relocating to south wales

[Butcherf1988]

Hi,
I am currently living in an affluent area in poverty and totally isolated. I am never able to afford to take my children to clubs, and have been dependent on benefits for 4 years (although im slowly starting a business). I'm living in a house i was badly abused in. It is terrible for my mental health :( My ex abusive partner is refusing to sell the home, yet he does nothing with the children either. I grew up socially in a non affluent area. In south wales i can afford a home, afford to learn to drive, and my self-employed business is getting going. All my money is tied up in this house. It's making me depressed. Ive seen that over in south wales, i can not only afford to buy a house, but can afford to learn to drive, transport is more accessible, and id be able to afford to take my children to do out-of-school clubs/activites, which theyre not accessing at all here. We do love the outdoors, and see that over in wales there is Brecon and the mountians nearby. I was wondering what other people's views are on making the move. Evidently this style of living is not doing my health any good, and im unable to take the children to any out of school activites due to lack of money and lack of mobility. We're growing up poor in an aflfuent area where friends go to all sorts of out of school aciviteis, and we do nothing. Yet, over in south wales, with my money freed up from the proerty, i'll be able to afford a home, secure financial security, remove debts, be self-employed, and learn to drive, and do activities with the girls. I was wondering what areas of south wales are best? Best wishes, Fliss

I live right on the boundary between RCT and Bridgend.

It’s great! Quick access to the M4, 20 minutes on the train to Cardiff and plenty of local shops. Woodland walks, perfect mix of semi rural but having everything close by.

Look around Llanharan, Talbot Green, Brynna, Pencoed etc

@NavigatingAdolescence was going to say the same! My DS is bilingual, it's a beautiful language.

Mine too. Welsh education is a gift. I went to English medium school and did A level
Welsh but with English parents my fluency soon waned. :(

I live in Cardiff, It’s a brilliant city, I’m from the SE and MUCH prefer living here. It’s much friendlier and there’s still lots to do. The nicer parts are v. expensive and the less nicer parts are probably still out of your price range if you’re buying alone, you don’t say what your budget is so it’s hard to advise. It’s a fab place for teens to live though.

For commuting to Cardiff I have lived in Pontypridd, Caerphilly, Abercynon, Porth and Newport. All were fine transport wise but Pontypridd and Caerphilly were much friendlier to outsiders! The valleys can be quite insular, although you might be lucky. Newport is not a nice place to live unless you can afford one of the nicer areas on the outskirts.

My favourite ever Newport story www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-23566284

Fair play to them, getting it to grow in this climate.

@FTEngineerM

Depends on your budget.

Radyr
Cowbridge
Efail esaf
Graigwen
Pentyrch
Thorn hill
Whitchurch
St martins
Machen

Are a few

Why are you recommending rich areas to someone on benefits?

Blaenavon would be frying pan into the fire, not much there and transport links aren’t great.
I would suggest
Pontypool
Cwmbran
Caerphilly
Risca
Parts of newport
All probably cheaper than where you are but with good links to cardiff and Bristol but quite busy in their own rights.

I think you need to consider also that there’s a lot of poverty in south Wales and places like Radyr, which has been suggested, is hardly affordable unless you have £200k to spend on a house.

@SalsaLove £200k would only just buy you a flat in Radyr at the moment. Cardiff prices are bonkers.

If your ex is abusive will he allow you to take the children and move to Wales? Because if he disagrees with the move it could end up an expensive battle in court.
Back to your question , what about Barry? Very close to Cardiff , has a beach etc.

[quote Ursulapheebs]@SalsaLove £200k would only just buy you a flat in Radyr at the moment. Cardiff prices are bonkers.[/quote]
I dare say you’re right, we sold PIL 4 bed detached house in Radyr last year for a bit under that. Lovely community though!

Sorry, a bit over that

It all depends on cost. Hard to get anything below 150, 000 in Cardiff. OP isn't objecting to living in a poorer area - she wants to get away from living in a rich area on a low income.

There's plenty of poverty in South Wales - also plenty of opportunity, community spirit, and a fair bit of investment. Lots of housing stock. Try Pontypridd and Caerphilly, though I think prices have risen faster in Caerphilly. Porth, Abercynon, Penrhicwber and Mountain Ash if Pontypridd is too pricey. Loads of interesting local history. Beautiful hill and woodland walks. Easy to get to Cardiff.

As with many poorer areas, if you're clued in about accessing services, children's activities etc, you'll find them better subsidised than elsewhere. And they are decent and friendly places.

