In reply to Jimbo W:
I moved up from Dundee pretty much 10 years ago to the day - haven't looked back.
> Where's the nearest cragging?
> Summer evening cragging nearby?
Duntelchaig is probably your best bet. I've given up what little climbing I did since I moved up, but seems to have some good stuff up there. About 10 miles south of town. If you live on the southern edge of town like i do, it's only 10 or 15 minutes drive away (and less than an hour's cycling). The whole area down the south side of Loch Ness has amazing scenery, and is great for cycling and running, but the hills are quite low.
> Is there wall? What's it like?
It's down at the main sports centre, which is on the way out of town heading towards Fort William. Seems to have a reasonable reputation, although I doubt it's as good as some of the places run by climbers. Again, haven't been in years.
> Which side of Inverness is it best to live for access to decent fell running and rock climbing?
For easy access to climbing, you're probably best on the eastern side of town. Duntelchaig is to the south, while getting out to the Moray coast and northern corries (as well as the Kessock bridge for access to the NW) is easier from the eastern side of town. However for running straight out of the back door, the west side is better, as Creag Phadraig and Dunain Hill are right above town (more trail running than fell running though). Still, on the west of the town you have easy access to Strathconon and Strathfarrar, which is where the closest big hills are. Meall Fuar Mhonaidh above Drumnadrochit is good too. If you have easy access to the A9 then the Northern Corries and Glen Glass above Evangon are both 30 minutes or so away.
> What are schools in the area like?
Mostly pretty reasonable I think. My wife works as a careers advisor so is familiar with the high schools. I don't think any of them have a particularly bad reputation. The primary schools in the roughest areas (Merkinch & South Kessock, Dalneigh, Hilton) are probably less desirable, but I don't think there's anywhere really bad.
> What are rental and purchase house costs like (2 adults + 2 kids)?
Bit steeper than Dundee. 3 bed house is probably £150k and upwards (perhaps £130k upwards if ex-council in one of the rougher areas). Talk of rough areas is a little misleading - I mentioned the less desirable places above but compared to Dundee things are a lot more uniform.
> Inverness is a part of Scotland I really don't know well. (We're currently in Dundee).
It isn't a big town, but getting from one side to the other by car can be a bit tedious at rush hour, as everything is shoehorned over a couple of bridges. You are also a little further away from the large hills than you might expect - not like Fort William with Ben Nevis immediately above. The upside to that is that you do see the occasional bit of sunshine in town through the winter.