Views on Swansea

A friend lives on the Gower. He has a HUGE house for the same that would buy a 3 bed near me.

He has good local MTB and obvs the Afan trails nearby. Surfing/Kayak/Sailing on doorstep.

Work options limited, but it sounds like that's no issue for you.

What's not to like?!

Swansea is busy, or at least it always seems to be to me, and appears to be hindered with a poor layout. The Gower is pretty but it's a bastard to get to and from.

That said it has good biking nearby. So pending local advice it might work out well.

As always, what does the wife think, it’s a big move, it you’re moving to be closer to family then that’s a good thing, moving away from friends and family is the biggest thing, location wise, areas around swansea offer just as much as Somerset, it has lots to do and house prices are better

You’ll be closer for days out on the coast, Pembrokeshire is lovely, mtb trails all over and more activities

Have to say of all the places I’ve lived, Somerset was the easiest to leave, take it you’re near wells or the likes of stating it’s posh 😂

Great part of the country.

For facilities, it bats well above it’s relatively small size.

Infrastructure is a bit poor, so getting around means traffic or poor public transport - especially true if you need to travel much outside Wales for work. But that’s true of most cities outside London.

Two things have put me off moving there (or nearby), despite much nagging from friends.

1) whilst house prices are keen, many areas have missed out on much price inflation which is double edged. Yeah, you pay off your mortgage comparatively quickly, but if you ever need to move again, you’ll have taken a step off the property price escalator that exists in many other parts of the country e.g. South East, South West. Getting back in to other places will be more expensive.

2) Schooling - check out (carefully) how good the local schools are if you plan on educating your little ones there. As a rule (and apologies to all those diamonds working in Welsh education), but objectively average academic standards in Wales are not as strong as they are elsewhere (i.e. England) so it can be harder to find a good school, if that’s a consideration. (2019 Guardian Analysis. For me (as a majority Welshman) the focus on mandatory Welsh lessons is all well and good for preserving the heritage of the Welsh language and culture, but less useful in a global jobs market. But that’s just my own prejudice.

Overall, I think it’s a lovely place. But pratically, it may be a one-way move, so definitely consider whether you’re likely to need to move again.

Final point, and less of an issue post-COVID, job opportunities are sparse. There’s not many private sector jobs around, nor many large/medium sized businesses based there. Although, that’s true of a lot of provincial cities too.

To help paint a picture of the city, there’s also this fine documentary 😉

Twin Town - Kevin Allen

Getting on a bit now though.

Re the link about schools, the performance gap doesn't suggest that the schools are worse or teaching is poor, and it certainly doesn't point the finger at the teaching of Welsh as you have done. After all, Welsh is just another GCSE and doesn't take time away from other subjects any more than studying any two modern languages would e.g. German as well as French.

The article also mentions the fact that Wales is poorer than England which could easily account for the difference.

Thank you all for your time so far on this. My partner is strongly on board with a move to south Wales and I should have stated that early on. We're very fortunate in that I can take my home based role anywhere with half decent wifi and my partner works in education and has a strong academic background. Hopefully we're not naive thinking that a good teacher wont find it hard to get a job across the border. The move would be permanent and we would fully support any Welsh learning as the kids grow. From memory bi-lingual children find it much easier to learn further languages as they develop into adults.

Thankfully we would have supportive family within a 30 minute drive north of the city. I'm hoping that through a combination of having kids, riding and interests in many other outdoor pursuits that new friendships would follow. Wherever we live having a sense of community is important so we'd want to get involved where we can. I did read somewhere that there has been a lot of development in Swansea which when complete (2-3 years) will make it a very aspirational place to live and work.

Nothing anyone has said has put me off so far!

Moved to Swansea from Bham about ten years ago. Its a great place to live and improving in many ways. Town is a bit down at heel but with new development it is going places. West Swansea (Mumbles etc) is a lovely place to live all the amenities you need, right on the beach.
Biking round here is excellent, Clyne valley and Gower for doorstep trails, with Afan and Brechfa plus Brecon slightly further away plus all of Wales.
Traffic is bad, but no worse than lots of big cities. My kids both go to Welsh language schools and standards seem good enough at primary level at least (kids are happy which is main thing).
House prices are low relative to many places - but have risen significantly in the last couple of years.
Honestly can think of few places in the UK that better it.