I have a lot of family in South Wales, be careful where you buy, some of it is very deprived with a lot of social issues. It's not somewhere I'd ever consider. North Wales on the other hand I love....I've only driven through Wrexham town centre a couple of times on our way to Snowdonia so I don't know much but it looks so much nicer than S Wales and I'd move there a million times before I'd move to the valleys which I find incredibly bleak.

I'm South Wales born and bred, currently live in Dinas Powys, an affluent village near Cardiff. Vv close to Penarth, which is even more expensive. It's where I was brought up.

I moved back from Pontardawe, which is in the Swansea valley. It is, by comparison, fairly deprived but still has a good standard of living if you have some disposable income. Larger 3 bed houses can be got there for under £200k.

Blaenavon I'd steer clear of. MIL is from there, but it's a ghost town these days. Yes Big pit is there, which is a totally amazing day out. But I wouldn't want to live there.

I'd look at Ystradgynlais / Pontardawe if my budget is limited, you get a lot for your money and you're on the edge of the Beacons.

If you have a bit more to spend, maybe Bridgend / Porthcawl area.

If you're moving from London and have plenty to spare - then look at Dinas Powys, the west end of Barry, north Cardiff.

Aberdare/Pontypridd/cilfynydd cheap and all lovely places to live with lots to do. Taxis are non existent at night and shops close early which we weren’t used to in Cardiff but surrounded by greenery and cheap drinks in pubs and just the lushest people. Good luck OP

@Tal45

I have a lot of family in South Wales, be careful where you buy, some of it is very deprived with a lot of social issues. It's not somewhere I'd ever consider. North Wales on the other hand I love....I've only driven through Wrexham town centre a couple of times on our way to Snowdonia so I don't know much but it looks so much nicer than S Wales and I'd move there a million times before I'd move to the valleys which I find incredibly bleak.

What a rude and totally ridiculous thing to say. You clearly have no idea what most of South Wales is like 😂😂

Matter of taste I think. I'm from a reasonably comfortable urban background. I find North Wales bleak - beautiful but bleak. I'd feel cut off there.

Valleys far enough South to be in Cardiff's back yard are shabby but vibrant, and beautiful in their own way. And I can hop on a free bus to Cardiff at weekends - lots to like.

Well done on getting away from your ex and I hope you are ok.

I think Pontypridd, Caerphilly or Llanharan would be worth a look. I was born and raised further up the valleys, spent most of my childhood playing up the mountains which I loved but it's a long trip into Cardiff from there! All those places have regular trains into Cardiff but are cheaper. Bridgend/Neath worth a look too, they are cheap and the Intercity stops at their train stations. (I sound like I'm obsessed with trains- bus services are awful and if you may not have a car being near a train station essential).

@Tal45

I have a lot of family in South Wales, be careful where you buy, some of it is very deprived with a lot of social issues. It's not somewhere I'd ever consider. North Wales on the other hand I love....I've only driven through Wrexham town centre a couple of times on our way to Snowdonia so I don't know much but it looks so much nicer than S Wales and I'd move there a million times before I'd move to the valleys which I find incredibly bleak.

Seriously? Wrexham is a hole!

@NavigatingAdolescence yeah I thought that too🤣

Like anywhere else, the valleys have good and bad areas. I'd avoid Blaenavon, Bargoed, Tredegar - basically the.very top of most valleys. Except the Swansea valley - it starts in the Beacons and it's stunning. That said, I'd still edge towards Ystradgynlais rather than Coelbren or Banwen.

Try this OP. Green is expensive. Further out is cheaper. Treforest is an outlier - mostly student houses. Bridgend, Barry, Pontypridd, Caerphilly best connected. You're near sea, hills or both anywhere cheap on this map, and no more than an hour from central.Cardiff - 20 to 30 minutes from the places I've mentioned.

If you don't drive yet, you'll need the train. And it'll get your kids to Cardiff independently when they're old enough.

Not as high quality as I'd like - sorry - so use link to see original.
tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/rail/where-we-go/rail-network-map

Good luck and please tell us if we can help with more info. I think you could make a good life with your children here.

Some parts of Neath are pretty cheap for houses. Also, it's near to Swansea/ Gower and a bit further away, but on a direct route, to Brecon/ Beacons.

I think that your budget will be the deciding factor in where you start looking.
If you can tell us that, you'll get a much better idea of the areas you can afford and the pros and cons for them.

Are you intending on working from home, or looking for a business premises? Some areas will obviously better suited to particular businesses if you're selling a service or product.

I hope that you're able to make your break op and find happiness with your children.

Grew up in South Wales and really couldn't wait to leave. It's very grey and bleak and not a lot going on. The towns are quite ugly and pebble dashy. Live in Yorkshire now which I love and there are some very affordable parts.