to consider moving to Wales?

[cheminotte]

Specifically Abergavenny?
We have 2 dc age 4 and 7, going into Reception and Y3 in September. We live in a small city in the West Midlands and commute to Bristol and Birmingham respectively.
Pros - much closer to beautiful countryside, less pollution, slightly shorter commute for dp, cheaper house prices
Cons - I would need to find a new job, but am contracting anyway so no security, massive upheaval for dc, esp ds1 who has taken a while to settle into school, further from pils.
Smaller location so possibly less available to do in evenings?
Neutral - similar commuting distance to Cardiff as Birmingham,

Ds1 suffers from some sort of allergy which we suspect may be caused by living near motorways and a railway line (diesel).
We are an outdoorsy family and love walking and cycling but currently have to drive a bit first

[aderynlas]

Abergavenny has a nice market, some lovely parks and coffee shops. Monmouth is looking very smart too. Chepstow though is rather expensive. There are some town houses being built by the river, i nearly fell over when i saw the price.

[secretcbeebiesfan]

I was brought up in Wales and work in schools across Wales, and also have many family members who are in pupils in primary schools in Wales. Nearly all of them have an English medium class anyway. So they would not struggle in that respect.
Not sure I would choose Abergavenny either, it is a little small and not much going on. But again I wouldn't know where to suggest sorry :( not much help!

[cheminotte]

Thanks for all the opinions good and bad about Abergavenny. More welcome.

Any other thoughts / experiences on differences between England and Wales - eg I see the schools seem to have free breakfast clubs.

Also any experience of moving location with children? Any tips on how to make the experience less painful?.

Thanks

[WashingFanatic]

We have free breakfast club - I thought all schools did tbh, didn't think it was only Wales. I start work at 8.30am, it's a lifesaver for me to be able to drop off at 8am.

The only other difference I can think of is that you get free prescriptions in Wales. Oh, and you have to pay 5p for a carrier bag :)

[WashingFanatic]

I would not move my children to anywhere where the schools teach in Welsh

All schools in Wales teach Welsh - as a second language. Relatively few teach through the medium of Welsh though. In my County, out of 50ish Primary Schools, I think there are 10 Welsh-Medium schools. I'd imagine that gets higher as you head North (i'm in S Wales).

[drudgetrudy]

In Gwynedd and Anglesey almost all schools are Welsh medium and English isn't introduced until age 7. Most lessons are taught in Welsh. This is clearly different in South Wales,. Many people moving to N Wales haven't done their research and realised this.
Young kids tend to pick up the language quickly but its good for parents to be aware.
It can cause difficulties for pupils with dyslexia etc as the phoenics are different

[OnlyTheWelshCanCwtch]

Ive lived in Wales all my life, born in Cardiff and moved 10 miles north to the valleys about 20 years ago.

Abergavenny is nice but a bit remote for me, if I was heading into Wales to live now I would do as softly has said and stick near M4 corridor, Cardiff, Newport etc, all in easy reach of everything you could need

[hackmum]

OP, I am glad to see you have a sane approach to your children learning Welsh! Very refreshing.

I don't know Abergavenny very well but mid-Wales is lovely. Who wouldn't enjoy being near the Brecon Beacons? Also you're never too far from beautiful coastline, and if you feel the pull of a big city, Cardiff is great.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

op

All the schools teach Welsh, not all the school teach predominantly in Welsh.

I've only been to Abergavenny once or twice op. Seems nice enough but isn't really my kind of place. I live in Cardiff which suits. Any particuar reason for Abergavenny?

[Alisvolatpropiis]

Sorry op, I know you know that about the schools. 'Twas meant to be for yoube but I got distracted.

[cheminotte]

We currently live in a small city, smaller than Cardiff and we're looking for smaller and less polluted. Abergavenny looks attractive due to

• on a railway line so not reliant on a car either ourselves or for dc when they get older
  
• beautiful countryside: mountains with coast not too far either
  
• Conmutable to Bristol where Dp works
  
• small enough that wherever we live it won't .be far from anywhere in town
  
• Not industrial / motorways really, which I think Newport is more so - as ds1 has allergies which we think may be caused by pollution here in West Midlands

[cheminotte]

I think the free breakfast club is a Welsh govt initiative.
Ds1's school has a before school club (no food) and it costs 3 per session.

[SmellsOfBiscuits]

I'd opt for Chepstow - or just outside, rather than Abergavenny. Tutshill is very nice. You have the advantage of being near Cardiff or Bristol, though the bridge costs are steep.

Personally, I'd avoid Newport and its immediate area.

Brecon and Crickhowell are lovely but just seem a long way from anywhere IYSWIM.

If you love the sea, the Vale of Glamorgan is lovely - but a long commute to Bristol. If you do move - pm me for info about beaches where you will hardly see a soul.

[cardibach]

I moved to rural Ceredigion when DD was 5 (went into Y1). She had no Welsh but went straight into Welsh medium education and was bilingual very, very quickly. By Y3 she was winning Welsh poetry competitions in the school against first language Welsh speaking kids .
We have loved living here, and knowing Welsh definitely made French come easier - if your DCs already have another European language the same will probably be true for Welsh. I really feel anyone moving to an country with its own language should make an effort to learn it. TO many people think Welsh is some sort of made up affectation instead of a living language.
I don't know much about Abergavenny, so can't help with that bit!

[cheminotte]

Biscuits - thanks for tips. I love the idea of being near the beach but Dp's commute is already 1 hour, would it be worse than that?

cardlbach - how did your dd cope with the move, change of school etc?

