Being British in Swansea

I've been considering going to university in Swansea (or possibly elsewhere in Wales) but have heard it can be quite racist/anti-english. Is that still the case? (And does anyone know what the university there is like, or any of the other welsh universities?)

should be OK, better than being from Cardiff.
as for Unis, depends on what ur studing History; Bangor's is great, IR; Aberistwyth. But you are close to the brilliant Gower Peninsula

Thanks for replying Gringito. What's wrong with being from Cardiff?

And, I'll be studying combined English and Psychology.

I've heard that if you're truly Welsh, you have to have a certain disdain for the English. I can't think that it would be too brutal.

Theres a bit of a rivalry between Swansea and the 'C' word as they call it. There are loads of league tables for Unis, try the Guardian or the Times.

Swansea university is not bad, although not one of the very best. That part of Wales has so many English people that you will not be affected by any prejudices that Welsh people may or may not hold.

Swansea itself (the town) is a rather depressing dump, apart from its terrific market. However, it is convenient for some wonderful countryside, above all the Gower Peninsula (the first place in Britain to be designated an"area of outstanding natural beauty").

My sister (English) went to Swansea Uni, and still lives in the city - with her Welsh boyfriend. She loves it there, but is developing a bit of a Welsh accent so maybe that's why she doesn't get any hassle!

Everywhere in Wales is a bit anti-English. My brother went to Uni in Swansea, then lived there for a year afterwards, and I lived there for 4 years until about 18 months ago. It was fine, I really liked living there.. like someone above says, the town is a dump, but it's surrounds are stunning.

Thanks all.

Some people have adamantly told me that the place is grimy, the university is rubbish, everyone is drunk and that the crime rates are appalling.

But others continue to say it's the best (or second best, or third best..) place they've ever been to. Hmph.

Still, I decided to go and actually see it during the easter break. (If nothing else it means a few days away. :) )

'everyone is drunk'-Its uni mate when you have 6hrs of classes a week what else is there to do

Heh, good point.

People in Swansea are also British though by the way.

You have to go and visit - it's really not that horrible, though I guess that depends where you live at the moment. It's just a bog-standard British town with a 1960s town centre. The bonus is the surroundings, as has been said. I nearly went to uni there myself, but preferred somewhere else - I would have been happy to go there if I hadn't got into my first choice though.

Thanks Keele.

And good point, Flora. I should have thought of that!

swansea is a grim welsh town, i dont think the people who live there would even deny this. maybe it depends on who your with as to what experience you have. Cardiff uni and city is by far a better choice (im not from cardiff but i have lived there) or bristol. i mean really, why would you choose to live in swansea when you have two other big university towns like cardiff and bristol close by?

the surrounding areas are beautiful though.

If feesible you should really try visiting for a day, to see what you think of it after all you maybe spending the next 3/4 years in the city!
Swansea certainly has its strong points and probably has the best back garden in Britain in the form of the Gower. As with most cities it has its problems; car crime used to be a big problem as are drugs and alcohol, but no where is perfect. I think the biggest problem with Swansea is that it is always being compared with Cardiff and gets a rough deal as they are very different cities.

As for anti-english sentiments, you may get some if you are parading around draped in a St.Georges cross but assuming you wont be then you should not worry. It is worth remembering that an estimated 500,000 English people live in Wales, that is roughly 1/6th of the population so you wont be alone, plus as with most universities; they are international hubs attracting students from every corner of the UK, Europe and the World, you may find that the welsh become the minority in some circles.

The Welsh are very Racist towards the English..

You get used to it. I gave as good as I got whilst at Cardiff Uni. It only revs into high gear when it's rugby time.

Most Taffs in the south aren't welsh (Celts) anyway but are descended from English people who moved there, mainly from the midlands, to work in the mines. Those clowns who support cardiff and claim to hate the english can't speak a word of welsh and just need something to hate. Like many places OP, swansea is full of nobs, but at a university you will definitely be ok, nobody with half a brain is genuinely anti-english there.

