One of Scotland's most comprehensive rankings of the best places to live was published this week by the UK's largest independent buying agency, Garrington Property Finders.
The 'Best Places to Live 2024' judges the cities, neighbourhoods, towns and villages in Scotland against five criteria - natural beauty, wellbeing, employment and connectivity, and value for money.
More than 160 places made it onto this year's list, led by a historic town in East Dunbartonshire.
It's set against a backdrop of average property prices in Scotland rising by 2.2 per cent in the 12 months to November 2023 but that figure includes large regional variation, with prices in the Orkney capital of Kirkwall falling by 8.4 per cent over the same period.
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 locations according to the research.
13. Kirkwall
Occupying a lovely coastal location on the Orkney islands, Kirkwall came 21st for natural beauty and 4th for value for money. It dropped out of the top ten due to coming 123rd for wellbeing. | Canva/Getty Images
14. Barrhead
Barrhead, in East Renfrewshire, offers the best value for money in Scotland, which earns it a spot on this list. The average property price is £291,000 - down 0.7 per cent over the past year. | Google Maps
15. Whitburn
Whitburn, in West Lothian, takes 15th place. It offers the 14th best value for money in Scotland and has an average property price of £215,000, down slightly over the last 12 months. | Google Maps
16. Girvan
Another town that ranks highly due to the reasonable cost of living is Girvan, in South Ayrshire, coming 10th in Scotland in that catergory. Its attractive coastal location also puts it in 33rd place for natural beauty. | Canva/Getty Images