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

I would expect that Abergavenny to Bristol is a lot more than a hour long commute. I know that driving ten minutes away from j24 m4 into Bristol City centre takes an hour on a good day and is closer to an hour and a half at winter. Trains are ok, but Bristol Temple Meads is often not that convenient for places in Bristol.

If you want to be accessible to Bristol and Cardiff without a lot of travel, I'd suggest Chepstow, Magor or Caerleon. Usk is nice but a bit further out and tends to be reasonably pricey. The Brynglas tunnels can be a nightmare (only 2 lanes so accidents really stuff them up) so if DH is going to Bristol each day, I'd try to live somewhere that avoided them.

I wouldn't move to Abergavenny because of the commute. I don't think it's nice enough to justify the time it takes to get there. You and DH might tolerate more time spent travelling than me. I think for evenings/weekends if you're willing to drive a shortish distance, there'll be plenty to do.

My only other query is that given your DS's allergies whether pollen might be an issue? DH suffers badly with West Mids pollen, is ok in Bristol and generally fine in Wales. It'd be a shame to move away from pollution to another allergen DS can't tolerate!

[softlysoftly]

You really won't realistically do Bristol from Abergavenny way or out as far as Brecon. We do Bristolevery day wales.

Would highly recommend doing a jaunt around the M4 corridor, I wouldn't advise Newport itself but not sure what smells has against the surrounding area.

It's less urban than cardiff with better transport links.

Definitely look at Chepstow, Magor, Carleon, Redwick etc.

All with lovely rural / small village feel. Far enough off the M4 to not be like motorway/industrial stopoffs and good schools I think but with the benefit of access to either drive to Bristol or hop a train via newport to Bristol in a short time frame.

[MissBattleaxe]

Abergavenny is a lovely town with lots of independent businesses and shops and a great market. There are plenty of places to eat and the town is overlooked by the Sugar Loaf and the Blorenge. The hospital is Neville Hall which is very good, and the schools do not teach IN Welsh, but Welsh lessons are on the curriculum.

The High Street is lovely and there is a castle, a good park, the annual Food Festival, a leisure centre, indoor rock climbing, and a soft play centre.

If you wanted to be nearer the M4 try Chepstow as its minutes from the bridge, but otherwise, Abergavenny has a train station that goes direct to Cardiff.

Also in Wales you get free prescriptions and all govt funded museums are free.

[DoristheCamel]

We lived in Wales until recently. We were there for 4 years not far from Abergavenny. Absolutely love it and was heartbroken to leave.

You dont need to worry about welsh medium schools in this part of Wales. There are a few but the same areas of also served by english speaking schools. Welsh is taught as a lesson a few times a week. My scottish born teen DC had no problem starting to learn welsh in yr8. Obviously they were put in the bottom set for it but they saw it as a novelty to learn something different to what a lot of their English and Scottish friends would.

I loved our time in Wales. The people on the whole are so welcoming,warm, kind and friendly. The hospital waiting lists are a bit shit tbh but the free prescriptions are a bonus. The 5p carrier bag thing came in whilst we were here and you do just get used to it and I believe its coming in on carrier bags in England soons anyway.

Another place maybe worth a look is just over the border from Wales in The Forest of Dean. Lovely scenery and villages and lower house prices than other places in Gloucestershire.

[daisychain01]

I can recommend Abergavenny (superb Neville Hall Hospital) Usk and Monmouth. Monmouth Comp is a very good secondary school, lovely Supportive staff and excellent Head Teacher.

I would not personally recommend Chepstow. It could be as nice as Monmouth, but currently badly in need of the same shopping facilities as Monmouth, so rather tired looking. Maybe in about 3 years when they have finished all the new house builds Chepstow could be lovely too!

An alternative, just a hop across the River Wye is St Briavels which is just on the England side, it has a surgery and playing fields, its primary school is Ofsted Outstanding, and feeder school to good secondaries including Monmouth I believe. Breathtaking scenery, about 1 minute from the River but right at the top of the hill. Very affordable housing, happy community and scenery everywhere! About 18 mins from the bridge if you are going to Bristol, and maybe better using the 'M5 to Birmingham in which case you wouldn't pay the bridge toll

[softlysoftly]

Ok Now I like the idea of St Briavels, had never heard of it. How would you do there to London via train.

[daisychain01]

Softly, St Briavels is unfortunately not on a train line, however in about 10 mins you have a choice of either Chepstow or Lydney. Alternatively when my DM comes over she hops on the train in West London and we pick her up at Bristol Parkway. Bristol is an easy ride, about 35-45 mins max depending on traffic.

St Briavels has its own English Heritage castle, which attracts local visitors from the Firest, but it never gets really crowded, a traffic jam is 3 cars stopping to let a sheep cross the road

[daisychain01]

Oops the Forest (of Dean) that should say!

[cardibach]

cheminotte she is 18 now and currently away on a clubbing holiday so I can't ask her, but I don't think she really remembers now. I think she found it a bit confusing for a while but she was certainly always happy to go to school, chatted about teachers and friends and what had gone on, so I think she was fine. It was a very small school and that may have helped as the staff had plenty of time to help her adjust.
I also think that rural children have more freedom than townies - she was allowed on the beach with her friends pretty much from when we started (I was nearby, but not line-of-sight) for example. She and her friends are surprisingly streetwise as a result. The largely monocultural experience does not seem to have affected her tolerance either.
We both love living here now, and she is pretty open about wanting to live in Wales as an adult and about wanting her own children to be Welsh speaking.