What's Scotland's worst town to live in......?

[Cruyff]

16 hours ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

Wasn't it Kelso which received a bit of exposure a couple of years ago due to the local girl and the guy who was a colleague lecturer? 

 

😳

No. That was in Hawick. 💩

[Samuel Camazzola]

6 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

No. That was in Hawick. 💩

A different breed. 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

55 minutes ago, Footballfirst said:

Most of the "worst" towns have suffered as a result of losing major industries in the last 40 years and consequently their retail and commercial centres have become run down.

 

You don't need to look too far for town centres that need regeneration.  Princes Street is an example where there are maybe a dozen empty shops and a few that now sell tartan tat. It's not a good look. St James' Quarter is a step forward, but it is Princes Street that is the advert for the city.

 

I have been to most of the football grounds in the lower leagues so I have visited many towns in the central belt that have been mentioned by other posters. The towns that have prospered are those that have become commuter towns for the major cities. That requires new housing stock and transport links. I would include Bathgate and Armadale among those that have turned the corner.  However many of the smaller towns nearby have missed out on any investment.

 

The towns I like, generally have good housing. Many of them were traditional market towns in relatively prosperous farming areas, e.g. Haddington, Peebles or Cupar 

 

 

 

  

 

Indeed, the Central Belt/Lothians it was the mines, in the Borders it was the textile mills, when they shut the main & often the only real employer was gone, whole families worked in the same place, all on the dole, because there was nothing else in the towns, they were often followed by the shops which then shut or cut back on their staff, simply because of less footfall.

 

You mention Peebles, they had tourism to fall back on, Peebles has always been on the bus tour map, other towns such as Innerleithen and others didn't have that, what we did have was World class mountain bike tracks and that probably helped save this town, when the last of the mills shut down back in 2010, that and only being 40 mins or so from Edinburgh, being easy to commute back & forth plus house prices being so cheap (not so much nowadays though), probably saved Innerleithen from going to the dogs, so to speak.

 

The disadvantage of being a commuter town, is that there is still no industry and few jobs, which means the youngsters are usually offski as soon as they leave school, a problem which affects the whole of the Borders.

[Jeffros Furios]

In addition to Plains another few of Lanarkshire's finest are Carfin and Clelland .

[Cruyff]

7 minutes ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

A different breed. 

I knew the male participant e.g. the shitter quite well and the lassie too, an absolute trollope. 

[Samuel Camazzola]

1 minute ago, Cruyff said:

I knew the male participant e.g. the shitter quite well and the lassie too, an absolute trollope. 

I'm sure the friends of her son had been sharing the videos all over social media and he was oblivious to it all at the time. Was a shocker! 

[millerjames398]

7 hours ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

😂

Its all such a messy business 😉😂😂😂🇱🇻

[Cruyff]

1 minute ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

I'm sure the friends of her son had been sharing the videos all over social media and he was oblivious to it all at the time. Was a shocker! 

Nah, her kids were like primary school age.

She had a new year's party at her house and some lads that were there, who knew she was a dirty, got a hold of her phone and started sending videos to folk via Facebook messenger. 

 

That absolutely ruined the boy in the video, lost his job, got kicked out of house, kicked out of his band, ruined his reputation forever. Last I heard of him, he had fled to Glasgow and was living with Kirk Turnbull of QFX. 

[Locky]

5 hours ago, Harry Potter said:

Had a great aunt in Hawick and my gran would take myself and my brother down there in the train, 

seemed to be a decent place with good shops and my aunt had a lovely house with huge garden, i was about 7 at the time.

Funny enough, my Granny lived down there before we did for a few years and we thought it seemed a lovely place when we went to visit. My Mum stayed in Dalry at the time but was getting a bit disillusioned with city life, living in a small top floor flat for the price she could have a big council house down there so she decided to try something new. I think she really regretted it. We did have a lovely house though. Only 2 bedroom still, but compared to living in wee flats in Edinburgh it was massive for us with a good sized garden too. If we could've somehow brought that house and garden back up to Edinburgh with us we would have, but living down there just became pretty old, pretty quick.

