I have quite fond memories of Swansea, I use to walk down to the beach on mornings in the summer and read there for a few hours before starting my day.

I think everyone would win if it became a tech-hub.

The city center is a bit ugly (probably due to rapid post-war reconstruction after being bombed, combined with the general horrors of UK 1960s architecture) :D but cost of living is definitely cheap.

Because of general UK drinking culture and Swansea being a University town the town center is pretty raucous most nights and especially at the weekend. At least that was the case when I was there about 10 years ago!

There's a lot of beautiful scenery - like the Gower http://www.visitswanseabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Rh...

And away from the city center it's much quiter and rural. People are super friendly and warm in my experience, definitely more so than average for the UK!