Edinburgh to Perth commute?
Discussion
ive been looking at a job in Perth, and would prefer to live somewhere a bit busier, which basically means living in Edinburgh. Before I get too carried away, the route seems sensible - about 50 mins drive - and now the new bridge is open I assume that doesnt close when it gets too windy or anything? Also, what are the areas on the west side of the city like to live in? Any places to avoid? House prices in Edinburgh are certainly more expensive than in Perth thats for sure!
Edited by Condi on Saturday 9th December 21:52
Perth to Edinburgh, not advised seriously its not that great a road - shown as motorway on the map but it is far from motorway standard, 2 lanes and a good section of it without hard shoulder. It also goes over some interesting terrain. The M90 is known as the only motorway in the UK that has special dispensation regards curve radii made during its construction to relevent legislation.
The M90 here has another of the tightest corners on the UK motorway network, for which some traffic can be forced to slow down. The corner cuts through the northern side of the Ochil Hills and has a curve radius of 694.5 m (a recommended minimum of 914 m was standard practice at the time of construction). This corner also coincides with one of the steepest sections of the motorway, for which north-bound heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are sign-posted to stay in a low gear and often brake continuously through the turn. South-bound HGVs are normally substantially reduced in speed as they make the incline.
This section also gets some pretty hairy weather in the winter, and that makes for a very difficult road to make reliable journeys on through the winter. remember the past few years we have had it light in terms of snow.
Id base myself in the Perth area as there are plenty of good schools and the main towns in the central belt are still easily accessible, you will be in the right area for your work and not have to depend on the M90.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0pNjSnx3Q
The M90 here has another of the tightest corners on the UK motorway network, for which some traffic can be forced to slow down. The corner cuts through the northern side of the Ochil Hills and has a curve radius of 694.5 m (a recommended minimum of 914 m was standard practice at the time of construction). This corner also coincides with one of the steepest sections of the motorway, for which north-bound heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are sign-posted to stay in a low gear and often brake continuously through the turn. South-bound HGVs are normally substantially reduced in speed as they make the incline.
This section also gets some pretty hairy weather in the winter, and that makes for a very difficult road to make reliable journeys on through the winter. remember the past few years we have had it light in terms of snow.
Id base myself in the Perth area as there are plenty of good schools and the main towns in the central belt are still easily accessible, you will be in the right area for your work and not have to depend on the M90.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0pNjSnx3Q
I used to commute from the west of Edinburgh (Bonaly) to Perth for a year and a half. Commute wasn't too bad as you are going against the traffic - it was rare you got stuck in traffic, although I tended not to leave the office at 5pm as I never fancied getting stuck in the Broxden queue, especially on a Friday afternoon.
Having said that, it is a boring drive so I moved to Perthshire after I'd confirmed I liked the job. Now live 17mi from Perth and have some cracking driving roads on my doorstep (my wife's commute is now a road that Pistonheads et al regularly use for tests), and I can still get to Glasgow and Edinburgh really quickly (particularly at weekends) when I need to. I now hate driving into Edinburgh city centre as I'm so unused to sitting in traffic!
If you really are a city person and don't fancy somewhere smaller and closer, I'd be looking at Colinton/Bonaly/Currie/Balerno/Juniper Green or Barnton, Queensferry etc. for getting out of Edinburgh quickly.
Having said that, it is a boring drive so I moved to Perthshire after I'd confirmed I liked the job. Now live 17mi from Perth and have some cracking driving roads on my doorstep (my wife's commute is now a road that Pistonheads et al regularly use for tests), and I can still get to Glasgow and Edinburgh really quickly (particularly at weekends) when I need to. I now hate driving into Edinburgh city centre as I'm so unused to sitting in traffic!
If you really are a city person and don't fancy somewhere smaller and closer, I'd be looking at Colinton/Bonaly/Currie/Balerno/Juniper Green or Barnton, Queensferry etc. for getting out of Edinburgh quickly.
Some interesting points, thanks.
I hadnt considered Dundee - never really knew anything about it I guess. Will take a look.
As for the road; how bad does it get in snowfall? Do they keep it open? I've driven it once or twice, and actually thought it was not a bad road. Certainly less traffic than most motorways in England, good surface, a tight turn or 2, but that shouldnt matter. At the moment I drive 1.10-1.30 each way once or twice a week, so a boring 50 minute drive down a clear motorway wont be too bad. Im sure you can 'press on' a bit...
I guess I am a city boy, in my 20s and with no kids or girlfriend then schools and space for the dog are less important than some social activities and a gym!
I hadnt considered Dundee - never really knew anything about it I guess. Will take a look.
As for the road; how bad does it get in snowfall? Do they keep it open? I've driven it once or twice, and actually thought it was not a bad road. Certainly less traffic than most motorways in England, good surface, a tight turn or 2, but that shouldnt matter. At the moment I drive 1.10-1.30 each way once or twice a week, so a boring 50 minute drive down a clear motorway wont be too bad. Im sure you can 'press on' a bit...
I guess I am a city boy, in my 20s and with no kids or girlfriend then schools and space for the dog are less important than some social activities and a gym!
