Everything about The Parade

• •Safety. The Parade sits on a well lit main route with steady traffic and footfall into the evening, and the building runs secure entry. Roath and Adamsdown do see occasional opportunistic theft, so bikes should be stored properly and ground floor windows kept shut.
• •Green space. Roath Recreation Ground and Waterloo Gardens are both short walks for open grass, while Roath Park with its lake, botanical gardens and lighthouse is around twenty minutes on foot and is the city's best free study break.
• •Who's around. A proper mix. Cardiff University and USW students dominate the streets closer to Cathays, blended with young professionals, long standing Roath families and one of the most diverse local communities in Wales.
• •What's around. City Road and Albany Road handle food, groceries, barbers and pharmacies within minutes, Queen Street shopping is fifteen minutes away, and Cardiff Queen Street station connects you to the wider valleys network.
• •The honest downside. Roath is busy and urban rather than quiet and pretty, and the streets around Newport Road carry real traffic. You are buying convenience and food, not tranquillity.

• •Supermarkets. Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local sit on Albany Road and City Road within minutes, with Lidl on Newport Road for the cheaper weekly shop.
• •City Road. The single best reason to live here. Turkish grills, Lebanese bakeries, Indian and Vietnamese kitchens, most under a tenner and all within ten minutes.
• •Albany Road. Bakeries, delis, charity shops, a pharmacy and a post office, which covers almost every everyday errand without a bus journey.
• •Cafes. Independent coffee shops line Wellfield Road and Albany Road, and they are where most Cardiff students end up revising in exam season.
• •Library. Cardiff University's libraries are a short walk, with Cathays Library and Cardiff Central Library both accessible for free quiet study space.
• •Gym. There is no on site gym, but PureGym on Newport Road and Cardiff University's Sport Training Village are both close and priced for students.
• •Health. Several GP practices and pharmacies sit along City Road and Albany Road, with the University Hospital of Wales at Heath Park nearby.

What the property provides: bed and mattress, desk and chair, wardrobe and storage, private shower room in en suite and studio grades, kitchen facilities, heating, Wi Fi, contents insurance and secure entry.

Bring or buy on arrival: bedding and pillows, towels, pans, cutlery and crockery, a UK adaptor, cleaning supplies, a decent waterproof because Cardiff rains properly, and a drying rack for indoor laundry.

Day one: collect keys at reception, photograph the room and bathroom before unpacking anything, submit the inventory form, test the Wi Fi, find the laundry and bin stores, then walk to Albany Road for a first shop.

Day two: register with a GP on City Road or Albany Road, walk your actual route to Cathays Park so the timing is real, sort a Cardiff Bus card, activate your bank account, and eat something from City Road before your flatmates get there first.

• •Total cost. Weekly rate multiplied by contract weeks. A 44 week Bronze Studio and a 51 week Gold Studio can look close per week and differ by thousands overall.
• •What's included. Gas, electricity, water, heating, Wi Fi, contents insurance and maintenance all sit inside the rent, with no separate utility accounts to open.
• •Instalments. Rent is typically split across three or four instalments timed to student finance dates, with the first payable at or before check in.
• •Deposit. An advance rent payment secures the room and is credited against your first instalment rather than charged as an additional sum.
• •Cooling off. A seven day cancellation window applies from signing, during which you can withdraw and recover the money you have paid.
• •No Visa No Pay. Official written evidence of a refused student visa releases you from the tenancy without any penalty being applied.
• •No Place No Pay. If your university place does not go ahead, official confirmation releases you from the contract on the same basis.
• •Special offers. Discounted rates appear on certain grades at certain points in the booking cycle, so check the current offer before locking in a room.

1. •Cardiff University — a ten to twelve minute walk to Cathays Park, the strongest fit by distance.
2. •University of South Wales — the Cardiff campus is the same short walk from the front door.
3. •Cardiff Metropolitan University — Llandaff is a straightforward twelve minute bus ride.
4. •Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama — around fifteen minutes on foot through the civic centre.
5. •Cardiff and Vale College — the City Centre Campus is roughly fifteen minutes walking.
6. •Cardiff University School of Medicine — Heath Park is around twenty minutes by bus.

What you should know before your child signs

• •The tenancy is a binding legal contract. Once the seven day cooling off period passes, the full term is owed whether or not your child stays throughout.
• •A guarantor is normally required. Parents outside the UK can use an approved international guarantor service or pay a larger advance instalment instead.
• •All bills are included. Gas, electricity, water, heating and Wi Fi sit within the weekly rent, which removes the most common first year money problem.
• •The location genuinely reduces risk. A ten minute walk to campus means far fewer late night bus journeys or taxis than a suburban address would.
• •Roath is busy rather than quiet. It is safe and well populated, but a light sleeper should request a room facing away from the main road.
• •Facilities are modest by design. There is no gym or cinema room, so compare on location and room quality rather than the extras list.

• •Arrival. Cardiff Airport is around forty minutes by taxi, or take the Cardiff Airport Express bus into the city and walk fifteen minutes. Most international students arrive via Bristol or Heathrow and then train into Cardiff Central, which is a short bus ride away.
• •No UK guarantor. You do not need a UK homeowner to co sign the tenancy. Approved international guarantor services are accepted for a one off fee, and paying a larger advance instalment generally removes the guarantor requirement from the agreement completely.
• •Visa safety net. No Visa No Pay releases you from the contract if your student visa is refused, and No Place No Pay applies if your university offer falls through. Both need official written evidence and neither carries any financial penalty.
• •Setup. Register with a GP on City Road during your first week, open a UK bank account using your tenancy agreement as address proof, get a Cardiff Bus or Iff card for travel, and buy a UK SIM on arrival so you are contactable straight away.
• •Home food. City Road is genuinely one of the best multicultural food streets in the UK, with Turkish, Lebanese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese and Polish grocers and restaurants all within a ten minute walk, plus halal butchers and full spice ranges at very reasonable prices.