Private Accomodation or Uni Accomodation?

Hi Guys!

I am going to Cardiff this September! I am a postgraduate student in Food, Space, and Society program.

I am looking for a place that is nice and quiet , well if it's near city center it would be nice though. I am not really a social butterfly yet I don't mind go for party once or twice.

I wondering, which one is the best to live in (private or uni)? Can someone give me a recommendation? I am not from UK and it's a bit hard for me to go to Cardiff earlier.

Thank you!!

If you are trying to save on living costs then definitely go private, you will save A LOT more money compared to going into halls of residence! Cathays and Roath are the ideal areas to live and there are a good mix of 'party streets' (Woodville Rd, Harriet St, etc) and quieter streets like the one I live on. If you're a master's student I would NOT recommend going into halls with undergrads as you'll need to be doing more work and fresher's are noisy a lot of the time

thanks for the advice! May I know which streets are you living now? As I heard, it's better to avoid colum road as it's so noisy with all the parties, is it right?
What is the perfect time to look around for the private accommodation? currently, I am looking for one but most of them is either available for now or next month.

Thanks a lot!

You're welcome. Sorry for the late reply, dissertation is taking over my life rn!
I'm currently living on Letty Street which is just off Woodville Rd but is a more residential street with a mix of student and family-owned property so it's really quiet (only noise is builders at the moment - argh!).
Yes definitely avoid Colum Rd if you want to get any sleep! Also Salisbury Rd as that has quite a lot of pubs on and is the main route to the take-aways that freshers frequent after nights out! Roads like Cathays Terrace and Crwys Rd are convenient for shops but are the main traffic routes in and out of Cathays/Roath so depends whether traffic noise bothers you. I'd recommend some of the streets in Roath area and the quieter areas of Cathays.
I'd start looking in the next few months if I were you. Most houses rent from July and are like half rent over the summer, but there may be some which do rents from Sept/Oct time. I'd keep an eye on Right Move and Zoopla just in case.
I'm starting to look for my accommodation for next year soonish but need to wait to see if I get my funding for my Master's and PhD first!
Good luck in your search!

I was having a look at private places online, and because its just me, what happens if the other rooms don't get filled?

where do you look for private accommodation? well, i think by the time it's near the intake, the house will be filled and if it's only you I think it doesn't really matter though.
I havent really looked into the private accommodations because it's too early and if you know some website please tell me!

thaanks!