Single Mum relocating from England to Wales

[NatalieFr87]

Hi all,

I’m a single mum to my 6 yo daughter and looking to move from England to South Wales (possibly the Ebbw Vale area). I don’t know anyone there but to cut a long story short we are moving for the cost of living. We plan on selling up in a very expensive area and purchasing in Wales whilst also benefitting from the countryside and closer proximity to the beach etc.

My questions are, has anyone done this? How did you integrate and meet people and what advice can you offer?
My daughter is shy by nature and I want her to meet other children and build relationships. Any tips to help her settle?

Just any advice anyone can give would be much appreciated. Thank you ☺️

I moved from England to South Wales- Merthyr specifically so not far from Ebbw Vale- to be with my partner. I came from a big city and whilst Merthyr (and the Valleys in general) get a bad rep, there's so many wonderful advantages to living here!

Firstly housing is cheap. You get so much more for your money. I bought a house I wouldn't in a million years have been able to afford had I not moved. I love my house!

The valleys are so green 😍 I have views upon views from my windows. It changes with the weather and is stunning come sun or snow! Even a few years down the line I still stop to admire the hills from bedroom window. From my front door I can see the Brecon Beacons! I consider myself so lucky, I've lived in many places with nothing but concrete on show! Now I have a dog and we can walk for miles in the beacons and it's wonderful to have so close to home.

Generally the way of life is a bit slower up here, but I like that. I don't spend hours stuck in traffic anymore, I don't feel the need to walk everywhere at 100mph like I did during my time in London. Cardiff is easy enough for when we want to go shopping or to a gig. I've got a 7mo daughter and made some mum friends, I expected to feel like the outsider but they're all English too! I've not regretted moving here for a second.

Thank you so much for replying. This is really reassuring. I’m really glad the move worked out for you ♥️

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/30/wales-english-cymru-journalist-home

I saw this earlier this week. Overall we’re a welcoming bunch.

I'm a bit late to the conversation but my partner and I moved from Bristol to Merthyr Tydfil last year. We don't have kids so we only had ourselves to think about but after six months we have no regrets.

I did a lot of online research and even posted on here to find out what Wales was like which while not the best it did give me a hint on what to expect. It was recomended that we visit so we spent a long weekend here and were careful to look at what we saw with a critical eye. What supermarkets were available, what pubs and restaurants were about, where was the nearest cinema, what were the residential areas like, how easy would it be to get to a major city, what was it like after dark on a Saturday night. Back home I checked the crime rate for the area (mostly anti social behaviour), what internet was available and even checked the weather app every day to see what it woud be like had I been living there. I even went on Just Eat to see what take away I could get delivered!!!

After a lot of thought we decided to give it a go, we're renting at the moment but we're actually able to buy if we want to (Something impossible had we stayed in Bristol). In the summer it's beautiful, the views and the climate are fantastic, slightly cooler but still lovely. In the winter it can be a challenge, we're just comming off a cold snap that saw temperatures drop to -3 over night. Our little house was 9 degrees when we were getting out of bed and being an old terrace it is difficult to heat and keep warm. What ever the season though be prepared for rain, I've invested in a rain coat and water proof boots, they're essential.

The only bad things aren't spercific to Wales but living in a terrace in general, parking can be difficult and I can hear when my neighbours Woo Hoo.

The best thing by far is the people, in general people are much more friendly and the pace of life is slower. I've had conversations with people I've just met while waiting at the pharmacy or while out walking, that never happened before I moved here.