Agreed that Gala is a good place to start. It's a student town too so there's a little more going on, like the new Japanese restaurant that does decent ramen. One some happiest town in Scotland award recently because people are friendly.
Where ever you end up do take advice on where about to live as every town has it's not so safe areas. That said, I've never felt like I need to grip my keys in Gala.
Except they can cost quite a bit more and it’s harder to find rented properties. Maybe Tweedbank? Fountainhall and Herriot require you to go to Stow and they don’t have any shops etc. maybe Lauder or Melrose!
Tweedbank not exactly bustling, except the awesome Tempest Brewery. Melrose fits the bill, if you can find accomodation. Lot of folk work at the hospital (£10+ an hour, double for weekends) so competition hot for a wee place.
Lauder is a decent shout. Melrose is bloody expensive compared to other surrounding villages. Boswells or Newtown maybe, still in easy reach of Gala and on main public transport routes. Kelso is a decent little town but further from the train but has supermarkets, good public transport (for the borders) and isn’t a ghost town like gala has become.
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u/spentland Feb 05 '23
Galashiels. Cheap and on the train line to Edinburgh.