Shall we move from London to Wales?! (Swansea/Gower)

[houseisfallingdown]

Not really 'rural living' but wasn't sure where else to put it!
We are thinking of spending a ridiculous amount of money on our terrace house in London to improve it and make it suitable for the next 12 years or so as definitely wanted to stay in SW London.
We have a holiday home in the Gower where we spend a fair bit of time so know the area fairly well, have a few relatives here etc.
DH needs to be in London for work but is self employed so can theoretically sometimes work from home.
I often browse property sights to see what we could get down here (currently in Wales!) and wondering if we should just move down here permanently...
Kids are just about to go into Y2 and Y4 at a lovely state primary in London but I know the terrors of SW London secondary admissions are imminent.
If we moved here we could avoid all that I think and could live pretty much mortgage free in any house in any area given the ridiculous house prices in London.
Does anyone live in or around Bishopston, Langland, Caswell etc? From my limited research Bishopston Comp is a great school. Do you think it would be possible to get in year places at the primary there if we lived in Mumbles to begin with? (Our current home is there and we would stay here whilst househunting for a larger place).
Where are nice places to live? Would prefer to be able to walk to get a pint of milk etc! I grew up very rurally but would prefer a bit of civilisation. We like Mumbles but would want more space I think. As I said, given London house prices, money isn't really an issue. I think i would want to be near people though as DH wouldn't be there all the time.
Bit of ramble I'm afraid but any thoughts/views very welcome!

Do it!

Sounds like you have already weighed up the pros and cons and you are in an exceptionally comfortable position to trial it out. Could you rent out your London house for a year or so while living in your holiday home?

For me, there is no contest. Which area will give your children more safety/freedom/stimulation/? I know I'm biased, but I haven't seen that many TV programmes called 'Escape To the City'...

I live in Wales btw and good luck!

Rhihaf whereabouts do you live? Have you always lived in Wales? We have also always wanted to move to Wales, my husband would still need to work though and I don't think there is the work. We particularly like the Carmarthen area :-)

Do it! The area around Mumbles is gorgeous; you've got beaches and countryside galore - and you're within spitting distance of Swansea if you need a city fix.

I live much nearer to Cardiff, but The Gower is lovely. Port Eynon is a bit too far from civilisation for my liking, but closer to Swansea like Caswell is lovely. Great beaches, great schools (from what I hear, I have no first hand experience) and a city on your doorstep.

Do it!

Newton is just up the road from Mumbles and is nice. Langalnd, Caswell, Bishopston, Pennard and Southgate are worth looking at.

Skysky69 I moved back to my childhood village after being with my then boyfriend for about 8 months. We were living in Cardiff (where we met) and we just wanted more of a work/life balance.

I gave up my job (gulp) to move to the country with him, which was pretty scary but I'd signed up to do post-grad study at a local uni, so that was my excuse! To put even more pressure on, DH lost his job the week before we moved and wanted to go self-employed - all terrifying! The first morning we woke up, I remember hearing the birds singing instead of traffic, and I cried (happily!).

Despite the scariness of the situation, being somewhere beautiful, slow-paced and calm gave us the feeling of who cares, we can be happy here and we've got nothing to lose. We got engaged soon after. But I was also renting out my Cardiff house to cover the mortgage .

Carmarthen area is beautiful (anyone else been watching Abs and his mrs living the dream? That's Carmarthen area!) and has good access to the M4 so you can whizz down to Cardiff within an hour . House prices will be less than Gower/Cardiff area too. Your hubby could get the train to London from Swansea (3 hrs)...? Could you manage without him during the week?

I am proper west, in Cardigan Bay (the C-shaped bay up from Pembs) and no, I haven't always lived in Wales but it's where my heart is

Sorry for the mammoth post!
Keep us updated! x

Sorry! Just seen all these replies! Thanks for all your thoughts. I think we are staying put! We did look at a couple of fab houses in the summer and I even got as far as talking to school admissions! It seems it would be a bit of a nightmare getting them both into the same primary school we would be happy with and I'm not prepared to take them out of a school they love and a life they are very happy with so I think we will have to wait for a while! We are lucky to have a good life in London and we still have our holiday home in Wales so are in a great position to be in. We were in 2 minds anyway so the school situation (and other considerations) has made it easier in some ways. DD is completely adamant she wants to 'be a teenager in London' because of the shopping apparently...the Quadrant in Swansea doesn't cut it... although she does like the cinema and LC2 . I'm sure that Claire's and H&M are fairly standard stuff though so her fears are probably unfounded...(Although obviously should we move the final decision would not come down to her..!)

Hi I live in Wales. My DH works in London Monday to Friday.

Our compromise was staying closer to Cardiff. Knocks and extra hour or so off the weekly commute and Cardiff has everything you could possibly need. I have teens oneis shopaholic teenager - both very happy with the shops and entertainment available in Cardiff.

Have you looked at Vale of Glamorgan. There are some good schools. You are in the countryside with good beaches and Cardiff within 30 minutes.