What Scots think about their local area

ScotsPulse recently ran a survey to find out what Scots think about their local area. We asked about their sense of community, use of local facilities, favourite things about their area, and how likely they are to recommend it to others. Here's what they told us: 

Sense of Community

Half of Scots (50%) report feeling a strong sense of community in their local area, with 42% describing it as fairly strong and 8% as very strong. 

 
Residents in the North are most likely to feel a strong sense of community (54%), closely followed by those in the West and East Central regions (both at 48%). 

Facilities

Scots are clearly making the most of what’s on offer locally, with 9 in 10 (91%) saying they use facilities in their area.

• Parks are the most popular, used by 68% overall—and even more so among households with children, where 81% use them.
• Restaurants and cafés come a close second at 67%, with 16–34-year-olds the most likely age group to use them (79%).
• At the other end of the scale, libraries are the least used facility, with just 29% making use of them.

Recommending your area

A strong 69% of Scots say they’re likely to recommend their local area to someone thinking of moving there, with 35% very likely to do so.

Recommendation rates are highest among those from an ABC1 background (74%), those who reside in the East Central region (73%), and those aged 65+ (73%).

Nicknames

We asked Scots if there’s a nickname for people from their area. The most common mentions included familiar terms like “Glaswegians” (or “Weegies”) and “Fifers,” along with more unique local names such as Dycers, Jeely Eaters, and Red Lichties.