Anyone relocated from ENG to WALES?

MobileSaver

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Stubod said:

..again depends on the specific area of Wales you are looking at? In our area of Wales nobody speaks Welsh.

I'm in mid-Wales and moved here from England a decade ago; in ten years I have probably only ever heard Welsh being spoken on ten separate occasions, if that. The vast majority of people around here belong to Welsh families that go back generations; they don't speak a word of Welsh and many actually resent the time, money and effort imposed on others by a small minority of activists desperately trying to keep the Welsh language relevant in the 21st century.

But once again, that's not remotely true of "mid Wales" generally.  I have no doubt it describes the part of mid Wales you are in, but other parts are very different. Whereabouts are you actually talking about?

I'm talking about Powys, the biggest county in Wales, and that is definitely my experience of mid-Wales generally. Even in the staunchly Welsh parts of North Wales something like a third of the population have zero knowledge of the Welsh language.

As I am sure you are aware in many of the more populous areas more than 80% of the population do not speak Welsh.

Ath_Wat

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Stubod said:

..again depends on the specific area of Wales you are looking at? In our area of Wales nobody speaks Welsh.

I'm in mid-Wales and moved here from England a decade ago; in ten years I have probably only ever heard Welsh being spoken on ten separate occasions, if that. The vast majority of people around here belong to Welsh families that go back generations; they don't speak a word of Welsh and many actually resent the time, money and effort imposed on others by a small minority of activists desperately trying to keep the Welsh language relevant in the 21st century.

But once again, that's not remotely true of "mid Wales" generally.  I have no doubt it describes the part of mid Wales you are in, but other parts are very different. Whereabouts are you actually talking about?

I'm talking about Powys, the biggest county in Wales, and that is definitely my experience of mid-Wales generally. Even in the staunchly Welsh parts of North Wales something like a third of the population have zero knowledge of the Welsh language.

As I am sure you are aware in many of the more populous areas more than 80% of the population do not speak Welsh.

I am aware of that, I am also aware that in some parts of mid Wales, plenty do.  As Powys is the biggest county in Wales, it also varies.

I just don't understand why people are not more specific about where they are talking about. Machynlleth, Brecon, Newtown and Ystradgynlais are all Powys, and very different from one another.

JGB1955

My cousins moved to Brecon (from Enfield) about 10 years ago.  They love it!  She was a Nurse Practitioner and welcomed with open arms by the local Health Centre. They've got involved in their local church (not my scene, but not my issue), arts, U3a, Nordic walking etc etc.  Yes, it's a long way to Abergavenny railway station but not a problem.  They wouldn't change it for anything.  Cardiff is hardly any distance.  Likewise Herefordshire and other English counties.

MobileSaver

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Stubod said:

..again depends on the specific area of Wales you are looking at? In our area of Wales nobody speaks Welsh.

I'm in mid-Wales and moved here from England a decade ago; in ten years I have probably only ever heard Welsh being spoken on ten separate occasions, if that. The vast majority of people around here belong to Welsh families that go back generations; they don't speak a word of Welsh and many actually resent the time, money and effort imposed on others by a small minority of activists desperately trying to keep the Welsh language relevant in the 21st century.

But once again, that's not remotely true of "mid Wales" generally.  I have no doubt it describes the part of mid Wales you are in, but other parts are very different. Whereabouts are you actually talking about?

I'm talking about Powys, the biggest county in Wales, and that is definitely my experience of mid-Wales generally. Even in the staunchly Welsh parts of North Wales something like a third of the population have zero knowledge of the Welsh language.

As I am sure you are aware in many of the more populous areas more than 80% of the population do not speak Welsh.

I am aware of that, I am also aware that in some parts of mid Wales, plenty do.  As Powys is the biggest county in Wales, it also varies.

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make. Of course there are small pockets of exceptions but it's a simple fact that the vast majority of people living in Wales do not speak Welsh and that pretty much the entire population do speak English; anyone moving from England to Wales is going to have no problem conversing with the locals.

Ath_Wat

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Stubod said:

..again depends on the specific area of Wales you are looking at? In our area of Wales nobody speaks Welsh.

