Moving from London to Wales

[flowerxxx]

Hi
I'm new to mumsnet but I was hoping I could get some insight or experiences , my husband and I ( and my almost 2 yr old) are looking at moving to South Wales from London. Iv been researching the education in Wales, has anyone any experience of moving to wales and can tell me what they think of the education. My son will be going to pre school as soon as he's two for a couple of mornings a week.
Also how is living in Wales? Please be honest, I'm nervous but very excited at the same time!
Thank you and I appreciate any response

My sister is from Dublin and has lived in Cardiff for 20 years and ive spent a lot of time there. I found people to be fabulous,so friendly and kind. My sister has amazing neighbours which is important when living far from family. Education varies area to area you would be better off posting on a loval Facebook group perhaps. My sister has some bad schools and good schools near her. She lives near Whitchurch which is lovely and good transport links to the city and some lovely parks around. There have been times when I've considered moving also!

Unless you have stayed there before for a decent length of time, don't move before you know what you are getting into.

OP is really asking about Newport and Cwmbran though? They might be good from a commuting point of view but they are not the vibrant city that Cardiff is and they are nowhere near the fantastic beaches of Gower or Tenby that people have referenced.

OP - Cwmbran is a new town which is going through some very tough times economically. Have you actually visited it? Might be worth taking a weekend to visit Newport and Cwmbran and get a feel for them?

I can wholeheartedly recommend Cardiff - not sure what hotdogs is on about? Great city centre, well connected by train and motorway, decent schools etc. Also lots of nice suburbs - Cyncoed, Llanishen, Roath.

I've got lots of family in Gower - and it is a great lifestyle. Small schools, decent comprehensives and beautiful beaches. But it is a lot further from the Severn crossing which seems to be important to you?

I wouldn't move to Newport or Cwmbran if you paid me. A lot.

Cardiff is fantastic - there are lots of nice areas around Cardiff and the Vale.

Hotdog is full of shit.

I have been to cwmbran many times as my mum lives there, I do prefer Abergavenny and know crickhowell is meant to be lovely but slightly more expensive, cwmbran we thought would be better as it's closer to the M4 as I will be travelling back and forth to London as I have family here and thought work would be better for my husband as it's nearer the bigger towns/cities and it would be near my mum
I will do a lot more exploring before deciding
Does anyone know of anything too negative about Cwmbran, I have been to the cinema there and thought it was nice, the shops had everything you'd need but I admit a bit run down looking but fine for everything we'd need

I’m English but moved to wales for uni at 18, then to Cardiff after uni at 21 and have been here for nearly 12 years now!

I love Cardiff, it’s a fantastic little city with loads going on for sport, music and culture. I live in a town just outside Cardiff which has excellent schools, a thriving high street, and lots of great outdoors spaces like parks, beaches and a country park.

People are people everywhere, but in and around Cardiff nobody will judge you as “outsiders” or exclude you or anything

The problem is going to be good schools in Cwmbran and Newport . The secondary schools are pretty poor. There are cheaper villages like Gilwern near crickhowell where you could get a three bed for £160k . Gilwern feeds into king Henry which is not as good as Crickhowell but did get 70% A-C in 2016 so not a bad school. What’s your budget?

I do like Gilwern my mum used to live there until she moved at new year and my brother went to crickhowell secondary school and started in year 8 and fitted in fine, it's just further away from the bigger towns/cities for jobs
I'm not going to rule out other areas if I see a house I like and if the schools are better elsewhere, education is majorly important and I'd like to be somewhere where there's a nice pre school, I'm due my second end of October so it will be somewhere my son goes and then she'll go there later

Our budget is 200k but looking around 180k so we can keep some equity but will depend on the house

You could look in the Bassleg school catchment area in Newport? Not sure about affordability but it is an excellent secondary school.

Just looked at Bassleg area is just about affordable on your budget. If you want Newport I would say that this is the main area to investigate for a decent education.

Actually, @Hotdogjumpingfrogs I think you'll find it's "you're" not your used to it.
So much for your superior English education eh? 😉

We like Abergavenny and surounding villages (Gilwern Llanfoist etc) too and are hoping to move somewhere near there in the next 2-5 years. Lots of new developments being built around there and depending on what size place you want, you could get something nice without having to sacrifice on area. Cwmbran, Pontypool, Newport wouldn't be my first choice.. Have you checked out Usk, Raglan or Ross?