Relocating to Wales

oldposter

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The winters are long. I certainly find that.

I'm guessing that this would be the case for someone moving from a city to anywhere rather "smaller" in the country (ie not just somewhere in Wales)?

You do need to think through those "long winters" if moving to somewhere that is smaller and worse weather than you're used to. I certainly never gave the weather a second thought - before moving.

But the combination of both factors does need a strategy to deal with. I've noticed the strategy a lot of people round here employ seems to be one of "Spend the winter doing various art/craft type activities". I'm not an "artist" and so I'm still working on my personal strategy for those long winters and, to date, I've worked it out provisionally as being = That's when I deal with any jobs needing doing inside the house itself/do the "springcleaning"/catch up with things like paperwork/do planning for the garden/personal interest stuff (like trying out new recipes/methods of doing food) and it will be when I do "Home Visits" back to the city I've come from.

Spring/summer will be for the garden and getting "out and about" exploring/walking.

Autumn will be for things like preserving garden produce etc and nipping "out and about" on days when the weather is better.

You do need to think more "seasonally" in somewhere more rural/worse weather imo.

We live in the North West of England, so the weather is just as bad here most of the time.

We don't live in a city.

We would work full time, so finding seasonal things to occupy our time would not be a priority.

themusicisoutside wrote: »

I concur. Self sufficiency ain't just about chickens and runner beans! Oh, and being a bit handy in the DIY department helps, too. Not much choice in the tradesman department, either...

I know this already.

I am going to leave this thread alone now sadly, as it is getting a bit silly and people are clearly posting without reading the older posts first....which is very irritating having to keep repeating myself.

Thank you again to all who have given useful input

Riggyman

Well, old poster, hope you're not really leaving this thread alone. I would move to North Wales. Places like Rhyl are grim, but somewhere like Abergele, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno etc are lovely, plus you have the A55 to commute to the North West of England for job opportunities that aren't available in the immediate area.

Don't worry about the Welsh language. Some of us may have had to learn it at school. Although Llanberis and the like are the last bastions of Welsh as a first language, everyone speaks English. Enroll in an evening class and learn a bit,

Diolch yn fawr,

Riggyman

casper_g

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Nope, you're wrong and the wiki quote is confused and unreliable!

The politicians in Wales are Assembly Members (AMs, including the First Minister) and AMs are the democratically elected representatives of the National Assembly for Wales.

The Welsh Government is comprised of Civil Servants with its own Permanent Secretary (Permanent Secretaries are senior Civil Servants throughout Government Departments in England and Wales).

The AMs decide how the budget is spent; the Welsh Government manages the expenditure once AMs have made the political decisions.

I know I'm right .

You'd best tell the Welsh Government because they get it wrong too - from http://gov.wales/about/?lang=en:

The Welsh Government consists of:

The First Minister
Welsh Ministers
The Counsel General
Deputy Ministers.
They are supported by civil servants who work across devolved areas that include key areas of public life such as health, education and the environment.

Lord_Baltimore

casper_g wrote: »

You'd best tell the Welsh Government because they get it wrong too - from http://gov.wales/about/?lang=en:

We've probably sent a glass eye to sleep by now given the peripheral relevance to the thread subject matter. Apologies again to the OP.

I've not disputed that the roles of First Minister, Cabinet etc are part of the Welsh Government. I have simply, but badly, tried to make the distinction that the encumbents of those roles (at any given time) are also Assembly Members ie members of the National Assembly for Wales.

There are many other AMs who are of course not in Government but who are in the National Assembly for Wales. The duality is a frequent source of confusion and I'm not helping it am I?

Btw, my money for the new name of the National Assembly for Wales (if there is to be one) is 'Senedd' which means 'Parliament'.

I'll leave it there so as not to be shot by those bored to death

MobileSaver

oldposter wrote: »

I also understand that services are on the decline (medicals, councils etc) but that is the same all over the place, not just Wales.

This is probably a bigger downside in parts of Wales though; only a few weeks back I had to drive a 200 mile round trip to take a relative to an English hospital as part of their treatment. Not a deal breaker and I wouldn't move for the world but just something to be aware of.

oldposter wrote: »

Also about what the current job markets are like

Obviously anecdotal but in my (Mid-Wales) village of several hundred people there's 100% employment...

Shovel_Lad

Riggyman wrote: »

Well, old poster, hope you're not really leaving this thread alone. I would move to North Wales. Places like Rhyl are grim, but somewhere like Abergele, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno etc are lovely, plus you have the A55 to commute to the North West of England for job opportunities that aren't available in the immediate area.

Have you been to Rhyl lately? I doubt anyone would deny it was a bit grim years ago but things are really on the up there now thanks to money pouring in from the Welsh Government (and the European Regional Development Fund despite them voting for Brexit )

I visited there last year having not been since the 80's and was really suprised by it. We stayed in Colwyn Bay as I had heard what people have to say about Rhyl and nearly didn't bother going but am glad we did. The dodgy parts of West Rhyl that were home to numerous rundown bedsits and HMOs have been torn down and replaced by proper housing; the derelict Sun Centre was still there when I went but has now gone and is being replaced by a new seaside development; the High Street has been revamped and the roads around it are being done up too. The funfair site is being redeveloped as a shopping park and they are rebuilding something on the central prom too (can't remember what )

I had expected to like Llandudno and really didn't, Conway was quite nice, but Colwyn Bay was also a disappointment. It had that run down feeling - not bad precisely but in desperate need of some of the funds that Rhyl has got and, of course, the one thing I remember about it from my childhood - the pier - has just collapsed into the sea!

There is still some way to go, but I got the impression that Denbighshire Council had managed to secure most of the EU cash available to North Wales while Conway etc. were sitting on their hands and thrown it at Rhyl while the others have missed the chance now that the Brexit vote has happened.

Obviously there is a big difference between going on holiday to living in a place but for the transport links, the regeneration and the house prices I'd go for the areas around Rhyl in preference to Llandudno every time (especially if you like bungalows:rotfl:)

moneyistooshorttomention

MobileSaver wrote: »

Obviously anecdotal but in my (Mid-Wales) village of several hundred people there's 100% employment...

Though there is the fact as to what jobs OP/partner would be looking for/prepared to do. It's not a lot of good looking for a job that is a full-time office job if the only jobs going are part-time and/or aren't office jobs. Round where I am, for instance, and the jobs I notice going are part-time and shop work on the one hand or full-time "workmen/woman" type jobs. Now anyone that does any building/plumbing/electrical/etc type work to a good standard and is reliable would likely be welcomed with open arms.

Riggyman

Shovel_Lad wrote: »

Have you been to Rhyl lately?

My partner's family live in Rhuddlan. I was in Rhyl today. It is grim.

4372

You have done well to get to Rhyl and back already today...

Shovel_Lad

Riggyman wrote: »

My partner's family live in Rhuddlan. I was in Rhyl today. It is grim.

In what ways is Rhyl grim that Colwyn Bay and Llandudno aren't? Do you also consider Rhuddlan grim, considering it is less than half a mile from Rhyl, or is there a specific "grim/not grim boundary" that you have in mind?


Genuinely interested in an expansion of your view beyond "grim". As I said in my earlier post, I've heard similar from people before and it didn't match my experience but no one has ever come up with any explanation beyond either what it was like in the 80's or the fact that M&S moved 3 miles down the coast to a bespoke shopping centre in Prestatyn a few years ago.