Several towns near Glasgow have been named in Scotland's comprehensive rankings of the best places to live in the country, based on research on by independent buying agency, Garrington Property Finders.
Judges rank the cities, nieghbourhoods, towns and villages in 'Best Places to Live in Scotland 2024' across five criteria: natural beauty, wellbeing, employment, connectivity, and value for money.
Over 160 areas across Scotland made the list, with the first place spot taken by a town just 10 miles outside of Glasgow's city centre.
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 best places to live in Scotland according to the research - including 5 from near Glasgow.
1. Kirkintilloch
Coming in first place was Kirkintilloch over in East Dumbartonshire. Flanked by nature on all sides as the Forth and Clyde Canal flows through the town. Kirky scored highly in three of the four categories that determine the overall ranking. 9 miles from Glasgow's city centre, the towns high air quality made it 10th place in the wellbeing category. Reasonably priced houses (around £276,000) also placed it sixth in the value for money category.
2. Blairgowrie and Rattray
Blairgowrie and Rattray, a few miles North East of Dundee,, came in first for the wellbeing category and 10th for natural beauty thanks to its place at the seat of the Cairngorms.
3. Crieff
Crieff in Perthshire, was ranked ninth for natural beauty and 23rd for wellbeing, with the average £244,000 house price putting it at 43rd for value.
4. Selkirk
Selkirk by the Borders comes in fourth place, scoring well across all categories.