Leith named best place to live in Scotland

Leith is the best place to live in Scotland, according to the annual Best Places to Live guide from The Sunday Times.

It topped the list of 10 locations in Scotland and 101 in the UK, as chosen by The Sunday Times and mortgage broker Habito.

Judges assessed a wide range of factors, including schools, transport and broadband speed, as well as culture, green spaces and the health of the high street.

Leith named best place to live in Scotland

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The district was described by judges as a ‘breath of fresh air’, and was noted for its diversity and ‘impressive repurposed industrial buildings’, including the Edinburgh Gin distillery housed in a former Crawford’s biscuit factory on Anderson Place.

Leith was once one of Scotland’s most celebrated gin ports, and was renowned for influencing the development of the world-famous aromatic gin style known as London Dry.

The Edinburgh Gin distillery now makes enough spirit to produce over 2.5 million gin and tonics a year.

Leith’s ‘trendy’ eateries also got a special mention, including The Kitchin, the Michelin-starred restaurant run by Tom Kitchin, Scotland’s youngest Michelin-starred proprietor.

Leither Irvine Welsh responded to the award by saying: “Leith is the sexiest place in the world and it’s the home of Hibs, the sexiest club on earth. Of course people want to live there.”

North Berwick in East Lothian also makes the list in 10th place, as an ‘upmarket seaside destination’.

Last year’s winner in Scotland was Dundee, with its £1 billion new V&A museum.

The city has remained on the list, in fourth place this year.

Cromarty in the Highlands came second, with Dunblane in third place.

Leith is far from the most expensive place to live in the top ten, with an average monthly rent of £850 and property price of 189,995, according to Habito.

The most expensive is North Berwick, at an average rent of £1,250 and house price of £295,000, while the cheapest was Dundee, with £550 average rent and £120,000 house price.

Daniel Hegarty, Founder and CEO at Habito, the online mortgage broker said:“There are many factors that contribute to where people choose to live across Scotland. Whether that’s buying to be near the green spaces of the Highlands, wanting to become part of a thriving community in towns like Dunblane or to be a bit closer to friends and family across the country.

“Habito helps homeowners get the right mortgage, so they can spend their time finding their best place to call home. This year's deserving winner - the Leith area of Edinburgh - demonstrates that the UK's best places to live deliver much more than great real estate; they give people a sense of belonging and somewhere people can live their life to the full.”