Swansea is great, it’s different to Cardiff, some good bits some really rough bits. Traffic is a git, Mumbles into Swansea can be stupidly slow. Gower is great for all sorts. I lived about 10 minute walk to the station and 3 minutes to the scene of the riots earlier this year. Lots of students make for fun places, Uplands is a good mix of people shops bars etc. Mayhill to be avoided.

You could look at places like Clydach if you don’t want to be in town.

If the boss is in school education you might want to check that she can work in an Welsh school as quite a few demand a Welsh language qualification even though the school is teaching in English, they have been known to drop this if you are a Maths or science teacher.
Worth checking it out before you move

Housing market in Swansea’s western and southern suburbs is crazy at the moment, many going well well over asking price.

Great place though!

Swansea's lovely. My brother and his family live there and my folks have just moved there this year. Bro lives in Sketty and folks live in Gorseinon. But it's taken ages for them to view houses and put offers in due to the differences in lock down restrictions from England to Wales.

There were riots in Swansea? Was that on Wind Street by any chance? 😉

Mayhill area, very localised. Mostly disaffected kids. Not representative of Swansea overall

I lived in Swansea for two years and the biking and access to the countryside is lovely. Plenty of local riding and trail centres not far away (with more offpiste riding there too!) However, it's an absolute pig to drive around - weird one way systems, lots and lots of traffic cameras (I had four between my house and work) and plenty of traffic. There are some absolutely awesome parts of town - the Marina and Bayscape for example, but the city centre itself is rubbish with everything shut down and moved to retail parks outside the centre.

The biggest problem I had with living in Swansea was family and friends visiting from London or Bath. They'd get to Cardiff, think they're there and then complain about driving another 40mins/1hr to get there.

I live in Sketty, the schools are good there’s two climbing centres here soon to be three. Plenty to do for the kids and you in and around Swansea. I was born in Swansea travelled around the place with the Navy but have settled in Swansea. - The graveyard of ambition (people who move here tend to stay here). Houses are moving quick down here at the moment as more discover Swanseas delights and are moving here as they’re able to work from home and travel into their office when needed. To be honest wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Thanks All. My partner's been reading the post and it's fair to say that we're both a bit excited about the prospect of settling down in or around Swansea. Lot's to think about before we put the house on the market!

I live in Gower in Swansea where I grew up. I like it here as it has a bit of everything close by. All kinds of biking from trail centres through hills and moorland to a great network of b’ways around Gower. Good for all kinds of water sports too. Gower is busy but you can always escape the people as most stay close to the main beaches and a few woodland walks. The road traffic is a pain though. It’s a tiny peninsula so you cycle everywhere but everyone seems to want to drive about. Cycle routes into and round the city are improving now and from many places it’s better to ride than drive into town. There are some big gaps mind so that isn’t always the case. Train links should be improving as plans are afoot. I use Gowerton Station quite a bit and it’s really handy.

There are lots of people doing interesting things here too and the schools are good.

A friend lives on the Gower. He has a HUGE house for the same that would buy a 3 bed near me.

I naively thought house prices here were bonkers high with the cheapest house for sale in my village going for £550k and it’s definitely not big. I guess everything is relative. There is the usual issues with second homes although they are starting to make them more expensive via council tax which may help a little bit. Prices some parts of Swansea are still pretty good.

I lived about 10 minute walk to the station and 3 minutes to the scene of the riots earlier this year.

Did you live in my street? 😀

I'm just up the hill from the town centre, below the roughest area which isn't all that rough compared to some places I've lived. It's mainly just scruffy and run down. But then if I do the 10 minute walk over to the Uplands I pass a couple of private schools, lovely parks and the area that Dylan Thomas grew up in. Lovely Georgian villas, etc. Scruffy areas are alongside nice areas, and the council estates have the best views of all because they were built in inaccessible places on top of hills.

