England/Wales coastal living - where should we go?

[CosyKnits]

We currently live in the north-west, suburban, nice but have decided to bite the bullet and move the coast.

It’s something we’ve been considering for years – we never meant to stay where we are for so long and want to get going before DD gets much older (she’s currently 5 and a half).

Trouble is, we don’t know which coast. We love Northumberland (Alnwick, Warkworth, Embleton) and have already discounted the Yorkshire Coast (absolutely lovely but more “seaside” and touristy than we’re after - plus we've lived in Yorkshire before and would like somewhere new if possible). We are basically open to anything in England or Wales and I would be very grateful for any recommendations/experience – if you live or have lived somewhere on the coast, and have the time/inclination, I'd love to hear about it. Thank you!

@SirVixofVixHall "And also being totally destroyed as a welsh community by people with more money moving here from England."

Have a word with the locals. They are the ones selling to the English when they realise that they can get more money for their home from them.

When it comes down to it they, ignore the local young folk and take the money.

Exactly what I was going to say! No-one is forcing the Welsh to sell to the English.....

The last-but-one (Welsh) owner of our place purchased it for £20k in 1999, did a very basic refurb then flipped it, selling for £232,000 to an English couple less than five years later. Local residents we've spoken to said no-one from the area was interested in buying it at that point and wouldn't have been prepared to pay that much.

We bought our house (not a holiday home) in South Carmarthenshire almost five years ago. We're not that close to the sea, but agree there are some fantastic coastal locations and sandy beaches in Carmarthenshire, although Pembrokeshire is lovely too.

We've also lived on the south coast of England within five minutes walk of the beach, but for me that area was a bit too touristy. I prefer the empty beaches here in Wales, although my ideal would be the flatter East Anglian coast.

Pembrokeshire & you can always learn Welsh.
We did but you don't have to if you don't want to.

Another option is Berwick or further up along the Scottish coast en route to Edinburgh.

P.S I know Berwick is in England but on the border with Scotland.

Well said. I find it embarrassing when fellow Welsh people are so unwelcoming. I entirely sympathise with concerns about holiday homes and how they affect rural areas,but the OP is talking about living there all year round, raising her family etc, so she's exactly that sort of person who would be good for the area, and these issues are common to all seaside villages across the UK.

I get that there is the language issue in Wales, but guess what, the majority of Welsh people don't speak Welsh either so singling out English people for the blame is just xenophobic. I'm Welsh as far back as I know, and I'd still be speaking English if I moved there. There is more then one way to be Welsh.

Please don't be put off Wales by a minority of rude posters op! In fact, I'd have to check my facts on the census, as I don't live in that area, but I always thought that historically Pembrokeshire was less Welsh speaking than it's neighbours Carmarthenshire and ceredigion anyway. It is true you might want to check if there are English medium schools close by though. It won't be a problem further east than Carmarthenshire though - the Vale is definitely majority English speaking.

Thank you very much for all your insights and suggestions @SkiingIsHeaven @LibertyLily @HelsinkiLights @Simplelobsterhat , really useful.

We've loved Dorset and it's coast.
Lyme Regis is lovely but possibly a bit touristy in season.
Lots of gorgeous villages.
Lovely, welcoming people too 😉

I'm glad there's some food for thought from the thread @CosyKnits apart from maybe wrecking anyone's Dry January with my user name 😁

I still think that when you could cast your net more or less anywhere that it makes it harder rather than easier.

Say for me, I generally like coastal areas that either have a lot of property concentrated around little coves and harbours, or great long swatches of sandy beach. That said, I know that huge influxes of tourists at certain times of year, shops geared up for tourists but nothing much happening out of season and crucially, bad traffic congestion and an inability to park, would be huge negatives. Also for huge expanses of beach, I know I'm not great in windy weather. I'm also like your DH in that I'm not keen on a very flat landscape. I like more rolling countryside, so from the get-go there'd be areas I'd rule out.

You could take a look at Coast magazine see what takes your fancy
www.coastmagazine.co.uk/property/

and there are a few up to date articles about coastal living
www.garrington.co.uk/seaside-towns-best-places-to-live/
www.fineandcountry.co.uk/insights/blog/britains-best-seaside-towns-2021

Thank you @GlassBunion, Dorset isn't an area I'm familiar with but will definitely check it out - I'm sure the people are lovely 😁

@martinisforeveryone luckily I'm not a dry January person (it's my birthday month so no wine (or martinis!) is out of the question!

I see what you mean but that's what this thread was for really (and posters have been amazing!), getting some real life insights into different parts of the coast and then having a look to see if that fits in with what we want/need. For example, I prefer a wild, sweeping beach - more coastal, less seaside (which is why we've already discounted the Yorkshire coast - all the bits that meet our other criteria are too touristy).

We've got a budget in mind but aren't fussy about what it buys - it's enough for a big house and land in one place, or two bed cottage in another and at the moment, we're open to exploring all of those options if you see what I mean?

Thank you very much for the magazine recommendations, we will absolutely have a look at those.

Agree that you shouldn't be put off Wales for simply not being Welsh! Lots of English people move to Wales and are welcomed and very happy in all parts of Wales. However, it is important to understand that it isn't the same as moving within England and to understand what those differences are? The main areas of difference are in Education and Health. Please research what the differences are.

I'll just quickly point out a few things ... Welsh language education is compulsory and not just in Welsh meduim schools. GCSE Welsh is compulsory for all pupils. Many people seem happy with their child learning Welsh at primary school but some are not happy about the fact that they have to do a GCSE in it. Also, the Welsh secondary curriculum has recently changed. The GCSE offering in science in particular is now very different to England (no separate science subjects). More changes are afoot.

Health is organised and funded differently to England. Not all specialist care is available in Wales. Having lived in both England and Wales I would say the health provision in Wales is inferior (and that' saying something). Waiting lists are longer. Just something to be aware of. Prescriptions are free though!

Wales now has it's own income tax brackets. It has mirrored England's income tax brackets till now but I suspect changes are afoot.

Not necessarily deal breakers I'm sure but you would be surprised at how many people come to live in Wales without being aware that it isn't organised in the same way as England!

My vote would be for Swansea. Best of both worlds on your doorstep.

We moved to West Wales 3 years ago and it was the best decision we made
The children go to a Welsh medium school so are learning welsh
The views are stunning and my children love how close they live to the sea.
Its beautiful here and we have had no real issues with the locals
people are a bit weary of you at first because they are worried that you are here for a holiday home but once they see you that you live there full time there is no issue

@Aberteifi - aberteifi is a lovely place! Not too far from me. I moved back to Wales with young dc, both went to welsh language primary and both now fluent welsh speakers. The cultural, theatre, song and music opportunities they get are amazing in welsh schools. So is the sailing, rowing, surfing etc. a really wonderful place to live.