Moving to north Wales?

[wherethecityis]

We are considering moving to north Wales.
We are going to check out some areas next weekend, and were wondering where is nice to live within a reasonable commuting distance of Bangor?
We would want to be further east than Bangor, and preferably near the coast.
Thanks

Llanfairfechan and Penmaemawr are both between Llandudno and Bangor and are on the coast. Both have train stations. About 20-30 mins drive to Bangor

Thanks @YnysMonCrone
We’d highlighted both of those as possibilities. Will definitely take a look at them. Are they both nice areas do you know? Or any specific parts of those areas that are nicer than other parts?

North Wales is terrific because you've got Chester and Liverpool close for cities but you've beautiful beaches and countryside etc still.

I like to look on rightmove at North Wales properties for when the kids are older and I can relocate there.

It's got some fabulous property, very reasonably priced, if anything comes up on my rightmove I'll post it here!

@wherethecityis have you considered Beaumaris?

That has some beautiful property, its stunning and has fun things to do, plus, it's friendly and isn't far from Bangor, I believe there is a bus route.

I love quirky homes, like the colourful houses etc but if that's not your thing there's definitely other parts of angelsey to consider!

Are you all in good health? Healthcare in North Wales is notoriously bad with scandal after scandal involving the area health authority which is again in special measures.

Have you visited in January? A lot of things are seasonal and close down from October half term until Easter with shops on reduced hours and many cafes and tea shops closing altogether. It doesn't bother me and I love the area off season but if you are expecting "summer" North Wales it can be a bit of a shock.

Also be aware that Wales has a devolved Govt which is quite "woke" when it comes to education and has the power to raise income tax over and above that set by Westminster although to date Welsh Income tax has been set at the same rate as England. There are also a lot of small but important differences when you rent or buy a property.

On the plus side it is a beautiful place to live and I would not want to live anywhere else. I'm close to Llandudno but have friends in Llanfairfechan and they love it there.

Thank you so much! It was more our plan to retire there but now the job situation has changed it’s more possible to move now. But I do worry it’s too quiet for kids. I’ve only ever lived in massive cities and it will be a massive change for us all.
We’ve holidayed there a lot but that’s very different to finding somewhere you’d like to live.
But you’re right that the property is very reasonably priced. Moving from London it’s unbelievable what we could get!

We weren’t considering Anglesey at all, I think it’s just that much further from family I’m not sure it would work.
But maybe we could pop and have a look there as well though and I might be won over. I do want somewhere a bit more fun with stuff to do because we have young children, who are used to living in a big city with everything on your doorstep!
There are certainly some beautiful houses very reasonably priced

@Elphame thanks for pointing out some of the negatives. I half want someone to convince me this move is a very bad idea as we’d be financially worse off! But money isn’t everything right…?
We are all healthy but who knows what will happen in the future.
We have visited at various times of year but then not specifically to the sort of places we’d likely end up living and staying for a few days visiting people you know is very different to spending 6 months there when everything is shut.
We’d be buying somewhere - what’s the difference between buying there and in England?

Is the job in Bangor or could you WFH?
Because maybe Chester/Cheshire would suit you more?

Moving from London must be terrifying because its such a wonderful city

If money was everything I wouldn't be up here! The beaches and mountains make up for a lot. I'm not trying to put you off (honest) but so many people think it's just an extension of England and it's quite different especially if you live here.

Property is relatively cheap for a reason. There are not many good job opportunities in North Wales but with WFH this may be less of a problem. I have superfast broadband even if my drains are a bit dodgy!

The A55 makes travelling along the north coast of North Wales fairly quick (unless it's got roadworks or there's been yet another accident!) so Anglesey might not be out of the question. That is very very quiet off season though as there are so many second homes.

Don't overlook the language either especially if you have children. Welsh is compulsory in all schools and some teach entirely in Welsh. Around me it's quite usual to hear children chattering away in Welsh between themselves.

