South Wales - where should we live????!!

[freewheeler]

Hello, advice please from Mumsnetters in South Wales! We (me, dp and ds aged 1 year) have been thinking of moving to the south west from north London for ages, and I've finally got a great job offer and am about to sign on the dotted line... the job's in Cardiff though, and we'd planned to live Chepstow area because dh wants to start a business and we think he will have access to more clients by being based on the border and having access to M4 etc etc. Also it's nearer to my family in Gloucestershire... BUT am now (predictably) getting cold feet - I have never driven to work, and am wondering whether I'm simply swapping my nightmare journey on the northern line for a long and difficult commute into Cardiff on the M4. This would defeat the object of moving, at least part of which is to see more of dh/ds (and escape London pollution, better quality of life etc) Does any mumsnetter or their dp do that commute? If so, how long does it take? Also, could you tell what the childcare/schools etc facilities are like in the Chepstow/Raglan/Usk area - should we be househunting there or somewhere else in south wales??? Advice please!

Hi Freewheeler

I live just the other side of the bridge in South Glos, just near junction 18 of the M4. I used to do a commute to Cardiff (a few years ago now, admittedly) which very rarely took me longer than an hour and ten minutes each way, even in rush hour, and often the delay was around the bridge. With a clear run and a following wind we can do Cardiff in 40 minutes. Chepstow is about 20 mins from here.
It's a lovely area, we go across quite a bit for castles, walks etc. Don't know about the childcare etc but you certainly wouldn't be short of lovely scenery! It all sounds like a really exciting opportunity.

thanks - I really just needed to hear it wasn't a totally mad idea!

Llantwit Major, Cowbridge or anywhere along that coast. Beautiful, commute to Cardiff not too bad.

agree that Chepstow/monmouth area is lovely but loads of people do a Cardiff-Bristol commute (rarely more than an hour but watch out for speed cameras).

The areas Highlander mentions in the vale of Glamorgan are nice but much more expensive (though great schools) and the "wrong side" of Cardiff for easy access to Gloucestershire.

I went to school in chepstow and Monmouth and then lived in Pontcanna (Central Cardiff) for a while so fire away with any questions!

Oh and my old school in chepstow now has a day nursery that takes babies from 3 months attached which is supposed to be excellent (St John's-on-the hill, affectionately known as "the dump on the hump" by kids from other schools!)

hi i grew up in penarth, town on the outskirts of Cardiff, very nice, posh but expensive, v good schools.

i would have to say speaking as an englishperson in wales that unless you want your child to learn welsh then its worth considering England

The other thing is the trains into cardiff have always seemed pretty good where will you be based?

Thanks to all for your advice>
Maria Luisa, I had a look at St. John's on the Hill and it looks excellent. I am very keen on the sound of the nursery. Do most pupils at the prep school go on to schools in the private sector though? I'd sort of hoped that by moving out of London we might find good local (state) schools.
We are now looking at properties from Cardiff eastwards - from what I've seen Cardiff seems to be a really green and pleasant city to grow up in.

Katzguk, is there any disadvantage to learning welsh? I thought this would be a good way for ds to learn language skills, but perhaps he would find it difficult attending a welsh speaking school if it was not spoken at home?

Friends of mine are in the middle of moving from Cardiff to Penarth, so their dd will grow up by the sea, and get a better schooling they said.

LOU33 Penarth is very nice, i lived in a small village near to it called llandough, wheer are your friends moving to?

Freewheeler the only thing about welsh is that at secondary school i personally feel its a bit of a waste i would have preferred to have done french and german rather than welsh and german, not much call for welsh especially in south wales.

i would recommend Penarth and Dinas Powis but these are both west of Cardiff, i think that to the of the subburbs east of the city Roath is the nicest and poshest, schools are good to. I knwo the Bishop of Llandaff secondary school is good as is Stanwell in Penarth, both of these are secondary schools though so guess with a 1 year old not too big an issue!

i find it funny how no body mentioned newport (and no you dont want to live here i dont want to live here)
llanwern is a lovely little vilage between newport and chepstow if your looking for somewhere quiet

My hubbys parents live in Cowbridge and his Mum commuted to Cardiff every day for years and it wasnt a problem. Cowbridge is just fantastic. The High Street is great, lots of little boutiques and nice bakerys, pubs, a garden centre, antique shops, banks. I would love to live in Cowbridge. Theres great walks nearby and the seaside is not far either. Cowbridge is pricey but definately worth a look. I

No Tom Jones doesnt own Cowbridge, he had a house in a village just outside Cowbridge I believe. Shall investigate with inlaws to see if he is still there enjoying the green green grass of home.

Hubby's parents tell me the local school in Cowbridge is very good....oh and Tom Jones has moved on now.

freewheeler - Regarding whether or not it's worth your ds learning Welsh:- I learnt French, Latin and German in school (in South Wales) and I've not needed Latin and German at all as an adult, and have only needed French on hols. I moved from South Wales and have lived in North Wales and Mid Wales for years and I've found that is a huge disadvantage if you can't speak Welsh. I'm only a learner, my dh, ds and dd are bilingual. Ds and dd go to a Welsh medium school where most of the children (85%, I think) have English speaking homes. There is lots of support available to help English speaking parents bring up their child bilingually. Speaking from experience, it is hard when you move to live in a very Welsh speaking area as you miss out on so much. Hth. Contact me for more info if you want it. tm xx

Apologies that I never got back to everyone to say thank you so much for all this advice! It's finally sorted - we're moving to temporary accommodation in Bridgend in 2 1/2 weeks, and will use this to explore all the surrounding areas and work out exactly where we want to live, while I start my new job in Cardiff at the end of September. Can't wait to leave London, although since all our friends are here it will also be a bit of a wrench at first!
Thanks for all the suggestions!

Good luck freewheeler! I'm in Swansea and was a student in Cardiff, so hope you like it down here.

Hi I have just been reading through this thread and find it all very interesting because I currently live in the North East of England with my husband and two children but are thinking of moving to South Wales to be nearer my aging parents in Gloucestershire (near Chepstow in fact!). My husband is desperate to find a small plot of land and do a modest self build home so we are toying with the idea of realising this dream in the Vale of Glamorgan. He is a keen surfer so NEEDS (!) to be near the sea. My daughter is due to start secondary school in Sept 18 and my son will be going in to year 9. The scary thing would be not knowing anyone in the area or the best places to live for school catchment areas etc whilst we look for a plot. Any help/advice out there? From a very anxious and confused mum of two.