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Cathays is often the first non-halls of residence place to live for students. The to-ing and fro-ing of second year students give the area something of a ghost town eeriness during holidays; no surprise given 50 students to every resident. Social life is based around the University area, and accomodation tends to be cheap in its typically uniform, small terraces. 15 to 20 minutes walk from the centre, there is a good bus service along Cathays Terrace.
One of Cardiff's biggest areas, Roath extends from posh, leafy avenues to council estates. Roath life centres around the City Road / Albany Road area, with its combination of take-aways, coffee houses, letting agents, pubs and shops. Accommodation is plentiful and suitable for a range of budgets. Probably a half hours walk to the city centre from its furthest point but does have a good bus service. Inhabited by a wide variety of people from third-year students, postgraduates, families and retired types.
A genuinely up-and-coming inner-city area, Grangetown joins Riverside and Canton with Cardiff Bay. Its long, terraced streets stretch out towards the shiny glass and metal facades of the Bay's new apartments, but are a damn site cheaper. A great range of food outlets catering for its ethnic populations, and relatively cheap accommodation are making Grangetown a viable option for students and young professionals. Houses here are still just about affordable by postgraduates deciding to linger in Cardiff in the first few years of their working lives.
Stretching east to west down Cowbridge Road East towards Ely, Canton can surprise those meandering out of the city centre. It's dilapidated to a large extent, and Cowbridge Road exemplifies the, erm, variety of human forms. It's still a deprived area to a large extent, but it's varied in everything from social life to cuisine. Favoured by arty types, both students and graduates, drawn there by Chapter Arts Centre. Good bus service runs along Cowbridge Road East, otherwise you could face a walk of 20 to 40 minutes into town.
Not surprisingly, it's by the side of the river, and the Millennium Stadium looms over it to the east. Its population seems to be largely made up of British Asians and indie bands, so you get a great Indian vegetarian take-away patronised by members of the Super Furry Animals. There are a couple of good bar venues, and the accommodation is cheap, if you can tolerate streets filled with furniture and rodents. Riverside is just about as close as you can live to town (10 minutes) whilst paying reasonable rent and being able to walk the streets after dark.
Just a few yards away from Cowbridge Road East, Pontcanna comes as a pleasant surprise after its neighbour Canton. Its affluence is apparent, with huge Victorian, bay-fronted terraces forming imposing avenues. Many inhabitants are traditional and modern professionals, and the price of accommodation is equal to or more than the very best of that which Roath has to offer. Pontcanna has its own village in the heart of the city with a range of shops and bars but is still within walking distance of the city centre.
Just south of Roath, Splott is up-and-coming, at least when compared to its invidious past. Its slightly battered and bruised appearance is indicative of its less-than-bourgeois status, but accordingly it's a cheap place to live. There is social life, but be prepared for raised eyebrows when you say you're living there. Crime levels are probably similar to Cathays and less salubrious parts of Roath. There is always the slight possibility your car might not be there in the morning. Beware of the seagulls, they will demolish and scatter an entire rubbish bag in less than twenty seconds.
The price of rent is not bad at all and the flats are smartly new, but the area is souless and empty, displaying nothing but row upon row of tall, clean, expressionless buildings. The transport system has not yet caught up with the expanding population although the city centre is not too far a walk from some parts. Inhabitants consist mostly of young professionals who have one car per household and no interest whatsoever in gardening.
Maindy is concentrated in the triangle formed by North Road, Whitchurch Road and the north end of Cathays. It is a quiet area of brick terraced houses, centered around a grove with its own grassy lawns. Close to the shops on Whitchurch Road and the bus service on North Road, Maindy is a disconcertingly quiet haven amid student-land. It also plays host to Maindy Swimming Pool and gym, a Council-run, affordable place to get fit.
Sandwiched like a piece of damp lettuce between the city centre and Splott, Adamsdown is a place to avoid. Yes, the houses are cheap, and certain areas are quiet, but with one side bounded by Cardiff's menacing Victorian prison, it's a reminder of where a few of Adamsdown's denizens spend some of their time. A very short walk into town, but one you wouldn't want to make after dark.
Victoria Park is a continuation of Canton out along Cowbridge Road. The further away from the city center you travel down one of Cardiff's longest roads, the further into suburbia and family residential areas you reach. Victoria Park consists of terraces typical to much of inner Cardiff, but it also begins to change into semi detached houses with garages and gardens big enough to squeeze a vegetable plot into. The area takes it's name from the busy and well-preserved Victorian public park at it's centre. Continue past Victoria Park and you will reach Ely, so it's best not to go that far.
Heath is just north of Western Avenue, Maindy, Gabalfa and north west of Roath. An area consisting of mainly semi-detached family houses, there are still some that are rented out to student nurses and doctors studying at the nearby hospital. Next to Heath is Birchgrove which features a large, recent development of new flats and rabbit-hutch houses, many of which have undoubtably been snapped up as rental properties. These are the far reaches of Cardiff centre, past here the houses get big and expensive in patches.
North of the A48 Western Way, West of Grangetown and East of Splott, lie the suburbs. These include the smart, even posh, areas of Whitchurch, Lisvane, Llandaff, Radyr and Rhiwbina, and the very much not-so-smart areas of Llanedeyrn (or 'Lannedyn' to locals), Tremorfa, Llanrumney and Leckwith. The latter, coupled with Ely and Butetown are probably worth avoiding if you looking for somewhere to live and you have more than £5 in your pocket.
