The 20 most Instagram worthy places to move to in Scotland

Edinburgh has been revealed as the most picturesque place for homebuyers to move to in Scotland, followed by Inverness and Elgin, according to a new study.
Edinburgh.Edinburgh.
Edinburgh.

The latest Home Improvement Trends Report from find-a-tradesperson platform Rated People, revealed more than a quarter of UK homeowners (29%) say they want to move house this year to get more outside space and 25% want a bigger home.

So, to provide inspiration for property buyers in Scotland as the ‘race for space’ continues, the research analysed Instagram hashtag data for over 500 UK towns and cities. The study then compared this with each place’s population size, to reveal the locations that people want to photograph the most.

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And Scotland's capital was revealed as the most Instagram-worthy place to live. Almost 10 million photos of Edinburgh have been shared on Instagram, and with a population of almost 500,000, that means for every person there are 20 photos shared online, making it Scotland's most photographed city.

Inverness.Inverness.
Inverness.

Inverness follows as the second most scenic place in Scotland with 13.1 photos shared per capita, and Elgin in Moray is third, with 12.7 photos.

Scotland's 20 most popular locations on Instagram to move to:

1 Edinburgh – 19.63 photos per person

2 Inverness – 13.14

Elgin.Elgin.
Elgin.

3 Elgin – 12.7

4 Stirling – 12.39

5 Glasgow – 11.85

6 Airdrie – 10.2

Stirling.Stirling.
Stirling.

7 Aberdeen – 8.08

8 Dundee – 6.49

9 Falkirk – 6.15

10 Livingston – 4.76

Glasgow.Glasgow.
Glasgow.

11 Musselburgh – 4.53

12 Ayr – 4.03

13 Dumfries – 3.87

14 Bishopbriggs – 3.35

15 Bearsden – 2.89

16 Arbroath – 2.64

Aberdeenshire coast.Aberdeenshire coast.
Aberdeenshire coast.

17 Dumbarton – 2.55

18 Motherwell – 2.29

19 Dunfermline – 2.24

20 Renfrew – 2.22

When venturing further afield, with more than 2.5 million photos posted to Instagram and a population of just over 50,000, Durham is the UK’s most picturesque place to live.

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Adrienne Minster, CEO of Rated People, said: “Over the last year or so, our houses have become so much more to us than simply the walls in which we live. Lots of us have invested in home improvements and reinvented our spaces to be better suited for working from home or to give us more room for family life and spending time with our loved ones. Plenty of others have decided to move and get to work on making a new house feel like home.

"With flexible and fully remote working becoming more popular, it has opened up new possibilities for where we choose to live. For a helpful piece of inspiration, we wanted to showcase the places around the country where residents and visitors wanted to photograph the most, as this provided an indicator of their beauty. But rather than just looking at the places with the most Instagram photos, we accounted for the size of each place to paint a more accurate picture.

“We know when people are looking for their next home, there are so many factors to take into account. Kerb appeal and the surrounding area are often key, so we hope our list of picturesque places will help anyone who’s currently on the lookout for their next home.”

You can see the full list of the top 100 most picturesque places in the UK HERE.