Condi said:
Some interesting points, thanks.
As for the road; how bad does it get in snowfall? Do they keep it open?
It's a fairly important motorway so it would need to be really bad before it's closed. Bits between Dunfermline and Kinross do catch the weather a bit - I drove into a some slushy snow one night at 70mph in the dark as the road had been totally fine up until then but there had clearly been a short, sharp dumping on one small section which had caught the gritters unprepared.As for the road; how bad does it get in snowfall? Do they keep it open?
The only other headache is that there seems to always be roadworks at Kinross for road resurfacing at the moment.
There aren't any cameras after Dunfermline (variable speed limit near the bridge) and I don't recall seeing many police cars/vans, but I didn't tend to fly up and down.
Where's the job? SSE? Aviva?
I stay in West End of Dundee, which is on the right side of town for both the best social scene (near uni) and to get to Perth.
I can be in Perth in just over ten minutes, or loop round to Dunkeld Rd within 20.
Seriously worth considering, and we have brilliant views over the Tay estuary to Fife too, so I'm happy
I can be in Perth in just over ten minutes, or loop round to Dunkeld Rd within 20.
Seriously worth considering, and we have brilliant views over the Tay estuary to Fife too, so I'm happy
Condi said:
SSE - so not silly to get to from the main road.
It was SSE I was at (recently left, but only because something came up that I couldn't turn down). Given their focus on safety (and especially driving safety), you'll be doing 55mph up the M90 (or A90 from Dundee) in full high viz on winter tyres. 
There are a good number of people there that commute from Edinburgh (and Dundee) so you'll see the same cars every morning.
The one and only time in my 16 years of driving that I've caused an accident, I rear-ended someone at Broxden one morning (I was looking at the traffic on the roundabout, saw a massive gap and assumed the guy in front was moving off and he didn't). Turned out he was an SSE employee too.
Good luck if you go for it.
I have done the M90 a fair bit over the years from the North West of Edinburgh and timewise it is not too bad if you can avoid peak hours.
Never had an issue with bad weather and certainly would not be a concern for me, and to drive, the motorway itself is absolutely fine - it is desperately boring though.
The other thing I found when having to visit a client in Perth was how poor the train travel options seems to be if you have to use public transport - I had imagined, given the size of the respective cities and proximity to Dundee, that there would be more frequent trains - even the buses didn't seem that good.
In terms of where to stay, house prices in Edinburgh are ludicrously high, and if I could find a job I really liked somewhere else that suited me in other respects I would take the opportunity to acquire something much better value outside of our capital.
Never had an issue with bad weather and certainly would not be a concern for me, and to drive, the motorway itself is absolutely fine - it is desperately boring though.
The other thing I found when having to visit a client in Perth was how poor the train travel options seems to be if you have to use public transport - I had imagined, given the size of the respective cities and proximity to Dundee, that there would be more frequent trains - even the buses didn't seem that good.
In terms of where to stay, house prices in Edinburgh are ludicrously high, and if I could find a job I really liked somewhere else that suited me in other respects I would take the opportunity to acquire something much better value outside of our capital.
Horrible road.
Speed cameras, unpredictable traffic, stupid bridge
Hermiston, Gogar roundabout, newbridge are hotspots for traffic.
Even if you're staying around Ratho area, I'd say 1 hour and 20 mins on some days in the morning. Google maps seems to agree.
You'll also encounter fife dialect very quickly:
"Do you ken Ken, cos the Ken i ken kens the Ken you ken. Ken what i mean ken?"
Speed cameras, unpredictable traffic, stupid bridge
Hermiston, Gogar roundabout, newbridge are hotspots for traffic.
Even if you're staying around Ratho area, I'd say 1 hour and 20 mins on some days in the morning. Google maps seems to agree.
You'll also encounter fife dialect very quickly:
"Do you ken Ken, cos the Ken i ken kens the Ken you ken. Ken what i mean ken?"
Edited by MethylatedSpirit on Monday 11th December 21:46
Condi said:
As for the road; how bad does it get in snowfall? Do they keep it open? I've driven it once or twice, and actually thought it was not a bad road. Certainly less traffic than most motorways in England, good surface, a tight turn or 2, but that shouldnt matter. At the moment I drive 1.10-1.30 each way once or twice a week, so a boring 50 minute drive down a clear motorway wont be too bad. Im sure you can 'press on' a bit...
I think you need to listen to the advice sir... M90 is a great section of road when it's quiet and the weather is nice... two things the M90 rarely is. I used to do Dunfermline to Dundee daily and that was a bonus as it avoided Edinburgh and the bridge at peak times (it's a new bridge, it'll be fine... optimistic!) however I also did it through in winter and lost several days work due to it being impassible due to snow and a lot of the time, it took twice as long to get home when the weather was bad.
Best thing is come up on a winters day and then try and do the run both at peak times.
rossybee said:
I stay in West End of Dundee, which is on the right side of town for both the best social scene (near uni) and to get to Perth.
I can be in Perth in just over ten minutes, or loop round to Dunkeld Rd within 20.
