Edinburgh - what is wrong with the place?

[velo army]

10 hours ago, tarapoa said:

Who’d have thought this, hot off the press about “depressing Aberdeen” ?

https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/03/these-are-the-happiest-cities-in-the-uk-to-live-and-work-15355644/?fbclid=IwAR0U8Kl2GCAoUM2vSTurkfby1fnvzo3tK6aFyhUQ9gIIA4eSn8zcsUyBxQE


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Good to see. I give Aberdeen a hard time for being a bit of a cultural desert and for being a bit far from Glasgow (I da drive), but it has a lot going for it in many respects. It's by the sea, and I see dolphins pretty regularly. 

I can also escape pretty easily which is huge for me. A 20min ride in any direction sees me in quiet rurality. 

Doric and Aberdonian speech is general in infinitely more mellifluous than Glaswegian too, and I say that as one who still sounds weegie as f**k. 

And that's a' ah hae tae say aboot that (pronounced "thawt").

Edited October 4, 2021 by velo army

[Honest_Man#1]

I thought I wouldn’t like Edinburgh after living in Glasgow for a long time, but I think I prefer it now after being here 3 years. Some of the points people make about both cities I can understand, but both are great places to live and work.
 

Quite funny though people saying they hate Edinburgh because of Princes St, or hare Glasgow because near Central Station is shit. Maybe just head to the nice bits.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Edinburgh and Glasgow are two recipes with the same ingredients but in different proportions, so obviously tastes will differ but crucially they're both big enough that there should still be plenty of whatever the kind of thing you like is.

If you're a Glaswegian who hates Edinburgh or an Edinburgher who can't find a good time in Glasgow then chances are it's you rather than the city that's the problem

[topcat(The most tip top)]

On 03/10/2021 at 09:20, Dons_1988 said:

My biggest gripe with this thread is the folk that consider a 2 hour drive to Aberdeen as some sort of journey to the edge of the earth. 

Your perception of distance varies depending on how densely populated your part of the world is. north Londoners can talk about South London as if it's Mars I've heard people from Fort William talk about Inverness as "Just up the road"

[Dons_1988]

4 minutes ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

Your perception of distance varies depending on how densely populated your part of the world is. north Londoners can talk about South London as if it's Mars I've heard people from Fort William talk about Inverness as "Just up the road"

True. I live in Edinburgh myself but with family in Aberdeen and a ST at pittodrie it’s a journey I do regularly and never feel it’s that bad. not to mention it’s dual carriageway the entire way. 

The central belt is just very condensed I suppose that you don’t need to go that far for anything really, but I’d happily call Londoners ignorant c***s so I guess the shoe fits in the central belt

Edited October 4, 2021 by Dons_1988

[Meldrew]

On 02/10/2021 at 10:32, The Skelpit Lug said:

I never plan a city break without first finding out about its office culture.

i made that mistake when i went to Frankfurt.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

12 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said:

True. I live in Edinburgh myself but with family in Aberdeen and a ST at pittodrie it’s a journey I do regularly and never feel it’s that bad. not to mention it’s dual carriageway the entire way. 

The central belt is just very condensed I suppose that you don’t need to go that far for anything really, but I’d happily call Londoners ignorant c***s so I guess the shoe fits in the central belt

You get used to these things. 

When I first met the woman that was to become Mrs topcat she was living in Newcastle which is about the same distance as Aberdeen and I coped. 

 

[Hedgecutter]

I've overheard Glaswegians who evidently consider an away day to Falkirk to be some sort of expedition.  As a gross generalisation from personal experience, a Weegie's knowledge of what lies beyond the Castlecary arches is embarrassing.  They're like foreigners in their own country, as if they've lived the entirety of their lives restricted to Greater Glasgow and 'doon the watter'.

When you live in the north of Scotland, distance becomes much less of an issue.  Last week, my other half thought nothing of travelling from the outskirts of Aberdeen out to Elgin just to check the Decora bathroom sale for an hour.  Time wise, that's the equivalent of driving from Glasgow to Dundee.  Also popped down to Dunfermline on a whim for the afternoon on Monday.  As said above, a couple of hours travel is absolutely f*** all.

