Swansea, Wales

Swansea or Abertawe is officially known as the City and County of Swansea and it is a coastal city & county in Wales. It is the 2nd largest city in Wales after Cardiff& the 25th largest city in the UK.

Know more about the City Swansea, Wales:

The city’s Welsh name, Abertawe, describes its location at the mouth of the Tawe, where the river empties into the bay. The city has transformed into a worthy destination with the glorious 5-mile sweep of Swansea Bay. The Vikings named the area Sveins Ey (Swein’s Island), probably referring to the sandbank in the river mouth.

Swansea is home to the Swansea University with the campus in Singleton Park overlooking Swansea Bay. Other establishments for higher education in the city include University Of Wales Trinity Saint David and Gower College Swansea.

As it’s a student city you will find many of them enjoying in the restaurants and bars over the weekends.

Accommodation

Being a student city, the accommodation options are plenty and one can find a right accommodation according to his or her lifestyle and budget constraints. Many students prefer to go for a university accommodation and here we have given approximate values of university’s accommodation of different types. These accommodations start from around £79.60 and go up to £222.20 Per Flat on weekly basis.

RoomSize TotalRooms  Contract WeeklyCost Annual Cost
Ensuite 1211 40 Weeks £131.50 £5260
Premium 205 40 Weeks £136.70 £5468
Twin Room 8 40 Weeks £79.60 Per Person £3184
1 Bed Flat 25 40 Weeks £175.10 £7004
2 Bed Flat 33 40 Weeks £222.20 Per Flat £8888

Cost of Living

The cost of living in the Swansea city is relatively low as compared to many other cities in the UK. However, it is still important that any potential student calculates the expenses involved before they attend University.

On an average, a student studying at Swansea will be spending between £6000 and £9000 (over 40 weeks) on living costs. We have given here the average costs to give you an approximate estimate of the expenses involved.

The exact costs depend heavily on lifestyle and will differ from person to person, but it’s always better to draw up a budget – and stick to it!

General Living Costs

General Living Costs Costs per Week Cost per academic year (40 weeks)
Leisure Spending £25 £1000.00
Parking £10.00 £400.00
TV License £2.80 £112.00
Laundry £4 £160.00
Food £40.00 £1600.00
Phone (landline and Mobile) £7.50 £300.00
Clothes £10.00 £400.00
Childcare Costs £90 per week £3600.00

Travel and Transport

The city has well-connected rail connectivity with Fast and frequent train services linked from all across the UK and also outside the UK. The nearest airport to Swansea is at Cardiff which is about an hour away from the city by train or by road.

There are fast and frequent coach services to Swansea from all regions of the UK, either directly or with one easy interchange.

The city is well-connected with the National Express running directly to Swansea and Port Talbot from Central London, West and South Yorkshire, Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, the West Midlands, the Bristol and Cardiff.

Megabus services run directly to Swansea from the London, Bristol, and Birmingham. There is also a daily direct service from Rosslare to Swansea.

Local Bus service is also efficient and budget friendly.

Part-time Work

Many students look for part-time jobs to support their studies and to learn the much-required skills like effective communication, presentation of ideas etc. Being a student city the place is home to many restaurants, clubs, and bars; students can work at these joints during their free time. International students need to check their visa permission to work while studying. Mostly, students are permitted to work up to 15 hours weekly during term and 40 hours in a week during vacations.

There are always some options like assisting a professor or some fellow student in his research work to get paid.

Food and Shopping

You will find café bars to restaurants to bistros at the Swansea City Centre. There are a number of options for quality food products to suit your taste as well as pocket.

You can taste the exotic flavors of the world as well as the local seafood specialty i.e. Laverbread which is a pureed seaweed!

The Swansea city center is also home to many big high street brands and independent boutiques, specialist shops, and traditional arcades. This place will obviously spoil you for choices with many choices to choose from.

Entertainment

Swansea’s City Centre has something for all by day and night.

Whether you are looking for a great day out or a place to shop or to get entertained or dine out and spend quality time with friends, look no further- Swansea has got all. The city’s culture is vibrant and varied with a number of places to go to like museums, art galleries, theatres; cinemas and city also host a number of cultural events and festivals.

There are a number of great attractions you can explore during the weekend like cinema, bowling, gaming, gym, snooker to wale’s first board rider and indoor tropical center.

Climate

Swansea experience Temperate Oceanic Climate and thus the climate is milder than the mountains and the valley’s inland. Swansea is the wettest city in Britain and temperature can soar to high twenties degree Celsius during midsummer.