Thinking of moving to wales

[dougan]

Wanting to have a fresh start and we were thinking of going to Devon/Cornwall/Somerset but obviously prices are ridiculous. So was thinking about going to wales as we could afford to get place with some land. So was wondering if anyone has moved here and did you find the people welcoming as hear all the time that they don’t like the English. What areas have good hacking as that all we do now. And if you have pros and cons of moving to wales. Thank you ?

 

[HelenBack]

I'm an English person living in Wales and have never had a problem with not feeling welcome here. There are lots of English people in South East Wales and it's never really occurred to me, I don't know if it would be a problem if you moved further west or not though.

If oyu do move you definitely need to research your areas carefully as hacking can be really good or non-existing. There is good hacking in forestry to the north of Cardiff and in Wentwood Forest between Newport and Chepstow but houses would be more expensive there. There's also good hacking around Bridgend, beaches and common to the south and hilly stuff to the north, again house prices might be more than you can afford though. The further west you go the cheaper the property becomes but I'm not sure about hacking in places like Carmarthenshire, hopefully somebody else can help with that.

General pros and cons - it rains a lot and it can be very muddy! It's been annoying during covid having different rules to England and people either like or hate the Welsh Government. I can't really think of anything else though and overall I think it's much of a muchness. Oh, I suppose employment opportunities can be quite limited but that depends what you do for a living.

 

[meleeka]

I know someone who’s just moved to the SW and they love it. I’ll be honest, the weather would put me off. It rains all the time, even when it looks a nice day, it can come out of nowhere.

I’ve been told the South is much friendlier than the North.

 

[Archangel]

I moved from Surrey to Wales and found it really friendly., lots of the locals have farmed for generations so a new person moving in is a novelty factor. I am north of Llandeilo near Brechfa Forest and although house prices have shot up, you can still find a good one if you keep your eye out. If you are in a position to buy then auctions are a good place to look.

It does rain a lot and some days you are in cloud all day if you are high up. But if the sun is shining you drop everything and make the most of it.
The only con I can think of is I am 40 miles from the nearest Waitrose ... you can take the girl out of Surrey....

 

[AmyMay]

I know someone who’s just moved to the SW and they love it. I’ll be honest, the weather would put me off. It rains all the time, even when it looks a nice day, it can come out of nowhere.

I’ve been told the South is much friendlier than the North.

????

Just like the rest of the UK, Wales has weather. Sometimes it’s dry, sometimes it’s not.

And just like the rest of the UK, there are some lovely areas to live in.

Be warned, parts of Wales (mine in particular) have seen the highest inflation in property prices in the UK. And anything remotely rural doesn’t spend long on the market.

North Wales can be slightly tricky for ‘in-comers’ (regardless of whether you’re Welsh or not). But Wales is hugely multicultural, and providing you’re not buying a second home you’ll be as welcome as the next person.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Yes, I did. I moved from Caterham in Surrey in 2016 and wrote all about it on here and did an update 2 years later, here


https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/moving-to-wales-an-up-date.766039/

 

[Crugeran Celt]

We are a friendly lot, honest. My parents are both English, were evacuated to Wales from London and Kent as children and never went back after the war, their parents joined them here instead so Wales can't be bad. I live in South West Wales and there is fantastic hacking on my doorstep, literally I can ride up the lane my house is on and straight onto the mountains with miles of open countryside. A half hour car journey either heading to Gower or Pembrey would get me to great beach rides. Property prices on Gower are quite high. There is a 115 acre farm with extensive out buildings in need of renovation just down the road from me for £850K.

 

[Annagain]

I've just seen this thread so apologies for the late reply. I'm Welsh with and English husband. We live just outside Cardiff and other than good natured rugby banter and bilingual roads signs (no they don't cause accidents) my OH doesn't ever notice it unless I'm with my school friends as we speak Welsh together. We switch to English when he's around but the odd bit of Welsh always creeps back in. He's even got a hint of a Welsh accent these days. This would be the same for most of Wales, particularly the Eastern half and the big cities.

I wanted to explain a little bit about the idea that the Welsh are anti-English. Overall, I wouldn't say it's a thing at all but it does happen in some places. I'm not justifying it but wanted to give some context. A lot stems from the language. We (or about a quarter of us, anyway) do genuinely speak Welsh here as we go about our daily lives, particularly the further West you go. We buy our food in the shops in Welsh, order our drinks and chat in the pub in Welsh, play rugby or football through the medium of Welsh, go the doctor or dentist in Welsh. We don't just switch to Welsh when an English speaker walks into the pub, we honestly were speaking Welsh all along, just like the French speak French. Sorry if that sounds patronising but there are people out there who don't get that!

