Moving to Cardiff

[esyllt]

Hello, does anyone have any advice on where to move in Cardiff? I grew up near, but haven’t lived in Wales since I was 18. Fast forward 15 years and DP and I are keen to move out of London and back to Wales. We are hoping to have a family soon, so want to be back for schooling, near my own parents, and an actually decent quality of life.

Our budget is healthy for Cardiff so we could move anywhere in Cardiff or perhaps Penarth. DP really liked Pontcanna as it’s the most ‘urban’ area or Cardiff. I quite like Cyncoed.

Looking for somewhere with a community, as most family have left Cardiff since I was growing up. Friends the same, so not underestimating the need set up a new group for ourselves.

What's your budget and what are your interests/ priorities?

Budget is flexible. It would be nice to be mortgage free or have good investments, but dp
is keener for the nice house. Absolute maximum would be around £1.5mil

I’d like to be near other families raising their kids bilingual, but I don’t think that should be a problem in most of Cardiff.

What does he mean by "urban"? A lot of people use that to mean multicultural, economically depressed inner city neighbourhoods so pontcanna although lovely really doesn't meet that description- it's very leafy and family orientated. it and cyncoed are probably the 2 most expensive parts of cardiff so will have nice houses and schools, quite a lot going on. Pontcanna has a reputation for being where all the Welsh speaking professionals particularly those working for the media live so that would be better for bilingual families.

but I wouldnt describe either as "urban" areas, that's more grangetown/Splott.

What schools would you be looking at? Cardiff high for example is hugely oversubscribed so location would be key but I'm not sure if welsh medium is as bad.

I'm not sure if you would need to commute into Cardiff. Although Penarth is lovely, the commute is a nightmare and that would really put me off if I was having to do it regularly.
With your sort of budget you could go anywhere though. Cyncoed and Pontcanna are lovely but have you also considered Lisvane, Whitchurch and the area around Roath Park? Parts of Rhiwbina/ Heath are also lovely.

I used to live in Pontcanna - it's lovely and the local primary is Welsh speaking. Parks galore and easy walk into town through Pontcanna fields

Yes - I wondered quite what you meant by 'urban'!!

Also Llandaff is lovely

I like all the areas pps have mentioned. If you like culture and sport and events and a busy social life I would go with Pontcanna as you can always walk into the city centre and back! That’s where I would choose if I had your money.

Ah yes sorry, by ‘urban’ I meant that it’s close to the town centre, and terrace housing. It’s a bit similar to where we live in London now. Basically not ‘suburban’.

If you want to be close to the city centre and not suburban-y, then Pontcanna is probably your best bet. It's lovely and you can walk to the city within 30 minutes. Lisvane, Whitchurch etc also lovely but as they are further out its more suburban. You will get something massive on your budget.

I lived in Cardiff and I loved it all! If I could now I'd live in Llandaff because in my memory it's beautiful!

Rhiwbina is lovely but maybe too villagey.

My mum lives next to roath park Lake. It’s a lovely area and where I grew up. Lakeside primary school andCardiff high school are within catchment and are both the top schools in Cardiff. It’s nice to be able to step outside and be do near to green spaces, but also near to the city centre.

Hi, looking how to get a live in AuPair for my son 20 months. Living in Cardiff

Hello! I’m from llandaff. Great please to grow up and just a stones throw from pontcanna, the city centre and the parks. Good schools around too.