# moving to Cardiff



## mlangweiler (Sep 2, 2008)

I'll be moving to the Cardiff area shortly, Pontypridd, actually. I could use some information regarding the cost of living, housing, food, transportation, etc. Also, any suggestions about renting a place would be appreciated.
Thanks, Mark


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

mlangweiler said:


> I'll be moving to the Cardiff area shortly, Pontypridd, actually. I could use some information regarding the cost of living, housing, food, transportation, etc. Also, any suggestions about renting a place would be appreciated.
> Thanks, Mark


Hi and welcome to the forum.

A good place to start looking for rentals is Rightmove - UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent.

Regards

Michelle


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## EmmaLouUK (Aug 4, 2008)

mlangweiler said:


> I'll be moving to the Cardiff area shortly, Pontypridd, actually. I could use some information regarding the cost of living, housing, food, transportation, etc. Also, any suggestions about renting a place would be appreciated.
> Thanks, Mark


Hi Mark,
I live 40 mins away from Pontypridd in the Rhondda Valleys, I hope you have webbed feet cause its just awful here right now tooo much rain! Just thought I would let you know of the 10 most expensive areas in Pontypridd lmao and how many sales there have been in the past 2 years so here we go:
1	Heol Y Foel, Llantwit Fardre	2	£337,500
2	Heol Dowlais, Efail Isaf	3	£335,333
3	Taff Street, Pontypridd	3	£330,833
4	Meadow Brook, Church Village	10	£328,872
5	Parc Nant Celyn, Efail Isaf	5	£294,390
6	Common Road, Pontypridd	2	£275,000
7	Hospital Road, Pontypridd	2	£267,500
8	Hafan Heulog, Coed Y Cwm	2	£264,250
9	Barnard Way, Church Village	23	£259,681
10	Nant Y Felin, Efail Isaf	2	£257,500

Cheapest in the past 2 years are:
1	Porcher Avenue, Glyncoch	3	£43,667
2	Cadwgan Terrace, Pontypridd	2	£48,085
3	Ivor Street, Pontypridd	2	£52,000
4	Pearson Crescent, Pontypridd	3	£59,000
5	Upper Alma Terrace, Pontypridd	2	£59,250
6	Penygraig Terrace, Ynysybwl	2	£61,000
7	Manor Court, Church Village	4	£61,125
8	Garth Avenue, Glyncoch	9	£62,731
9	High View Way, Pontypridd	4	£64,375
10	Maindy Court, Church Village	3	£64,500

As for the price of living well lets just say it isnt cheap I do hope you have a good amount of money saved up as Pontypridd isnt cheap in itself! Buses are pretty regular from Pontypridd town center as for anywhere else you'll just have to hope their running on time! Jobs here are well non existant at the moment so I hope you have a Job waiting for you because otherwise you will have a loooooooong struggle. Rents are few and far between because many people are now renting because of the credit crunch and Pontypridd is a student hotspot sooo very very hard to get a nice rented house, the Uni is in Treforest but students are even moving into places like Rhydfelin, Hawthorn, Churchvillage, Llantwit Fadre and into Pontypridd! soo as you can imagine not too many rental properties will have survived the student rental rush! Personally I would have started your search before now not that I'm trying to be funny or put you off but this is a really bad time to be moving anywhere in the UK.
Hope I helped 
Emma


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## leigh.g. (Sep 3, 2008)

as regards to the cost of food

£1 for a loaf of bread
£1.60 for 4 pints of milk
£2.50 a pint though you can usually pick up 8 cans for £5 at the local shop

the cost of living is going up

electricity up 9% in the last month
gas up 36% in the last month
water rates are planning on going up

cinema £5.50 buy popcorn to take with you or you'll be looking at another £3.50
not much else to do round here

trains and buses are never on time and a 15 minute bus ride could cost you £2 trains vary from £2.50 to £4.00 depending what time of day it is

renting costs about £400 - £500 per month but a long waiting list

hope this helps


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## leigh.g. (Sep 3, 2008)

btw bring your wellies and a good umbrella


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## mlangweiler (Sep 2, 2008)