As an adult speaking Welsh isn't essential but if you pick an area which is Welsh speaking a lot of people will be using Welsh as a first language which may feel a bit isolating. My own Welsh is fairly basic ( I understand much more than I speak) and my friends speak to me in English but then may lapse accidentally into Welsh whilst talking to someone else in the room. I generally get the gist!

(Property purchase is subject to Land Transaction Tax which is broadly similar to SDLT but there is no first time buyer relief and the nil rate band is slightly lower and it gets complicated if you are buying a second property whilst already owning one in Wales)

Couldn’t wfh unfortunately, and I imagine we wouldn’t be able to afford Chester anyway.
To be honest we don’t make the most of London. We never ever have time to do anything! I’d rather have very little to do and actually have time to do it, than work 70+ hours a week somewhere where there’s loads to do but no time to do it!

Be really careful because there are some areas that look very picturesque and they are absolute shit holes In north wales, you used to get busloads coming into Chester on a Friday and Saturday night of absolute scallies, causing mayhem, and I would imagine they spend the week bored and up to mischief in some poor unsuspected village in North Wales.

@Elphame I’m really grateful for the realistic posts.
I am a bit scared at the prospect of learning Welsh and my kids having to because all the schools seem bilingual at best.
The job prospects are the real downside. We are very lucky we’d be able to buy somewhere outright meaning we should just about be able to cope with the massive drop in salary but our lifestyle in terms of what we can afford to do would change drastically

Maybe I’d be better off actually in Bangor with all the students! At least you know what to expect then 😆

I definitely didn’t think you’d be bored ! I can’t think of the name it’ll come to me in the middle of the night and then I’ll post it at 4 am, but I dated somebody that was from a welsh Village next to Chester about 10 minutes away, beginning with a B and it wasn’t Bangor. I genuinely never seen anything like it on the one hand but on the other hand, I went to the local hairdressers are gonna wash and blow dry for a tenner. Tidy

As already said be v careful.
I'm in Chester and wouldn't consider moving to North Wales for all the tea in China.

This might https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/most-deprived-areas-wales-mapped-25699729?utmsource=linkCopy&utmmmedium=social&utmcampaign=sharebar

Please tell me why… Anything other than what’s been said?

Buckley …. I’d actually not seen poverty like it. It was actually upsetting.

I live in North Wales all year round. I’m English. Even in a small village community where everyone speaks Welsh you should find it’s very friendly. I haven’t come across any anti-English feeling at all. But it does help to make an effort to learn some Welsh.

The healthcare system is not brilliant. The bus network is great. There aren’t many employment opportunities in some areas. I’m not conscious of the area being full of marauding holidaymakers but it does get busy in the summer.

I wonder why Gwynedd and Conwy aren’t really covered there… might try to find the original data later when kids are in bed. It would certainly help narrow down areas if we were to move! (Though I’m definitely having 2nd thoughts now)

I would recommend staying in a B&B off-season in an area that takes your fancy. Visit some local pubs, talk to some locals and you’ll get the measure of an area.

See the healthcare system here I have found to be great. I have an NHS dentist on my road, I can always get an appointment with my Dr for the same day, no matter when I call. With young kids that does definitely concern me.
Maybe north wales isn’t for me after all - I get really travel sick on buses!
I’d be learning welsh but not sure how I’d manage as I have no idea how to even go about pronouncing words with 12 letters and no vowels!

Duolingo would help you there. Welsh looks awful to English speakers because the letters have different sounds. So it’s a case of having to learn the alphabet all over again.

Healthcare is a worry. Also as kids get older, in the present economy, they can benefit from staying with parents for their first working years as adults. It’s not so easy to do that when the parents are living in a pretty little village with no jobs.

where
Lack of diversity, very old fashioned attitudes (seen some awful bullying in school over a student coming out as gay) lack of good healthcare, deprivation esp in places like Rhyl (which held the title or heroin capital of the UK).