"Elegant or stylishly luxurious." That's the Oxford English Dictionary definition of 'posh' - along with a further British usage meaning "of a high social class". But what exactly makes an area posh? Is it huge mansions with sprawling manicured gardens and flashy cars? Is it a private gated community, hidden away from everyone else down a narrow country lane? Or maybe it's the residents themselves who actually make a neighbourhood posh, with their type of accents and certain interests?
We put the question to our followers on CardiffOnline to find out the poshest part of Cardiff. And it seems from the almost 170 responses we received that the people of Cardiff have reached a consensus - the serious comments, at least. Fi Prada suggested "Lisvane, Rhiwbina & Cyncoed", and Michael Carter also thought "Lisvane or Cyncoed" were the most upmarket parts of the city. Julie Baynton said Cyncoed was the poshest, too, and Theresa Lewis also chose Cyncoed, recalling that she'd "seen huge houses there", as well as Lisvane.
So, with three votes and four votes respectively, Lisvane and Cyncoed, both located in the north of Cardiff, came out top from our survey. But there were other suggestions, too, such as Atlantic Wharf, suggested by Steve Williams, or Llandaff, put forward by Chris Collard. Ken Barker thought "Old St. Mellons" and Nico Ocin proposed "Llanishen". Joachim Biddulph went slightly rogue, declaring the poshest region as "Cardiff Castle" - though with its 2000-year history, fairytale towers and ornate interior, it's certainly a valid choice.
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The top suggestions match up with the evidence - at least when it comes to posh-ness in terms of wealth and extravagance. In September last year, we took a look inside the most expensive houses in Cardiff. Houses in Cyncoed dominated the lot, with four houses in the area featuring in our list of eight. The two most expensive houses of the bunch were based in Cyncoed, at £2,200,000 and £1,850,000 - featuring an indoor swimming pool, private roof terraces, an electric entry gate and sprawling grounds. A house in Lisvane, which had its own games room, also made the list, at £1,600,000.
Unsurprisingly, then, Lisvane also made the list of Wales' most expensive streets last year - with Mount St Denys and Rudry Road. Old St Mellons has also made headlines for its grandeur: one of its streets, dubbed "Millionaires' Row", tells you everything you need to know. With detached mansions sitting behind tall gates, last year's average sale price for the road - the actual name of which is Druidstone Road - was £975,625, and the highest recorded sale so far is £1.6m.
There were some more comical stances in the replies to our question. "There's a posh part ????" said Nick Powell in apparent disbelief. Claire E Davies was also bewildered that Cardiff possibly could boast some elegance, asking: "Is there one?" Others even suggested going elsewhere to find the poshest place. "There's a big sign saying 'Now leaving Cardiff'", said Luke Daniel, while Nick Hillman quipped "the road out of there" and Tom Matthews joked "miles away". Steve Smith even had another neighbouring city in mind: "Newport" - though we'll have to leave it up to our NewportOnline team to vouch for how posh it is in comparison to the capital.
More tongue-in-cheek replies came from Dennis Despa, who suggested Chippy Lane - also known as Caroline Street - which is unofficially the most famous street in Wales for late-night grub, where revellers in the city have picked up a takeaway for around 150 years. It may not be the poshest place, but it welcomed some great new takeaways last year with delicious food. And, finally, with ill-disguised exasperation, Andy Saville wrote: "The Welsh Assembly building and it expensive occupants!" referring to the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay, the base of Welsh Parliament.
What do you think the poshest area of Cardiff is? Let us know in the comments below.
