Moving to South Wales - which areas would you recommend?

[littlerobot1]

My husband and I moved from London to Bristol at the start of 2018 and are now looking at buying a property in South Wales. I was hoping someone could recommend good areas to focus our search on.

We need to be in an area that is commutable for both Bristol and Cardiff. My husband works in Knowle in Bristol and I freelance so will be targeting both Bristol and Cardiff for work.

Our budget is £210k and we need 3 beds and a garden, ideally with off street parking.

We've looked at properties in Caerleon which is lovely but we worry that after almost 20 years of living in cities it will feel too small.

Yesterday we viewed a couple of properties in the St Julian's area of Newport. There seems to be lots of period properties there (which is ideally what we are looking for) and we wondered what people thought of the area? Is it safe? Are there nice pubs/restaurants/shops nearby? Is Newport really on the up like the press says?

Also, are there any other good areas we should consider? I've read that Bassaleg/Rogerstone areas are nice but also that commuting to Bristol from there would be a nightmare due to the Brynglas tunnels. We've therefore been focusing our search to the east side of Newport.

Thanks in advance.

Malpas is lovely. It's I'm the middle of 25a and 26, so you can avoid the tunnels whichever way you travel. It's short of period properties though unless you're happy to live on a main road.
St Julians is nice, and has a bit of a Bristol vibe in my mind. Terrible comprehensive though.
Newport is definitely on the up, there are pockets of good and bad of course, but generally there are more festivals / restaurants / events popping up all the time.
Caerleon can be really tricky to get in and out of during rush hour.

Definitely on the up but has some way to go. I've lived here all my life and no intentions of moving now. There's more and more to do here, and if you want to go elsewhere it's easy to do so.

St Julians is nice, although I don't know if I'd say it has a Bristol vibe!
Agree re the school, but a lot can change between now and when you might need it. Lots of people here aspire to Caerleon due to it's village feel and it's quaint and nice to visit. I'm put off by the traffic as PP said.

Try Beechwood, around Beechwood Park. And Allt-yr-ryn and Ridgeway are two of the most desirable areas in Newport and you could easily avoid the tunnels. They're walking distance to the train station if you needed it. Rogerstone/Bassaleg are both is a nightmare at rush hour!