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Original poster

Looking for a home in cardiff

26 replies

BabyMobi · 10/07/2019 06:54

Hi I am moving from london need advice. Is it better to live in pengam green or Radyr. I was worried as heard Pengam green can be quite rough and has a constant mining site? Looking for a house so want to know!

OP posts:
NomDeQwerty · 10/07/2019 06:57

Can I ask why you're choosing between those 2 places?
Radyr would be my choice.

IamaBluebird · 10/07/2019 07:00

Radyr is very nice. There's a big housing build going on just as you exit the village at the moment. Lots of lovely areas to live in and around Cardiff.

Thelongnight · 10/07/2019 07:40

Radyr over Pengam Green, but they aren't really comparable. They are 8 miles away from each other.

What made you choose these two areas?

Radyr is beautiful, it has a village feel not much going on but is quite a distance from city centre - although easy access to M4 and good rail links to city.

Pengam Green is close to city centre and lots of shops, restaurants etc nearby it is a typical city suburb. Equally easy access to the M4.

What's important to you?

Original poster
BabyMobi · 10/07/2019 08:27

Hi thank you for the help! Well truth be told it was down to budget and looking to move from london. Those 2 areas are the houses we have seen that we really liked but was just torn. I wanted to be close to the city centre but willing to commute. I was more concerned about safety if I am honest.

OP posts:
IkeaIsForWinners · 10/07/2019 08:31

If you need to get into the city then look at Roath! It's a lovely park if the city and very safe

IkeaIsForWinners · 10/07/2019 08:32

Part not park! (But there is a lovely park too!)

Original poster
BabyMobi · 10/07/2019 08:33

The other thing is schools as planning to grow the family. Though I am still quite young 25

OP posts:
Thelongnight · 10/07/2019 08:36

If safety is your prime concern, I would definitely go for Radyr over Pengam Green.

There are plenty of lovely other areas in Cardiff which are safe and close to city centre. Pontcanna, Cyncoed, Lakeside, Heath may be worth a look.

Will you be working in the city centre? The train links from Radyr are great, although driving in rush hour to the city will be hellish.

Allornothingnow · 10/07/2019 08:56

I would not personally choose Pengam Green and I am not sure about the schools in that area either. Agree with above poster on recommended areas.

Allornothingnow · 10/07/2019 08:57

It also depends on where you would be working. Rush hour traffic is horrendous in Cardiff.

Countrylifeornot · 10/07/2019 10:08

You really aren't comparing like with like. Unless you have a desperate need to be in that part of town avoid Pengam Green. It's basically sandwiched between and industrial area, a traveller site and an abyss. Radyr is delightful, if very suburban.

spiderlight · 10/07/2019 10:17

Radyr, no contest, although they are building a huge new development just below it so traffic congestion is likely to worsen once that's finished.

clairethewitch70 · 10/07/2019 10:23

Radyr is lovely. I wouldn't go for Pengam Green. What about Pontprennau or Danescourt. What is your budget? If higher Lisvane, Thornhill?

Backstabbath · 10/07/2019 10:43

Ely, st Mellon's and Trowbridge are also ok Smile

mejon · 10/07/2019 10:51

Backstabbath - really?!

Pengam Green, as others have mentioned, is built on a former industrial site with the mainline railway line and Lamby Way refuse site on one side, steelworks and travellers site and Tremorfa estate on the other. Really no comparison with Radyr.

What is your budget - I'm sure many will be able to suggest places for you.

MemyselfandI2019 · 10/07/2019 11:04

I live right next to Pengam Green and have absolutely no problems from the industrial sites or Traveller site (or the abyss, but I'm assuming that's where I live!!). I love living here, it's got a great sense of community, a few parks and my son attends a fab school. I'm not from Cardiff originally but whilst I'm living here I don't see the point of moving anywhere else as we have everything we need in the area and property prices are great value for money.

Newport Road is a few mins walk from Pengam Green which has shops like Mothercare, TK Maxx, M&S and restaurants. There's also a soft play down there and supermarkets. It has great transport links into the city, however I regularly walk to the city centre and down to Cardiff Bay.

I can't really comment on Radyr as I've never lived there but a bit too far out for us.

Good luck with your search 😊

Slurpy · 10/07/2019 11:22

I loved in Pengam Green for about a year. Felt a bit like living in an industrial estate, and though close to the city, it had no atmosphere at all. Could have been a housing estate next to a railway track and industrial estate in any city in the UK.
Car was broken into and eventually broken beyond repair (I loved that little car :(). Whether this was down to being close to Tremorfa, or the big traveller site, I don't know.
I'd only ever consider it if access to the M4 was your primary reason - well easy to get out of town, in your car with broken into windows.
Look elsewhere!

Dowser · 10/07/2019 12:06

Do you have to be in Cardiff. The knap is lovely, just outside Barry.
Great access to the ( stony) beach.

Dowser · 10/07/2019 12:08

Fairwater by st fagans is very nice.

SemperIdem · 10/07/2019 14:00

Radyr over Pengam Green.

However if you’re keen to be fairly central, have a look at the area of Grangetown between Penarth Road and Cardiff Bay Police Station. It’s the up and coming area, increasingly gentrified and is very well placed for both accessing the city centre and the motorway.

RoxytheRexy · 10/07/2019 14:26

Llandaff North or Whitchurch. All schools in Cardiff North are good. Can still pick up some bargain houses in Gabalfa

CluedoIsMyFavGame · 10/07/2019 16:09

We moved from London to Thornhill (CF14). Worth looking at local train stations as that's quite an economical way to travel if you're working in town or up the valley. Thornhill has a car park at the station too, so super handy.

Also, check out Caerphilly, just north of the M4, stones throw from Cardiff and was cheaper when we lived there. Also on the local train route into Cardiff. Wished we'd looked there as we might have been able to buy a bigger home for our money.

SemperIdem · 10/07/2019 16:23

Cluedo if it makes you feel any better, Caerphilly really isn’t a very nice place to live. Though some of the outlying villages are lovely.

MrsJakeLovell · 10/07/2019 16:25

you might want to look at the catchment for Cardiff High School...

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/best-state-secondary-schools-wales-16536448

And I would NOT live in Ely, Trowbridge or St Mellons!

CottonSock · 10/07/2019 16:28

I probably wouldn't pick either if you are not settling down with a family. Suburban. Not much in radyr. As others said, very different places and radyr is not cheap anyway . Visit Roath, Victoria park, grangetown , canton, whitchurch if you want city living.