Seriously worth considering, and we have brilliant views over the Tay estuary to Fife too, so I'm happy
You might want to reconsider your journey times, even living on the roundabout at Swallow (Hilton) Hotel and working at the side of the slip road to Perth before the Friarton Bridge would take longer than 10-12 minutes... especially during commuter times! I can be in Perth in just over ten minutes, or loop round to Dunkeld Rd within 20.
Seriously worth considering, and we have brilliant views over the Tay estuary to Fife too, so I'm happy
Dundee is a good shout though; it’s slowly getting better and becoming a nice place to stay, with great links to the rest of Scotland too.
MethylatedSpirit said:
Horrible road.
"Do you ken Ken, cos the Ken i ken kens the Ken you ken. Ken what i mean ken?"
Ahhh, a kent a boy who kent a boy... so ah geed him a phone up and ah says, listen I ken a boy who kent a boy that could dae us a deal ken"Do you ken Ken, cos the Ken i ken kens the Ken you ken. Ken what i mean ken?"
Though to be fair, Fife is weird... the local lingo changes are measure in feet rather then postal codes.
Not enough genes in the pool sadly... had high hopes that the new bridge would solve that but nope...
RS Grant said:
rossybee said:
I stay in West End of Dundee, which is on the right side of town for both the best social scene (near uni) and to get to Perth.
I can be in Perth in just over ten minutes, or loop round to Dunkeld Rd within 20.
Seriously worth considering, and we have brilliant views over the Tay estuary to Fife too, so I'm happy
You might want to reconsider your journey times, even living on the roundabout at Swallow (Hilton) Hotel and working at the side of the slip road to Perth before the Friarton Bridge would take longer than 10-12 minutes... especially during commuter times! I can be in Perth in just over ten minutes, or loop round to Dunkeld Rd within 20.
Seriously worth considering, and we have brilliant views over the Tay estuary to Fife too, so I'm happy
Dundee is a good shout though; it’s slowly getting better and becoming a nice place to stay, with great links to the rest of Scotland too.
Davie said:
MethylatedSpirit said:
Horrible road.
"Do you ken Ken, cos the Ken i ken kens the Ken you ken. Ken what i mean ken?"
Ahhh, a kent a boy who kent a boy... so ah geed him a phone up and ah says, listen I ken a boy who kent a boy that could dae us a deal ken"Do you ken Ken, cos the Ken i ken kens the Ken you ken. Ken what i mean ken?"
Though to be fair, Fife is weird... the local lingo changes are measure in feet rather then postal codes.
Not enough genes in the pool sadly... had high hopes that the new bridge would solve that but nope...
ruggedscotty said:
Perth to Edinburgh, not advised seriously its not that great a road - shown as motorway on the map but it is far from motorway standard, 2 lanes and a good section of it without hard shoulder. It also goes over some interesting terrain. The M90 is known as the only motorway in the UK that has special dispensation regards curve radii made during its construction to relevent legislation.
The M90 here has another of the tightest corners on the UK motorway network, for which some traffic can be forced to slow down. The corner cuts through the northern side of the Ochil Hills and has a curve radius of 694.5 m (a recommended minimum of 914 m was standard practice at the time of construction). This corner also coincides with one of the steepest sections of the motorway, for which north-bound heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are sign-posted to stay in a low gear and often brake continuously through the turn. South-bound HGVs are normally substantially reduced in speed as they make the incline.
This section also gets some pretty hairy weather in the winter, and that makes for a very difficult road to make reliable journeys on through the winter. remember the past few years we have had it light in terms of snow.
Id base myself in the Perth area as there are plenty of good schools and the main towns in the central belt are still easily accessible, you will be in the right area for your work and not have to depend on the M90.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0pNjSnx3Q
I hardly recognise the M90 from your description. The A90 isn't much fun, but the M90 is fine, mainly because it's relatively quiet. Tight bends - this is PH isn't it? The M90 here has another of the tightest corners on the UK motorway network, for which some traffic can be forced to slow down. The corner cuts through the northern side of the Ochil Hills and has a curve radius of 694.5 m (a recommended minimum of 914 m was standard practice at the time of construction). This corner also coincides with one of the steepest sections of the motorway, for which north-bound heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are sign-posted to stay in a low gear and often brake continuously through the turn. South-bound HGVs are normally substantially reduced in speed as they make the incline.
This section also gets some pretty hairy weather in the winter, and that makes for a very difficult road to make reliable journeys on through the winter. remember the past few years we have had it light in terms of snow.
Id base myself in the Perth area as there are plenty of good schools and the main towns in the central belt are still easily accessible, you will be in the right area for your work and not have to depend on the M90.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu0pNjSnx3Q
Tight bends, downhill....Queensferry crossing is an issue as is Broxden roundabout at certain times. If you live in Strathearn you also have the option of the M9.
Commuting 30 years ago it would be circa an hour into town from my home, now 1 Hour 20. But that can easily be up to 2 hours at the wrong time.
M9 is much busier than the M90 northbound up to Kincardine Bridge. Likewise the M90 is pretty empty above Dunfermline.
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