[Jacksgranda]

4 hours ago, velo army said:

Good to see. I give Aberdeen a hard time for being a bit of a cultural desert and for being a bit far from Glasgow (I da drive), but it has a lot going for it in many respects. It's by the sea, and I see dolphins pretty regularly. 

I can also escape pretty easily which is huge for me. A 20min ride in any direction sees me in quiet rurality. 

Doric and Aberdonian speech is general in infinitely more mellifluous than Glaswegian too, and I say that as one who still sounds weegie as f**k. 

And that's a' ah hae tae say aboot that (pronounced "thawt").

O.K., Tam

[vikingTON]

34 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said:

I've overheard Glaswegians who evidently consider an away day to Falkirk to be some sort of expedition.  As a gross generalisation from personal experience, a Weegie's knowledge of what lies beyond the Castlecary arches is embarrassing.  They're like foreigners in their own country, as if they've lived the entirety of their lives restricted to Greater Glasgow and 'doon the watter'.

When you live in the north of Scotland, distance becomes much less of an issue.  Last week, my other half thought nothing of travelling from the outskirts of Aberdeen out to Elgin just to check the Decora bathroom sale for an hour.  Time wise, that's the equivalent of driving from Glasgow to Dundee.  Also popped down to Dunfermline on a whim for the afternoon on Monday.  As said above, a couple of hours travel is absolutely f*** all.

Thanks for confirming just how tragic an existence teuchters truly have, in which travelling for 3 hours to visit a bathroom showroom is considered an acceptable way of spending their free time. 

[RiG]

Just now, virginton said:

Thanks for confirming just how tragic an existence teuchters truly have, in which travelling for 3 hours to visit a bathroom showroom Elgin is considered an acceptable way of spending their free time. 

FTFY.

[milton75]

1 hour ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

Your perception of distance varies depending on how densely populated your part of the world is. north Londoners can talk about South London as if it's Mars I've heard people from Fort William talk about Inverness as "Just up the road"

 

45 minutes ago, Hedgecutter said:

I've overheard Glaswegians who evidently consider an away day to Falkirk to be some sort of expedition.  As a gross generalisation from personal experience, a Weegie's knowledge of what lies beyond the Castlecary arches is embarrassing.  They're like foreigners in their own country, as if they've lived the entirety of their lives restricted to Greater Glasgow and 'doon the watter'.

When you live in the north of Scotland, distance becomes much less of an issue.  Last week, my other half thought nothing of travelling from the outskirts of Aberdeen out to Elgin just to check the Decora bathroom sale for an hour.  Time wise, that's the equivalent of driving from Glasgow to Dundee.  Also popped down to Dunfermline on a whim for the afternoon on Monday.  As said above, a couple of hours travel is absolutely f*** all.

I'm not sure it's really about the population per se and more to do with the amount of stuff that exists in a locale because there is the necessary population to support it's existence; e.g. shops, entertainment and attractions, etc. So unless you're travelling to something unique such as a tourist attraction, landmark, sports game etc. it would be weird for a Londoner to travel to, say, Birmingham only to go to a shop that they could also visit in their home city.

On the flipside, you see these maniacs that live in the back of beyond in places like Kansas having to travel 3 hours to get to a decent supermarket for a weekly shop.

[velo army]

3 hours ago, Jacksgranda said:

O.K., Tam

[Jacksgranda]

11 minutes ago, velo army said:

[velo army]

40 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

Ffs. Tam Hanks. 

Got it now.

[Jacksgranda]

[Jimi Shandrix]

On 03/10/2021 at 09:11, BallochSonsFan said:

I dislike Edinburgh immensely.

It's a horrible city to try and navigate by car. I occasionally go to gigs in Edinburgh on the few occasions that they have something worth going to. I have to drive there as public transport isnt an option. Trying to navigate Edinburgh by car, content with the bonkers 20mph limit  and find somewhere to park is a pain in the hole. Had the trams covered more of the city then park and ride might have been an option, but the tram system was a massively flawed project that isnt fit for purpose beyond it's link to the airport.

