Relocating to South Wales

lindastravelling

Hi all

I'm from Cardiff but I haven't lived there for over 20 years and I'm now moving back to the area. I'm going to be working in Sully and looking to live in the Penarth/Dinas Powys/Barry areas, to be close to work (but still not too far away from Cardiff and my family) but also I would like to live close to the sea. As close as I can afford anyway! I'm looking for a 3 bedroom house and have about 250k.

What I wanted advice on is areas from people who live there. My friends all have a lot of opinions but I'm not sure if they've ever even been to some of the areas they would recommend against. 

Are there any areas in Barry, Cogan etc I should avoid? I'll be living alone so I want to feel safe walking home at night. I've also been looking at new (ish) builds on Barry Island. It looks like the area is being rejuvenate but my friend said it's really dodgy.

Recommendations from people who live there would be welcomed!

Thanks

pinkteapot

Afraid I don’t know the area but I’d suggest joining local community Facebook groups - I did this when we relocated and it gives you some sense of an area - events, facilities, and any major issues because people will always have a moan. 

SameOldRoundabout

I live here, and absolutely love it. The only part of Barry I’d really consider is West End, you’ll definitely get a nice 3 bed for that money. There’s close and easy access to the main beaches, the knap and porthkerry. High Street and Park Cres are both really lovely independent high streets too. The new builds on Asda side (the old ash path) are really nice, a quiet and peaceful community from what I can see. Not sure the same can be said about the island estate, and the traffic over there in summer would put me off too. Don’t bother looking east end, cadoxton, Gibby etc all awful. 

As for Cogan, I’d far rather a nice area of Barry than a bad area of Penarth.