[1971fozzy]

37 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

Indeed, the Central Belt/Lothians it was the mines, in the Borders it was the textile mills, when they shut the main & often the only real employer was gone, whole families worked in the same place, all on the dole, because there was nothing else in the towns, they were often followed by the shops which then shut or cut back on their staff, simply because of less footfall.

 

You mention Peebles, they had tourism to fall back on, Peebles has always been on the bus tour map, other towns such as Innerleithen and others didn't have that, what we did have was World class mountain bike tracks and that probably helped save this town, when the last of the mills shut down back in 2010, that and only being 40 mins or so from Edinburgh, being easy to commute back & forth plus house prices being so cheap (not so much nowadays though), probably saved Innerleithen from going to the dogs, so to speak.

 

The disadvantage of being a commuter town, is that there is still no industry and few jobs, which means the youngsters are usually offski as soon as they leave school, a problem which affects the whole of the Borders.

The train route needs to be extended past tweedbank through Melrose to Carlisle asap. Also the Peebles line should be reopened. Would be fantastic

[millerjames398]

23 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

Nah, her kids were like primary school age.

She had a new year's party at her house and some lads that were there, who knew she was a dirty, got a hold of her phone and started sending videos to folk via Facebook messenger. 

 

That absolutely ruined the boy in the video, lost his job, got kicked out of house, kicked out of his band, ruined his reputation forever. Last I heard of him, he had fled to Glasgow and was living with Kirk Turnbull of QFX. 

Thats "Quite *** Xcellent"..loved a bit techno when i was a kid😂

[joondalupjambo]

Talking of Hawick a well known Jambo, Youngy and a few posters on JKB will know his first name passed a year or so ago.  He was born and bred in Edinburgh who moved to Hawick, pretty sure it was because his wife was from there or near there, as a fireman.  He got a transfer from an Edinburgh station.  He was in Hawick for circa 25 years before he passed.  For those who knew him they would know he liked a pint or three, Hawick fitted in with that pretty well I think, not a lot else to do when you are not putting out fires

 

Also surprised not been a shout yet on this thread for those old, defunct mining villages in west Fife, High and Low Valleyfield.  

[Jambo-Jimbo]

24 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

The train route needs to be extended past tweedbank through Melrose to Carlisle asap. Also the Peebles line should be reopened. Would be fantastic

 

Absolutely to both, however the Peebles route would have cost way way more seemingly.  Too many bridges crossing the Tweed was also a factor I heard, I can think of 3 maybe 4 just between Peebles & Innerleithen and another one at Walkerburn, that's a hell of a lot of money right there on just an eight mile stretch.   It would be great though, no doubts about that.

[Jambo 4 Ever]

16 hours ago, Dagger Is Back said:

Nothing wrong with Sighthill!!

 

😡

As much a shithole as plenty of other places mentioned on this thread mate

all about opinions 

[Auld Reekin']

2 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

Absolutely to both, however the Peebles route would have cost way way more seemingly.  Too many bridges crossing the Tweed was also a factor I heard, I can think of 3 maybe 4 just between Peebles & Innerleithen and another one at Walkerburn, that's a hell of a lot of money right there on just an eight mile stretch.   It would be great though, no doubts about that.

 

What I'd also like to see would be the old railway line(s) between Berwick and Kelso (and beyond?) restored and brought back into service. I think it'd be too expensive to link-up this up with Tweedbank, and it probably will never happen anyway, but it'd be good. There're decent bus services to Berwick, but the last bus heading back to Gala leaves around 17:30 so they're no good for a night-out.

 

A shame Dr. Beeching hadn't been a bit more forward-thinking...  

[Locky]

4 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

Indeed, the Central Belt/Lothians it was the mines, in the Borders it was the textile mills, when they shut the main & often the only real employer was gone, whole families worked in the same place, all on the dole, because there was nothing else in the towns, they were often followed by the shops which then shut or cut back on their staff, simply because of less footfall.

 

You mention Peebles, they had tourism to fall back on, Peebles has always been on the bus tour map, other towns such as Innerleithen and others didn't have that, what we did have was World class mountain bike tracks and that probably helped save this town, when the last of the mills shut down back in 2010, that and only being 40 mins or so from Edinburgh, being easy to commute back & forth plus house prices being so cheap (not so much nowadays though), probably saved Innerleithen from going to the dogs, so to speak.

