Moving out of London

@zazkar & @aggi these viewpoints have come from a place of dissatisfaction with the tories, a lack of political opposition meaning no way out of this right now, and the uncertainty of Brexit and Covid. Like you say, life will largely be unaffected (I hope anyway) but I think in their minds, moving back to the country in it's current state left some people I talked to scratching their heads.

(Just don’t read the Brexit thread)

Grangetown is pretty 'up and coming' (eurgh) from what I've heard. Well my mate has just moved there and I think they have some kind of new community 'hub'. Developments have stalled a bit on the old brains site, but they're still going ahead in some form. With that and the new affordable housing and bridge the Council have announced there could be a lot of improvements in the area in the next few years. Canton/Pontcanna: nice but pricey.

When I lived there I liked it. There was a strong Bangladeshi community vibe...cricket on the street with about 50 people playing, the veg shops were brilliant.
The pubs were pure murder though and then one or two wrong turns and it got a bit crack housey. The far southern end merged into proper old tiger bay. But again this was 20 years ago.

Went to The Grange the other day. Nothing special but a half decent pub, big garden.

@ricky2slicky Tories gunna Tory. If I was choosing which country to go to based on their government I’d probably stay in bed.

Llandaff, as opposed to Cardiff maybe

Thanks again to everyone who replied to my previous messages about moving away, and those that shared experiences of Cardiff in particular.

I'm 99% sure I'm going to do it. I'll be handing notice in on my flat next week and can leave early February. I'm mainly excited but also a bit nervous, however I'm trying to not overthink it too much. If it doesn't work out I can always come back!

I think Pontcanna is the area that most appeals. I've been looking on Rightmove and rang a couple of local estate agents to try to get an idea of the market (renting). By the sounds of it it'll hopefully be a bit less painful than the process in London, but places only go up for rent 4-6 weeks in advance.

If anyone else has any other Cardiff info or suggestions (areas to live, things to do, anything really) I'm all ears.

I lived there for 10 years (Pontcanna) until 2017, when I moved to Italy. Ping me a PM with any questions, I'll do my best to get back to you tomorrow.

Well I’ve just signed a tenancy agreement and paid the deposit on a rental house in Sheffield, so I guess this is definitely happening.

🙌

Ooh, where?

I lived in Broomhill, Crookesmoor and Endcliffe when I was at Uni there. #studentscum

Endcliffe. Just off Rustlings Road, right near the park. Excited, but also shitting myself a bit. I’m 95% convinced that we’re doing the right thing, but that other 5% is very good at gnawing away in the background.

Nice. I was in Earnshaw Hall (Endcliffe Crescent) in my first year, and had one year in a houseshare on Rutland Park just by the Botanical Gardens.

Some of my infrequent runs went down to and through Endcliffe Park.

Any remaining doubt will be soothed when you actually go there and realise you don't have to deal with London any more.

I have just sent the deposit for a place in Cardiff. Thank you to everyone for your encouragement, I'm currently bouncing between excited and "what are you doing???".

Oh, and it's the first time I've moved into an unfurnished place. Where do grown ups buy furniture when the criteria is one step up from "the cheapest thing I can find which doesn't look terrible"?

Being super selective in furniture charity shops or gumtree.

Well done, just showed my wife this thread and she proclaimed how much she loved living in Pontcanna.
As for furniture there was a random shop on city rd called “the furniture shop” which may or may not be open under lockdown

Hope you enjoy it!

Facebook marketplace can come up trumps.

Congrats, Cardiff is an awesome city. I have lived and worked around here for nearly a decade, and run a small bike shop in Plas Newydd. If you need anything bike related or have any questions feel free to PM me or come and see me at Punk Bikes.

I didn’t know about you. There’s a fair chance I’ll come over and see you on Monday if you’re open?

We will be open. Google maps will help, were a little tucked away.

I’ll sniff you out, still opening at 9am during these times?

Yeah 9-5, business as usual-ish.

I'm looking at Leeds again, depending on how flat sale (EWS1) goes here. I'd rather stay at my current company but I can't help but think the quality of life up there will be so much better. I'd be able to cover the mortgage and all the bills with like 2/3 my paycheck then anything my partner earns is extra. Jobs look alright, may take a slight pay cut but nothing too drastic, honestly the main worry I have is not finding a job that lets me work from home ideally 3 or 4 days a week to look after the dog. I'm getting excited at the prospect of the Dales and Peaks in touching distance, could even take up mountain biking.

Mountain biking would make you poor again