Cardiff ?

As I said on a different post, I am relocation to the Uk by the end of the year.

Having a web based business, means I don't have any set place I have to be, so the search for a pleasant and affordable place has been going on for months now (remotely)

I was set on the Lincoln area, mainly because of price .. but recently I noticed Cardiff

I cant find a single bad reference to it, seems to be a young city, and from what I see, housing is very reasonable (am I wrong here ?)

Any comments on this area ? .. I am mainly looking for a cheap and quiet area, but with big town appeal so I don't have to drive 2 hours if I want to shop

Null

Hi,I live in Swansea which is about 40 miles away from Cardiff, Cardiff is a nice city,lots of shopping available,Big named stores,Cardiff also has the Stadium where different sports are played.also lots of pop concerts .Cardiff isnt far from the coast ,they have a wonderful bayside marina,Lots of new bars and clubs,Its a very lively city.Hope you enjoy it there.You should give Swansea a visit.

Hi,I live in Swansea which is about 40 miles away from Cardiff, Cardiff is a nice city,lots of shopping available,Big named stores,Cardiff also has the Stadium where different sports are played.also lots of pop concerts .Cardiff isnt far from the coast ,they have a wonderful bayside marina,Lots of new bars and clubs,Its a very lively city.Hope you enjoy it there.You should give Swansea a visit.

I heard swansea was a very historic and nice town, wich is what made me look on the Area (when I say cardiff, i mean suroundings also)

How the real estate on your area ?

And last question, realistically, how long does it take you to get to London

Swansea is 3 hours from London by train,driving takes approx.5 hours. Swansea is a very nice area ,lots to see and do lovely beaches nearby,castles and mountains,The real estate prices are rising everyday.Swansea is in middle of redevlopement and new apartments are devloping around the Marina area at sky high prices,but a good long term investment.

I've never been myself, so can't say.. but I've heard cost of living in Cardiff is quickly skyrocketing.  ..The following taken from BBC News website:

Cardiff
Average Cost: £158,177
Detached: £231,189
Semi-detached: £161,185
Terraced: £136,715
Flat: £129,287
 
Change in last quarter: 3.90%

Change in last year: 12.80%

Sales: 1927

I don't know how that compares to what you consider reasonable or affordable.  Have a look online to get an idea of property.. maybe go for a short visit??  Hope this has helped in some capacity.

cool, swansea rentals seems cheap also

example

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/rm/template/publicsite%2Crenting%2CPropertyDetails.vm/svr/1037?p_id=3323082&pa_n=1&tr_t=rent

for 300£ a mo .. I find it cheap.

I too live in Swansea.  I'm in shock that I've found another member living here.  Now that's exciting!  I moved over to Swansea from Boston.  A much larger city to be sure.  But while it is a slower pace, I have not found anything I cannot do that my home city offered.  Lots of museums, nightlife, beaches and the scenery cannot be beat really.  But then again I'm sure lots of people here can show you pictures of where they live that might sway you in their direction too.  I've been to Cardiff once.  Seems most of the big concerts take place there.  BUT we are building a new stadium here in Swansea which will now be a rival for that  concert business.  I love living here because I can drive (well the hubby really) about 20 mins to a half hour and find either the most amazing cliff top scenery, these huge beaches or one of my favorite places from any angle - Worm's Head.  Oh and just so you know, my husband and I just bought our house.  We paid just over £90,000.  We got the keys last week.  So its possible to find a bit of a bargain even though house prices are raging.  They have been reporting that house prices seem to be slowing down at the moment as well.

Anyhow, best of luck to you in finding your place of peace and excitement all rolled into one lovely house or flat. 

well, having live in the south of the USA for the past few years, distances there between cities can be quite large, so when I look at a 50 mile radious and I see swansea, cardiff and newport .. for me that's a "neighbouhood"

I'll keep on looking in the area .. so far only hear positive things about it

Cardiff has the advantages of being the Welsh capital and therefore having a lot of the national amenities, most noticably the Millennium Stadium and the National Assembly of Wales.

It's also nearer to places like Bristol and Bath, which are just over the Severn Bridge.