 

The disadvantage of being a commuter town, is that there is still no industry and few jobs, which means the youngsters are usually offski as soon as they leave school, a problem which affects the whole of the Borders.

Worse yet for Hawick is it can't even have the claim of being a commuter town sadly. The train link from Edinburgh to Gala has probably benefitted them massively for people moving there as a 40 minute train is manageable for those working in the city centre, but for Hawick it's a 2 hour bus journey from Edinburgh.

 

As another poster mentioned, if they can extend the line to Hawick and beyond, it would definitely make a difference down there. Can't see me ever moving back down to Hawick, but the thought of travelling down there in less than an hour sounds brilliant. My granny still stays down there as does a good mate I've kept in touch with from school. Would be nice to see some other familiar faces too, but the thought of a 2 hour bus journey either way just totally puts me off.

[Locky]

3 hours ago, joondalupjambo said:

Talking of Hawick a well known Jambo, Youngy and a few posters on JKB will know his first name passed a year or so ago.  He was born and bred in Edinburgh who moved to Hawick, pretty sure it was because his wife was from there or near there, as a fireman.  He got a transfer from an Edinburgh station.  He was in Hawick for circa 25 years before he passed.  For those who knew him they would know he liked a pint or three, Hawick fitted in with that pretty well I think, not a lot else to do when you are not putting out fires

 

Also surprised not been a shout yet on this thread for those old, defunct mining villages in west Fife, High and Low Valleyfield.  

Can't say I knew him sadly, especially as I was only a teenage when I lived down there. But during my final months, I did become pally with a father and son who lived round the corner from me (unknown to me the whole time) who drove up for every home game. Their surname was Lothian, but the dad had a pal who tagged along too, who IIRC stayed on or just off the high street. Can't think of the name at all but wondering if it was he.

[Dagger Is Back]

4 hours ago, Jambo 4 Ever said:

As much a shithole as plenty of other places mentioned on this thread mate

all about opinions 

You’re right but your opinions wrong. Would choose Sighthill in a heartbeat before any of the other places mentioned 

[otterjohn]

6 minutes ago, Dagger Is Back said:

You’re right but your opinions wrong. Would choose Sighthill in a heartbeat before any of the other places mentioned 

Brought up in the Sighthill area from being born until about18

It was a great place to stay Not sure what it's like now but some brilliant Jambos from that area

[Nookie Bear]

Like a meeting of the Bullingdon Club on here. Bunch of snobs sneering at towns devestated by Tory policies for generations. 

[Vic Vespa]

Harthill, cringe when I drive through there, it's as if they all try and outdo each other with their Union Jackery/hunnery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Savage Vince]

30 minutes ago, Vic Vespa said:

Harthill, cringe when I drive through there, it's as if they all try and outdo each other with their Union Jackery/hunnery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

California in Falkirk was like that in the 80s. 

[pablo]

Who cares? The only reason I have to visit other Scottish towns is to watch Hearts, so relatively big towns like Falkirk, Motherwell or Kilmarnock etc. I always wonder where everyone works? There's nothing, no cranes in the sky, no people moving around spending money. Everyone either works for the council, Greggs or Ladbrokes. It's grim. 

[millerjames398]

30 minutes ago, Savage Vince said:

 

California in Falkirk was like that in the 80s. 

I used to do the painting with Falkirk council yrs ago, we painted the California community hall.. i got bored one lunchtime went rnd the back, with ladders, and painted HMFC#1 along the top of the wall,,the young team were out the next day, givin us all the death eye, thankfully we were away at the end of the week 😂

[jack D and coke]

The one continual thing right through this thread seems to be Rangers and their way of thinking that poisons minds. 
They really are a real stain on this country. We can’t move out the 17th century because of the ****ing wanks. 
 

[Savage Vince]

24 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

The one continual thing right through this thread seems to be Rangers and their way of thinking that poisons minds. 
They really are a real stain on this country. We can’t move out the 17th century because of the ****ing wanks. 
 