I was born here, in a scruffy area, moved around in London, Bristol, Devon, west Wales, etc, moved back and never wanted to move again. It's very easy to find stunning places close by, often completely deserted. I'm about half a mile from the beach, about 2.5 miles from official MTB trails (ungraded but think Black+) in one direction and about 4 miles from official Red trails towards Mumbles (with loads more unofficial stuff), all easily connected by cycle paths. There is loads of good riding of all sorts.

The Gower is pretty but it’s a bastard to get to and from.

Not if you're already in Swansea it isn't. I can drive to a surf beach in less than 30 minutes. We are often on Gower beaches in the evening after work, walking or in the sea, sometimes just picnicking.

Downsides - pay is very low. It's a scruffy, working class city with the problems that brings, It's a city on a beach which perversely isn't a seaside city and barely uses that resource. The one way system (it's gradually getting better). There is opposition to absolutely anything that might modernise the city.

The Gower is pretty but it’s a bastard to get to and from.

Not if you’re already in Swansea it isn’t.

When I drive from Cardiff I go through Swansea so I am already in Swansea and I still think it's a bastard 🙂 Because of the fact that all the traffic goes through one tiny road which has a couple of narrow bottlenecks. One overly large vehicle (and there are many more than one) and the whole lot is blocked up. Yes, on a weekday evening in March it's alright, but at busier times it can be a bit fraught.

I still remember that time we had to queue about 2hrs to get into Ox2ich bay car park, the road was too narrow to turn round.

Given how long it takes to get to the nice beaches on the Gower it's usually easier and takes a similar time to drive much further and go to Pembrokeshire.

Given how long it takes to get to the nice beaches on the Gower it’s usually easier and takes a similar time to drive much further and go to Pembrokeshire.

We went to that zoo place outside Tenby last spring/early summer. It took 2 and a bit hours for the 56 miles.

I still remember that time we had to queue about 2hrs to get into Ox2ich bay car park, the road was too narrow to turn round.

Oxwich is pretty much the last beach on Gower I'd ever go to anyway, so you deserve what you got! 😀 I think I was scared of the number of lugworm casts on the beach when I was a kid, bored by the fact that there are never any waves, and there are no cliffs to climb. It is THE most boring beach, but it has a car park right on the beach so guess why people go there. Caswell, Langland, Rhossili will all have the same problems but anywhere you head on a busy day will be busy.

Because of the fact that all the traffic goes through one tiny road which has a couple of narrow bottlenecks.

Swansea has traffic problems, agreed, but getting on to Gower isn't difficult, as long as you're not coming down Fabian Way through east Swansea - massive queues. From town to Gower on Gower Road itself is 30mph slow because it's all residential, but there are rarely any hold ups (until you hit the honeypots above.) And, if you're local enough to know more than one way through then you'll fly... For you, coming from Cardiff, I'd stay on the M4 to Penllergare or thereabouts, and head down the north side of Gower, cutting over Cefn Bryn, or taking the back roads up to Three Crosses. If you ever find any traffic jams there I'd be amazed. I'd never go to Gower via Swansea's actual city centre if I didn't live there.

I always thought Swansea was pretty cool - better than Cardiff, anyway. Like most places in Wales, don't expect much dynamism. But, you can 'ave mushrooms on yer cornflakes!!

coming from Cardiff, I’d stay on the M4 to Penllergare or thereabouts, and head down the north side of Gower

Exactly...stay on M4 til J47 - and then come thru North Gower. North Gower is much nicer anyway (I might be slightly biased 😂)

North Gower is much nicer anyway (I might be slightly biased 😂)

I agree. Except Penclawdd, which is just plain weird. Good ice-cream at GGs though.

Oxwich is pretty much the last beach on Gower I’d ever go to anyway, so you deserve what you got!

Disagree - it's good, nicer than 3 Cliffs that everyone goes on about. Had some great days out there.

From town to Gower on Gower Road itself is 30mph slow because it’s all residential, but there are rarely any hold ups

That's the way we usually go.

Like most places in Wales, don’t expect much dynamism.

What does that even mean?

Well, England has pretty much invaded and conquered every land on earth, spread their language far and wide etc etc. Wales is quite happy exporting a few sheep and having tidy countryside, ta luv.

