Does anybody know what Kirkcaldy is like?

I wouldn't call it a quiet place or a small town and not that easy of a commute to be honest.  South/North Queensferry might be more what you are looking for.

I guess I just went by things like population. Then again, it's really hard to tell since I've never really been there. But thanks, what you said is definitely very helpful.

No offense, but population isn't the way to find a place to live!

No, of course it's not. There's obviously a whole lot more to it. It's just really weird to find yourself look at various different aspects. I've never really done this before because I more or less ended up wherever life (i.e. my parents and later my studies) would take me.

There is no such thing as easy commuting to Edinburgh if you live in Fife.  Try two hours traffic jam trying to get over the Forth Road Bridge, and the same back at night.  If you are determined to live in that area of Scotland, why not look at the smaller villages between Glasgow and Edinburgh, or south of Edinburgh.

As for Kirkcaldy, I remember the smell so well.  It is where they make linoleum.  Lots of new housing developments, but also a lot of areas where you just don't walk alone at night.

It is about 7 miles from Methil.  In the 1960's the Duke of Edinburgh visited Methil.  He described it as the arsehole of the world LOL 

ps.  Born and brought up in Methil - emigrated to NZ a year ago.

OK first post...I grew up in the east of Fife and know the place pretty well. Like most places KDY has good and bad, but generally, KDY is a complete hole.  It's your typical ex-mining town, a bit run down, has a drugs and crime problem and the nightlife resembles a Michael Jackson video. Oh yeah, it's also a bit rough, there's no jobs and the weather is 'dreich'.

Think Rotherham without the charm and you have it.

If I was you, I would avoid Fife at all costs, it's small minded, inbred and miserable - that's on a good day.  St Andrews and the East Neuk is fine if you are 70 and retired.

Dunfermline's not much better, it's now an overspill for Edinbro, but it has a lot of new build going on and a picture house.

Woo and hoo indeed.

Hmmm...aye, to be fair, you did say there is good and bad, in your character assassination of dear old Kirkcaldy. Then you just list the bad and over-egg it.

Kirkcaldy is a reasonable place to live. It is an ex-mining town, but one of the former mines is now a housing estate by the sea. It has good transport links to Edinburgh, as it's on the main East Coast line. There are also regular bus services to Edinburgh and a Park and Ride scheme at Ferrytoll. It has a couple of large parks; Ravenscraig and Beveridge. It has numerous beaches within a few miles of it (e.g. Kinghorn, Burntisland, Aberdour). The East Neuk of Fife is also nearby and it's a great place to head to on a sunny day, albeit this is Scotland and there aren't that many sunny days. All in all it's a nice place to live and nowhere near the post industrial hell hole that the above comments would have you believe. Kirkcaldy also has the best football team in Fife - Raith Rovers - who regularly pump East Fife. Although East Fife have been so poor that they've hardly been in our league for the last few decades.

Ha ha Scary Bear  Methinks you already sussed kiwififer is an east fife supporter LOL  Otherwise you would have no reason to mention Raith Rovers when all Jess2010 asked was whether Kirkcaldy was a nice place to live.  Don't think she mentioned football.

I dragged poor Kiwififer to live in Fife when he was 10 and he still bears the mental scars to prove it. 

My dad used to be the oversman for the Seafield pit.  Yes they have built lovely houses over the top of it - I have been in some of them.  But from what he told me of the mine, I would not want to be living there in another 20yrs time! 

Yes Kirkcaldy has transport links, but when was the last time you commuted on a daily basis during rush hour?  I attended uni in Edinburgh for three years and used to sit in the traffic on the queensferry road for over an hour each night trying to reach the bridge to get home.  I don't think they have aquabuses yet, and if you get the train, you still have to commute by bus or taxi to get to your place of work.  That is why they are looking to build another bridge.(unless they have changed their minds again) Travel outside peak times is ok though - except at weekends or when they are doing road works which if I remember is quite regularly.

East Neuk of Fife is nice.  Pity about the road though.  You can get stuck for ages behind tourists.  And did you know the neuk had the highest rate of incest in the UK for many many years?

Can't complain about the parks, as long as you know where to avoid the hypodermics.  (I was a social worker in Kdy for my sins LOL)  As for the beaches, Kirkcaldy beach is filthy. kinghorn and Burntisland are nice though. 

But each to their own as they say.  There are many nice housing areas and many nice people there.  But is that a good enough reason to move there when there are other places nearby where they don't have as much negative stuff?

As a fifer myself, I would chose Largo, Falkland, Auchtermuchty, or some of the villages around Kelty (note I said around Kelty - not in it).

Yes, guilty as charged, I am a Rovers fan and I knew that KiwiFifer was an East Fife fan before posting.

I would choose Aberdour to live in but Kirkcaldy is a decent enough place to live relative to a lot of the other towns in Scotland. I've sampled various bits of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire as my family lived there, and I've lived in Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh and London.

