Thinking of moving to Wales
Discussion
I’m currently living in Essex and visited wales (Swansea area) last summer.
While I was there I looked at house prices and compared to Essex I couldn’t believe how cheap they were.
Since then I keep thinking that in theory, in a couple of years when my mortgage term runs out, sell up and move down there with a view of clearing my mortgage.
I’m in a job that pays well, but by god does it drain me of my soul and each day feels like I’m just rotting away at my desk.
With having no mortgage I’m thinking I could semi-retire as I wouldn’t have the financial pressure of a mortgage.
I should also add we are expecting our 1st child in June, so would be great to have more time at home.
This all seems too good to be true, which typically means it is.
Has anyone got any advise/something i’ve Missed?
Or been down a similar road and things to expect?
While I was there I looked at house prices and compared to Essex I couldn’t believe how cheap they were.
Since then I keep thinking that in theory, in a couple of years when my mortgage term runs out, sell up and move down there with a view of clearing my mortgage.
I’m in a job that pays well, but by god does it drain me of my soul and each day feels like I’m just rotting away at my desk.
With having no mortgage I’m thinking I could semi-retire as I wouldn’t have the financial pressure of a mortgage.
I should also add we are expecting our 1st child in June, so would be great to have more time at home.
This all seems too good to be true, which typically means it is.
Has anyone got any advise/something i’ve Missed?
Or been down a similar road and things to expect?
I think it’s more a case of the south of England being ridiculously expensive rather than South Wales being cheap you could have visited half of the country and found the same house prices. Nothing wrong with your plan just make sure you can get a job even a few days a week in your chosen location. You will probably have to take a hit on the salary but pros and cons.
I've lived periods of my life in Surrey, Essex, North Wales and Swansea in the South. When it came to choosing somewhere to bring up my family it was a no brainer to move to North Wales. Since I moved up here, family have followed having realised they can be mortgage free and have a nice house. For anywhere in Wales it depends if you can get a job.
Yes, Essex is horrifically expensive.
Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
mr2turbogts said:
Yes, Essex is horrifically expensive.
Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
This has always been my favourite part of living in Cardiff, particularly on the South side, you get easy access to 90% of the benefits of a major city whilst having an easy escape to quieter areas, I would take South Wales over North for this reason, it's beautiful up there for sure but Liverpool is a bit further away from the nicest areas and harder to get into the heart of. In South Wales the Valleys are a little grim but you can just sail past most of it on by-passes, and it's a fair bit busier but being from the South East it'll still feel pretty quiet compared to what your used to. Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
I'd be checking about the job situation first if that was me. Or maybe you can work from home?
House prices are linked to local economies so there is a reason why you could be mortgage free. Yes living near London has the overspill problem of city wages but you could be going from one extreme to the other. Beautiful part of the world though so maybe worth moving for that alone, a calmer, quieter, cleaner life.
House prices are linked to local economies so there is a reason why you could be mortgage free. Yes living near London has the overspill problem of city wages but you could be going from one extreme to the other. Beautiful part of the world though so maybe worth moving for that alone, a calmer, quieter, cleaner life.
mr2turbogts said:
Yes, Essex is horrifically expensive.
Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
The only benefit of North over South that I can see having lived in North East for 30 years is the easy access to big English cities you could easily commute to Chester, Liverpool or Manchester from north east wales, house prices in the region of £250k for a 4 bed detached with garage. Your wife could have her pick of say 4 hospitals within an hours commute. The joy of Wales in most places you can easily cover 50 miles in an hour even in “rush hour”. Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
For leisure again within an hour would be coastline and Snowdonia but then again South is pretty similar.
No-one has mentioned speaking Welsh? In North Wales a definite advantage and your children will probably be taught in Welsh. Welsh is definitely some people's first language in North Wales and also parts of South although probably not Cardiff.
I'm not sure how confident I would be that I could travel 50 miles in an hour in North Wales away from the very North Bangor etc. I spend time in Barmouth and all journeys seem to take a long time even just a few miles although the roads are fairly empty.
Mike
I'm not sure how confident I would be that I could travel 50 miles in an hour in North Wales away from the very North Bangor etc. I spend time in Barmouth and all journeys seem to take a long time even just a few miles although the roads are fairly empty.