Hi Folks,

Resurrecting the thread as my partner has informally accepted a job offer and the house is being valued on Thursday.

It's probably happening...

Best view on Swansea ?

Probably from a nice house in North Devon 😉

@kingofhtefr .Nice one,exciting times ahead 👍

Spent many summer hols on the Gower when the kids were wee,loved it.
Some fantastic places,need to get back down there again. 🙂

Missed this thread first time around.
I'm a few miles past Swansea and work there, it's a cracking part of the world so croeso and enjoy 🙂

Miles and miles of almost empty roads once you're off the M4/A48 and main feeder roads - although they do go up and down a bit. OK, a lot. OK, nothing but down or up. And it's mostly up 😉

Or shed loads of choice if you're off road - check out the "empty Welsh trail centres" thread for plenty of discussion about where everyone is riding (and no conclusions!). Brechfa, Afan and Pembrey suit me just fine for a bit of just turn up and ride fun without having to hunt "hidden gems", or pay through the nose anywhere.

Any views on Loughor/Gorseinon? Close to M4, easy access to Gower, good schools nearby, 20 mins drive to town. Same houses are £70-100k more in Sketty.

You will get more for your money in North Swansea compared to the West of the city as it is less desirable and not in the Olchfa & Bishopton comprehensive catchment areas that drive a big chunk of the housing market.

Loughor & Gorseinon are one the edge of the city and quite a distance from the city centre, for Loughor (and probably Gorseinon) its more practical to use the supermarket in Llanelli and its out of town shopping centre than the Swansea equivalents. This does affect the identity of these areas, making them a bit more independent and separated from Swansea itself. To get to the Gower from these areas, you can use the quieter North Gower road that goes via Gowerton

Gowerton is probably a bit more expensive due to the Gower association It has a small train station giving easy access to Cardiff and beyond and well regarded schools. It also has the Clyne cycle path that gets you down to the seafront with some off road segments coming off it. It might be worth a look too?

Loughor & Gorseinon are one the edge of the city and quite a distance from the city centre, for Loughor (and probably Gorseinon) its more practical to use the supermarket in Llanelli

Or Llansamlet...probably almost as close

I think I'd choose Loughor over Gorseinon, tho they are joined up....Gorseinon seems pretty run down to me (North Gower resident here)

On the whole, I prefer the Loughor/Gorseinon end of town; Loughor certainly is making an effort to be a bit up-and-coming. Swansea's not huge, so it doesn't take long to get from one bit to another anyway, except at rush hour. And as mentioned, it's easier to get out to places west from there, whether that's down to the Gower, across to Llanelli (which mostly means Trostre for shopping), or further along the coast to Pembrey.

There's a couple we're friends with who are moving to Loughor as soon as their house is built... and believe me, if it's good enough for her... 😉

Any views on Loughor/Gorseinon? Close to M4, easy access to Gower, good schools nearby, 20 mins drive to town. Same houses are £70-100k more in Sketty.

I’d be looking at cycling to town when possible rather than driving. There is a good/reasonable (depending on your criteria) cycle path from Gowerton which is being extended and improved bit by bit. Driving into Swansea from the West can be a pain as people seem to love driving around the place.

Same with Gower which is so small it’s hardly worth driving around but the roads are full every weekend/holiday.

Thanks All!

The roads are silly where we are in BA2. We've spent evenings on Zoopla/Rightmove and there are good options in Gowerton. The train station would be useful and I like the sound of the Clyne cycle path for quieter family rides. Access to Gower, town/work, M4 also good. One thing I notice is that the character of two adjacent streets can be wildly different. Result of mass expansion following WW2 I guess.

I've spoken to a couple of agents around Swansea who said things are fairly crazy at the moment. Lot's to do!

Any views on Loughor/Gorseinon? Close to M4, easy access to Gower, good schools nearby, 20 mins drive to town. Same houses are £70-100k more in Sketty.

My girls are in Gowerton school and are doing well. My father lives in Loughor and seems to like it. My best mate has lived in Gorseinon for years and ditto! If I was to move from where I live now it would probably be somewhere around Gowerton, and not just because of the kids' school - it feels more like it's own community. I've never much liked the Sketty area - it's proper suburbia.

