Small questions on Cardiff Uni accommodation (I have no idea what I am doing help me)

Hey all , I hope you're very well I am an incoming postgraduate masters student beginning in September @ Cardiff, and wanted to get some opinions on accommodation in the city. I've only been to Cardiff once so have no idea really on anything!

I did some online research and have the following Qs:

Senghennydd Court: What is it like - honestly?

Have read online that's it's like a "hovel", really small rooms, quite dingy/dirty and loud. And also that the majority of people inside are Welsh speakers (not a bad thing at all, but I am English, so perhaps may not be the best!!)

Also - have heard mixed things about the sizes of bedrooms/kitchen/communal area, insight into this would be valued!

What is the social life like, too?

The price/location are great. Please be as HONEST as possible as am fearful of making the wrong choice and being stuck somewhere that isn't great for a whole yr!

Student Houses (Village/Colum Road): Not much info at all online on these.

What are the types of people that usually stay here, if you guys know?

Is it social? What are the communal areas like?

Private accommodation: Same as above really; what's it like/the people there?
What is the social life like?
Are the bedrooms/kitchen/communal areas big?

Hello!

I didn't live in these places but I did live in Talybont North and then I lived in Cathays student housing.
I personally found the halls to be of a perfect size, I had my own en-suite and lived with 5 other students.
We had a cleaner that came into to clean our kitchen/shared area once a week, but we always kept it clean ourselves anyway.
Student housing in Cathays was amazing as it felt more homely, of course we didn't have our own cleaner but we made the effort ourselves to clean - that will be all to do with who you choose to live with.
I hope this helped a little bit, if you want to speak about other aspects of moving away from home to Cardiff or how you can prepare I am happy to help.

Gee!

Hi

I stayed in Liberty Severn Point in 2nd year (part of the Liberty Living group that has several accommodations in the city)
It depends on the one you visit, Severn Point (and Cambrian Point) are smaller and quieter (great for me bc I'm not great with people) but there are others which are bigger (such as Liberty Fields) with more facilities. Severn Point has bigger rooms compared to more modern builds which is great storage wise. It's not the fanciest (compared to Fields which is really fancy) but for the price it was really good quality. One thing I should mention is this one has several students from Cardiff Met and the Music and Drama college, you should still be put with students from CU but you may be placed with others too (There was 1 dodgy neighbour but luckily he didnt cause too many issues so my time there was fine). The staff are brilliant when it comes to issues and viewings. If you have any questions about this one in particular pls feel free to ask

Depending on how much you want to throw yourself into the social side of things vs how much personal space and privacy you want, looking at private options can be a good way to go. I started as a mature student last year, and coming back to University I knew that I definitely didn't want to live in shared halls again. I chose a studio at Lumis student living (they also offer ensuite rooms with shared kitchens) and it's great. We have social areas where we can spend time with friends if we want like cinemas and study areas, but I have a quiet (and clean!) space to come back to when I want my own space. The shared flats are also really nice, and the kitchens are HUGE! It's all purpose built and really new too. Talking to friends living in University owned accommodation my studio also works out cheaper per week than a lot of their ensuite rooms, despite them sharing kitchens and generally having smaller rooms. If you want more of a social life then I'd definitely say go for University owned accommodation or a private shared flat- Uni owned halls tend to be louder and more 'party central'- especially compared to private halls which seem to have a higher proportion of mature/postgrad students.
Another thing to consider is how far away from the city centre you want to be vs where you'll be studying. I study at the Heath so have to catch a bus, which is an added expense, but I love being in the city centre and it doesn't take too long to commute each day.

Hey!! I lived in Senghenydd Court in first year, so can answer any q's you may have tomorrow

Senghennydd Court has 2 block types - blocks designed for first years, and a few postgrad blocks. While they're probably not gonna be the prettiest, the postgrad blocks are a lot better than the regular blocks made for first years (unless anything has changed now!)

If you want (if it's allowed?) I can send photos of what my first year room looked like, kitchen etc. - I think there is a video on YouTube somewhere you can look at, too!

Hi @GeeHarland, thanks so much for this! I just wanted to ask - by "Cathays student housing" do you mean private homes shared with other students? (basically a house share/ flat share)?

Hey all , I hope you're very well I am an incoming postgraduate masters student beginning in September @ Cardiff, and wanted to get some opinions on accommodation in the city. I've only been to Cardiff once so have no idea really on anything!

I did some online research and have the following Qs:

Senghennydd Court: What is it like - honestly?

Have read online that's it's like a "hovel", really small rooms, quite dingy/dirty and loud. And also that the majority of people inside are Welsh speakers (not a bad thing at all, but I am English, so perhaps may not be the best!!)

Also - have heard mixed things about the sizes of bedrooms/kitchen/communal area, insight into this would be valued!

What is the social life like, too?

The price/location are great. Please be as HONEST as possible as am fearful of making the wrong choice and being stuck somewhere that isn't great for a whole yr!

Student Houses (Village/Colum Road): Not much info at all online on these.

What are the types of people that usually stay here, if you guys know?

Is it social? What are the communal areas like?

Private accommodation: Same as above really; what's it like/the people there?
What is the social life like?
Are the bedrooms/kitchen/communal areas big?

Thanks so much for this! What were the type of people you shared with like? Also postgrads/were they mainly international? thanks!!

Depending on how much you want to throw yourself into the social side of things vs how much personal space and privacy you want, looking at private options can be a good way to go. I started as a mature student last year, and coming back to University I knew that I definitely didn't want to live in shared halls again. I chose a studio at Lumis student living (they also offer ensuite rooms with shared kitchens) and it's great. We have social areas where we can spend time with friends if we want like cinemas and study areas, but I have a quiet (and clean!) space to come back to when I want my own space. The shared flats are also really nice, and the kitchens are HUGE! It's all purpose built and really new too. Talking to friends living in University owned accommodation my studio also works out cheaper per week than a lot of their ensuite rooms, despite them sharing kitchens and generally having smaller rooms. If you want more of a social life then I'd definitely say go for University owned accommodation or a private shared flat- Uni owned halls tend to be louder and more 'party central'- especially compared to private halls which seem to have a higher proportion of mature/postgrad students.
Another thing to consider is how far away from the city centre you want to be vs where you'll be studying. I study at the Heath so have to catch a bus, which is an added expense, but I love being in the city centre and it doesn't take too long to commute each day.

hey just a quick question, in studio for lumis could you have friends or family stay over?? i’m looking to move there but my friends and family always want to visit which is why i was looking at private accommodation, is there any protocol to it