Cardiff

[whotheeff]

Considering relocating to Cardiff due to a job offer at USW. I have a rising year 9 and year 7. Budget for a home is £600k. Where would you live? We like to be pedestrian with shops and cafes. Not interested in private schools. Thanks!

Whitchurch, you could buy a couple of houses though!!!

Thanks - it looks a bit far out on the map though? I love this but know nothing about schools here Clive Road, Canton, Cardiff
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63391809.html

When we moved to Leeds we were shocked with the school oversubscription issues.

I'd have a look at Penarth. Probably 15 mins drive from USW. Lovely area.

Cyncoed/lakeside/Roath Park/Penylan are lovely. Cardiff High School has an excellent reputation but probably oversubscribed so you would have to check that out.

Quite a lot of schools are oversubscribed especially in older year groups. Could you find out from the local authority first?

It's the biggest challenge as I don't want to move schools for them more than once and want them to the same school.

Yes that’s hard. What time of year would you be taking up the job?

Would church schools be an option? Assume you are not looking for Welsh medium? You might need to start with the schools then look for a property, even renting first to make sure your children are settled.

Before Christmas and we would transition from Leeds so there is no real rush but obviously I'd like to get them settled. We'd rent first too so I want to rent in the same area we'd potentially buy so I don't have to move them again. My husband works from home so could stay here in Leeds with them till we sorted schools out but it's not ideal.

Renting stresses me out too as we have a dog and few rentals take them.

Nothing is easy....

Church schools would be fine as long as they take a quota of non church goers lol

I live on top of very close to the house in the link ,it's such a lovely area ,quiet but close enough to all amenities.
20 odd minutes in the car in any direction and we can be in a different world .
We have family here so initially moved back so that our children could grow up here.

There is a lovely Primary school very close and a good selection of high schools ,state or private.

Rhiwbina, Roath Park ,Penarth & Taffs Well are also worth a look ,always worth looking on the outskirts ,you may get more for your money.

Sort your schools out first. I'd look at Penarth.

Problem is you need an address before you can get in a school...

Buy in Cyncoed after checking there are spaces in Cardiff High. It has better results than in independent schools. You should get a four bed detached for that money. Pontcanna is lovely with Cafe culture but the school are awful. Failing that you might think about Radyr Comprehensive or go out to Cowbridge.

Penarth and Stanwell comprehensive is also an option.

That Clive Rd House is really near me. Living there, you’d need to get into Bishop of Llandaff School, which is Church in Wales, not sure if you’d get a place, is v popular. The catchment school, Fitzalan, is less good.

Cardiff High is excellent, but v small catchment and oversubscribed. You’d need to rent v close to the school, then cross your fingers, I think. Nice houses in that area, easy journey into the centre of the city.

Stanwell, in Penarth, is an excellent school, and penarth has a train station to get you into the centre of Cardiff in a few minutes. Nice houses, similar style to the Clive Rd one.

Clive road is in Grangetown. Avoid!

Clive road is in Grangetown. Avoid!

It’s not. The top of it is Llandaff and the bottom is Canton. That house is the Llandaff end, really near Thompson’s Park.

Nice house, and within walking distance of Cardiff High. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54573711.html

You don't need an address to ring schools and find out whether they're oversubscribed in your children's years.

Clive Road is in the catchment for Fitzalan which is very popular and over-subscribed in some year groups.

I've PM'd you OP

That house is lovely. But you’d be paying the highest price paid for a house on that road. That is the nicer end of Clive Road. The bottom is HMO’s circa 300k with the top end around 400k. Houses on that road in a similar high standard are about 430-450k. I’d say in that area end of terrace would be an additional 50k. But others may not agree it adds anything. I reckon with my 5 mins worth of research the house is worth 470-500k.
Houses a few streets over with parking and larger gardens are 500-550 and they’re on quiet roads. Clive road can be a rat run at times. So I can’t see them getting 600.

Regarding the other posters Roath/Penylan house it may be Cardiff high catchment. But you have a very small chance of getting in! Catchment gets very hard after the lake/Cyncoed road and Cathays high school isn’t very good. Most locals send their kids to faith or welsh schools in that area.

For 600k I’d either get further into Cyncoed or go Whitchurch, Penarth. In Canton/Pontcanna the price is quiet high for what you get. No parking, small gardens in most houses and average state school. You pay for the hipster cafe culture which the BBC staff brought to Pontcanna streets which seems to be spreading. I’d rather be in peace and quiet and get a bus to those areas.
In Whitchurch, Penarth you can get houses like this for 500-600k with parking, large gardens and better schools.

For example this house which I think is better in every way other than the kitchen is pretty standard.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-82060976.html

Some other nice areas of Cardiff have average state schools but great faith or welsh schools.
Llandaff, Lisvane, Llanishen Village, Canton, Pontcanna.

Most of USW is in Pontypridd so i would also take your commute into account and maybe go for the areas already suggested in the north of Cardiff.

Thanks so much for all your input. Really helpful. Does a Welsh school mean they primarily speak Welsh or just teach Welsh? Sorry to be so ignorant! I'm sure other faculty will help as I can't be the only lecturer to relocate!

You need to look at your commute. If you are working in Pontypridd north Cardiff would be best. Driving across Cardiff in rush hour is a nightmare.

A Welsh medium school means all subjects are taught and assessed through the medium of Welsh (apart from English of course) and wouldn’t be suitable for the ages of your children.