I'm in mid-Wales and moved here from England a decade ago; in ten years I have probably only ever heard Welsh being spoken on ten separate occasions, if that. The vast majority of people around here belong to Welsh families that go back generations; they don't speak a word of Welsh and many actually resent the time, money and effort imposed on others by a small minority of activists desperately trying to keep the Welsh language relevant in the 21st century.

But once again, that's not remotely true of "mid Wales" generally.  I have no doubt it describes the part of mid Wales you are in, but other parts are very different. Whereabouts are you actually talking about?

I'm talking about Powys, the biggest county in Wales, and that is definitely my experience of mid-Wales generally. Even in the staunchly Welsh parts of North Wales something like a third of the population have zero knowledge of the Welsh language.

As I am sure you are aware in many of the more populous areas more than 80% of the population do not speak Welsh.

I am aware of that, I am also aware that in some parts of mid Wales, plenty do.  As Powys is the biggest county in Wales, it also varies.

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make. Of course there are small pockets of exceptions but it's a simple fact that the vast majority of people living in Wales do not speak Welsh and that pretty much the entire population do speak English; anyone moving from England to Wales is going to have no problem conversing with the locals.

The point I made originally - it's nothing to do with who speaks Welsh and who doesn't.  It's about the fact that if you give advice about living in Wales, you need to be specific about where your knowledge relates to.  Wales is big, and Mid Wales is big, and despite having lived here the vast majority of my life, in different places, I wouldn't presume to tell someone what "Wales" or  "mid Wales" is like as it's like lots of different things, some of which I know well, having lived there, and some which I don't.  I'd tell people what Swansea, Cardiff, Brecon or Aberystwyth are like as I know them, I wouldn't offer any comments to someone aiming to move to Wrexham, Newtown or  Anglesey.

MobileSaver

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Stubod said:

..again depends on the specific area of Wales you are looking at? In our area of Wales nobody speaks Welsh.

I'm in mid-Wales and moved here from England a decade ago; in ten years I have probably only ever heard Welsh being spoken on ten separate occasions, if that. The vast majority of people around here belong to Welsh families that go back generations; they don't speak a word of Welsh and many actually resent the time, money and effort imposed on others by a small minority of activists desperately trying to keep the Welsh language relevant in the 21st century.

But once again, that's not remotely true of "mid Wales" generally.  I have no doubt it describes the part of mid Wales you are in, but other parts are very different. Whereabouts are you actually talking about?

I'm talking about Powys, the biggest county in Wales, and that is definitely my experience of mid-Wales generally. Even in the staunchly Welsh parts of North Wales something like a third of the population have zero knowledge of the Welsh language.

As I am sure you are aware in many of the more populous areas more than 80% of the population do not speak Welsh.

I am aware of that, I am also aware that in some parts of mid Wales, plenty do.  As Powys is the biggest county in Wales, it also varies.

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make. Of course there are small pockets of exceptions but it's a simple fact that the vast majority of people living in Wales do not speak Welsh and that pretty much the entire population do speak English; anyone moving from England to Wales is going to have no problem conversing with the locals.

It's about the fact that if you give advice about living in Wales, you need to be specific about where your knowledge relates to.  ... I'd tell people what Cardiff are like as I know them,

Interesting. So you are complaining about my generalisation regarding Powys which has a population of less than 150,000 people yet you feel qualified to give advice on Cardiff with a population of more than 360,000 people?

All parts of Cardiff are the same are they?

tooldle

Just to say OP, whilst it is compulsory to study welsh in school, it is possible to take a 'half' GCSE or at least that is what my daughter did. Consequently there are increasing numbers of youngsters with some level of basic welsh.
The Welsh Bac is an additional qualification with a focus on employability skills. Some may consider this a useful change,as economic output in Wales lags behind the rest of the UK. 
I work in HE and it is certainly not compulsory to learn Welsh in my work place. My employer offers courses for those who do wish to learn or improve their welsh. It is common when phoning the council for example, to be greeted in Welsh and English and by no means indicates the person taking the call is fluent.

Ath_Wat

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Ath_Wat said:

MobileSaver said:

Stubod said:

..again depends on the specific area of Wales you are looking at? In our area of Wales nobody speaks Welsh.