Mike
drmcw said:
No-one has mentioned speaking Welsh? In North Wales a definite advantage and your children will probably be taught in Welsh. Welsh is definitely some people's first language in North Wales and also parts of South although probably not Cardiff.
I'm not sure how confident I would be that I could travel 50 miles in an hour in North Wales away from the very North Bangor etc. I spend time in Barmouth and all journeys seem to take a long time even just a few miles although the roads are fairly empty.
Mike
Well I did Llangefni to deeside in an hour last Friday. I'm not sure how confident I would be that I could travel 50 miles in an hour in North Wales away from the very North Bangor etc. I spend time in Barmouth and all journeys seem to take a long time even just a few miles although the roads are fairly empty.
Mike
BoRED S2upid said:
mr2turbogts said:
Yes, Essex is horrifically expensive.
Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
The only benefit of North over South that I can see having lived in North East for 30 years is the easy access to big English cities you could easily commute to Chester, Liverpool or Manchester from north east wales, house prices in the region of £250k for a 4 bed detached with garage. Your wife could have her pick of say 4 hospitals within an hours commute. The joy of Wales in most places you can easily cover 50 miles in an hour even in “rush hour”. Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
For leisure again within an hour would be coastline and Snowdonia but then again South is pretty similar.
Moved to halfway between Wrexham and Chester, in the countryside, but 10 minutes away from both, easy access to motorways and all facilities. Decent internet and mobile signal.
As it happens I then fell on my feet and ended up contracting in IT in Warrington and Manchester for 4 years, paid at London rates, but living North Wales costs - made a massive difference to my savings and pensions. So much so that a year ago I fully retired.
Nothing against South Wales, but I'd pick the north any day, from Chester its 2 hours to Euston by rail, and Manchester/Liverpool etc have loads of work opportunities
keirik said:
moved from Essex to North Wales 5 years ago, ostensibly to retire early.
Moved to halfway between Wrexham and Chester, in the countryside, but 10 minutes away from both, easy access to motorways and all facilities. Decent internet and mobile signal.
As it happens I then fell on my feet and ended up contracting in IT in Warrington and Manchester for 4 years, paid at London rates, but living North Wales costs - made a massive difference to my savings and pensions. So much so that a year ago I fully retired.
Nothing against South Wales, but I'd pick the north any day, from Chester its 2 hours to Euston by rail, and Manchester/Liverpool etc have loads of work opportunities
I’m guessing Rosset or Marford. Moved to halfway between Wrexham and Chester, in the countryside, but 10 minutes away from both, easy access to motorways and all facilities. Decent internet and mobile signal.
As it happens I then fell on my feet and ended up contracting in IT in Warrington and Manchester for 4 years, paid at London rates, but living North Wales costs - made a massive difference to my savings and pensions. So much so that a year ago I fully retired.
Nothing against South Wales, but I'd pick the north any day, from Chester its 2 hours to Euston by rail, and Manchester/Liverpool etc have loads of work opportunities
drmcw said:
No-one has mentioned speaking Welsh? In North Wales a definite advantage and your children will probably be taught in Welsh. Welsh is definitely some people's first language in North Wales and also parts of South although probably not Cardiff.
I'm not sure how confident I would be that I could travel 50 miles in an hour in North Wales away from the very North Bangor etc. I spend time in Barmouth and all journeys seem to take a long time even just a few miles although the roads are fairly empty.
Mike
I live near Llanrwst which is about as Welsh as it gets. Whilst there are first language Welsh schools my kids go to a local school which isn't but they still do a lot of bi-lingual learning which is great. I'm not enamoured with the idea of first language Welsh as in my experience it is restricting kids futures outside of Wales (although my father heartily disagrees being Plaid Cymru!!). We have a friend whose daughter went to a Welsh medium school and Sixth Form, a very bright girl. She struggled at uni in Durham because she had a less sophisticated English vocabulary and her marks suffered due to this.I'm not sure how confident I would be that I could travel 50 miles in an hour in North Wales away from the very North Bangor etc. I spend time in Barmouth and all journeys seem to take a long time even just a few miles although the roads are fairly empty.