 

Well, there is that. 😊

[Doctor FinnBarr]

2 hours ago, Vic Vespa said:

Harthill, cringe when I drive through there, it's as if they all try and outdo each other with their Union Jackery/hunnery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wasn't too long ago they had a massive sign between Eastfield and Harthill stating "welcome to loyalist Harthill".

 

But for my contribution to this thread (drum roll), ladies and gentlemen I'll give you 3 villages, all in South Lanarkshire. Salsburgh, Rigside and Douglas.

[Unknown user]

57 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

The one continual thing right through this thread seems to be Rangers and their way of thinking that poisons minds. 
They really are a real stain on this country. We can’t move out the 17th century because of the ****ing wanks. 
 

 

Aye

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

3 hours ago, Nookie Bear said:

Like a meeting of the Bullingdon Club on here. Bunch of snobs sneering at towns devestated by Tory policies for generations. 

 

 

no coincidence plentiful former mining villages getting the thumbs down from the mearns rotary club on here

 

[jack D and coke]

3 hours ago, Nookie Bear said:

Like a meeting of the Bullingdon Club on here. Bunch of snobs sneering at towns devestated by Tory policies for generations. 

Scotland is still massively poisoned. Brains utterly melted. 
Enough to make you weep that they still cling to it and keep us chained to it.
Afraid of the future. 
 

[Section Q]

10 hours ago, jack D and coke said:

Scotland is still massively poisoned. Brains utterly melted. 
Enough to make you weep that they still cling to it and keep us chained to it.
Afraid of the future. 
 

This. Thankfully the neanderthals live and fight among themselves.

Intereting comments on the borders. They need travel connections passed Gala. 

Always found the area a Tory stronghold.

[jack D and coke]

2 minutes ago, Section Q said:

This. Thankfully the neanderthals live and fight among themselves.

Intereting comments on the borders. They need travel connections passed Gala. 

Always found the area a Tory stronghold.

Scotland has been utterly stupified.
Middle aged melters who claim the education system is now poor  

Lucky to reach 60 yet sing about saving a royal monarch  

[Section Q]

10 hours ago, jack D and coke said:

Scotland has been utterly stupified.
Middle aged melters who claim the education system is now poor  

Lucky to reach 60 yet sing about saving a royal monarch  

Agree. There's some stark contrasts in different areas for such a small population.

On one hand there's the lunatics still fighting a battle that ended hundreds of years ago, and then the mob ready to chuck their coat over a puddle for when the royal mumpers head north.

 

[SpruceBringsteen]

I've been in many pubs and clubs and seen the sights of the entirety of Scotland. The only time I wished I was somewhere else was when I was in Shotts.

[joondalupjambo]

14 hours ago, Locky said:

Can't say I knew him sadly, especially as I was only a teenage when I lived down there. But during my final months, I did become pally with a father and son who lived round the corner from me (unknown to me the whole time) who drove up for every home game. Their surname was Lothian, but the dad had a pal who tagged along too, who IIRC stayed on or just off the high street. Can't think of the name at all but wondering if it was he.

The guy I am talking about lived on Weensland Road.  What you are saying rings a bell.  My mate sometimes talked about car sharing when travelling to home games.  On arrival in Edinburgh I think they drank in that social club on Gorgie Road just before the rail bridge and before you turn right onto McLeod Street. 

[Stu_HMFC]

8 hours ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

I've been in many pubs and clubs and seen the sights of the entirety of Scotland. The only time I wished I was somewhere else was when I was in Shotts.

Work with a hun from shotts bit of a wank tells everyone he’s lives in “Glesga” but it’s shotts 😂 

[indianajones]

I dont think there is a single Highland town mentioned in this thread. I guess the central belt really does take some beating. 

 

Fauldhouse was a pretty depressing place when i worked there briefly. 

