Moving to Cardiff. What do I need to know about where to live?

[Plastictattoo]

I've accepted a job based near the University and am starting in September.
Lockdown means that everything has been done virtually and I never been to Cardiff! I intend to rent initially and would like to have potentially use public transport or walk to worh although I do have a car.

I'm picturing a small coastal cottage with easy access to the city centre and the countryside. Is this possible??

What areas should I be looking in and which should I avoid?

No young children to consider now so schools aren't an issue. Just a friendly community in a good location....
TIA

Sorry for typos

I don’t know Cardiff but when I relocated to another part of the UK I looked at crime maps of the areas to give me an idea of what areas might be like.

One things for sure - you aren't going to get a coastal cottage in Cardiff, due to the way the city has grown round the docks. If you want to be in Cardiff with good access to go out of Cardiff, but also easy to get into the city centre where you'll be working, then have a look at Whitchurch. It has a train station, very good bus service, you can cycle into the city down the Taff trail, and its a nice community. You can get everywhere from there while you rent and decide longer term

Thank you. Are there any coastal suburbs you would recommend I look at?

Penarth or Barry? Then you would have a longer journey to the university though. The traffic in Cardiff is a nightmare during rush hour. (Not sure what it will be like post-Covid.)

Big Gavin and Stacey fan so Barry appeals purely on that basis!
Whitchurch looks interesting too.
Cheers

Penarth might be a good option, or closer to the Uni (but far more expensive) would be Pontcanna.

What's your budget?
The Vale of Glamorgan has lovely coastal areas, Penarth and Sully come to mind, but they are expensive, Penarth especially so.
Ogmore and Porthcawl have nice bits, but the commute could be a ball ache if you don't have flexi hours.

I would look at train links into Cardiff and base your property search around that. I used to work near the university and pretty much every one on the team either came by bus (Whitchurch) or train (Barry, Caerphilly, Pontyclun etc). There’s a train station in Cathays near the university.

Penarth looks lovely.
I'm currently in London and want to get away from built up areas so think it will be a commute via public transport from PP have said so far. This is really helpful.
Thanks

Not sure there will be much to rent in Whitchurch though. It's an established family area with not much of a rental market

If you can afford it, look at Pontcanna - lovely area, nice shops, and walkable to the university across the park. It's also walkable to the city centre. If you want the coast, Barry and Penarth are the closest options. Lots of nice (but pricey) villages in the Vale of Glamorgan as well.

If you want a nice area , coastal and to commute by public transport then Penarth is pretty much your only option I think!

Hello, I live in Penarth overlooking the water. Bloody gorgeous but can get quite busy in the summer with people visiting and the usual teenagers up to high jinks lol.
We have a small high street and some lovely cafes (and Danish pastry shop!) and are close to Cardiff centre for your other shopping.

I believe Penarth was voted as one of the best places in the Uk to live for quality of life a little while ago.

Love visiting Penarth, sorry @justjessicafletcher! As friend lived there. Am jumping on as planning our move to Cardiff next year.

On the whole I like tourists, gives it a buzz! It's the bad & inconsiderate parking and littering that annoys
I will never leave though! When the sun is shining it's simply a dream

Are you buying or renting? What is your budget? Cardiff has many nice areas. How do you plan to commute?

I just noticed you will rent. Penarth is ££ as is Whitchurch. Barry is much cheaper and there are plenty of nice areas there too.

@justjessicafletcher I cycled to the bay from Whitchurch down the Taff Trail the other day. I was most cross with myself for not doing it more often. That park!! So so beautiful. The other way and I would end up in Brecon. I can't think of a nicer place to live and I've lived in many places.

Llantwit Major is a pretty small coastal town but quite a wsy out of Cardiff.
I used to live there. It has a train station but only 2 trains an hour from what I recall. This might have changed more recently. One train was change at Bridgend which I think was faster than the non change train, that stopped at every station between Llantwit and Cardiff Central.
Lots of oeople do commute but location definately offsets convenience. Llantwut Major is quite a sought after little place in the Vale of Glamorgan. It gas uts nice and not so nice bits like most places.
Barry would probably have better train links I guess but not as pretty.

If I was a single person going to work in the university, I would live on Pontcanna and walk to work. You could visit the coast easily on weekends.