AIBU to consider moving to Wales for family and lower costs

I live in Abergavenny. We pay our gardener £17 an hour. There is certainly plenty of work to be had. Brynmawr is not a terrible place to live by any stretch, lots of folk send their kids to Crickhowell high from there, which is one of the top performing schools in wales. For sixth form you’ve also got the option of Hereford sixth form college which is excellent, if you don’t fancy coleg Gwent. I would move if the kids are keen, that’s half the battle.

There's quite a difference between north and south Wales and a particular contrast with Blaenau Gwent.

Those post-industrial valleys can be particularly bleak and the deprivation is stark - it's very sad. It's easy to lump all parts of Wales as one if you're not Welsh.
In reality, there are huge contrasts.
It really might not be in the best interests of teenagers from the south-east. That's a difficult time of life at the best of times.

Husband and I upped sticks (south west england) and moved to Snowdonia 10 months ago. We don't have family up here, knew nobody, aren't Welsh, have a cottage needing a lot of work.....best thing we ever did! Now live in a wonderful but very remote community and couldn't be happier. We are late 40's. Be brave!

Yes. I studied languages at uni (not Welsh) and in a practical sense it was my Welsh from school that actually opened the most doors for me when I graduated.

I love Wales - and it sounds great for you. We go to North Wales a lot as we’re in Liverpool, have been going since I was a child. I’d go for it.

That old chestnut. Speaking from experience, learning Welsh opened the door for my DC learning other languages in addition to Welsh. They each speak 4 languages fluently and it's helped them in their careers.

What other, more important languages, exactly?
I dont really see how French or Spanish are going to be any more useful to the average pupil.
Maybe Cantonese or Japanese would but most schools dont offer those anyway!

If you just want the general benefits of speaking another language then welsh is as useful as any other, far more so if youre planning to live in Wales. Just because the kids might not come back to their home village doesnt mean there are no job opportunities in the whole of the country!

I live near Brynmawr (Merthyr), and I’m from Bristol originally but I also lived in London for a number of years. First of all no one care about my accent, I’ve had the odd “you don’t sound local” comment but it’s more out of fascination than malice. I love living here. It’s green and quiet and SO much cheaper. We bought a five bed house for a fraction of what the equivalent would’ve cost in England. The A465 (Heads of the Valley) Road between Abergavenny and Neath is now complete and driving around is a dream, everyone has commented on what an improvement it has made to the area. Newport is a dump but I regularly go to Abergavenny, Monmouth and Brecon, all are easy to get to and nice for an afternoon wandering about. Cardiff has lots going on, as does Swansea. There are some stunning beaches in South Wales too.

Id definitely make the move!

Hereford Sixth Form College is top notch - great atmosphere and great results. Lots of Oxbridge successes plus vocational stuff. It has an excellent reputation. All my DC went there and did well and I now have a GC there who is also thriving.

Being near family is good, but be aware schools and hospitals in Wales often aren’t as good as in England.

It sounds like you both have precarious, part time work. How will you get work in a small welsh village? Will your DH still do loads of driving? Wales is cheaper than the south east but not by miles like it used to be. Far fewer opportunities for your DC when school ends too.

if you look at the GCSE pass rates for both schools you will see that King Henry is light years ahead. Abertillery has so much distruption its impossible to learn. I know two mums who have simply pulled their kids out and are Home schooling. Hereford sixth form college is miles better than Cross keys and its where the kids in Abergavenny go if they dont want the school sixth form. My advice is that you would be making a huge mistake to send your kids to school in the Valleys, but its your choice.

Welsh is important though with employers increasingly needing/wanting to offer their services bilingually. A knowledge of Welsh will enhance employment prospects. If you want Welsh schools to prioritise other non British languages over one of Wales’ official languages, you’ve moved to the wrong place.

Oh and Crosskeys college is good , I went there and really enjoyed it!

I am in the nicer bit of Newport too, avoid the centre 🤣 I need a gardener too! There’s very little to do in Brynmawr though .

I live in Pembrokeshire. My husband is Welsh, but I'm not. Everyone was very welcoming to me, but he also had family here and knew a lot of people. It's a great place to retire to, as we did.

I would be cautious about the schools though. Education standards aren't great and whilst I agree children should be taught Welsh, it shouldn't be to the detriment of other, frankly more important, languages. Not many children keep it up after leaving school anyway and most young people don't return here after uni because there's nothing for them.

Just pm'd you

Please God dont move your daughter to school in Abertillery. The secondary school is an absolute zoo and she will hate it! Come to Abergavenny and get her into King Henry which, although not perfect , does have a decent pass rate. Honestly, moving from England to Blaenau Gwent really isnt for the faint hearted. Its deeply deprived and an employment blackhole with terrible public transport. Compromise on the size of house but you absolutely need to be Monmouthshire for any chance at a decent school.

I’m extremely fond of Wales and have expressed a desire to live there but DH quite rightly pointed out there’s basically nothing there in terms of job prospects at all. I could, if lucky, get a role lecturing in a uni there but DH would be at a loss in his industry. The schools are also pretty bad, you mentioned that one is underperforming- many are in Wales, this has been an issue for years.

What about further down the vallley , Blackwood, Risca or Caerphilly? All have better schools, facilities and transport links. Even Newport has some nice areas despite reports to the contrary!

A low socio economic area with failing secondary school, poor life chances is not what I would pick for my children if i had the choice. Is there anything on the border you can look at? I'm sure it doesn't have to be one extreme to the other.

My dream is to move to the Aberavon area ASAP which might be years yet.
Such a beautiful coastline and enough shops, cafes etc for us small townies. Go for it OP

Could you compromise on living near the border but on the England side?
I’m Cardiff born and lived on the outskirts for most of my life. I could just about compromise on living in Monmouthshire, near the area you’re looking at. Anywhere else, no chance. There are a lot of, as my friend who lives 20 miles near Blaenau Gwent would say, “arse end of nowhere,” places. The rents and house prices are cheaper for good reason. Employment prospects are likely shite in the area.

It’s not unheard of for children to never or rarely return home after university. Quite simply, many have no choice if they want to get on in life. Bear that in mind too. Even I had to leave eventually. Low pay even seeps into a lot of skilled or professional jobs. I had an almost £10k pay rise overnight to go and work for an English employer, to do the same job I was doing in the outskirts of Cardiff.

If it has to be Wales, as others have mentioned you’re better off living nearer one of the cities in the long term. Transport links aren’t exactly great between cities like Cardiff and nearby towns, as I know only too well. However, you can be quite cut off most of the time the further away you are from a city.

@LibertyLily I was sorry to read about your experiences. Sadly, very relatable. I have family, who were born in South Wales, and moved to that area i.e. also Welsh. Didn’t matter. Even they struggled to be accepted.

I live very nearby and can tell you that gardeners are like gold dust round here ... I am sure you would be in demand. I would move this way if it were me. I live it here and love the wonderful uplifting scenery, the kind people, the absence of traffic and dirty air and noise. I brought my children up here ... they are adults now and they loved it here.
Add jlin the fact that there would be family around for support and it's a no brainer!

When I was still living in Wales, working for an English employer that offered a very good health cash plan and voluntarily choosing to increase my level of cover.