The Cardiff house hunt: finding second-year accommodation at Cardiff University

House hunting in a housing crisis and a cost of living crisis is undoubtedly a stressful experience. In this blog, I discuss finding accommodation in Cardiff and how I literally found my current flat through someone I subscribed to through YouTube. Finding accommodation is something that we just have to do, yet it can be difficult to balance budgets, find the right housemates and find a good house in the right location. Luckily Cardiff is designed as a student city with plenty of options. Most commonly, students live in Cathays, or Roath, where there are plenty of suitable accommodation options.

The idea of finding accommodation by Christmas

When looking for accommodation in Cardiff, there is a common idea that you should have signed a contract by Christmas. Which can be especially overwhelming when you’ve just moved to a city and have three months to find housemates and a place to live. Thankfully, I can confirm that this is simply not true. What’s most important is to find the right situation for you,  with housemates that you can be comfortable with, at a cost that you can afford. My advice to you is to not stress and sign something that you may regret later. 

Challenges

Finding the right housemates for you, and the right house can be a challenge. I had other difficulties because I was missing a guarantor. There are agreements which can be made which involve you paying more in advance. Luckily, Cardiff Student’s Union offers a guarantor scheme which can be a great help if you can’t afford to pay months in advance. Otherwise, click here for more information from Cardiff Student’s Union on getting your contract checked before signing. 

How I found my current accommodation

While I was mid-breakdown from the stress and rejection of house-hunting, two months passed from when you ‘should’ sign by, and there was finally hope. I ended up finding my current accommodation from someone I met through YouTube. During my crazed attempts of learning about Cardiff in the few weeks before finding out I was going and moving here, I stalked the internet for information about life here. In my endeavours, I found Mina’s channel and posted a comment on one of her videos asking questions. She kindly shared her Instagram with me, and we passively stayed in touch. Little did I know that 5 months later she would post the perfect accommodation opportunity in a place that a friend of mine had lived in the year before and recommended to me. The price was right and the location was perfect so I managed to sign towards the end of February/ beginning of March. 

Why you shouldn’t stress

House hunting is a process and there is no surprise that it’s challenging. There is a certain idea of when you should find your accommodation by, how much you should be able to pay and what your relationship with your housemates should be like. In the face of that, it’s important to stay in line with what is realistic and most comfortable for you. Remember that everyone is different and, although it may take some time to find, there are plenty of options out there and the student culture in Cardiff means that it is designed for the movement of students.