What's life in Cardiff like?

Well, as i am planning to go to Uni this year ( i will be "hopefuly" going to the ATRiuM studying Computer Animation) i thought i would gather info about living in Cardiff.

I been there many times but havent lived there, so any information would be great, thanks.

Reply 1

silver_oranges

i go to the atrium too :smile:

cardiff is great, plenty of pubs/clubs etc and an amazing student night :smile:

at the moment there isnt a student union there, but i believe theres one being built over the summer!

The most popular student housing (ty pont hearn) is right across the road which is handy as it's right in the centre and not too far to get back after a night out :smile:

In general it's a pretty safe area in the night, theres always students about and i've never felt unsafe walking about, even at 5am, very drunk haha

metros is one of the main student places for a night out :smile:

Reply 2

GunRokk

OP

Thanks! Yeah i would like to live at Ty Pony Haearn! i hope i can get the room, i know the demand is high. Well i am just hopping that Cardiff is fun, and i can find friends there! :biggrin:

Reply 3

silver_oranges

GunRokk

Thanks! Yeah i would like to live at Ty Pony Haearn! i hope i can get the room, i know the demand is high. Well i am just hopping that Cardiff is fun, and i can find friends there! :biggrin:

you'll be fine! atrium students are a friendly bunch :biggrin:

and we have a really cool staircase :p:

Reply 4

CatatonicStupor

15

Basically, while silver_oranges summed it up nicely, there's far more to do than a night out in the dingy heckhole that is Metros. It all depends on your music taste really - if you're one of those types who thinks dance and anything lacking a guitar is crap, then I suggest investing in a gasmask and a miners lamp for any Wednesday night in Metros.
Otherwise, you've got a whole world of possibilities, and something for every day of the week near enough:
There's Oceana on Mondays, which is dead cheap; Vodka Revs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; Walkabout or C-Y-N-T at the Welsh Club on Thursdays; and the weekend is your oyster with everywhere in town being at non-student prices.

Silver_Oranges is also right that you can walk Cardiff at stupid o clock, and nobody will do anything. Sure, there are stories of muggings and things, but they're so rare. I've done the walk back from town out to Gabalfa at 4am, and nobody has hassled me. I've walked through Cathays at 1am past a gang of local boys who on any other occasion would be labelled as knife-wielding hoodies by The Daily Mail, and nothing came of it. It's just so laid back here.

If you've already got a job, find out if that place is in Cardiff and see if you can get transferred. As much as everyone comes to Uni with an "I'd rather not have a job, and concentrate on my work" attitude, you usually either end up needing a job, or generally concentrate so little on your work that you may as well have had a job to pass the boring hours on facebook a little more productively.

And finally, you don't need to worry about Atrium lacking an SU. If you're that desperate for a drink and a chat, invite your mates out to the Vulcan. It's right across the road. Up where I am, the nearest pub is the Blackweir and that's quite studenty during the semester, so I'd assume the Vulcan is a bit like that. Never been there myself, but would like to go one day, since it's all historical and whatnot.

Best thing to do when you get to Cardiff - introduce yourself to your flat, have a day getting to know each other, and then just choose a place to go on the first night of Freshers'. Sorted.

Reply 5

RightSaidJames

16

To add to what Alex said, there's also the Cardiff University SU which is open to Glamorgan, UWIC and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. It's a bit of a trek, but on a Saturday night it'll be the cheapest, arguably the best (in terms of decent music, DJs, cheap drinks, large crowd, big dancefloor). Walkabout on a Friday/Saturday night is much less a rip off than Oceana etc., or alternatively you could go for smaller clubs such as Umbargo that bend over backwards to get you through the doors (generally free entry, with free drinks on entry).

In terms of eating out, culture, live music, there's plenty in Cardiff, you could be literally do something different every day.

Reply 6

GunRokk

OP

Thanks for the info, its very usefull.

Yeah i am into rock and all that, not into danceor techno, though i dont mind it.

I can see that majority of you speak highly of the night life, which sounds amazing.

And yeah i will try meet as many new people as i can. Also, i can tell that the night life is great, but what other things are there around Cardiff that you could do at day time. And what kinda like clubs/classes are around ( Like group clubs which you would attend, like for instace a sports club or and art club)

And finaly, who is going to be atteding the ATRiuM this year?

Reply 7

jrhartley

13

I think its such a shame that people in the UK outside of London seem to believe they have only the generic clubs / bars like Walkabout, Oceana, Vodka Revs to choose for their nights out and actually think its good. Now I know that the cities can't be all like London and have plenty of individual bars, but there are some in Cardiff, and its far better than this homogenisation of our high streets (anytown UK) that seems to be taking over the nation. I would urge you to support the smaller, individual bars and clubs rather than the big chains which just roll out the same themed nights across the whole nation. In terms of art - I would recommend Chapter over in Canton - they have courses and a decent bar and very good restaurant canteen / restaurant as well. You will get much more of a feel of actually being in Wales / Cardiff if you go to places like that than the anonymous chain bars.

