Moving into your second-year house can be exciting and nerve-wracking. Being in charge of a house yourself for the first time can lead to mistakes being made, so here’s a list of some of the things I learnt!
Cymraeg
Moving into your second-year house can be exciting and nerve-wracking. Being in charge of a house yourself for the first time can lead to mistakes being made, so here’s a list of some of the things I learnt!
Bills
The energy crisis is making bills much higher than normal, so students must be savvy. I was recommended a bill-splitting service which was very convenient but does come at a cost. They combine the bills you have and split them equally. This means that you don’t have to worry about chasing housemates, if you are happy to pay extra.
If not, someone will pay for the bills and everyone else pays them back. Make sure everyone in the house sets up a standing order to the person paying for the bills when the bills are paid so you won’t forget.
Make sure you are using energy carefully prevents you from having to overpay from your quote. Having the thermostat slightly lower is the best way to stop your heating bills being too high, but you must be careful. It is recommended that a room should not be below 18˚ C, so you shouldn’t try to save money by turning it down to a temperature that’s below this.
House Maintenance
Cardiff is filled with beautiful, but old, Victorian houses that need to be looked after a bit more than other properties. You need to ventilate your house to prevent damp and condensation mould, all you need to do is open a window every so often.
You should take pictures of any damage in the house when you move in to prove that it wasn’t you. While most landlords are very understanding about deposits, there will always be some landlords that are fussy. Don’t give them the opportunity to take your deposit for something you didn’t do!
What You Need to Bring
It’s good to check if the house comes with electricals such as a kettle, toaster, or microwave as this does differ between houses. If these don’t come with the house, check if any of your housemates’ family have one they don’t use anymore. If not, you can find a cheap one in a charity shop.
Car
If you want to bring your car with you, there are things to think about before you move in.
Many roads in Cardiff are either resident permit only or are generally very busy, so you may not have anywhere to park it. Check if your house comes with a parking permit, or if you can buy one (it’s £7.50 for one car).
If you are living in a four-person house and more than one of you wants to bring their car, this is not likely to work very well with parking. Also, only two permits can be bought per house (the second one is £30).
While bringing your car can seem like a good idea, it is often not worth it. Going to lectures isn’t likely to be an option in your car as there is very little parking near campus, and the only parking is very expensive. If you only plan to do small trips occasionally then the cost of having it at uni could be more than it is worth. If you plan to go on trips with your friends to places which are hard to access with public transport, then this could be a great option to have your car with you.
Your car insurance may be more expensive when having your car at uni. The extra cost when living off a maintenance loan could be harder to factor into your budget. You may be able to find out the extra cost by talking to your insurance company.
You also must think about the possibility of your car being broken into. While this has happened a lot less this year, student cars do sadly get broken into. You may find out how often cars get broken into on your street by joining a Facebook page for Cardiff students as often these incidents get mentioned. Make sure that you keep any valuables out of sight so that you aren’t tempting any robbers.
Housemates
You may not know your future housemates as well as you would like before moving in. It’s important to discuss anything that you feel is important for you when living in a house, such as cleanliness, smoking or noise levels. This is essential for preventing tension when you do live together.
You also need to work out who will be living in each bedroom. This can cause some issues if the bedrooms in a house are quite unequally sized, as many student houses are. There is the option of lowering the rent of people with the “worse” bedrooms in the house, so if someone is on a tighter budget then they may choose to have that room to reduce their rent. You may also choose to use a number generator to make the process as fair as possible. This can help make people feel more content with what they are given and prevents any resentment when moving in.
The most important thing to do is to make sure you put aside time to hang out with them! You’re all going to be living together for the next year, so it’s a great chance to know them better before you do move in. Actively setting time out of doing your uni work to see your housemates is not only great for your house but is also important for your mental health!
These tips are only the things I’ve noticed when I’ve been living off-campus this year, but speaking to any second or third years you know may give you some other ideas of what the best things for you to do is! Whatever you choose to do, living with your friends in your own house is just as, if not more, fun than living in halls in first year so look forward to it!
Gall symud i dŷ newydd yn yr ail flwyddyn fod yn brofiad cyffrous a nerfus. Mae bod yn gyfrifol am dŷ am y tro cyntaf yn gallu arwain at gamgymeriadau, felly dyma restr o bethau defnyddiol i’ch helpu chi.
Bilau
Mae biliau yn llawer uwch ar hyn o bryd oherwydd yr argyfwng costau byw, felly mae’n rhaid i fyfyrwyr fod yn graff. Cafodd wasanaeth rhannu-biliau cyfleus iawn ei argymell imi, ond mae’n rhaid talu amdano. Mae’r gwasanaeth yn cyfuno’ch holl filiau a’u rhannu’n hafal. Golyga hyn nad oes rhaid ichi boenydio’ch cyd-letywyr, os ydych yn fodlon talu ychydig yn fwy.
Os na, bydd rhywun arall yn talu am y biliau ac yna mae pawb yn ad-dalu’r person hwnnw. Sicrhewch fod pob aelod o’r tŷ yn trefnu archeb sefydlog i dalu’r person hwn bob mis, er mwyn osgoi anghofio talu am eich biliau.
Sicrhewch eich bod yn defnyddio’ch egni yn ofalus er mwyn osgoi gordalu. Mae gosod eich thermostat ar dymheredd ychydig yn is yn ffordd dda o osgoi biliau gwres rhy uchel, ond byddwch yn ofalus. Argymhellir na ddylai ystafell fod o dan 18˚C, felly gofalwch rhag troi’r thermostat yn is na’r tymheredd hwn.
