Best coastal towns in Wales?

[Unsure05]

Hello! We’re a family of 4 (myself, DH and 2 DDs nearly 3 and 12 weeks). We are looking at moving within the UK to a nice coastal town and have decided on Wales as it’s not too far from family and some of the beaches look beautiful! Can anyone advise where is best for families considering schooling, safety, outdoor lifestyle, laid back, more surfer vibes over arcades and candy floss. Also would need somewhere with access to gyms etc as we both work in the fitness industry! We are going to take a couple of weeks and have a look at a few places before we decide where to go but looking for where to check out! Any advice welcome please!

This is all so helpful guys thank you! I wish we had millions tucked away haha but it’ll be middle of the range houses for us! I’ve looked at some of the surrounding suggested places around Swansea and it looks beautiful but with plenty to offer so we might base ourselves there and venture out a little on our travels! Many thanks!

Just to add re Swansea - SA3 - Mumbles and Gower- is glorious but expensive. West Cross, Bishopston and Mayals in SA3 are a little cheaper. SA2 is great - more in town but then closer to amenities but still easy to reach Gower and with the bike path on the prom can walk/cycle. Killay/Dunvant are good if you want suburban, Uplands and Sketty more urban. Lots of places have glorious sea views. We live 3 miles from Mumbles and often cycle there, we couldn’t afford to live there.

Other options are Gowerton, Penclawdd and surronds for access to North Gower. Thee Crosses is a lovely village which is cheaper than South Gower.

As PP said, fitness is big business - council and private gyms and smaller companies, lots of beach boot camps and so on. My PT, and all the others I know of all have waiting lists and the capacity for outdoor training is huge. It really is an amazing place to live. Just don’t bother with the town centre! I moved from England 20 years ago and wouldn’t go back if you paid me.

Well first issue is jobs, find work the rest will follow

Newquay in Wales is gorgeous with a safe beach where you can go out in the sea for ages & it not be above your knees.

It doesnt sound as if you've ever actually visited Wales? Yes many bits of Wales are beautiful but so are many bits of England - and many of them offer exactly what you want and are far closer to your current network of friends and family.

If I had the money to buy, I'd move to Swansea tomorrow. The Mumbles or Pennard up by Three Cliffs. But unfortunately I don't. So am stuck in the middle of the country where you can see the sea unless you drive 3 hours in any direction. 😔

There's much more to Swansea than those pricey areas.
We live about 20 from the beach and houses are around £250k depending on te size
Can get a bit closer in for a lot less too

Anywhere in Pembs in where I would live if my lovely teenagers had 'allowed' us to move away! Someone mentioned Narberth, lovely area and one that would be on my list. Areas of Swansea can be lovely also but wouldn't be on my list. Possibly though as I'm so close already!

Here a little taster of Mumbles

@thebestbirtheraccordingtoDD aw come on. Everyone knows the best view of Mumbles and the best sand is the city centre side of the bay. It doesn't look that nice Mumbles side when the tide is out.

That's where I happened to be standing

@TroysMammy if one tires of the view of the steelworks, one simply has to walk down to Langland. Much more pukka darling.

@massistar Walk? Two shakes of sprinkles on a Joe's it's quicker in the Porsche darling 😀

On the subject of fitness and Swansea, 150 people turned up to do beach yoga last night.

@Temporaryanonymity oh wow seriously? I do teach yoga 😂 sounds amazing.

we’ve actually booked a trip to the mumbles/newton area to have a nosey around next month! So hit me up with any good spots or hidden gems!

@thethebestbirtheraccordingtoDD
For the lower budget people like me, what areas of Swansea would you recommend. Good schools primary and senior is top of list. And what areas would you suggest to completely avoid?

I do occasionally look on rightmove at what's available but then I start daydreaming of my lottery win purchases 🤣

Another vote for Swansea/Gower it's a fabulous place to live.

Definitely recommend Swansea too also Cardiff (Penarth) 😁

Having had cousins in Mumbles, and holidayed in Rhossili I agree. The Gower is my favourite place in the UK.

Why Wales?
Why not the North West or North East?

@Unsure05 great that you're planning a visit. Be warned though that once you visit Mumbles it'll be hard to go elsewhere in Swansea. Visits to the local beaches (Langland, Rotherslade, Caswell). Walks over Mumbles hill to the pier. The big ice cream debate between Verdis and Joes. Oystermouth Castle good for a visit too.

Feel free to DM me for more details.

I think Swansea could be a good fit op. It’s one of my favourite places and I think it would have enough scope to accommodate your careers in the fitness industry. Swansea itself has a variety of areas/house prices and if you wanted something more rural there are plenty of
commutable places along the coast.

This all sounds fab thank you all! And for those who’ve asked we almost bought a house around Scarborough and decided against it, we just weren’t feeling it and we don’t want to be too far south, my other half isn’t keen, and I don’t want to be so far north in Scotland. I know weather doesn’t massively vary here but I’d rather not be all the way up there!

Just to add to some of the comments here- being educated bilingually isn't a negative thing. It is, in fact, the norm throughout the world, and there are countless studies that show the beneficial effects of speaking more than one language on the brain. 🙂

Swansea is a really great place to live and work and enjoy the wonderful beaches.