Reply 8

GunRokk

OP

Well, i dont care. Life is hard enough. Chain clubs or not, thats not what my question was.

Any other of you have more oppinions? Thanks.

Reply 9

Katieloula

9

It's amazing :smile:

I'm based in Whitchurch atm, have been my whole life, and want to go to Cardiff uni come sept to study journalism, media and social policy. Whitchurch is like 5/10 min away from the main city centre. It's a really nice place here it has to be said, I know a lot of people who go to uni and enjoyed it tremendously. For a uni for such a good rep its surprising that 87% come from state schools, which kind of turned me towards it if im honest, I go to whitchurch high atm, the biggest state school in the country lol, about 350 people in my year. Any specifics qs on cardiff? would be happy to help :smile:

quote me
Kate
x

Reply 10

jrhartley

13

GunRokk

Well, i dont care. Life is hard enough. Chain clubs or not, thats not what my question was.

oh, right. i thought in one of your posts you asked about arts centres / clubs, which i answered in my post. Not really sure what you mean by the 'life is hard enough line'. its not really.

Reply 11

RightSaidJames

16

jrhartley

oh, right. i thought in one of your posts you asked about arts centres / clubs, which i answered in my post. Not really sure what you mean by the 'life is hard enough line'. its not really.

But arts centres/smaller clubs and chain clubs aren't mutually exclusive; there was no need to criticise other people's responses.

I too would wholly recommend the Chapter Arts Centre for the best of film and culture, along with music clubs such as the Cardiff Barfly, Ten Feet Tall for intimate rock/indie clubbing, Clwb Ifor Bach ("The Welsh Club") for a great atmosphere and a wide variety of music, plus Metro's which I've already mentioned. There's also St. Davids Hall and the Welsh Millenium Centre for the finest in Orchestral Music, Choral Music, Opera and the like, plus the occasional big pop act.

Reply 12

jrhartley

13

RightSaidJames

But arts centres/smaller clubs and chain clubs aren't mutually exclusive; there was no need to criticise other people's responses.

i wasn't criticising other people's responses, i was just saying i personally found it disappointing that people were listing chain bars when they are just the same in any provincial uk city.

i just think if you are asking a question about a specific city, its better to try to tailor your replies to that city. oceana = oceana = oceana in any uk town, same for tiger tiger, same for walkabouts, etc. if the op wants to know what cardiff's like in that respect, he can head into plymouth, go to those and he'll have the same experience as in the ones in cardiff. its the things like you just listed which i think are more interesting to know about when you are findng out about cardiff, as they are not in every other major uk city, and they help define cardiff.

Reply 13

RightSaidJames

16

jrhartley

i wasn't criticising other people's responses, i was just saying i personally found it disappointing that people were listing chain bars when they are just the same in any provincial uk city.

i just think if you are asking a question about a specific city, its better to try to tailor your replies to that city. oceana = oceana = oceana in any uk town, same for tiger tiger, same for walkabouts, etc. if the op wants to know what cardiff's like in that respect, he can head into plymouth, go to those and he'll have the same experience as in the ones in cardiff. its the things like you just listed which i think are more interesting to know about when you are findng out about cardiff, as they are not in every other major uk city, and they help define cardiff.

The reason we're listing them is to point out that Cardiff does have these places; it might not! If you're living in Cardiff the Plymouth Oceana isn't going to be much use to you :tongue:

Reply 14

GunRokk

OP

Yeah thats right, thanks james. I dont like oceana, and i would much prefer to go to a place like metros. But my question was very general, i was wondering what life overall is in Cardiff, not just clubs, but also things like people, weather, landmarks to see, etc basicaly the general vibe.

And jrhartley, my question was merely about what life is like in Cardiff, not what clubs i should support. Its all down to presonal preference dude. No offence.

Is anyone living at Ty Pont Haearn at the moment, and if you do whats it like there?

Reply 15

katechar_X

13

GunRokk

Thanks for the info, its very usefull.

Yeah i am into rock and all that, not into danceor techno, though i dont mind it.

I can see that majority of you speak highly of the night life, which sounds amazing.

And yeah i will try meet as many new people as i can. Also, i can tell that the night life is great, but what other things are there around Cardiff that you could do at day time. And what kinda like clubs/classes are around ( Like group clubs which you would attend, like for instace a sports club or and art club)

And finaly, who is going to be atteding the ATRiuM this year?