Ross-on-Wye - moving to.

[PaulBrighton333]

Hi everyone that is reading this.

My wife and I plus our 7 year old daughter have been this week holidaying in Herefordshire with the intent of scouting places to move to. We have been living in central Brighton, Sussex, for 12 years and want the countryside and more relaxed living this county offers.

We have been holidaying in Fownhope just South East of Hereford. Our scouting has led us to focus on Ross-on-Wye which is a place I have been to a number of times before on historical corporate business events and I like it and the surrounding area. My wife absolutely loves this area and tonight does not really want to return home.

If we move this way there are some things we need.....
I work from home so need at least the standard BT internet offering of up to 64Mbps. Schools are not a major concern. We like the M50 ease of access to the M5 as my mother-in-law will be a couple of hours away in Buckinghamshire and quite frankly navigating from Brighton using the M23/M25/M40 or M4 most times takes 2.5 - 3 hours thanks to the M25 car park, so this will be shorter or worse case as long - but with benefits. We are personally well over the bright lights of Brighton. Been that way for many years now plus the crime, pollution and drugs are absolutely mad in central Brighton and the suburbs are not much better. These 'burbs' come with house prices that will buy castles in some places.

My background: I grew up on the outskirts of Maidenhead, Berkshire and played happily without parental supervision in the woods and thickets with my friends without any harm. That's the 70's mind you. My wife played much the same but in North Wiltshire.

Anyway - here's the ask: What's the honest opinion on Ross-on-Wye? Is it a good place to bring up a child and what does it offer teenagers and those ready to socialise at a pub. What's the job situation for a teen/young adult?

We'd be really happy to hear from you on this topic and happy to hear about alternatives, - perhaps like Hereford or Monmouth.

Thanks for any help here. - Paul :-) We need s bit of help.

I want to know too!

Ross-on-wye is lovely. I have lots of family who live there. The town has most things you need and Gloucester and Hereford are only a short drive away.

John Kyrle school doesn’t have the best reputation but that may have changed now. If not you have good schools in Gloucester and Hereford.

There seems to be a lot for teenagers to do with clubs etc. You do have the kids walking the streets but you get that anywhere. You are on the edge of the Forest of Dean so you can be as active as you want.

How rural do you want to be? There are plenty of villages around Ross if you prefer more rural. Not sure how the bus services are in the villages but Ross seems to have a decent bus timetable.

Hmmm. Spent my teens around there. It’s pretty dull for teenagers and there was a lot of getting wasted in fields. Don’t kid yourself they won’t have easy access to all the usual drugs. If anything I found the kids from South London naive when I went to university. Have family round there still and not much has changed. Monmouth has better facilities than Ross and is closer to Cardiff -has a slightly more affluent vibe with fewer charity shops. Hereford has changed massively and there’s a lot of development still going on. Getting kids into ponies helps IME.

It’s a perfectly nice area to live, most schools are fine. Be prepared to taxi and then buy the kids a car. I really notice that I think of a 20 mile trip to see som one/do something as insignificant as that was a pretty normal distance to be from school friends whereas DH raised in suburban Essex thinks that’s an expedition.

Dear Paul
Did you make it to Ross on Wye and what's your experience. I'm Brighton born and bred and want to leave as I've never really liked it.

AlisonL777 I'd chose Hereford over Ross-on-Wye, but I totally understand why someone would consider Ross-on-Wye with it's motorway access and close to Forest of Dean. I can't answer what it'll be like for a family growing up, but for adults the positives are market, river, reasonable amount of pubs and a couple overlooking the river are nice. There are quite a lot of charity shops in relation to main stream shops, but enough on your doorstep to get the basics.