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<hr>Those clowns who support cardiff and claim to hate the english can't speak a word of welsh and just need something to hate.<hr></blockquote>

wimeraux, i suppose you need to speak cymru to be welsh??????? if they spoke welsh would that give them a better reason to hate the english????

My friend's son (English - and posh with it) was at Swansea uni. He loved it, and had a great time/got a really good degree.

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<hr>Most Taffs in the south aren't welsh (Celts) anyway but are descended from English people who moved there, mainly from the midlands, to work in the mines. <hr></blockquote>

During the 2nd half of the 19th century nearly 400,000 people migrated to South Wales. The majority of these were from Cornwall and Ireland, there was a substantial migration from other parts of Wales, people also came from England mainly Somerset and Gloucestershire to work the coal field. There were also a number of workers from Australia, Scotland and Italy. It was as the time the 2nd largest human migration on the planet (the largest being the USA).

To say the people of South Wales are from English descent is a little too strong.

The problem with the British Isles is that it is to easy to say that Welsh = Celt and English = Anglo-saxon. Most of the British Isles has a mixture of Blood from all over Europe and the world. Celt is often used to describe the Britons who were here before/during and after the Roman occupation, whilst Anglo-saxon desribes people from the North-west of the Germanic tribes who came to Britain in the latter part of the first millenia. It is often disputed what impact the Anglo-saxon tribes had, many now believe with the help of geneolgy that the Anglo-Saxon Invasion was one of cultural properties and not of genocide. If this is correct it means that the English are also from the Brithonic Bloodlines and are therefore Celts. However it is not that simple as I have not included any of the immigrants of the last 1200 years including the Dutch(Orange), Normans, Viking(Norse), Genoese, Huguenots, Rus, Palatines and the Iberians. With all these different people entering the isles it is highly unlikely that there are any 100% Britons(Celts) or any 100% Anglo-Saxons, in a recent survey suggests that 8 out of 10 people in the UK can be described as having a trace of Huguenot bloodline(i.e. French). So are the Welsh of the South of Wales celts or of English descent? the answer is both and neither as the spoils of time and migration have diluted the genelogical make-up of South Wales and the rest of Britain making being a Celt or an Anglo-saxon obsolete. To come to some conclusion and to draw a line on culture and nationality within Britain the only defining factor is that of boundaries, therefore the people of South Wales are Welsh (irrelevant of their genelogy).

Do you have to speak Welsh to be Welsh? NO, are the Maltese, the North Americans , the South African, Australians, Kiwis, Irish, Scottish, Belarussians, Brazilians, Mexicans etc.. anything other than the Nationality they are? No, Language is not important when determining Nationality. The two main reasons for Welsh being the minority language in Wales is the strength of English as an international language(and its close proximity to Wales) and that Wales was annexxed by England and Welsh was not a recognized language until recently(all trade, law, civil services etc have up untill recently been in English only! which if you cant understand makes paying your council tax difficult). If all your bills and letters arrived in Arabic then very soon you would have to learn Arabic to survive!

Are the Welsh Racist(towards English)? Yes they are but it is a 2 way street, Do the Welsh like being called Taffy or Sheep-shagger?

How about the popular ENGLISH nursey rhyme that starts: "taffy was a welshman, taffy was a thief...." is this not racist?

To answer the OPs question, are the Welsh racist? Yes they give as good as they get and have slightly more reason to do so.
the Welsh/Anglo relationship is a turbulent one but it is in noway extreme or violent, it is national pride and most insults and ridicules are in jest to be taken with a pinch of salt. Just like young siblings aguing when one screams "I Hate you" it is very often not the truth.

Thanks for going into such depth, Bananas. That was really interesting. And thanks for the answer to the original question - 'give as good as they get' doesn't sound bad.

Oh, and, thanks to everyone else who replied too. :)

Update for those who are interested:

I went up for a few days, loved it, thought the beach was gorgeous, liked the people I met so far (every ex-student and student seemed to have liked the uni), and overall have decided to put it as my first choice when applying.

Swansea is probably one of least racist places in the UK. Believe me, speaking with and Indian, Asian, American or even Queen's English twang won;t even get you a second look.