When you are down here and ready for a ride, search for Clyne Riders on Facebook and we'll show you around. (Or pop a message over to me.) There's a huge amount of riding locally, and a big community of riders.

(To give some ideas, I spent Friday riding down to Pembrokeshire on the gravel bike, which meant I missed out on a couple of fairly hard-core MTB group rides over the weekend while my legs recovered. The kids spent the weekend nagging about going surfing or paddle-boarding, but the weather wasn't great so we went for an ice-cream in Mumbles instead of doing anything. 😀 )

Love the Gower, like the bits of Swansea I've seen aswell. Get down there in an Airbnb for a few days and have a good nose around.
Good Luck OP!

Croeso i Gymru!

One suggestion: I probably don't even need to say this, so forgive me, but... remember that you are moving to a new country. As someone who is originally from Canada, and lived in a few different countries before landing in England, and finally, Wales, I will say that Wales is a wonderful place. Every place has its virtues and its vices, and in that respect, Wales is no different; but it IS different in that it has a divergent history, language, literature, and culture to England, and it is worth remembering and embracing that.

Sorry if I am preaching to the converted; it's just that I have met a couple of English folk who came to Wales without realising that they were coming to something new and worth exploring.

I’ve spoken to a couple of agents around Swansea who said things are fairly crazy at the moment.

Seems like...A £500k cottage a few miles from us sold in a week

moved the other way for work, we're now in the Teign Valley west of Exeter, but previously lived in and around Swansea. After living in Uplands, then Dunvant before buying in Pontarddulais. We were genuinely upset to leave. Not that we don't like it where we are now, but it was a work driven move that neither of us really wanted to do. I don't think Swansea is (or at least was then - 7 years ago) any more difficult to get around than a lot of other cities. it's slow in places, just like anywhere else. I worked in SA1 and if I rode from the Bont it was dead nice with no hills if you didn't want them - straight down the road to Gorseinon & Gowerton, all the way down Clyne valley to the beach and left along the front for a few miles - pretty much 70% car free. Pontarddulais has everything you need, even has a tesco now. Some decent pubs (and several sketchy ones), several schools including secondary, a few minutes onto the M4, loads of quiet road riding from the door, and a surprising amount of 'traditional' MTB from the door too. Oh and BTW, we're both English, if it matters! Housing has more than doubled in price since we moved away, but still seems good value in relative terms.

Very interesting thread. Always had Swansea on my list. I have lived in SW London (Thames Ditton) for 22 years, and always planned to move at some point. I just cant imagine being old here and cant see the point of not making good use to the money the house has made. My wife is Welsh, born in Cardiff and lived in South Wales for a longtime as a kid/youth.

I really get Swansea. I lived most of my life in Bristol but I do like the idea of proximity to beaches and the hills.

I also have a mate who moved from Kingston uoT to Somerset, Somerton. Really missed mates and proximity to easy riding and running etc. He is now on the edge of the Surrey Hills. This scared me into staying until the kids have finished schools, tbh I have no choice for the time being. I will keep dreaming though 🙂

We've just moved across the country, and while it's a pain in the arse, we put most of our stuff (crap?) in storage and rented a place for a year.
It meant we had a good idea of exactly where we wanted to end up, could look at potential houses without a marathon journey, and no chain when buying/selling.

APF

So our house sold within a day, now we've just got to find somewhere to live. Sweet. Two good options in an area we like so fingers crossed. We'll rent if neither of these work out. Looking forward to beach days and long Gower rides late summer 2022! 🙂

I don't know if it's improved but the rental market was a nightmare a year ago..we were moving out of a rental in Bishopstone to come back to N Gower and people coming to view our rental were saying there was nothing available

Good luck with the move!

Looking forward to beach days and long Gower rides late summer 2022!

I was wondering whether to mention this earlier, maybe before you sold your house, but forgot and now it's too late.

