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.
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.
. 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
. 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
9. West Calder
West Lothian town West Calder, home to the Five Sisters Zoo (pictured) has a population of 6,500, the lowest on the Selecta list, where it scored 2.79 out of 10 and came ninth. The average house price here is £258,583 and the town benefits from five health and wellbeing facilities and one National Trust property. It is 23 minutes by train from Edinburgh and an annual season ticket costs £1,760. Photo: John Devlin
10. Galashiels
Galashiels rounds off the top 10 Edinburgh commuter towns list by Selecta, with a score of 2.78 out of 10. The average house price here is £167,280 and the Borders town benefits from two health and wellbeing facilities and four National Trust properties. It was fifth on the Instagram list, with an impressive 36,400 posts of the photogenic town. Another town to benefit from the reopening of the Borders Railway in 2015, Galashiels is 52 minutes from Edinburgh, with a season ticket for the train costing £2,840. Photo: Bill McBurnie