Locally, though, most of the surrounding areas are old, run down, mining towns, so there's not a lot to explorer. Unless you really like people with big hair and Rottweillers.

There ARE some good castles nearby, as well as Cardiff Castle itself there's Castell Coch just outside Cardiff, and Caerphilly Castle.

Swansea is smaller, and a little grubbier, but has access to a lot more nature; the Gower, the Pembroke Pennisular, Port Talbot

Newport's a bit of a sewer though.

Either way, it's all joined together with a quick rail link and the M4, so getting around's easy.

I notivce than in Cardiff .. the Ely area seems to be very cheap .. is there a reason for it ? .. is it a non-desirable area ? :p

Ely is not a very nice area.its had race riot there several years ago,has a very high crime rate.It is a run down area of Cardill that needs a lot of money spent on the community.There is also a large council owned estate there with very high unemployment. 

Ely is not a very nice area.its had race riot there several years ago,has a very high crime rate.It is a run down area of Cardill that needs a lot of money spent on the community.There is also a large council owned estate there with very high unemployment. 

ouch :p .. good to know

I've lived in Cardiff all my life and it is a great place to live on the whole. It is really compact so you can get around easily, even without a car, it has a lot of facilities, some amazing buildings/architecture, great shopping, it is really close to some amazing countryside, the coast etc, but it has some issues too (maybe these won't bother you):
1. As it is the biggest city in the area it is a magnet for people from miles around. Coupled with the fact that it is very compact this means that it gets VERY busy on weekends.
2. The stadium. They close ALL the roads in the city centre when something is on in the stadium, close the bus station/train station, reroute all the public transport and turn the entire city into a giant coach park. Most of the shops close and the city centre is a virtual no-go area filled with rubbish, drunks and police. Everyone who visits the stadium thinks it is great but for the people who live here it is a pain. The stadium holds 75,000 people, so on an event day about 100,000 extra people are in town. The population of Cardiff is about 300,000. That's 1/3 the population of the city! That's like an extra 3 million people deciding to go to London one day! I don't leave the house on match days!
3. Property prices are going sky high.
4. When I was in uni I used to go out to a club about 3 times a week, but now only a couple of years later I don't feel safe in the city centre at night. The night-time seems to be getting "heavy" in the city centre. Most of the bars are all along one street so there is a high concentration of people, alcohol and inevitably...trouble in a very small place. There are a zillion police, riot vans, police horses etc every fri/sat/sun night.

As for Swansea, Swansea is an absolutely amazing place to be in the summer. You can only imagine how stunning the scenery and beaches are on the gower penninsular (area of outstanding natural beauty and a national park); however be warned that Swansea is grey and depressing in winter. The wind and rain NEVER end!

Drop me a line if there's anything you want to know about Cardiff! It's not all bad - honest! Good luck with the move!

Ely!!!! man, I lived in fairwater(right next to ely) for 19 years, and its a horrid little place full of what I guys you would call Welsh City Hicks!!!
Im moving back to Cardiff in may(been here in america for year and a bit, moving back with my american wife).
I would recomend you look at places to live in St Fagans(a district of cardiff). its on the edge of the city, its beautiful, and its only a 15/20 minute car drive to the city centre.
if you want somewhere a bit more centeral, then id recomend the Roath area. its right next to Roath park, proberly the nicest of all the parks in cardiff......and its only about 5 mins drive to the city center.
 
  swansea is cool, i prefer to visit there rather than live there. i like to town centre and the fact that its close to the gower(beach area). The shop 'Hobo's' in swansea is better than the one in Cardiff....man I love hobo's, best clothes shop around!

even though i was born in cardiff and am moving back there...im proberly only going to live there for a few more years. Im looking to start my own recording studio, and at the moment anyway, cardiff local music scene isnt fantastic. u get great touring bands coming to play the city, but the local bands arent that great. I was in a Cardiff band before I left, anyone who lives there may remember us ...'The Mooks'....man seems like a while ago, but it really wasnt! im babbling

cardiff....its cool, ask any questions if u need

and as for the night life..........yeah, it can get 'heavy', but your cool if your in a group. go to Clwb Ifor on A Wednesday night...DJG may know why i say that! bloody great night is that!!!!