Any mums in / around Cardiff - could you give me some advice?

[imaginaryfriend]

We're on a real rollercoaster with dp's job situation at the moment and it now seems we may be moved to Cardiff. We're currently in SE London. I haven't been to Wales since I was in my late teens and have never been to Cardiff. Could anyone tell me where the nicer bits to live are and what primary schools are like generally and basically anything about what life in Cardiff is like.

Thank you so much.

Hiya,
Im origionally from north Cardiff, so I would say that nice areas around there would be:
Heath
Lisvane
Thornhill
Rhiwbina
Cyncoed
Roath Park
Witchurch

I know theres a few others from around cardiff, might be worth asking on the South Wales thread in meet-ups etc

Thanks jofeb! Where are you based now? Is there a big difference between North and South Cardiff? Sorry to sound like a dope, I know absolutely nothing about the city.

We live in Whitchurch which is lovely - real village feel and good schools/shops yet only 10 mins drive from the city centre.

North Cardiff is generally nicer than South and all the areas Jofeb has mentioned are in the North.

Cardiff is a great city - has everything you want/need yet doesn't feel huge like some cities do. I've lived here for most of my adult life and love it.

Oh - best state secondary schools are Cardiff High (Cyncoed, Roath Park and Lakeside for catchment); Radyr High and Whitchurch High.

Thanks BonyM. We don't drive, unfortunately, not worth it in central London! Is public transport ok?

Hi BonyM we used to live in Whitchurch.Lived there for 10 years.really enjoyed living there.

where are you now marbeth?

It's ok - trains not bad. Most suburbs have a train station. For example, our nearest station is less than 5mins walk away and has trains into the city centre every half hour (I think more frequently in rush hour) with a five minute journey time. Not sure how good the buses are but ok as far as I know. Obviously public transport not as good as London (I lived in central London for 2 years and didn't bother driving then either!).

One of the good things about where we live is that both primary and secondary schools are walking distance, as are the local shops (everything from Boots to a fishmonger) so if necessary, we could manage without driving on a day to day basis.

By the way - everyone I know who has been to Cardiff loves it, so I don't think you'd have any regrets if you make the move. It can feel very "small town" sometimes though compared to London.

Hi Imaginaryfriend we now live in Kent.Moved 6 years ago with husbands work.

To be honest 'small town' really quite appeals to me at the moment. I've grown very tired of London and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to get from place to place...

You will love Cardiff then. It's often referred to as "Cardiff the village".

My dp would be based at the University. Would that be in the North? Are there any good websites we could check out? And are there many mnetters around that area? Do you do meet-ups? (don't quite know why I'm asking that seeing as I've never been on a single meet-up yet!)

Hi imaginaryfriend, I live in North Wales but spent a year working in Cardiff and loved it - it is a lively, friendly city. Another lovely area is Penarth. Llandaff and St Fagans are gorgeous but pricey. Keep bumping, there are a few MNetters in and around Cardiff. Good luck!

Thanks ediemay. It's heartening to hear all these good things.

Anybody: if there were anything you didn't like about Cardiff what would it be? I mean, what would be the cons of living there?

Hi again, I found this link -
www.britainexpress.com/wales/tour/cardiff/
which is quite good and has some more handy links at the bottom.

Sorry - still hopeless at doing links properly!!

I went to the University & lived in Roath - nice big houses there. Also have lots of family living around Cardiff. I loved living in Cardiff & wouldn't hesitate to move back (although that is unlikely due to OHs work). Living in Roath was quite convenient - I was able to walk to most of the places I wanted to go to.

The uni is more towards the city centre - the buildings are fairly spread out but I would say that they are mainly within 15 mins walk of the city centre.

The buses are pretty good on the main routes into the city centre. Several serve the uni.

I don't really know that much about primary schools there but if you googled you would probably find out the websites & get some idea of ratings etc. I have seen several nice ones.

Highschools are also pretty good in general as well.

What I liked about Cardiff is the amount of green space. Roath park is lovely.

I would probably avoid living in the more studenty areas of Roath & Cathays - they aren't too bad areas but parking was a bit of a nightmare & there is the problem of them being a bit like ghost towns during the holidays.

I like Thornhill, Llanishen, Rhiwbini, Pantmawr, lovely houses in Cyncoed, Roath is nice.

If you want to look at bus routes the cardiff bus website is quite useful. Unfortunately I don't have it any more but it was easy to search for.

Wow, thanks goldilocks, lots to go on there. I'll be off to google some of those names now.

Glad I was of some help. Sorry I couldn't be more specific.

I never felt unsafe while I was there.

Didn't see you asking for what we didn't like about it.

Ummm.. there wasn't that much I didn't like to be honest. It can get pretty busy on rugby match days in the centre & on the roads but that was never really a problem to me.

I wouldn't have liked parking where I lived as it was mainly on road. But that depends on the area & the house.

I will get back to you if I think of anything else.

i am coming to cardiff uni in september. would love to meet up with you fellow cardiff MNers for a coffee some time if you fancy it!

sorry to be a downer but I hate Cardiff, people here hate the english, I have been abused (racially many times). Saying that I love Thornhill its a lovely area, great local schools, safe to go out at night, any time really. Good luck, if you have any welsh in you you'll be fine.

Cardiff city is lovely, shops and nightlife are great and theres lots to do for little ones if you have them

Hope you dont mind me being honest, lots of people love it, guess its just not for me

i will be studying spanish. am getting quite nervous at the prospect of it all though now!

CF I do not own an england flag or shirt and have a worse welsh accent than dh (who is welsh) so that has nothing to do with it

I was at UNi in Cardiff too, reiterate what various people have said. Cardiff can be a lovely city to live, small enough to be manageable, reasonable culture and sport close to countryside and some very nice places to live. Don't think Caridff if particularly anti-English, at least I never had a problem.

Cardiff is the only part of Wales I would seriously consider going back to (to live that is - still visit the rellies for short periods)