What it's like to live in Greenock

In the Inverclyde council area, 25.3% of homes are socially rented, a little above the Scottish figure of 23.1%. Owner occupation is high at 61.1%, with private renting at 13.3%. So social housing is a solid part of the mix here, which is good news if you are looking for a swap.

River Clyde Homes is by far the biggest social landlord with around 6,094 homes, followed by Oak Tree Housing Association with 1,873 and Cloch Housing Association with 1,450. Link Group has 410 homes locally and Larkfield Housing Association 396. That range means tenants of several different landlords live side by side across the town.

The age profile leans older than Scotland as a whole. In Inverclyde, 23.7% of residents are 65 or over against 21% nationally, and 28.7% are aged 45 to 64. There are slightly fewer young adults and 25 to 44 year olds than the Scottish average. The council area's population is 78,550, with Greenock itself making up a little over half of that.

Families have a decent spread of schools to choose from. Within a mile you will find St Mary's Primary, St Patrick's Primary, Ardgowan Primary and Whinhill Primary, plus Cedars School of Excellence, an independent school, very close to the centre. Always check current catchments with Inverclyde Council before you commit to a swap, as boundaries matter more than distance.

For secondary, Lomond View Academy and Notre Dame High School are both under a mile away, with Clydeview Academy, Inverclyde Academy and St Columba's High School within around two and a half miles. Between them they cover denominational and non-denominational options without a long journey.

Outside school hours there is a reasonable amount going on. Youth Zone and Living Well Inverclyde are both close to the centre, with Crawfurdsburn Community Centre about a mile out and Larkfield Community Hall further along. Well Park is the handiest green space for younger children, and the two libraries, Central and the Watt Memorial, are both within half a mile. Inverclyde Royal Hospital is two miles away for anything more serious than a pharmacy visit.

Greenock is well served by rail for a town this size. Greenock Central is about a third of a mile from the centre and Greenock West a little further, with Drumfrochar, Whinhill and Cartsdyke all within just over a mile. That spread means most parts of town have a station within reasonable reach, which is useful if you are commuting towards Glasgow or along the coast.

Buses are centred on Greenock Bus Station, with stances on Kilblain Street, West Stewart Street and Nicolson Street all a short walk from the middle of town. Port Glasgow Bus Station is under three miles away if you are heading east.

By road, Greenock is strung along the Clyde coast, with Port Glasgow and Gourock either side and routes inland towards Glasgow. Parking in the town centre streets can be tight, as it is in most older Scottish towns. On foot, the centre is genuinely walkable: shops, library, cinema, pharmacies and bus station sit within a few hundred metres of each other, though the hills behind the waterfront make some walks harder going than the map suggests.

For a town of 42,000, Greenock packs a lot into a small area. Greenock Waterfront Cinema is a few minutes from the centre, JD Gyms is just along from the Oak Mall, and the shopping centre itself handles most of the day-to-day browsing. The Watt Memorial Library and the Central Library are both worth knowing about for more than just books.

The pub scene is concentrated in and around the town centre, with the James Watt Bar, The Westburn, The Black Cat, the Horseshoe Bar and The Green Oak all within a couple of hundred metres of each other. It makes for an easy night out that does not need a taxi home.

For fresh air, Well Park is the closest patch of green, and Murdieston Dam with its Grass Walkway is a popular circuit under a mile from the middle of town. Lyle Park, looking out over the Clyde, and Rankin Park are both around a mile and a quarter away. Between the water, the parks and the hills behind, there is plenty here for walkers.

Employment figures cover the wider Inverclyde council area rather than Greenock alone. The employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds is 74.3%, almost exactly the Scottish average of 74.6%, so the local job market is broadly in line with the rest of the country rather than an outlier.

Unemployment-related benefit claimants stood at 3.4% of working-age people in Inverclyde, slightly above the Scottish figure of 3.2%. It is a small gap, but it reflects an area that has had to rebuild its economy over the years and where work can take a bit more looking for.

Many people here combine local work with commuting. The rail line from Greenock Central and the other town stations opens up jobs along the Clyde corridor and into Glasgow, which widens your options considerably if you are able to travel. Locally, Inverclyde Royal Hospital, the schools, the shopping centre and the retail parks are among the larger employers you would expect in a town this size.