It rains a lot in Swansea. We have very mild, grey and wet winters, often very nice springs, and damp summers. We don't often get those crisp, frosty winter days that the south-east gets. You might be blessed with a good summer and you'll think it's a glorious place, but occasionally we don't see any sun from one solstice to the next, just rain, rain and more rain.

As Rhod Gilbert (from Carmarthen) says, he was 16 before he realised his packamac was removable, and we don't have a proper cafe culture when you have to pin the tables down to stop them from being blown away. 😀

move as close as you can to the nearest Joe's Ice Cream parlour!

My parents are from the Swansea area, so many visits over the years.

I love the area, and if there was my line of work, would defo consider a move.

good luck with it all!

move as close as you can to the nearest Joe’s Ice Cream parlour!

Agreed. And don't make the mistake of so many foreigners by going for the flavoured stuff. Proper Joe's, as loved by the locals, is the vanilla ice-cream with stuff (sprinkles, sauces, etc) on the top. It's gorgeous.

Depends where about's. It's quite a big area when you take in Mumbles, Gower, Neath, Swansea Valley, Port Talbot, further west towards Llanelli, all these areas would be considered Swansea, really.

For mountain biking and general outdoor stuff, you'd struggle to find a better area IMO. Winters are very grim tho it rains a lot, I mean every day for weeks on end.

Housing market is very, very competitive, hardly any stock and lots of people buying/looking, so properties are going for well over asking price in some areas.

I moved to Swansea for University 13 years ago and I'm still here, I did spend a year in Whistler and then came straight back. The only reason I'd move is to get more support with the impending baby but I'd probably regret it! We've got a dog, so the beaches are great. The Gower gets busy in summer but there's plenty of beaches that are a bit of a walk that are still pretty quiet. Annoyingly a lovely cafe has opened in Llanmadoc next to whitford beach which as made it busier and busier, I think it also appeared in a guardian article or something.

For cycling, road biking and mountain biking is great around the valleys. There's some nice trails in Clyne woods for an after work hour.

The restaurants/takeaways are getting better slowly.

Annoyingly a lovely cafe has opened in Llanmadoc next to whitford beach which as made it busier and busier, I think it also appeared in a guardian article or something.

This. Still my favourite place on Gower tho.....and it's never exactly crowded 😁

Well...it's happened. We moved to our new place in Gowerton last week. Still can't quite believe that everything came together. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and it feels like a good place to be.

Just need to buy a MTB now : )

Hey, welcome to the area. (I'm currently sitting just up the road.) You've missed the good weather by a few days and it will now pee down until April. 😀

When you're ready, find Clyne Riders on FB and ask for routes/rides (be aware, there are a lot of kids and dirt jumpers on the FB group), or come and join us on a Thursday evening ride in Clyne. I'll be out tonight but don't get out every week, but there is always someone out even in abysmal weather. There is endless good riding around here and you're in a good place to access it.

well done, I'm a little bit jealous, I loved my time in Swansea, I was a student there. Had a holiday in Murton on the Gower last year and a great time. We only climbed and surfed though didn't take the bikes!

Hope you enjoy!

Has the OP left the forum already? Or is my STW playing up?

Welcome...I'm just along the north Gower coast from you. Add Idlejohn says...it's Autumn now 😂

Oh and The Nomad is pretty good eating and drinking

Thanks all. Still here Daffy. We moved during the heatwave last week so this cooler weather is appreciated. If only the roof wasn't leaking.

I'm relatively close by, near Ammanford. Happy to show you around some of the local trails.

Thanks Ambrose. My sister in law et al live up in Ammanford. Is anything doable on a CX bike?

My sister in law et al live up in Ammanford. Is anything doable on a CX bike?

Oh yes indeed! Plenty of good stuff around here which is suitable for gravel and cx bikes, and the hills between Morriston and Ammanford are criss-crossed by miles of tracks and quiet roads which are worth exploring. Gower is good on a cross bike, and you can get up to Afan off-road on one easily. I rode to Narberth (Pembrokeshire) entirely on an NCN route a couple of months ago.

As IdleJon said, lots of gravel riding. There was always plenty to do but the wind farm access tracks have really enhanced things.

The ridge from Pontardulais to Gwaun Cau Gurwen is really rather nice.