Cardiff Student Life - Welcome to Cardiff!
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Welcome to Cardiff!
Written by: Jules Thorpe-Smith

So… here you are. You’re in a brand new city, and you don’t know where anything is, where to go for a pint and what to do with the evenings that you’re supposed to spend studying.  Where do you start?

First of all, get to know your City well. There are people who’ve been here a good number of years who fall into the trap of thinking that all there is to Cardiff is the City centre and Cathays, and though Cardiff is by no means a massive city (all of it would probably fit very comfortably in a borough of London) it’s not a small town. There’s a lot to the place.

To make it easier to get your bearings here, we’ll look at all of its separate parts most applicable to students. If you’re not living in halls, then you’ll most likely be living in Cathays or Roath.

Next you have Roath, which has long been considered something of a poor cousin to Cathays, but in recent years because of some cool nightspots garnering a good reputation, it has really stepped its game up to be considered all on its own. The centrepiece of this particular section is City Road. Bars have been springing up like weeds along this stretch of Cardiff, some great, some not so great, and some down right cheesy. At the bottom end of City Road, you have the now ubiquitous Scream pub (The George, which sits on the point of what is known affectionately as death junction) which is always a good place to jump start an evening especially on a Tuesday night, when for those lucky, lucky people with Yellow Cards, its pound a pint. 

Thirty seconds out of the front doors of The George you come to two amazing places; the first for food, the second for drink, and almost totally opposite each other! Tenkaichi, a Japanese noodle and sushi bar and Milgi, Cardiff’s newest independent bar. Even if you don’t like sushi, or are vegetarian, Tenkaichi is well worth a visit because you are guaranteed to find your new favourite dish in here and it’s very reasonably priced; two people can eat here, have drinks and a couple of side dishes for less than twenty five quid, making it great for a first date as you look cultured and haven’t haemorrhaged money everywhere! Opposite that, you have Milgi; it does good food, has a great drink selection and has great cocktails. It even features a beer garden with its very own yurt (look it up) furnished with vintage furniture (not so kind on your wallet, but it is a great place to splash out). Other places of note here include Shot In The Dark which is now something of a Grand Dame of Cardiff; Bohemian sensibilities and an almost continental feel has made this place a favourite nightspot for almost as long as I can remember. There are plenty more bars and eateries of interest spread along this road which you can read about within this website.

Finally we come to the City Centre. The main pedestrianized shopping street, Queen Street, is the same as pretty much every town or city across the UK, so gaining your bearings here isn’t difficult; After you get a little more confident with the place, wander off the beaten path: For shopping, Cardiff is dotted with little arcades full of awesome independent shops and boutiques, and you will be rewarded for exploring a little bit. As for its nightlife, this is where things get interesting.

Everything is here; The usual chain bars you’d expect to see in every major city, the regular clubbing spots are here too, and there’s something here for music lovers and those who have to be seen at gigs (the Barfly and Ifor Bach spring to mind), but there’s also a wide range of impressive independents bars. For this, we’re talking about places like Glo bar, Buffalo, and 10ft tall, its recently opened sister bar. These three offer big name DJ’s, great local musicians, extremely impressive food, drink and cocktails, usually two separate floors of entertainment and in Buffalo’s case, probably one of the best beer gardens in Cardiff. Price wise these indie bars are a little more expensive than other places in Cardiff, but considering what’s on offer in these venues, not only do you get what you pay for, I’d say you get good value for money.

But don’t let all of that be the be all and end all of Cardiff. Half of the fun of living and going out in this City is that it will constantly surprise you, and as I’ve been saying throughout this little taster of your new City, your exploration and curiosity will be rewarded in spades. Get out there, look around and have fun!