[RobboM]

I'm sticking up for Fauldhouse here.
The weather IS depressing, it has its own microclimate, but as a village and community it's been a good home for nearly 40 years for me and generations for Mrs RobboM.
I've seen the decline in local employment with the closure of Polkemmet and British Leyland but it is well placed as a commuter town and nowadays most folks working in Edinburgh, Livingston, Glasgow or around West Lothian. Many of my son's age, mid 20s, choose to live here or move back here from elsewhere. Of course there's a lot of Old Firm fans but I've only ever seen that rivalry in the village plays out much more similarly to Hibs/Hearts rivalry where it is between family and friends.
So you can stick all your snooty nosed stuck up opinions up yer arse!
Mon the Hoose 🙂
ps mind you, those who have mentioned Shotts are quite right. It gets called Shitey Shotts for a reason 😂

Edited January 9, 2022 by RobboM

[Auld Reekin']

10 hours ago, Section Q said:

This. Thankfully the neanderthals live and fight among themselves.

Intereting comments on the borders. They need travel connections passed Gala. 

Always found the area a Tory stronghold.

 

Sadly, it is; at the moment anyway.  

Edited January 9, 2022 by Auld Reekin'

[Unknown user]

9 hours ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

I've been in many pubs and clubs and seen the sights of the entirety of Scotland. The only time I wished I was somewhere else was when I was in Shotts.

 

There's something about that drive in that's so bleak, fly tipping everywhere, banjos playing

[Vlad Magic]

Brechin is pretty depressing. Stayed there a few times over the years. 
 

Montrose on the other hand despite being on its doorstep is lively and very friendly.

 

Brechin just feels completely soulless by comparison.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Vlad Magic

[FWJ]

2 hours ago, indianajones said:

I dont think there is a single Highland town mentioned in this thread. I guess the central belt really does take some beating. 

 

Fauldhouse was a pretty depressing place when i worked there briefly. 

Alness a wee bit further up.

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

11 hours ago, Section Q said:

This. Thankfully the neanderthals live and fight among themselves.

Intereting comments on the borders. They need travel connections passed Gala. 

Always found the area a Tory stronghold.

 

49 minutes ago, Auld Reekin' said:

 

Sadly, it is; at the moment anyway.  

 

The whole of the Borders used to be a Lib Dem stick-on in the days of David Steel & co, and then over the years I guess with boundary changes, influx of people from other parts of Scotland & a lot from England it all changed, and now the Borders and D&G are all Tory blue, and quite probably will remain so for the foreseeable, as everybody else is a distant 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc.

[Locky]

6 hours ago, joondalupjambo said:

The guy I am talking about lived on Weensland Road.  What you are saying rings a bell.  My mate sometimes talked about car sharing when travelling to home games.  On arrival in Edinburgh I think they drank in that social club on Gorgie Road just before the rail bridge and before you turn right onto McLeod Street. 

I used to walk along Weensland Road every day to go to school. Would make sense he stayed there as on the same road as the fire station. Sadly never crossed paths with your pal. Shame, as Jambos are a very rare breed down there.  

[Jambo_jim2001]

Once went to harthill to buy a car,all the red white and blue bunting was out,I asked the guy as a joke,when's the galaday pal?,he said feck aff , I'm no selling to you😂

[Auld Reekin']

1 hour ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

 

The whole of the Borders used to be a Lib Dem stick-on in the days of David Steel & co, and then over the years I guess with boundary changes, influx of people from other parts of Scotland & a lot from England it all changed, and now the Borders and D&G are all Tory blue, and quite probably will remain so for the foreseeable, as everybody else is a distant 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc.

 

Not helped - from an anti-Conservative point of view anyway - by the fact that the Lib-Dems flushed themselves down the lav by climbing into bed with the Cameron government.

[JackLadd]

On s-holes. You can buy this flat for 6k https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117133643#/?channel=RES_BUY in Port Glesga. Might even be within reach of Smithee's budget on a wee 8 year fixed rate. 

[jack D and coke]

That’s like something from the Walking Dead…jesus christ. 
Scotlands Pripyat ffs

[Jambo-Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Auld Reekin' said:

 

Not helped - from an anti-Conservative point of view anyway - by the fact that the Lib-Dems flushed themselves down the lav by climbing into bed with the Cameron government.

 

The Lib-Dem rot started before that, the Tories have been in charge in this seat since 2005 when Mundell won and he's still here.

[Auld Reekin']

34 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

The Lib-Dem rot started before that, the Tories have been in charge in this seat since 2005 when Mundell won and he's still here.

 

Well, at least he's stopped procreating...