*Thanks for the info*

Emma,
Thanks for the info. It will come in handy. Fortunately, I do have a job, at the university. This just happened so timing may not be the best. Looking to rent initially until we get our feet wet...so to speak. My partnert and I are hoping to find something possibly a short way out. Any suggestions for people to talk to, realtors, whatever?
Thanks,
Mark



EmmaLouUK said:


> Hi Mark,
> I live 40 mins away from Pontypridd in the Rhondda Valleys, I hope you have webbed feet cause its just awful here right now tooo much rain! Just thought I would let you know of the 10 most expensive areas in Pontypridd lmao and how many sales there have been in the past 2 years so here we go:
> 1	Heol Y Foel, Llantwit Fardre	2	£337,500
> 2	Heol Dowlais, Efail Isaf	3	£335,333
> ...


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## mlangweiler (Sep 2, 2008)

*A good wage*

Leigh,
So, what would be condsidered a decent annual salary? I have a job at the university but my need to think about adding to it. My partner and I are hoping to find a place a bit outot the city, any suggestions?
Mark




leigh.g. said:


> as regards to the cost of food
> 
> £1 for a loaf of bread
> £1.60 for 4 pints of milk
> ...


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## leigh.g. (Sep 3, 2008)

mlangweiler said:


> Leigh,
> So, what would be condsidered a decent annual salary? I have a job at the university but my need to think about adding to it. My partner and I are hoping to find a place a bit outot the city, any suggestions?
> Mark



a decent annual salary would be £17,000 to £30,000. there just aren't any deent jobs at the moment. most people are on minimum wage though but get government funding to help. 

caerphilly would be a close to to the university with a bus or train leaving every 15 minutes. i suppose you could even cycle to the university from there on a nice day. the housing is quite cheap there. about 4 to 5 miles from city centre. theres also ystrad mynach 10 miles away roughly. train or bus from there too. most work in the area is call centre work. average £14,000 salary.

places to think about with easy transport to cardiff is:

Barry
Newport
Pontypridd
Caerphilly (most probably cheapest and closest)

further away but within half hour on a train would be

Newbridge
ystrad mynach
maes y cwmmer
bargoed
pengam
risca
crosskeys

all have train stations


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## mlangweiler (Sep 2, 2008)

leigh.g. said:


> a decent annual salary would be £17,000 to £30,000. there just aren't any deent jobs at the moment. most people are on minimum wage though but get government funding to help.
> 
> caerphilly would be a close to to the university with a bus or train leaving every 15 minutes. i suppose you could even cycle to the university from there on a nice day. the housing is quite cheap there. about 4 to 5 miles from city centre. theres also ystrad mynach 10 miles away roughly. train or bus from there too. most work in the area is call centre work. average £14,000 salary.
> 
> ...


Leigh,
Once again, thanks for the info. It is just the type I need. As I mentioned, I'll be teaching at the Univeristy of Glamorgan, anatomy and neuroanatomy. While I've never lived in the UK before, I have experience as an expat (Spain and Holland-10 years). I've been back in the USA for nearly 3 years but knoew that it was time to go again.
If there's any other infomation that you think would be useful I would certainly appreciate it.
Take care and thank you again,
Mark


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## britishbull (Sep 10, 2008)

Just a note, if you say you are moving to Cardiff then you are moving to the capital city Cardiff - places outside of there are completely different in character and feel... I am actually an exile from Cardiff as I can't abide the enforced Welsh language in the announcements, signs etc not to mention some complete crooks in the Welsh parliament. Places like Pontypridd are quite amusing for a night out but hardly anything to shout about as a permanent place to live, so I wish you luck in adapting to the strangeness of the truly Welsh and bring an umbrella!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

britishbull said:


> , so I wish you luck in adapting to the strangeness of the truly Welsh and bring an umbrella!



Theres truth in that!


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## EmmaLouUK (Aug 4, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> Theres truth in that!


not all the Welsh are insane lol 90% are lol and i'm not in that 90%


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