I mentioned going to gigs. It blows my mind that Edinburgh has such a poor live music scene compared to Glasgow. Big city with a decent sized student population and yet they rarely have decent gigs in Edinburgh,. Queens Hall is a decent venue. Thats pretty much it, although potentially the take over of Edinburgh Corn Exchange and it's rebranding as an )2 Academy venue might help.

Shopping isnt great either. You have a few interesting places. Assai have opened a record store in the city and there are a couple of others. You have stores like Penhaligon. But overall it always seemed to be a shite version of Glasgow - similar big store profile but just not as good. Too much of the place is devoted to tourist tat. There's really no reason to go through to Edinburgh for something a bit different because it doesnt really offer enough thats different. I'd be partially interested in the farmers markets if they were easier to get to (see car/parking issues above) but its just not worth the hassle when I can go to Perth for their market.

Tourist traps are everywhere in Edinburgh. The balance between tourist tat and stuff that the natives might actually want is off. Which seems strange since Edinburgh is increasingly a city that hates tourism. The council seem to want to hit back at the tourists despite it being a major source of income. Its difficult to some extent to avoid tourism in Edinburgh given that the castle dominates the city centre, but the abundance of tartan tat and shortbread tin pish is annoying.

Edinburgh as a capital city just doesnt seem to have the energy or diversity of other major capitals. It doesnt really have much that's definitively Edinburgh, other than the watered down Gold Star that they spray on the chips - and even then that's made on the outskirts of Glasgow. You look at Dundee getting the V&A and seeing the waterfront redeveloped and think that its a city thats improving. There's a very good chance that the redevelopment of Dundee with change it's image and will actually make it quite a nice place to be, You can't really say that about Edinburgh. For all that its got the national museum of Scotland and the festivals, the city itself isnt a particularly nice place to be for the majority of the time and that's increased during festival season when it becomes genuinely unpleasant to be in.

Unless you want to see a shit pop star at the Castle or some crappy top division indie jobbers at the Corn Exchange (hello The Snuts) Edinburgh has a shite live music scene, but it wasn't always like this. As @tamthebam pointed out The Venue, Cas Rock and Calton Studios were all brilliant venues on a par with the likes of King Tut's  and Broadcast in Glasgow. All 3 fucked by the developer's grubby paw. Now all Edinburgh has is Sneaky Pete's with it's annoyingly placed pillars and Bannermans, where they play both kinds of music, punk and grebo. I saw so many great small gigs in Edinburgh in the early 90's but sadly those days wont be back for today's kids.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Jimi Shandrix

[Cosmic Joe]

10 minutes ago, Jimi Shandrix said:

Unless you want to see a shit pop star at the Castle or some crappy top division indie jobbers at the Corn Exchange (hello The Snuts) Edinburgh has a shite live music scene, but it wasn't always like this. As @tamthebam pointed out The Venue, Cas Rock and Calton Studios were all brilliant venues on a par with the likes of King Tut's  and Broadcast in Glasgow. All 3 fucked by the developer's grubby paw. Now all Edinburgh has is Sneaky Pete's with it's annoyingly placed pillars and Bannermans, where they play both kinds of music, punk and grebo. I saw so many great small gigs in Edinburgh in the early 90's but sadly those days wont be back for today's kids.

Pretty sure I saw a Half Man Half Biscuit gig at some wee place near the Grassmarket once

Edited October 4, 2021 by Cosmic Joe

[Jimi Shandrix]

12 minutes ago, Cosmic Joe said:

Pretty sure I saw a Half Man Half Biscuit gig at some wee place near the Grassmarket once

Was it the Liquid Rooms. I actually forgot about that place. Think they still have the odd gig there but it's more of a club venue now. I saw White Stripes in there. 

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Jimi Shandrix

[Cosmic Joe]

4 minutes ago, Jimi Shandrix said:

Was it the Liquid Rooms. I actually forgot about that place. Think they still have the odd gig there but it's more of a club venue now. I saw White Stripes in there. 

 

That was it! Well done