily Express that she would be happy to keep her bra on if any of her customers were offended by seeing her topless.

The 20-year-old said she expected the salon to be popular with men organising a stag night or a birthday treat for their friends.

She added: 'Visiting a topless barbers shop won't be everyone's thing but, if people don't like what goes on here, then they should just stay away.

'No one is forcing me or any of the other girls to do this. I enjoy meeting different people and working here will be a laugh.

'This is the twenty-first century and I don't think that working in a topless barbers shop is anything to be embarrassed about. We've all got mortgages and bills to meet and I'll be getting paid well to do a job that is fun.'

Councillor John McDowell, chairman of Renfrewshire licensing board, said he felt the salon would damage the town's image but added that the council was powerless to block it.

A community website generated a mixed response when it asked residents to debate the issue. One person expressed concerns that it could become a 'hang-out for sad little neds in search of a glimpse of the female'.

Others said that the shop presented Paisley as a diverse and open-minded town

[montyzuma]

more

However, the seedy salon undefined named A Bit Off The Top undefined lasted only five months before it was given the chop.

Bosses closed down the Canal Street shop after they learned of allegations that customers were being offered sex.


surely not