I'm in mid-Wales and moved here from England a decade ago; in ten years I have probably only ever heard Welsh being spoken on ten separate occasions, if that. The vast majority of people around here belong to Welsh families that go back generations; they don't speak a word of Welsh and many actually resent the time, money and effort imposed on others by a small minority of activists desperately trying to keep the Welsh language relevant in the 21st century.

But once again, that's not remotely true of "mid Wales" generally.  I have no doubt it describes the part of mid Wales you are in, but other parts are very different. Whereabouts are you actually talking about?

I'm talking about Powys, the biggest county in Wales, and that is definitely my experience of mid-Wales generally. Even in the staunchly Welsh parts of North Wales something like a third of the population have zero knowledge of the Welsh language.

As I am sure you are aware in many of the more populous areas more than 80% of the population do not speak Welsh.

I am aware of that, I am also aware that in some parts of mid Wales, plenty do.  As Powys is the biggest county in Wales, it also varies.

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make. Of course there are small pockets of exceptions but it's a simple fact that the vast majority of people living in Wales do not speak Welsh and that pretty much the entire population do speak English; anyone moving from England to Wales is going to have no problem conversing with the locals.

It's about the fact that if you give advice about living in Wales, you need to be specific about where your knowledge relates to.  ... I'd tell people what Cardiff are like as I know them,

Interesting. So you are complaining about my generalisation regarding Powys which has a population of less than 150,000 people yet you feel qualified to give advice on Cardiff with a population of more than 360,000 people?

All parts of Cardiff are the same are they?

No, but over the course of 30 years I have been extensively exposed to most, as it takes me about 20 minutes to get to any area of Cardiff and I have friends, contacts and connections all over it.  You, if you claim there are no parts of mid Wales where Welsh is extensively spoken, have not been exposed to most pats of mid Wales.
You still haven't said where you live.  Without you saying that, your advice is not worth much.  That's my only point.

Ath_Wat

silvercar said:

walesdave said:

You might want to check with your children which two GCSE subjects they want to give up so the Welsh Language Fascists (and I don't use that term lightly) can impose both Welsh GCSE and Welsh Baccalaureate - even if your eldest arrives in Wales a month before taking GCSEs, they WILL be sitting Welsh GCSE.
And then ask yourself if you might want to work in the public sector (I'm not sure how teachers are classed) as the Welsh Government has passed a law which excludes Welsh Language requirements from 'anti-discrimination' laws. If you want to work in the public sector, you MUST have at least 'courtesy' level Welsh, or 100% commit to learning it asap.
I'm Welsh and proud (moved back here 22 years ago after many years away) but if I had to make the choice again, I'd choose differently.

My nieces have recently taken GCSEs. They had to take the welsh baccalaureate but not the welsh language gcse. In danger of generalising, but if their school (in Swansea) is anything to go by, there weren’t many lessons for the baccalaureate, it certainly didn’t require dropping another subject to facilitate it. A lot of pupils didn’t take the course or the exam very seriously at all. Maybe in Welsh speaking areas it is of higher regard. 

That wouldn't really be logical; the Welsh Bacc has nothing to do with Welsh language education.  

Ath_Wat

walesdave said:

You might want to check with your children which two GCSE subjects they want to give up so the Welsh Language Fascists (and I don't use that term lightly) can impose both Welsh GCSE and Welsh Baccalaureate - even if your eldest arrives in Wales a month before taking GCSEs, they WILL be sitting Welsh GCSE.
And then ask yourself if you might want to work in the public sector (I'm not sure how teachers are classed) as the Welsh Government has passed a law which excludes Welsh Language requirements from 'anti-discrimination' laws. If you want to work in the public sector, you MUST have at least 'courtesy' level Welsh, or 100% commit to learning it asap.
I'm Welsh and proud (moved back here 22 years ago after many years away) but if I had to make the choice again, I'd choose differently.

This is simply not true in most of Wales.  It may be true in some jobs in predominantly Welsh speaking areas.  What area are you talking about?  Also, what do you mean by "courtesy level" Welsh?  if it's the ability to say "Bore da" then that shouldn't be beyond the capability of most people.

I'll add that my  wife is from Guildford, teaches in Cardiff, and doesn't speak any Welsh (beyond the aforesaid "good morning")and has never been asked to.  If she did speak Welsh as well as English, of course, more jobs would be available to her, but this is true of any additional ability or qualification.