Mike
I agree that journeys to the Lleyn area and south of there are a nuisance, especially in the summer months when the Cheshire set are all heading to Abersoch in their Jack Wills and Rangies but there are limited work opportunities there anyway. I can get to Bangor in 40 minutes via Bethesda and I can get to Chester in roughly an hour, Liverpool in an hour and 20. The North is beautiful with lots to do.
Edited by Trophy Husband on Friday 15th March 09:57
mr2turbogts said:
Yes, Essex is horrifically expensive.
Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
I relocated to Bridgend from Romford via a work package, roughly 6 years ago.Just loved where we where outside of Swansea, 10mins your in the middle of a city, and 10mins the other way your in the middle of nowhere.
North Wales, that's interesting. Can I ask the benefit of here over the south?
Yes I do need to figure out what sort of work I could get in Wales, the wife is a nurse so that's a handy safety net if it all goes wrong at least she should be ok for work.
The wife is a nurse and recently went back to work after 10 years. My daughters primary school had a class of 12 for her year!
Totally agree with mortgage issue. Moved to South Wales and my home is something affordable, cheaper and twice as big in footprint as my previous semi-detached. Way of life is less hectic and considerably less people around. Summers are fab living in and around holiday destinations.
I wouldn’t move back to London/Essex and I’m a born and bred Hackney boy.
Downside it always rains and rugby is law
House prices are also a function of being in a good school's catchment area so it depends how you define cheap.
A nice house around Cardiff in a good area (Radyr, Llandaff, Penarth) for example for a nice school is going to be well north of £250000, depending on what you're after.
You can have a house in the rougher areas or the Valleys, for pocket money but get all the negatives that come with it - the potential for "bad" neighbours and having your child grow up with a strong accent (can of worms, right there). As Cardiff prices rise, even houses in places like Pontypridd are going up.
I live in Caerphilly but, as Cardiff expands, a decent house here can also be £250000 for a 3-4 bed detached.
It's not what countryside you have access to, it's what facilities you can buy.
It also p*sses down a lot, north or south.
A nice house around Cardiff in a good area (Radyr, Llandaff, Penarth) for example for a nice school is going to be well north of £250000, depending on what you're after.
You can have a house in the rougher areas or the Valleys, for pocket money but get all the negatives that come with it - the potential for "bad" neighbours and having your child grow up with a strong accent (can of worms, right there). As Cardiff prices rise, even houses in places like Pontypridd are going up.
I live in Caerphilly but, as Cardiff expands, a decent house here can also be £250000 for a 3-4 bed detached.
It's not what countryside you have access to, it's what facilities you can buy.
It also p*sses down a lot, north or south.
LuS1fer said:
House prices are also a function of being in a good school's catchment area so it depends how you define cheap.
A nice house around Cardiff in a good area (Radyr, Llandaff, Penarth) for example for a nice school is going to be well north of £250000, depending on what you're after.
You can have a house in the rougher areas or the Valleys, for pocket money but get all the negatives that come with it - the potential for "bad" neighbours and having your child grow up with a strong accent (can of worms, right there). As Cardiff prices rise, even houses in places like Pontypridd are going up.
I live in Caerphilly but, as Cardiff expands, a decent house here can also be £250000 for a 3-4 bed detached.
It's not what countryside you have access to, it's what facilities you can buy.
It also p*sses down a lot, north or south.
As a famous philosopher once said..A nice house around Cardiff in a good area (Radyr, Llandaff, Penarth) for example for a nice school is going to be well north of £250000, depending on what you're after.
You can have a house in the rougher areas or the Valleys, for pocket money but get all the negatives that come with it - the potential for "bad" neighbours and having your child grow up with a strong accent (can of worms, right there). As Cardiff prices rise, even houses in places like Pontypridd are going up.
I live in Caerphilly but, as Cardiff expands, a decent house here can also be £250000 for a 3-4 bed detached.
It's not what countryside you have access to, it's what facilities you can buy.
It also p*sses down a lot, north or south.
"If you want the rainbow you've got to put up with a little rain."
Dolly Parton. May she rest on her back.
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