South Wales
South Wales is a welcoming and affordable place to live, with a much lower average cost of living than England. Oh, and also, it is beautiful! 26% of Wales is classed as a National Park or Area of Outstanding Beauty, connecting you with nature and adventure right on your doorstep!
Coastline and Countryside
South Wales offers 186 miles of magnificent and varied coastline with over 50 beaches to explore. Pembrokeshire is the UK’s only coastal national park, boasting an award-winning coastal path dotted with bird-laden cliffs, smuggler’s coves, picture-perfect fishing villages, and long stretches of sandy beaches such as Newport, Whitesands, and the world-famous Barafundle and Freshwater West.
You could spend a lifetime exploring on foot, by boat, or even take up West Wales’ unique water sport, coasteering. If you enjoy wildlife then Mwnt beach is on the border between the two counties and has a tiny 14th-century church precariously placed on the cliff above the popular dolphin-watching beach below. If you’re lucky, the odd orca or humpback whale might even visit you!
Health and Wellbeing
You only have to visit once to understand that a move to Wales can be very good for your health. The revitalizing sea air of Pembrokeshire and open spaces of Ceredigion fill the lungs with all that is good.
While worry about viruses and confinement has been on everyone’s minds recently, the restorative powers of a dip in seawater, the breeze atop our stunning mountains, or a dark sky experience are next to none. Stepping into nature and away from light and noise pollution can have a seriously good impact on your general health.
Culture
South Wales has a thriving and distinctive cultural community with its language, customs, politics, festivals, and music. Most rugby fans probably even know a few words of ‘Sosban Fach’ if they have attended matches with the melodic Welsh crowds. But what a lot of people don’t know is that Ceredigion is the heartland of Welsh culture.
The first ever cultural festival, known as an Eisteddfod (ay-steth-fod) was held at Cardigan Castle in 1176. The festival of Welsh literature, music, and performance is now celebrated in nearby Tregaron every year.
History and heritage
As you look out over the vales towards clifftops and cairns, the likelihood is that you’re also staring at a piece of history.
This area of Wales is flooded with history, from iron-age forts to Celtic burial chambers, and religious pilgrimage routes to old slate mines. Despite the quiet pace of life here, this area of the UK has been teeming with people and various industries for millennia.