One of the first questions I asked myself before I signed my apprenticeship is how would Cardiff compare to Strabane and how would I adapt as a strapping young lad of 16 years old, in the prime of my life, coming from a small town into a big city.
Well, in the 12 months I have been here, it has been answered; there is no comparison! From the shops to the nightlife, Cardiff is steps ahead as you would expect from a capital city.
When I say that I mean no disrespect to Strabane. I'm proud to come from Strabane where I love and miss my roots. But city live really does have that attractive buzz.
When I first walked through the city centre, I was amazed by all the high store brands that were now available to me and, in my head, I was already spending my first month's wages!
As I ventured around the city I found there was much more than shops to be found. Cardiff Bay has to be the best part of Cardiff. It has great food, great nightlife and most of all there is piles to do from watching a film to knocking down a few pins in the brand new bowling alley.
It's also the set for making Dr Who and the odd Dalek can be seen running about.
My first thought as I saw it was, if only Strabane had this!
Another major plus in Cardiff is the Millennium Stadium. It not only hosts the occasional football or rugby match final, it also hosts concerts of such big names as 50 Cent and Madonna. Later in the year, myself and a few of the boys are planning on seeing Rihanna there which should be good craic!
Not only does it have this venue, it has the Cardiff International Arena which also hosts concerts as well as high profile boxing matches one of which I have been lucky enough to see with Wales' very own Joe Calzaghe coming out on top. A little better than Strabane's big venues, St Pat's Hall and the Melmount Centre, I'm afraid to say!
Last but not least, I have to mention the nightlife. When I moved over at first, I felt that I would not have many nights out which has turned out not to be the case. Obviously with a league match on a Saturday I've never been out on a Friday night but I do make up for it on a Saturday night! The first club that I was in was Creation which has a similar lay-out to Katy Dalys but just has that little bit more about it.
As well as that, there is a long list of clubs such as Liquid, Walkabout, Reflex and Life each offering something different. All these clubs are very vibrant and play a variety of music from R 'n' B to trance music and occasionally a classic from Bon Jovi!
As you walk around the city the atmosphere is electric. There are loads of stag and hen parties all dressed up in various themes and scantily dressed beauties make candy for the eyes.
So for all you Townies out there, city life is hard to beat.
Next week, getting on the road.
