What it's like to live in Arbroath

Across the Angus council area, 66.2% of homes are owned outright or with a mortgage, 21.9% are social rented and 11.2% are privately rented. The social rented share is a little below the Scottish figure of 23.1%, so social homes are slightly thinner on the ground than the national picture, which makes a mutual exchange a sensible route in.

Angus Council is by far the biggest social landlord with around 7,782 homes. Hillcrest Homes (Scotland) has about 1,578, Angus Housing Association around 1,478, Caledonia Housing Association 463 and Bield Housing & Care 145, the last of these focused on older people's housing. Your swap will usually need sign-off from both landlords, so check early who owns the home you fancy.

The age profile for Angus leans older than Scotland as a whole: 26.5% are 65 or over, against 21% nationally, and 21.3% are aged 25 to 44 compared with 26.1%. Under-16s are much the same at 15.3%. Expect settled, long-standing neighbourhoods rather than high turnover.

Families are well served for schools. Within half a mile or so of the centre you will find Hayshead Primary, St Thomas' RC Primary and Ladyloan Primary, with Warddykes Primary and Timmergreens Primary a little further out. Both secondary schools, Arbroath High School and Arbroath Academy, are under a mile away, so most children can stay local right through.

For older teenagers and adults returning to study, the Dundee and Angus College Angus Campus is about half a mile from the centre and has its own library, which is handy if someone in the household is thinking about training or a course.

Outside school hours there is plenty within pram-pushing distance. Hayswell Park, Springfield Park, McDonald Park, Victoria Park and Keptie Pond give families a choice of green space, Arbroath Library is a quarter of a mile from the middle of town, and Chalmers Filmhouse offers a cinema trip without leaving the area. Several community centres run from the town centre too, which is often where you find the groups and activities that help new arrivals settle in.

Arbroath station is about a third of a mile from the centre, on the line that runs between Dundee and Aberdeen, so trains are a real option rather than an afterthought. Arbroath Bus Station is even closer, at roughly a fifth of a mile, which makes local and longer-distance bus travel straightforward if you do not drive.

By car, the town sits on the Angus coastal route, with Dundee the nearest city to the south-west. Parking and distances within Arbroath are modest compared with city living, and most trips across town are short.

Walking is the quiet strength here. The supermarkets, pharmacies, library, shopping centre, pubs and the infirmary are all within about a mile of the town centre, and the primary schools listed are between a third and a mile away. If you end up in a home near the middle of town, you could manage most weeks without a car. Further out, a bus or a lift becomes more useful, so it is worth checking the walk from any specific address before you commit to a swap.

For a town of this size, Arbroath keeps you busy. Chalmers Filmhouse is under a mile from the centre for films, and the Abbeygate Shopping Centre sits right in the middle of town. Arbroath Library is a short walk away, and gyms include Flex 288 in the town centre and Breaking Point about a mile and a half out.

The parks give you options depending on your mood: Keptie Pond for a gentler walk, with Hayswell, Springfield, McDonald and Victoria parks all within a mile for play areas and open grass.

The pub scene is traditional and close together. St Thomas Bar, Thee Fab Pub, The Abbey Inn, The Pageant and Spider's Web are all within a couple of hundred metres of the centre, and De Vito's covers a later night out. Community life is strong too, with the British Legion, the C.A.F.E. Project, Round O Five O, Russell Square Community Lounge and Arbroath Community Centre all nearby. If you like knowing your neighbours and bumping into people you recognise, that suits this town well.

The figures here cover the whole Angus council area rather than Arbroath alone, so treat them as a guide. The employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds is 74.1%, which is almost exactly the Scottish average of 74.6%. So work is there, but it is not a boom area.

Unemployment is the softer spot. The survey figure for Angus is 6.4%, against 4% across Scotland, which suggests finding the right job can take longer than it might in a city. That said, the share of people claiming unemployment-related benefits in September 2026 was 3.1%, just below the Scottish figure of 3.2%, so the picture is mixed rather than bleak.

In practice, many people here look beyond the town for work as well as within it. Dundee is the nearest city and the rail and bus links from Arbroath make commuting realistic. The Angus Campus of Dundee and Angus College is on the doorstep if retraining is part of your plan. If you are moving for a job, line that up before you swap.