A Cardiff thread: any other mum's out there with kids heading off to Cardiff Uni soon?

[Acacia123]

Hi...my son (my eldest) will be studying computer science and has a room in Talybont North....anybody else?

Hi might be worth asking on the higher ed threads?

No but I live in Cardiff and Talybont North is VERY close to me. Can I help?
Its a wonderful city to live and study in.

Ahh, good point....I will see if I can get this moved...

Thanks Donajimina...yes it looks great! I don't have any questions as such...just wondered with it being such a small world work whether any mumsneters were the same.... :-)

We'll be moving this thread to Higher Education soon.

Well I hope he has a great time. Is he outdoorsy? Its a beautiful location in the park/near the river Mcdonalds. Kfc and a huge Tesco.

Non of my DC went there but I've always thought it would be a fabulous place to be a student. (Sorry for pointless post 😂)

My daughter is going there! She's in University Halls and a medic :)

Went to open day at Cardiff last year, it's in a fab location fairly close to City which has everything you need. Huge student accomodation, it's like a village in itself, had a great atmosphere! DS has decided to go further up the valley but Cardiff is the place where the students from his campus goes for socials/ nightlife.

Acacia, yes my son is. He's also studying comp science and staying in Talybont north!! He's already made contact with others going from the fb group so knows roughly who is on his floor. What house will your son be in. Mines in G.

Ooh Nicky, how exciting! I don't know which floor/flat as I am at work but he made contact with flat mates yesterday and seems they are all girls (which will work either REALLY well or REALLY badly, and I can't decide which!!).

By the way, what date are you delivering your son as I have not yet been able to extract that information? Also, DS had a text early on saying they were sending further info by post...but nothing yet arrived...Have you received anything?

We are taking him up on the Thursday, so 3 weeks today. It just so happened hubby was off that day and I've swapped. He's sharing with all boys I think and no nothing else in the way of info. We are coming up from Taunton in Somerset. How about you

Similar distance..Frome in Somerset.
My DD was born in Musgrove Park :-) . Good to have made contact with you..not had one going to uni before so kind of making it up as we go along.

Oh I know Musgrove very well. Both mine were born there and DD, who never wanted to go to Uni, works as a HCA there!

If your son hasn't already done so, on his Cardiff SIMs dashboard there is an online induction and after that they can "check in" and say the day and rough time they are going to turn up. You'll probably know then as like mine he asked when we were taking him

I know Cardiff very well so ask me any thing you need to know about the city. Great city to be a student!

DS2 is going to his 2nd year has been really happy at Cardiff.
Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks Flick was your DS in self-catered? If so how much did he budget each week on spending including food, books, social activities, laundry etc (appreciate you may not know!!!)

If you Facebook there are a few Cardiff uni mums on here

https://m.facebook.com/groups/488235648182391

Some first year mums with DCs heading off in the next week or so and others second year Cardiff mums.

Actually mums from lots of unis so it's very helpful

Sorry pixel, I've no idea how much he budgeted but he's managed fine on his loan. He's found cheap places to shop, eat and especially drink.
He was in Tallybont SC last year and is moving into a shared house later this month, which is much cheaper than DDs in big city in the SW.
I asked him if he has any suggestions and his only thoughts were not to join too many clubs and societies during Freshers as he thought he wasted money. He also suggested a cheap bike for getting about, much cheaper than public transport and there are plenty of bike sheds.
He's made some really lovely friends and really likes Cardiff, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he stayed there after graduating.

Thanks Flick (and your DS) sound advice re fresher's week and the bike - we'll definitely bring it down for her.

Reigniting this thread for 2018 entry and to ask you existing parents about halls. Been to Cardiff once but don’t really know it at all- any comments from your first years about Hall choice/location? DD wants a lively area (yeah, I know what that means 😀)

It doesn't always work when you bump a thread because people don't rtft and answer the OP rather than your bump. I would suggest starting a fresh thread.

Brilliant city for students - its very compact and easy to walk everywhere. Nightlife is supposed to be fab - clubbing/raves and bars/pubs.

Hope your DC likes sports - it is very sports orientated city and on big match days, everyone goes to the pub to watch the game and Wednesday nights at the student union are very popular due to sports clubs.

Cost of living is pretty good e,g cinemas are only £3 to get in - and that includes peak times and house shares/rents are very reasonable and better value than Uni acc.

Dd has enjoyed living in Talybont South this year , it is one of the more lively halls, which she has enjoyed being a part of, but has found ear plugs useful when she wants an early night ...