There is a bit of resentment towards English speakers (not necessarily "The English" but non Welsh speaking Welsh people too) in more rural areas because these are the traditional language strongholds and people who move to the area (or who buy second homes) are pushing up prices and forcing locals out of their own communities. Schools are closing because there aren't enough families in villages any more, local shops are closing because they don't have any customers in the winter. There's a village in West Wales with only 3 permanent residents. They're all in their 80s and two of them retired there in their 60s. They don't speak Welsh so the remaining one who has spoken Welsh in his village all his life now has no-one to speak Welsh to. The last house for sale there was over £1m . The average salary for the area is £18k and local people can't get mortgages for even a tenth of that because their work is so seasonal.

This is an issue in many places across the UK but it has the added element of killing the language in Wales. There are now more Welsh speakers in our cities (who have learned like I did by going to Welsh medium nursery, then school from the age of 2, or who have moved from the rural areas for better jobs and affordable housing) than in our traditional heartlands. It's so hard to explain to someone who doesn't speak a minority language why it's so important to us but it's such an integral part of our identity that it feels like our very being is under threat when our language is.

If you move to a Welsh speaking community, make an effort to be part of the community, learn a bit of Welsh and use local services and you'll be welcomed with open arms. Even if you don't, you won't be deliberately made to feel unwelcome, you just won't be able to participate in everything the community has to offer.

 

[AutumnBoy]

Bore da,
i moved to mid-Wales five years ago and found a very welcoming community in my immediate area that is between two villages and also with my immediate neighbours, two of whom are native Welsh speakers. Therefore I have a readymade audience when dw i'n amarfer siarad Cymraeg. (they've not yet taken to diving over the hedge when they see me coming but it could only be a matter of time...). the countryside's lovely, no it doesn't rain all the time (I'm originally from Manchester, so I'm aware of THAT assumption!), and as long as you realise that, in effect, you"re in a different country and it"s a matter of courtesy and respect to learn the language of that country, you should be fine.
Pob lwc,
Pauline C

 

[Annagain]

Bore da,
i moved to mid-Wales five years ago and found a very welcoming community in my immediate area that is between two villages and also with my immediate neighbours, two of whom are native Welsh speakers. Therefore I have a readymade audience when dw i'n amarfer siarad Cymraeg. (they've not yet taken to diving over the hedge when they see me coming but it could only be a matter of time...). the countryside's lovely, no it doesn't rain all the time (I'm originally from Manchester, so I'm aware of THAT assumption!), and as long as you realise that, in effect, you"re in a different country and it"s a matter of courtesy and respect to learn the language of that country, you should be fine.
Pob lwc,
Pauline C

Da iawn ti a diolch am ddysgu Cymraeg, Pauline.

 

[Patterdale]

I live in North Wales and find it incredibly unwelcoming and VERY anti-English. I have never lived in a less friendly or more backward place in my whole life.
I tried learning Welsh when I first moved here but if I ever spoke it with anyone they pretended not to understand me so I soon gave that up. I am now pretty much fluent in understanding (mainly so I know what’s being said about me) but I will never speak it again.

So don’t move to North West Wales is my advice. I’ve heard the rest is lovely ??

 

[FitzyFitz]

I just moved to South West Wales about a month and a half ago.

I was a bit worried about being seen as an incomer but honestly 99.9% of people I've met have been incredibly friendly and helpful. Did have one who got much friendlier after it became clear we'd actually moved permanently and hadn't just bought a second home.

Prices have gone through the roof though, we'd originally been looking at the borders / Shropshire but got priced out. Heck of a drive to go back to visit friends and family in England now but otherwise the area is lovely.

Hacking is extremely hit and miss. Can be great in one spot and non existent just a few miles down the road. Check the OS maps carefully and when you view properties make sure you drive around and check the mapped bridleways do in fact exist and are usable. That was the hardest part in our hunt!
If you're near a natural resources forest they are nearly all open access for riding although it tends to be stony forest roads.

 

[gryff]

I live in South West Wales. Am Welsh with an English OH. He's never had any issues at all and it really is incredibly multi-cultural. I live in a village about 15 miles outside Swansea. It is quite rural where we are and the village is mainly smallholdings of 3 -4 acres. Most of these have been bought by people from the South East, who have sold their very modest homes in that area. I feel a little bit sad about this as it means prices have gone up by over 50% in the last couple of years...ridiculous, I know. This has meant that younger people, who may have wanted to buy in the area, are often priced out of the market. We are in a very Welsh speaking area, with place names being a real challenge to those not used to the language. It's sad that a couple of my neighbours don't even bother trying to say the places properly...I find it quite disrespectful, to be honest.
However, in terms of equestrian facilities, like Crugeron Celt, I have access to thousands of acres of open mountain land and forestry within 1 minute of the house. The beaches are 20 minutes trailering away and there are competition venues 15 minutes away in several directions. It is very horsey around here, so an excellent choice of equine vets, farriers, physios, etc.