My town, where community spirit makes leaving hard

My family all live within five miles of each other, which makes choosing to leave the town really difficult for me

It's my auntie's 80th birthday and, like many families, we're getting ready to celebrate.

Coming together for family occasions isn't unusual, but what makes my story different is that nearly all of us live within five miles of each other.

Catching up isn't just for special events - it's part of our everyday life - and honestly, I love it.

Growing up in Merthyr Tydfil, my childhood was full of love, laughter, and warmth.

At every school show and sports day a crowd of proud faces filled the back of the hall - my family, cheering me on with beaming smiles. That kind of support was, and still is, a constant in my life.

But Merthyr isn't perfect.

Like many towns, it faces real challenges - poverty, limited job opportunities, and at times a heavy mood that lingers in the air.

Those realities pushed me toward city life, and in September 2024, I moved to Cardiff in search of something different.

Still, I couldn't stay away.

Just a few months later I was back living in my parents' house, reunited with everything familiar.

I know I'm not alone in this pull towards home.

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 1,550 students from Merthyr were enrolled in higher education last year.

Of those, more than 70% studied at universities within 35 miles (56km) of home while around 20% went outside Wales, compared to 33% across the country as a whole.

So, what is it about Merthyr Tydfil that keeps so many of us rooted here - or, like me, draws us back even after we leave?

Both Finley Dummett and Bronnie Mai Jones have decided to stay in Merthyr Tydfil

Both Finley Dummett and Bronnie Mai Jones love their life in Merthyr Tydfil and are content with their decision to stay in the town.

Finley, 21, dropped out of Cardiff University after three months for an apprenticeship with GE Aerospace in Nantgarw, Rhondda Cynon Taf, as it "combined hands-on experience with earning".

"I've stayed in Merthyr because of the strong sense of community and being close to my family and friends."

Out of all his friends, Finley said only one of them left home to go to university.

Finley added he liked the fact that on a night out "everyone knows everyone", and said when he has visited friends who have moved away he has felt "out of my comfort zone".

"Coming back to Merthyr to come back home I do feel more comfortable and I feel like I can be more myself," he said.

"Whereas in other places I feel I'm not really understood and I feel out of place."

He added he hoped to stay near his family and friends so that he's "only a foot away from them".

Bronnie, 21, also agreed it was the strong sense of community and comfort that makes Merthyr so special to her.

After leaving school, she chose to do an apprenticeship with Welsh Water so she could stay close to her family and remain in the town where she was raised.

While some of her friends have moved away for university, she said many, like her, chose to stay local to be near loved ones.

Looking to the future, Bronnie said she doesn't see herself leaving as she hopes to buy a home and raise a family in the same close-knit community she grew up in.

For her Merthyr is where she feels most at ease and in other places she said she doesn't feel comfortable.

"I feel like Merthyr is where I belong," she added.

Although my mother, Sian Griffiths, lived away when she was younger, she chose to return to the town she grew up in to raise me and my brother

As part of my journey to understand why so many people never leave Merthyr Tydfil, I sat down for a chat with my mam, Sian Griffiths.

Like me, she grew up here.

Although she moved away to study teaching at Swansea University for four years, she returned home after graduating.

In 2002 she and my dad spent a year in Australia on a teacher exchange programme and while she loved the experience, she still chose to come back to Merthyr.

"What brought me back was the fact that I needed my family and friends around me after a year of being away. I missed everybody.

"I needed the support of my family when I was bringing up a young family myself, to be able to carry on with my work."

Out of all her school friends she said the majority have stayed in Merthyr too, mostly for the same reasons: the family network, the support, the sense of community, and the familiarity of a place where everyone knows one another.

My mother says she wanted my brother and me to grow up surrounded by family - like she did

My mother has admitted that at times she's wondered if there might have been more "aesthetically pleasing" places to raise me and my brother.

But when I asked her if she had any regrets about staying, her answer was simple: "Never".

"I've always loved living here," she said.

"If I need anything I know there'll be someone I can call on.

"Everybody knows each other - if you go to Tesco, it takes 30 minutes just to get around because you stop to chat with everyone," she added.

This year Merthyr is marking a particularly important milestone.

As Cyfarthfa Castle celebrates its 200th birthday, BBC Cymru Wales is marking the bicentenary with a special series of programmes over the next two weeks.

This includes a a special programme with Ruth Jones and Steve Spier all about celebrating the history, culture, and people of Merthyr Tydfil - the world's first industrial town.

Students Eve, Ava, and Charlie from Merthyr Tydfil share a different perspective on the town - all three are hoping to leave for university

The next stop on my journey was my former school Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, where I sat down to have a chat with Year 12 students from Merthyr Tydfil as they begin to decide what their futures hold.

Their perspectives were mixed.

Charlie, 16, said he wanted to study geography at university away from home to try and find better placements.

He added: "I want to experience new things and have my own independence and further myself as a person.

"This isn't something I think I could do in Merthyr."

Charlie said he was the only one in his friendship group planning to move away, as many of his friends are either unsure about university or want to stay local and commute to Cardiff or Swansea.

Eve, 17, wants to study ancient history or journalism at universities in Exeter, Bristol or Bath because she feels "there are more opportunities outside Wales".

She said: "I want to just broaden my friend group, maybe meet new people and gain some independence away from home.

"If I went to Cardiff I don't think I'd get as much independence as it would if I went away."

As the first in her family to attend university and move away, Eve feels supported but is determined to pursue a different path from her farming family, although she would consider returning to Merthyr if her career led her back.

Meanwhile, Ava, 17, plans to take a gap year to travel before attending university, likely in England.

She feels Merthyr is "confined " as "everyone knows everyone" and wants to experience new cultures and meet different people, even though her "close-knit" family is nervous about her leaving.

"I want to see more and do more in my life," she said.

While many of her friends also want to leave, Ava hopes the gap year will help her build the courage to make the move.

"It's an important experience to get away from where you live to see more," she added.

Gareth Jones, head of sixth form at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, says a "strong family pull in the valleys" is a key reason many students choose to stay local

The school's head of sixth form, Gareth Jones, said that while university destinations vary each year, the school has seen a decline in the number of students choosing to attend university, largely due to financial pressures.

He added many students from Merthyr and the valleys prefer to stay close to home for university, choosing places like Cardiff or Swansea which offer both "new experiences" and "proximity to family".

"I speak to a lot of different admissions officers and there seems to be a family pull in the valleys that you don't necessarily get in English areas.

"The connections to parents, particularly the connections to grandparents and extended families is really important to these young people and the idea of perhaps moving away and being detached from that is huge," Mr Jones said.

He also explained how economic factors and fear of student debt - especially among first-generation university applicants - heavily influence many of the students' decisions.

In his role, Mr Jones said his goal is to support each student in making choices based on what best suits their financial situation, family ties, and future career path - without dictating their choices.

For now, it's the little things that keep me here - the community, the humour, the warmth, and a feeling I can't find anywhere else.

These are the reasons I choose to stay.

Maybe one day I'll change my mind and leave, but wherever I go, Merthyr Tydfil will always be the place I call home.