Can't find a place to live !

Hi

Try gumtree  private landlords are more open to animals for a little bit extra on the deposit.

Try looking beyond Edinburgh too! Glasgow, Stirling etc.  Edinburgh is very expensive.

S1 jobs and Gumtree is a great start!

Moving to a new country is always a challenge in which the smallest detail can prove to be the undoing of a grand plan. If your job is in Edinburgh the option of living outside Edinburgh may not be realistic simply because of travelling costs, which is a matter only you can decide.

I was a private landlord in Edinburgh for a number of years so have some understanding of how the system and the market work. Like any city Edinburgh has property hot-spots. Some are created by amenity, like The New Town, Morningside, Marchmont while others are created by proximity like The South Side and its proximity to Edinburgh University. In all of these areas land is at a premium creating high purchase prices and resulting in a need for a return allied to high demand which creates extremely high rents. This situation also creates a requirement for high quality interiors which landlords need to protect to ensure their income continues. Part of this protection is the exclusion of animals.

Having had two sets of tenants who were in all other respects ideal but who ignored the prohibition of animals clause in the lease I have direct experience of the damage animals can do and completely understand the need of the landlord to exclude them.

In the foregoing I have referred principally to furnished rentals, the larger sector by demand and potential return.

There is a second sector, unfurnished rental, generally available in different areas of the town which offer less amenity which also means lower rents. Furnishing a property in Edinburgh is not necessarily an expensive business thanks to Gumtree, Freecycle, Freegler and Streetlife. It  is entirely possible to furnish a property to a perfectly reasonable standard for a few hundred pounds. Landlords who offer unfurnished rentals often can be much more amenable to pets.

Travel costs is a myth RE: above post.

You can easily pay £400 per month for a GREAT house and location in Glasgow and getva weekly train ticket for about £90.

For a bog standard house in a 'rough' or mediocre area, I.E. Sighthill... You are talking £500 per month.

Do your research and ask for help where needed. Don't assume Edinburgh is the only option to stay in.

It is a mistake to write off whole areas as mediocre based on the opinion of one person. If you need speciffic advice on a specific area please ask. There are excellent part of Sighthill and others not so good but that would be pretty obvious when viewing a property. There are also excellent areas of Edinburgh which are not property hot-spots.

Travel costs do not stop at the cost of a train ticket. There is also local travel between home or work and the train station which could easily add a third to the cost of the train ticket. The need to travel in rush hour can also mean two long journeys a day which have a real effect on family life.

Using realtors may also be part of your problem; they tend to be less flexible in their approach and concentrate their efforts on the hot-spots as they produce more revenue and therefore profit. A simple Google search will provide leads to unfurnished properties. Your immediate problem will be to establish yourself in the city. Perhaps delaying the arrival of your pets and taking a flat share room for even a few weeks would make things easier.

Must it be Edinburgh    What about North Berwick?