Like most large British cities Bristol has areas of deprivation. It also has a drugs problem, again it is not alone in this. However, to say there are daily drug-related shootings is absurd. The problem of on-street drug dealing is largely confined to areas of the inner city.
Bristol has a larger population than Cardiff, much larger if the two conurbations are compared, therefore one might expect to see more social problems. Equally, there is more prosperity.
There are beggars on the streets in the central areas but his is because they see Bristol as an affluent city with plenty of pickings for them.
The late Sir John Betjeman called Bristol his favourite English city, and the architecture that gave rise to these remarks is still there. He was not a bad judge and I would take his opinion on such matters before yours.
Bristol is cosmopolitan and vibrant as witnessed by the opinions of many outside commentators, but so is Cardiff, and the two are not mutually exclusive.
I have lived in Bristol for forty years.
Merry Christmas.