Moving to North Wales - does our dream place exist?

[Sandg91]

Hiya! Looking for some recommendations for where to move in North Wales. We live in London, but both my boyfriend and I grew up in the countryside and want that for our future children. I'm planning a roadtrip for this summer to visit some spots so any recommendations would be amazing!

Here's an idea of what we are looking for, although it's worth noting all of these factors are negotiable (well, other than nurseries / schools), just putting them here so we can get an idea of where's the best fit:

• close to nice beach OR area of outstanding natural beauty
• walking distance to a pub
• a community vibe
• good nurseries & primary schools
• within a 30 minute drive of a town with good restaurants, ideally an artsy / creative vibe and independent shops

We are dreaming of a beautiful seaside town/village with a cool young(ish) surfer vibe, great food and stunning walks. But realise this might be just that - a dream! Feel like I've seen this kind of community in Devon & Cornwall, but North Wales just makes so much more sense for us as it's close to friends and family (and is stunning!)

Thanks in advance for any recommendations 💜

We live just outside of Wrexham, gorgeous area, lots of natural beauty. Gp service is excellent, I have a heart condition and access the specialist service in Liverpool, was referred without problem. People very friendly peaceful, quiet, house prices are excellent, the best place I've lived in the uk by far- highly, highly recommended ( also some excellent schools- mostly roguish speaking around here, but there are welsh speaking schools too), also only 25 mins from Chester!

Have a look a rhos on sea.

We are looking at relocating from Sussex > North Wales.
We have viewed a few houses in Mold, Flintshire, however, it is so difficult to know where is best to move to!
We are ideally looking for a 4 bedroom house with a drive in a nice local village/town!

Rhos on Sea, Colwyn Bay, Rhos on Sea, Llanfairfechan areas worth a look. Access to English schools as all in Conwy not Gwynedd but close to The NW and Anglesey. On A55

i was thinking south wales fits your bill - Tenby etc, or Llangollen area .

Where abouts are you? 😊

Llangollen isn’t SW is it?

@AuCo44 , I had to read it carefully, but she means 'South Wales (e.g. Tenby) or Llangollen'.
I'd say Tenby is in West Wales, but it is in the south.

I think that the 'English school' is a bit of a red herring. The Welsh-medium school are used to parents who don't speak it, and children benefit from being bilingual.

Yr Wyddgrug (Mold) is a nice enough town. Wouldn't be my first choice but I'd be happy enough to live there.

Cheshire and Peak District - both fine. The weather might be a bit of a shock if you're moving from the South East.

@Sandg91 just wondering how you got on with this? We are in a similar situation, looking for the same thing and wondering if it actually exists! Would love to hear what you found out!

I realise this is an old post but just in case you’re still looking…..there is now no maternity unit in Shrewsbury, you’d have to go to Telford (and their reputation is just as bad as Shrewsbury🙈)

If you’re still looking I would pretty much avoid North Wales altogether (I’m Welsh). I’d definitely avoid Wrexham, while it’s visually beautiful, it’s rough, and definitely avoid places like Rhyl or Prestatyn….grim🙈There’s some pretty towns on the Welsh/english border where there’ll be no problem with language as they’re bilingual….if it’s arty vibe you want but while still living the ‘welsh dream’, then Welshpool is a fairly safe bet….big enough to have everything you need but still has a very local feeling, great rail links to pretty much everywhere (Shrewsbury Chester etc all very very close) and only just over an hour to the sea. Pembrokeshire is probably the safest bet if you want it all though….Tenby, Saundersfoot or Narbeth (which is very artsy)…..however just remember if you pick a seaside location like the above 3 it will be hell on earth during the tourist season

Have you been to Ruthin recently?

I was told to avoid the countess of Cheshire 23 years ago and it doesn’t seem to have improved.

Hi the post that says wrexham is rough incorrect. Every area has rough bits, Wrexham is no different. There are beautiful places in wreham borough, the clywydian range has fab properties, lots of villages with amenities. Don't be put off by one persons comment/ experience, north wales and particularly the wrexham area, are well worth exploring

Also Welsh and would definitely not recommend writing off the entirety of north wales at all

Wrexham is like any other county- some nice bits some not so nice.

We are on the clwyidian range, a hamlet between minera and bwlchgwyn in wrexham borough

i Did say Wrexham is visually beautiful but the crime rate statistics speak for themselves, over double on the Welsh average…🤷‍♀️ OP. Q was “moving to North Wales -does our dream place exist?”….. Wrexham town would 100% not fit with what she was envisaging

Wrexham is also a county borough though. Which has some nice and some not so nice areas like a lot of other counties. Wrexham town itself does have some dodgy areas but there are areas around the town that are lovely

Agree, and I’m sure the same could be said for Birmingham but if you’re looking for idyllic you probably wouldn’t put Brum at the top of the list either 🤷‍♀️. It’s unfortunate that Wrexham has such a bad reputation (albeit not always unjustified especially given what’s been happening there in December with the dispersal orders due to the crime in town Center). The surrounding countryside and villages/hamlets are beautiful though but the OP mentioned that they want somewhere to raise a family ….I think she’s looking for a small community where her future kids will be safe (not dissing Wrexham but sex crimes are high there…higher than average), she’s looking for the swallows and Amazons, just my opinion …but I know lots of people who’ve moved further away from Wrexham when they’ve had kids to get away from the drugs and crime 🤷‍♀️. But each to their own, it definitely wouldn’t be on my list of best places in north wales to move to and start a family 🤷‍♀️

The Crime statistics would beg to differ with you…. Over double the Welsh average 🤷‍♀️

Look at Northumberland for value for money and the most amazing beaches and landscapes. However Saundersfoot as the above person has said in south wales is absolutely stunning x good luck what fun x

Carmarthenshire used to be very Welsh.

Hey, just found this thread and wondered if you made the move? I am also a creative professional with 2 kids looking to move to the area from Manchester