UKC

Hiya.

We are a family of 5 (3 young kids under 5) and thinking of moving to the UK for job reasons from Ireland. There are potential job offers for me in both Barnstaple and in Carmarthen. My husband and I have been to Pembroke a lot over the years, but only ever in the summertime...we loved the climbing, the beaches, the scenery etc and thinking that it would be amazing to live there but I have no idea what it is like to actually live there year round. Is there much else to do in the non summer months? What about schools? And is there much to do for kids e.g. in terms of public pools, museums, zoo/caquarium type things which we have such great access to living in Dublin?
The other job is in Barnstaple. We have spent time in Cornwall (love it too) and have been to Lundy but never spent any time in North Devon... how is the local climbing there? And same questions with regards to lifestyle, schools etc.

Any advice much appreciated!

In reply to jussy:

I'll give you a bit of input based on holidays in both areas. I love both areas. That will give you a bump back up the list for the well informed

I'd say that pembrokeshire is better than North Devon for climbing. But I've only had a few days climbing in North Devon. If you include wider Devin and Cornwall then it is harder to call.

I prefer the scenery of North Devon inland and think its a great spot for walking and generally being out doors. I have generally avoided the area in summer as it must be heaving.

My gut reaction is that had i had a choice I would have taken my family to Devon.

The question I would be asking if I was moving to Wales and I wasn't Welsh is how well would I integrate into a welsh community, particularly if the area is welsh speaking? I have no idea how widely spoken Welsh is in Pembrokeshire. I'm not saying don't go to wales I'm just saying its something to consider. Back in the day English friends of mine went to North Wales and loved it and never left

In reply to John Clinch (Ampthill):
Re the Welsh speaking, I am speaking as an English speaker in Swansea, Camarthenshire has areas of Welsh speakers but it shouldn't affect life unless you are like my mother in law but she more struggled with isolated life between Llanelli and Camarthen. However, Pembrokeshire tends to be more English only speakers, sometimes being described as little England.

In reply to John Clinch (Ampthill):

Much of Pembrokeshire is known as Little England beyond Wales and the voters of Pembrokeshire played a decisive role in postponing the implementation of Welsh devolution. Somehow I doubt you'll find militant Welshness.

To be fair, I can't imagine anything other than a generous welcome throughout Wales. Lovely place with warm-hearted people.

North Devon is nice too of course but I do find Devon and Cornwall feel like god's waiting room outside the summer. My wife's family live there and it's all it a bit neat and manicured for my taste. Dartmoor is very lovely however.

In reply to jussy:

Your choices are between the most excellent living and climbing areas imaginable! Couldn't possibly choose between either. Toss a coin!

In reply to jussy:

I'd go Pembrokeshire for the climbing and Devon for the pubs and walking (although the PCP is, of course, wonderful).

Climbing at Baggy Point and the Culm Coast is excellent, but it's just not the world class venue that Pembrokeshire is.

In reply to jussy:

Living in Carmarthenshire I'm biased towards Pembs - which is lovely country. I'm not a climber nor have kids, so not much help there, but certainly Welsh speaking will not be an issue and people friendly all over as others have said.
Carmarthen as a town has nothing great to offer, just a town and I doubt anything like the facilities of Dublin. But I don't know Devon so can't compare with Barnstaple.

In reply to jussy:
I've lived in South Wales for a while now and climbed all over Pembroke, the Gower and the mank that is the Valleys. I can't comment on Devon, never lived there. To answer the question 'is there much to do for kids' ala Dublin, then bearing in mind Swansea is a lot smaller, no, not as much. Dublin is a capital city of 500k and Swansea is on the edge of a rural community and has a population of around 200k. However the Gower is lovely, Swansea bay is great. There's LC2, which is a large water park pool thing. There are plenty of museums, but nothing amazing. There's also lots of castles. There are more NT properties now than were a few years ago. Lots of great walking, biking, climbing etc. The Brecon Beacons are around an hour from Carmarthen, with the west side of the range even nearer. Cardiff is about an hour or so from Carmarthen and there's definitely more to do, Cardiff Castle, Castel Coch, St Fagans, the Bay, Cardiff Museum/Art Gallery. Just to name a few.

Less sure about the schools. Also generally, there's not masses of jobs around South Wales. It's still got some areas which are fairly 'deprived' in an economic sense. Depending a bit as to what you do, if you don't like the job/want to progress is can be hard. Depends a lot on your career. A lot of folk do still leave for London.

John - To answer your question about integrating into a Welsh community, it's not a problem. Pembroke especially (as others have mentioned) isn't really very 'Welsh', if anything it's the other way. Carmarthen is more 'Welsh' but again it's a lovely friendly town. I've lived in Wales for over 15 years, 5 of it in the mid/west Wales area (Lampeter and Aberystwth), everyone is lovely. Small friendly communities and lovely countryside. The only time you ever get a bit of vague banter is when the rugby is on. If you go in the pub in an England shirt when a match is on, you'll get the piss taken. But it's all good natured and I've never had a problem personally. Hence the dislike.

Also, Jussy, if you're Irish, then you'll get a free pass. No worries there. But people are just nice around here. As you can probably tell I love it here.

In reply to jussy:

If I was faced with this choice I would consider my priorities. Assuming both jobs are at the required pay level with the same opportunities for promotion/progress in the future I would consider:
a. Find a very good primary school for my children. The correct decision now will pay dividends for them and you in the future.
b. Look at house prices. Generally, Pembrokeshire is cheaper than North Devon.
c. Access. You will want to visit other places, so which areas gives the best scope for getting there and away. The roads around Barnstable can be a nightmare in summer, but the M5 is only about 45 minutes away and there is a mainline station by the M5. Carmarthen can 'feel' a long way from the rest of the UK.
d. Then I would look at the climbing. As stated already, Pembrokeshire has a wider variety than North Devon, and, especially with youngsters, there are many more 'family friendly' crags, such as those west of Tenby, than places like Baggy, so if you want the children to join you climbing that would be something to think about.

Having friends in both parts of the world I wouldn't think that integrating into a community would be a problem. Children and a dog have got both sets of friends well integrated.

In reply to jussy:

Thanks for all your comments folks. I really didn't mean to suggest that Wales is in hospitable. But I'd have been after the sort of reassurances I've seen here.

I'll add in a few more bits about North Devon

The villages of Braunton, Croyde and Woolcambe are all very much surf culture, although of course Pembrokeshire has its share of surf culture as well. There are also 2 zoos Exmoor Zoo and Come Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park. Being a tourist area there are lots of attractions

In reply to jussy:

Thanks all. helpful comments all around. just so hard to make a decision...!

In reply to jussy:

I am in Manorbier (5 miles west of tenby), and it is as friendly as any other area I have lived in (lake district & Somerset), the area is great for the beach & outdoor life in the summer and outside the school holidays and weekends it is never busy.

Winter is a lot quieter and some touristy business close down, but you can get some really pleasant winter days, and I have been climbing t shirt in Jan, last winter was poor though.

In south Pembrokeshire you hardly ever hear welsh spoken, whereas it is common in Carmarthen, but I have never found welsh speakers any less friendly.

Apart from a few tourist honeypots it seems less touristy to me than Devon and Cornwall are.