To think there are areas in South Wales we should avoid?

[Vexed80]

Not really an AIBU but wasn't sure where else to post and could do with the traffic. I currently live in the North of England with my DH and 4 kids (eldest two in their 20s). I have been offered the potential of a promotion that will mean a huge wage increase but it means a move to South Wales. I don't really know the area at all but looking at sites like Zoopla and Rightmove, it looks like property is pretty cheap (in comparison to where we are). Starting to panic that it's because the areas are not great? Can anyone give me advice on any areas I should avoid or am I just being ridiculous?? TIA!!

Lots of really nice places to live in South Wales; Penarth, parts of Cardiff such as Pontcanna, Cyncoed, Llanishen. Cowbridge and surrounding villages, further out in the Vale, is positively posh. There are lovely spots on the Gower Peninsula (near Swansea); Caswell, Langland and Mumbles – but you'll need more than £250,000 for a 4-bed house. (Though a friend of ours picked up a 4-bed semi-detached needing work in Pennard last year for that price: Bishopston school very good and not far away and within walking distance to wonderful beaches). Crickhowell and Usk over towards the east are gorgeous and expensive, Abergavenny may be doable on your budget.

The areas you've listed are cheap for good reason. Former mining / industrial communities. Sounds as if you need to come and visit the area for a few days and see for yourself and decide what's important.

Newport frightens me.
I'm in Pontypool and there are some really nice areas (where I live) and some really rough areas. Geographically, Pontypool is bloody beautiful. I'm lucky I live in the place I do. You can get a really nice 4bed for £250k.

Have a look at this:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71003905.html

It's in the catchment area for Bishopston School which has a very good reputation. And check it on the map. Buses into Swansea and beaches and an outdoorsy life for the children.

Something like this in Penarth? Penarth's an upmarket town with lots going on and ten minutes on a train into central Cardiff.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71003905.html

Stanwell School's very good.

TwatCat, as someone who blew in to south Wales a while back I think it's often very difficult for outsiders to be able to tell the difference between the good enclaves in certain areas and the bits to avoid. I worked for a while in Pontypool and you're right, it's in a lovely position. Get the right road and you'd be fine, choose the wrong road a few hundred yards away and it's not so funny.

For new arrivals it's safest to buy the cheapest place in a known good area and then get to know the place before moving on.

I'd say Monmouthshire or Cardiff area. Apart from anything else, they are not so remote it you need to travel anywhere outside of Wales.

Some great places mentioned....however shame such negativity surrounding the valleys mentioned. You will find the most beautiful scenic places there and some of the friendliest people around..not all doom and gloom!

@Patnotpending absolutely right there, and like you say, you couldn't possibly know which areas are rough until you get to know it first hand yourself. I'd personally find somewhere in the area and either buy really cheap or rent for 6 months to get an idea of where you are before buying with the budgeted amount. I really do love where I live. I am bit of a snob when it comes to where I live.

@Mrsmadevans

I live in Abergavenny and was born & bred in Crickhowell.

As your username attests! She was a peach, wasn't she?

I lived in Abergavenny until about seven years ago (in fact someone's linked to a house for sale a few doors from my old place). Would fit the bill for you I think but would struggle to get a four bed on your budget.

So much is in the eye of the beholder though - someone upthread described Abergavenny, Crickhowell etc as 'remote' whereas I'd see them as practically the bright lights, given proximity to Cardiff! (I now live very happily three hours from the nearest city...)

In laws are still in Abergavenny and like it. Bro-in-law lives in Uplands, Swansea and is happy there.

Oh, and a friend lives in Penclawdd and absolutely loves it. There seems to be only one property which fits your requirements though! Here - www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64419360.html

Caldicot .....lovely xx

Abergavenny is my preferred location Mrs, we will be neighbours yet!

@yellowellies, you asked about Llanelli, Burry Port and Kidwelly.

Llanelli seems to me, whenever I go there, to be quite run-down and rough. Unfortunately it's another of Wales's former industrial towns that has been ravaged by drugs and unemployment. I wouldn't choose to live in the town itself, but there are new developments out along the coast which are starting to change the feel of the area. Lots of sandy beaches for surfing and kayaking and sailing and the Beacons within easy hitting distance for hiking and cycling if you're outdoorsy.

Kidwelly and Burry Port aren't as bad but both strike me, as an English person, as quite Welsh in that a lot of the people who live there were born there, and Welsh is quite widely spoken. Carmarthenshire is, in my experience, a more Welsh-speaking area than Pembrokeshire, which is further west and was 'discovered' by the English decades ago.

I have an Engish friend who moved to Burry Port a few years ago and likes her house but doesn't feel she's been able to make many inroads into the local community, though her neighbours are pleasant. Kidwelly is nice in parts, not so nice in others. Both are starting to attract more retirees and people looking to live in a coastal situation and both are probably on a slow upward trajectory.

Ferryside, just a bit further west from Kidwelly, seems to have attracted more outsiders over the years and has a slightly more open-to-the-world feel. Ferryside and Llansteffan (on the other side of the estuary) have a lot going for them, including relatively easy access to Carmarthen which has turned from a sleepy market town into something bigger and buzzier.

I know people keep saying it but you would have to come and see these places and spend a week or two here to work out which is likely to suit you because they all have their own distinct feel. There are lovely communities and people everywhere in Wales but some places are more inward-looking than others. A lot of it comes down to you. If you're outgoing and sociable you'll find ways to connect with people wherever you go.

Parts of Newport are dodgy but certainly not all. I live in a very nice part with good schools. Good links to Cardiff.

I wouldn’t live in Llanelli. Of all the places I have been to, that is the place I have most unsafe walking around alone, in broad daylight.

@Patnotpending thanks, we have some connections around Llanelli, and they have links with Kidwelly and Ferryside so we have visited- ace chips on Ferryside beach! Don’t know Carmarthen very well so that might be worth more of a look. Our budget is lower than the OPs as we are hoping to become mortgage free by downsizing, but still don’t want to live somewhere too dodgy! We have the beginnings of a network of friends around the area. It’s nice to see that some of the areas we had identified (Killay Penclawdd etc) are being suggested too

Killay is a practical sort of place to live with good access for Swansea and the M4 and a strong local community. Ditto Dunvant and Sketty.

A lot of people really love Penclawdd. Although it looks quite ordinary there's a very strong community there and it's getting a reputation for good food. You'd have to visit to sense whether it might suit you.