The bus link to Edinburgh isn't that bad. I commute on the bus to Edinburgh and it takes 1 hour in the morning and 1 hr 10 minutes in the evening. A weekly ticket cost £23. The train is quite a bit more expensive at £47.90 per week. Luckily I work near the centre, so it's only a 10 minute walk when I get there. I wouldn't even dream of taking the car across. It costs a fortune in petrol and does your mental health no good whatsoever. The council keep talking about having a permanent hovercraft link, which will either run between Kirkcaldy and Portobello, or between Burntisland and Granton.

Hi again Scary Bear

Well that was a wild guess on my part about sussing out Kiwififer.   He's not all that bad - honest

The bus link certainly sounds as if it has improved compared to when I was commuting. And I remember seeing that hovercraft leaving Kirkcaldy a couple of years back.  Was it not just there for one or two days?

And although I would still not want to settle permanently in Kirkcaldy, I would do a swap with you anyday for my life here in NZ.

Hi,
So which areas are good/safe ? West Lothian /Livingstone,Bathgate/ or maybe something in East Lothian?
How about something around Glasgow?
Thx.

I wish I could reply, but thats perhaps too big an area to say whats good/safe.  And it depends what you want to be safe from.

Just like any other place in the world, there are good and bad places in every large town and city.

The post about Kirkcaldy highlights that.

Hopefully someone from the areas you mentioned might see your post and reply.

Jess2010 I just moved to Kirkcaldy from Dundee, and in all honesty, I really like it.

I have been doing a pretty bad commute to dundee, but it's just because of getting the  bus at the dundee end that it's bad. The commute to edinburgh is like half of that and more than half the money.

The Edinburgh commute is nothing that way.

Kirkcaldy doesn't have much of a night life or anything, but I think it's really nice and quiet.

Just a little thing aswell, there is loads of flats to rent/buy up my way here at the moment which is a 5 minute walk from the train station and about 10 minutes from the centre of kirkcaldy.

Your choice. But if you are thiking of coming here, I think you're making a good choice there

Kirkaldy is a dump.  Stay clear.  Major gang and drug problems.  Very blue collar.  Commuting from Fife to Edinburgh is a nightmare.  2 hours + one way.

For a 20 minute commute to Edinburgh and 30 to Glasgow via train try Linlithgow.  Beautiful town with a crew decent restaurants and a couple of good pubs.

Stay away from bath gate, Broxburn, Uphall, Livingston, Bo'ness.

Yes i do know what it is like. A horrible vile place to live. Expessially to grow up. Murders, fires, and drug users are no raritey. Yes, there are some good things, music, lots pf opertunitoes. Gppd position, 40 minuites from edinburgh and dundee. As i am a youth, myself i hae never smoked, got drunk or done drugs but that cant be said for many youths. As i go to the ymca music project i know multiple people who smoke, and more than tobacco.
Last night just before midnght a bpdy pf a three year old was found who went missing in edinbirgh. They are thinking that the mother killed him. WHO WOULD WANT TO LIVE HERE?!
They fpund his body in pne pf "the best areas pf kirkcaldy"

Just dont come. Not even to vist.

My dad came to drop me pff at my house one tome five pr so years ago, he came into the flat, acrpss from asda to make sure i got in safley but within this 5 minuites hos car window got smashed open and his radio got stolen.

Also cant say much for the hospital. They misdionoged my grandad with two types of terninal cancer. Turns put it was just a fold in his fake bladder.

Just over a year ago on christmas eve me and my dad were dropping my sister off at her house, we passed the chipshop as i said "ho mr ambulance" we turned the corner and seen a flat on fore with multiple fire enjines trying to put it put.

A few months ago a girl killed her ex

Someone hung themselfs in one of the best "fanily areas" of lirkcaldy

I could go on, just dont move here

That's so full of crap about Kirkcaldy, it's a beautiful seaside town with loads going on, it is very quiet and friendly, I know this as I live there, there's beautiful large parks, and gorgeous beaches, Seafield, the promenade beach and also the beach at Ravenscraig Park with loads of little coves, a local railway station, plenty buses etc, as for the loooong drive to Edinburgh, rubbish, I did it daily, took me 20mins each way, so if you know zero about a town, don't just spout rubbish

True about the boys body, his mum did kill him, I live 3 doors away from where she dumped his body, but, she killed him in Edinburgh, not Kirkcaldy, she only dumped his body in my area as its so quiet with loads of green space, i:e, woodland walks, so plenty places to hide the suitcase that the poor boys body was in, so like I say, he was killed in Edinburgh

Marjiedaw wrote:

That's so full of crap about Kirkcaldy, it's a beautiful seaside town with loads going on, it is very quiet and friendly, I know this as I live there, there's beautiful large parks, and gorgeous beaches, Seafield, the promenade beach and also the beach at Ravenscraig Park with loads of little coves, a local railway station, plenty buses etc, as for the loooong drive to Edinburgh, rubbish, I did it daily, took me 20mins each way, so if you know zero about a town, don't just spout rubbish

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

The thread you're responding to is over 10 years old and the person you're responding to hasn't logged on here for over 6 years now.  My point is that perhaps it may be better to start a new thread telling us about Kirkcaldy; the last time I went there was back in the 70's with my mate from the Army and I suspect things may have changed since then.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to the Forum.

Cynic
Expat Team