I know it gets bad press, but i like it – it reminds me of Wolverhampton where i grew up. However, i’ve only been to gigs etc there so am after some opinions as to what its like to be there full time. Good and bad areas, proximity to good mtb’ing, general vibe etc The location looks great with close proximity to both Cardiff and Bristol and the beacons. And before anyone says it, i dont want to live in Cardiff!!

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eijc2tGe-zM[/video]

Why don’t you want to live in Cardiff ? If not Cardiff why live in a city at all ?

Quality video @scotroutes

Bookmarked. Newport resident, ill update when I’m home.

that video has sold it!!

OK, my words came out wrong. Its not that i dont want to live in cardiff, but that seems to be the standard answer when it comes to Newport and nobody says anything about Newport itself.

There is a good reason for recommending Cardiff over Newport, Newport is a dump and like the place time forgot.

Newport has the velodrome and the m4 to take you away .These are it`s only redeeming features

It’s got a nice swimming pool too.

I could supply the standard, but very accurate, answer: it’s a s***hole. But then growing up in Wolverhampton moving to Newport would seem like going up in the world.

Semi seriously, why? There are far nicer places around Newport without having to live there. Chepstow or the southern fringes of the Forrest of Dean tick all of the boxes you’ve mentioned without having to live in Newport.

Chepstow or the southern fringes of the Forrest of Dean tick all of the boxes you’ve mentioned without having to live in Newport.

And will at least double your housing costs.

There are plenty of places nearer to Newport that are fine and have a much more rural feel, if you actually want to live in a city then Newport is pretty much like any other post industrial city.

Riding – Cwmcarn, Caerphilly off piste and Wentwood all rideable from Newport. Close to M4 for FOD and Brechfa.

Where to live – basically you want to be in the North West of the city, Allt Yr Yn, Ridgeway, Fields Park road areas are quite exclusive but you’ll pay to be there. The general rule is be “on a hill” eg avoid the city centre and certainly the estates if like most on here you have a superiority complex. With the exception of a couple of “rough” areas you will find the locals very friendly and down to earth, no heirs and graces but perfectly welcoming.I would certainly say that Newport’s undesirable areas are in line with those in Cardiff and other small cities,its just a case that they are closer to the city centre and that the city is more run down (but being refreshed as we speak) than Cardiff due to better planning and far more investment. You will certainly feel safe walking the streets

I’ll close by saying I’ve lived in both Cardiff and Newport in recent years, the benefits of Cardiff (the city centre) are 15 mins on the train from Newport, so often closer in real terms than a suburb of Cardiff. Outside of that I found both to be nice areas to live in; good luck with the search!

**** all wrong with Wolverhampton chap. Lived here all me life. Well, apart from the last six years when I moved as far away as possible (Perth Western oz). I’m actually here in wolvo right now. Went up town yesterday. OK, I was back home 25 mins later but hey, you’ve got greggs, the mander
centre, and if you wanted to open a shop there’s loads of spare ones.

Lived in Newport for a year. The good Newport, in Shropshire. That was nice. Great place to live when you need a retirement home.

I’m not helping am I?

Moved to Newport 3 years ago and have lived in most parts of the city, yes it is a city despite what everyone says. Personally I would avoid the centre and live on the outskirts, as Bright says, but also consider areas such as Rogerstone or Cwmbran. The latter has more of a town feel with more shopping than the whole of Newport.

What are your reasons for moving? Work? Buying or renting? That will dictate where to live IMO.

There’s some truly lovely parts of Newport – but the City Centre isn’t one of them, it’s a hole, but it’s a hole on the rise (slowly) at least – it’s no worse than Cardiff was in the 90’s before ‘The Bay’ and the City redevelopment transformed the place.

What’s your driver for moving to South Wales? There’s a massive gulf between what you can get for your £ depending on whether you’re living in one of the Cities or not, if you don’t want to be near them for work or whatever I don’t see the point really – saving that, I’m paying through the arse to live in North Cardiff, I haven’t been into the City since Xmas, and probably won’t till December.

So I grew up near Newport in the 80,s/early 90s. I was fine with it then but had no desire to stay. I’d not been into the town centre for at least 15 years until a few months back and couldn’t believe how grim it had become. On a Monday afternoon there were drunken scaliies roaming the town centre.

There are some suburbs with decent houses but Cardiff has always been a nicer town centre and is a world away now.

I live in Newport and if I had the choice I’d probably live in bassaleg or high cross area. Closer to the canal for Cwmcarn and much better area. Newport does have positives, you are totally spoilt for food choices.

Bright pretty much has it, imo. West side of the river and up the hill a bit if you want to be able to walk into centre easily. Allt yr Yn, St Woolos, and Handpost are all pleasant and spitting distance for the centre.

I moved to the area 14 years ago, rented in Cwmbran for a while, then lived up Barrack Hill and now in Rogerstone. All good in their own way, and The current location is great for mtbing as I can follow the canal and be in Cwmcarn in 30 minutes or on the nearer hills in 10.