Cynnal a chadw yn eich tŷ
Mae llawer o dai Fictoraidd prydferth yng Nghaerdydd, ond maen nhw’n hen iawn ac angen mwy o ofal na thai eraill. Mae’n bwysig eich bod yn awyru eich tŷ er mwyn osgoi lleithder a llwydni, trwy agor y ffenestri bob hyn a hyn.
Dylech dynnu lluniau o unrhyw ddifrod yn y tŷ wrth ichi symud i mewn er mwyn profi nad chi sy’n gyfrifol. Tra bod y rhan fwyaf o landlordiaid yn ystyriol am flaendaliadau, bydd rhai yn fwy penodol. Peidiwch roi’r cyfle iddyn nhw gymryd eich blaendal am rywbeth nad sy’n fai arnoch chi!
Beth sydd ei angen arnoch
Mae’n syniad da gwirio a yw’r tŷ yn dod gydag offer trydanol fel tegell, tostiwr a microdon. Os na, efallai bydd rhai sbâr gyda theuluoedd eich cyd-letywyr. Fel arall, mae’n ddigon hawdd dod o hyd i rai rhesymol mewn siop elusen.
Car
Os ydych yn bwriadu dod â’ch car i Gaerdydd, mae ychydig o bethau i’w hystyried cyn symud i mewn.
Mae nifer o heolydd yng Nghaerdydd yn ddeiliaid trwydded yn unig neu’n brysur iawn yn gyffredinol, felly mae’n bosib na fydd lle ichi barcio’ch car. Gwiriwch a yw’ch tŷ yn dod gyda thrwydded parcio, neu a oes modd ichi brynu un (£7.50 ar gyfer un car).
Os ydych yn byw mewn tŷ i bedwar person ac mae mwy nag un ohonoch yn bwriadu dod â char, mae’n annhebygol y bydd hyn yn gweithio’n dda iawn o ran parcio. Dim ond dwy drwydded y gellir eu prynu i bob tŷ, (ac mae’r ail un yn £30).
Er bod dod â’ch car yn ymddangos fel syniad da, nid yw hyn yn wir bob tro. Mae’n debygol y bydd mynd i ddarlithoedd yn eich car yn anodd oherwydd llefydd parcio cyfyngedig a drud ar y campws. Os nad ydych chi’n bwriadu defnyddio’ch car yn aml, mae’n bosibl nid yw’n werth talu’r gost. Os ydych yn bwriadu defnyddio’ch car i gyrraedd llefydd ble nad oes opsiwn o drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, yna gall fod yn syniad da.
Mae’n bosib y bydd eich yswiriant car yn ddrytach pe baech yn dod â’ch car i’r brifysgol. Gall y gost hon fod yn anodd ei thalu ar ben popeth arall. Gallwch ddod o hyd i wybodaeth am y gost ychwanegol hon trwy siarad gyda’ch cwmni yswiriant.
Rhaid ichi hefyd ystyried y posibilrwydd o rywun yn torri i mewn i’ch car. Er ei fod yn digwydd yn llai aml eleni, yn anffodus, mae’n bosibilrwydd o hyd. Gallwch weld mor aml y mae ceir yn cael eu difrodi wrth ymuno â’r dudalen Facebook i fyfyrywr Caerdydd sydd yn aml yn cofnodi rhai o’r digwyddiadau hyn. Sicrhewch eich bod yn cuddio pob eitem werthfawr yn eich car er mwyn osgoi denu lladron.
Cyd-letywyr
Mae’n bosibl na fyddwch yn nabod eich cyd-letywr yn dda iawn cyn symud i mewn. Mae’n bwysig eich bod yn trafod unrhyw beth sy’n bwysig ichi wrth fyw mewn tŷ, fel glendid, ysmygu, neu lefelau sŵn. Gall hyn fod yn hanfodol er mwyn osgoi tensiwn yn hwyrach ymlaen.
Yn ogystal, mae’n rhaid ichi benderfynu pwy sy’n byw ym mhob ystafell wely. Gall hyn achosi problemau os yw’r ystafelloedd yn amrywio o ran eu maint, sy’n gyffredin iawn mewn tai myfyrwyr. Mae opsiwn o leihau’r rhent ar gyfer ystafelloedd “gwaethaf” y tŷ, felly os oes cyllideb fwy tynn gan rywun, mae cyfle iddyn nhw dalu llai o rent trwy gael ystafell lai. Gallwch hefyd ddewis trefnu’r ystafelloedd ar hap er mwyn gwneud y broses mor deg â phosib. Gall hyn helpu pobl i deimlo’n fwy bodlon gyda’u hystafell, ac osgoi unrhyw ddicter wrth symud i mewn.
Y peth pwysicaf yw sicrhau eich bod yn treulio digon o amser gyda’ch cyd-letywyr. Byddwch yn byw gyda’ch gilydd am y flwyddyn nesaf, felly cymrwch bob cyfle i ddod i’w hadnabod yn well cyn symud i mewn. Mae sicrhau digon o gydbwysedd rhwng gwneud gwaith prifysgol a threulio amser gyda chydletywr nid yn unig yn syniad da ar gyfer eich tŷ, ond hefyd ar gyfer eich iechyd meddwl!
Mae’r awgrymiadau hyn yn bethau i mi eu sylwi arnynt yn ystod fy nghyfnod o fyw oddi ar y campws eleni, ond byddai siarad gydag unrhyw fyfyriwr o’r ail neu’r drydedd flwyddyn yn ddefnyddiol. Beth bynnag y byddwch yn dewis ei wneud, mae byw mewn tŷ gyda’ch ffrindiau yn llawer o hwyl, os nad yn fwy o hwyl, na byw mewn neuaddau yn y flwyddyn gyntaf, felly mae’n rhywbeth ichi edrych ymlaen at wneud!