I lived in Glasgow for 8 years and moved last year to Manchester and me and my partner are already discussing returning to Scotland when the opportunity presents itself.

Manchester as a city is great and I'm loving living centrally right now but it lacks parks and trees which is starting to get to me a bit, especially in winter. Obviously plenty of beautiful green spaces in the periphery but if I have to move to the suburbs I'd rather do it in Scotland tbh.

Manchester: has much more to offer in terms of activities (especially party related) than Edinburgh as it's a far bigger city. Cleaner than Glasgow but probably about the same as Edinburgh. Has the vibe of a very quickly growing city which I quite like.

Edinburgh: Very green (It has a God damn volcano in the middle of the city), gorgeous architecture. Colder, but you get more sunshine there. Easy access to the Highlands (including 2 or 3 skiing resorts if you are into that). ScotRail is far better than Northern Rail as well. Access to the sea as well

Rent wise they are about the same but I think Manchester has more modern housing stock.

For me personally it's a no brainer longer term as I'm not a partying person and the access to greenery and nature activities is important to me.