Edinburgh: The Best Place to Live in the UK

Last year, Edinburgh was crowned the UK's best place to live in Channel 4's "Location, Location, Location". And who would disagree?

Attracting millions of visitors a year, Edinburgh has an amazing lifestyle on offer with a massive choice of shops, bars, restaurants, museums and galleries. Edinburgh is also one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and has the highest concentration of listed buildings in the UK.

On top of that, the city is home to the highest percentage of professionals in the UK with just over half of the population employed in knowledge jobs.

Edinburgh residents are also five times less likely to be a victim of crime than the UK average.

So, the city is beautiful, safe, prosperous, and perfect for culture vultures – this can only mean one thing: high property prices.

House prices in the Scottish capital have been climbing steadily for the past five years, with the average Edinburgh home costing just over the £200,000 national average.

However, this is still half the cost of the average home in London so if it’s capital living you’re after – why not see what Edinburgh has to offer….

St Vincent Place, Stockbridge

This stunning development, by AMA homes in the historic New Town area of Edinburgh, will offer a range of properties from 700sqft one bedroom apartments through to 2,800sqft penthouses.

Built in two separate buildings, the South block of St Vincent Place has a typically Georgian front exterior, whilst the rear is unashamedly modern. The majority of the apartments have a deck or a balcony, as well as full height windows to make the most of the south-facing aspect.

The North block is a modern development which retains the proportions of traditional properties, whilst exploring the possibilities of new materials and finishes.  On the façade, glass adds drama and lets in vast amounts of light through modern, aluminium-framed double glazing. High-tech rendering ensures the building’s good looks will last for many decades to come.

Inside the apartments and the first thing you’ll notice, or rather not notice, is the under-floor heating. With no cumberstone radiators, there is more space for living and for arranging your furniture.
Ugly cables can destroy the look of your apartment which is why these homes have been pre-wired for a home computer network and audio in three rooms. There is even wiring for you plasma television.

The attention to detail goes right down to the Corian mantelpiece and hearth, which comes complete with remote control fire.

The impressive kitchen space is filled with Italian cabinets from Meson’s K-System range, with fully integrated appliances from Neff and Siemens; that means that everything from the cooker hood to the cappuccino maker.

The bathrooms are spacious featuring high quality fixtures and a distinct feeling of porcelain.

Enter either block of St Vincent Place and you’ll be met with marble-floored lobbies, carpeted stairs, locking letter boxes and secure storage areas; not to mention lifts to all floors and landscaped exterior spaces.

Your safety is also in good hands with the use of video entry systems, high specification intruder and smokes alarms, secure fire exits and automatic smoke extraction system.

There is also private, allocated and secure parking.

Prices start from £385,000. Visit http://www.rettie.co.uk/ for more details.

Hillpark Apartments, Blackhall

The Hillpark development, by Mactaggart & Mickel, is located in up-market Blackhall offering residents convenience and high amenity. 

Described as the “best of all the worlds”, Blackhall is a peaceful, green, leafy, much-sought-after-area with a lot of character and history as well as being only ten minutes away from Princes Street.

The latest addition to the luxurious Hillpark development is Hillpark Apartments 2 – two new blocks of two and three-storey apartments positioned at the crown of the development, nestled in the foot of the rich mature woodland nearby.

Three new apartment styles have been unveiled in the form of the Calder, the Teacuis and the Sheil. Each of these fabulously exclusive two bedroom apartments offers spacious living with amazing views either across the city or overlooking the green open spaces. The ground floor apartments in each block even benefit from the privacy of a separate entrance to the rest of the block.

There is an irresistible sense of luxurious style and grandeur about Hillpark Apartments 2, evidence throughout both blocks from top to bottom. The roof has a prominent turret crowned with a medieval spear and rank of decorative chimneys with cannon head-pots keeping sentry.

Attractive lead pane-glass windows, including generous octagonal or square walk-in bay windows with French doors and Parisian style balconies to the lounge, and a stone pre-cast band running level with window ledges on the top storey. 

The lobbies of both blocks will contain mail boxes for added convenience and communal storage, and each apartment will have a private allocated parking space.

The blocks sit on either side of a shared central area that is surrounded by an open space planted with miniature bulbs that will bloom in the spring.

Mactaggart & Mickel is currently paying stamp duty on these apartments, offering savings of over £9,000. Jenny Harvie, Marketing Co-ordinator, said: “Moving house can be an expensive business and we are delighted to be able to offer home buyers a helping hand to buy their dream property.”

Prices start at £313,000. For more information visit:http://www.macmic.co.uk