Do you love your commute or do you hate it? Click here and tell us all about it by taking our survey

The Penarth area of Cardiff remains the main commuter district, but the focus for development has shifted from the marina to the town. New buildings are going up near the railway station, such as Washington Studios, aimed at young commuters who need a crash-pad close to the city. New developments continue on the new sports village site at Cardiff Bay, which will become a mini-hub for jobs that will be easily reached by a new footpath linking Cardiff and Penarth. The Ebbw Valley railway line from Ebbw Vale to Cardiff has recently reopened, making it easy to commute. Large-scale regeneration of a mining site near Ebbw Vale will include new homes that will expand the community into a commuter town; the area enjoyed the second-highest house-price increase in Wales, with an 11 per cent rise last year.

Most people within a 40-mile radius of Swansea already commute to the city, so the area remains largely unchanged for commuters. There is a new riverside village scheme on the edge of the city - St Thomas Riverside - that has good road links, and will provide 169 apartments and 50 townhouses within ten minutes' drive of the centre of Swansea.

Newport is also making the news. The East Newport Development Framework Plan will include 500 new homes plus new road links, among them a junction with the M4; this will open up the possibility of commuting to Bristol from the Llanwern area, traditionally a cheap district in which to live.

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

Times recommends

• Analysis: frustration for everyone - except investors
• Spanish property: why it's crunch time on the Costa del Sol
• Buy-to-let: professional investors cash in on the credit crunch