With the population of Edinburgh continuing to grow year on year, and the city facing a housing emergency, many people who work or have social connections in the city are choosing to live just outside the Capital where house prices are less expensive.
The list of Edinburgh’s best commuter towns was put together by food tech company Selecta Group, which offers convenience food services and coffee brands in the workplace and public spaces.
The study uses the latest city and country-level data available for key categories including train travel time to city centres, annual season ticket cost, school ratings, crime ratings and available wellness facilities, to rate the most desirable commuter towns to Edinburgh from best to worst.
Among the towns on the list are Musselburgh, Gorebridge, Galashiels, Linlithgow and Cowdenbeath, all just a short train journey from Edinburgh.
1. Musselburgh
With beautiful beaches, countryside, and a commutable distance to Edinburgh, it’s understandable why Musselburgh in the county of East Lothian is first place on the list, with a score of 6.12 out of 10. Musselburgh, which has the cheapest annual season ticket for Edinburgh's commuter towns at just £772 a year, also scores favourably on the Selecta list for the number of wellbeing facilities in the area, for which it receives the second highest score, and for its Instagrammable location. There are 123,000 Instagram posts featuring Musselburgh, which is the second highest number after Dunbar. Photo: Ian Georgeson
2. Linlithgow
With a population of 25,680, this West Lothian town and birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots in 1542, Linlithgow Palace, this historic town with three National Trust properties is 19 minutes on the train from Edinburgh, with a season ticket costing £1,792 for the year. The average house price here is £271,960, with Linlithgow coming second on the list thanks to a score of 5.09 out of 10. Photo: Stock
3. Dunbar
Dunbar was third on the list, with Selecta's study scoring the East Lothian town 4.79 out of 10. With an average house price of £321,007, the town is 26 minutes by train from Edinburgh with a season ticket costing £2,280 a year. It was top of the list of Edinburgh's commuter towns on Instagram, with an incredible 141,000 posts. Photo: Stock
4. Cowdenbeath
Fourth on the list is Fife town Cowdenbeath, which has a population of 24,060. The average house price here is on the cheap side at £157,487. The town is 41 minutes by train from Edinburgh, with an annual season ticket costing £2,292. In the health and wellbeing facilities list it is joint top with Dunbar and Linlithgow, with 10 such facilities. Photo: Gordon Holmes