Potential job in langstone business park, so really need to be within cyling distance/ easy commmute of the office. I’m in South Wales already, in Pembrokeshire, but not very well up on the Newport area. I go to cardiff quite often but i know the houses are cheaper in Newport. I wouldnt want to live in the centre, but on the outskirts with quick access to the countryside but also within easy reach of the ‘lights’ for a night out.

The J24 roundabout (Coldra) makes getting to Langstone from Newport by bike a fraught experience, unfortunately. 🙁 You could consider Caerleon and ride in via country lanes all the way, although I imagine housing costs would be a bit higher there.

Thanks all for the advice and suggestions. Plenty to think about!

You could consider Caerleon and ride in via country lanes all the way

I don’t think you can avoid the roundabout from there either. Facing that on a daily commute would stop me from cycling in.

I live in the west of Newport and cycled to Langstone business park everyday for a while, it’s not too bad much better to stick to the cycle path along the SDR than the road itself.

I’ve lived in Newport all my life, good parts and bad parts but overall it’s not that bad and I think it is getting better.

Plus you get the added bonus of me serving you in your new LBS 😉

Which shop are you from Wiggles? I’m living in Allt Yr Yn currently, maybe if enough of us manage to escape this “S***hole / dump” in a few weeks time we could take advantage of the excellent singletrack in the area? It’s no Whistler but it’s got far more, local MTB action than many more affluent areas! 😉

I’d rather not say on here…

But it is pretty close to you and rhymes with measure cakes 😉

You could consider Caerleon and ride in via country lanes all the way
I don’t think you can avoid the roundabout from there either. Facing that on a daily commute would stop me from cycling in.

Yes you can – turn left at the top of the hill out of Caerleon (*) past the back of the Celtic Manor and right after the bridge over the A449. Brings you down by the to the A48 just east of the old Garden a Centre (new housing estate).

Climb out of Caerleon narrow and driven very fast – will be much scarier than J24 (though you’d need to do it if you went that way as well).

I know the establishment, I’ll be in for a x01 cassette in a couple of weeks (probably in tears when I get the bill!) 😯

Lived in Newport many years ago for a very short while. Rough as 😉 . Preferred Cardiff but should think that’s more expensive. Cardiff is quite nice generally. Just don’t go any further down the M4 else you’re into Swansea and Neath territory, and that’s very scary! 😮 😀 (and I’m saying that as a non-Welsh Swansea fan also!)

Also lived in Cwmbran for a bit. Interesting experience to say the least. Though free parking was nice. Needed it as the town centre was a sh*t hole. Shame back in those days I wasn’t into MTB and didn’t even realise Cwmcarn was just over the hill. Though it was long enough ago that it was probably nothing more than a hill with trees back then, and the valleys still had miners down the pits 😀

but also consider areas such as Rogerstone or Cwmbran.

Must have changed around there from when I use to visit with work (Alcan), or your bar is very low…

They’re building houses on the old Alcan site now, br.

http://www.waltersland.co.uk/?page_id=109

You could consider Caerleon and ride in via country lanes all the way

I don’t think you can avoid the roundabout from there either. Facing that on a daily commute would stop me from cycling in.

Yes you can – turn left at the top of the hill out of Caerleon (*) past the back of the Celtic Manor and right after the bridge over the A449. Brings you down by the to the A48 just east of the old Garden a Centre (new housing estate).

I was thinking more along the lines of East on Bulmore Road then south through Catsash… But we’re getting ahead here! 😉

Don’t worry too much about access to a good night out in Newport, best get the train to Cardiff if it’s still like it was when I used to live in South Wales

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjstOArT0RE[/video]

Is it still like this?? 🙂 🙂

Probably.

Newport nightlife was always a bit unique. Tj’s was quite special in a good way but long gone now.

I spent a few nights at Lasers…. the laser show was really quite something, even by today’s standards but the fact that they had to clear the dancefloor when it ran kind of killed any atmosphere. Twice a night. And remember Newport had 1am close for a long while. By the time you’d left the pub and queued to get in somewhere it was pretty much time to fight for a kebab and a taxi.

Whilst Newport gets a bad rep in some circles+ suffers from being sandwiched between
Bristol and Cardiff the long term outlook is good with investment due to the motorway infrastructure + improved rail connections (potential changes to the tolling now that the Severn bridge investment is almost paid off)

I grew up there and its pants. I left a long time ago and my friends who are still there complain bitterly about it (esp the town centre).

I do remember having a few beers around town then either going to the bank, brooklyn heights or Ritzys and then having to queue for a bloody long time at 1am for the taxis!

Cwmbran does have a more village feel about it if you keep to the suburbs!

Not a lot to add that hasn’t already been said but there is plenty of new housing in the Langstone area and the route which simons_nicolai-uk mentions is lovely. Dead easy to cross the Coldra intersection too – there are footpaths beneath the motorway bridge with several sets of crossing lights so pretty easy to get on to Chepstow Road and into town.

I love Newport – easy to reach Wentwood and Cwmcarn and there are plenty of interesting routes along the riverside and around the city taking in the local woods (St Julians, Allt-yr-yn, Graig woods, etc).