One of Scotland's most comprehensive rankings of the best places to live was published this week by the UK's largest independent buying agency, Garrington Property Finders.
The 'Best Places to Live 2024' judges the cities, neighbourhoods, towns and villages in Scotland against five criteria - natural beauty, wellbeing, employment and connectivity, and value for money.
More than 160 places made it onto this year's list, led by a historic town in East Dunbartonshire.
It's set against a backdrop of average property prices in Scotland rising by 2.2 per cent in the 12 months to November 2023 but that figure includes large regional variation, with prices in the Orkney capital of Kirkwall falling by 8.4 per cent over the same period.
Jonathan Hopper, Garrington CEO, said: “2023’s reset of prices redrew large swathes of Scotland’s property map. Prices rose across the nation as a whole, but some highly desirable areas became better value as prices fell.
“It’s early days, but 2024 so far has seen the cost of borrowing – which led many would-be buyers to hold off in 2023 – start to come down. Suddenly the market finds itself at an inflection point, with house prices stabilising just as mortgages become more affordable.
“This combination is already translating into a surge in interest from buyers who’ve decided to restart their previously paused moving plans. If this is you, our 2024 Best Places to Live guide can help you pinpoint locations with the optimum blend of natural beauty, quality of life and value for money.
“All of the 161 Scottish cities, towns and villages selected for our ranking score well in at least one category, and you can use our fun, interactive tool to find places that offer more of the things that matter most to you.”
You can view the full interactive map of Scotland to see where your area ranks here.
Here are the top 13 locations according to the research.
1. Kirkintilloch
First placed Kirkintilloch, in East Dunbartonshire, is fringed by rolling hills and straddles the Forth & Clyde Canal, and scored highly in three of the four categories that determine the overall ranking. With a past dating back two millennia to Roman times, Kirkintilloch is just nine miles from central Glasgow – yet its air quality helped it secure 10th place in the wellbeing category. Meanwhile the competitiveness of its typical house price (£276,000) compared to the regional average propelled it to sixth place in the value for money category.
2. Blairgowrie and Rattray
Second-placed Blairgowrie and Rattray, which sit just south of the Cairngorms National Park and the UK’s largest ski resort, offer residents a bewitching choice of outdoor pursuits and stunning views – earning the twin towns the top spot in the wellbeing category and 10th place in natural beauty.
3. Crieff
Crieff, in Perthshire, ranked 9th for natural beauty and 23rd for wellbeing, with the average £244,00 house price, it comes 43rd for value for money.
4. Selkirk
The Borders town of Selkirk comes in fourth place, scoring well for natural beauty, wellbeing, employment and connectivity.