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I relocated from Southampton to a village about 1/2 way between Brechfa and Afan 7 years ago. I certainly wouldn't go back. Kids are now bilingual, although the only other place in the world they speak Welsh is Patagonia. Houses are buttons, no mortage now which is also nice. Generally a bit cooler and damper than the south coast.
Jobs wise I would say that the recession hasn't hit as hard here as it has at home.
And the welsh are a really nice welcoming bunch on the whole, you get the odd arsehole, but you get them everywhere.
the welsh are a really nice welcoming bunch on the whole
That's good to hear. Too often the 'white settlers' moan that they aren't accepted by the community (though sometimes it's because they make little effort to become part of the community). Unfortunately a few anti-English knuckle-draggers still exist.
Shropshire, even the quiter rural bits, is not a particularly cheap place to buy a house. It has generally been a bit of a well-kept secret (apart for on this forum), an oft bypassed place which has a good balance between the old-fashioned and modern ways of life. Whereabouts you touch down can make quite a difference to the experience - I wouldn't recommend Ludlow, a Schizoid town with high property prices.
Watersports might be a problem, the mid-Wales coast is the best part of 2 hours drive away (albeit through those beautiful Cambrian mountains) but canoeing is quite popular and places like Llangollen or Bala aren't far away.
BTW there's no such thing as "free" childcare 😉