Hi guys.
So my move to Malta is the 17th of this month a bank holiday in the UK. Thought I would let you know what I have experienced so far.
Job hunting.: I'm in the IT sector, Infrastructure support. konnekt recruitment has been the best/most professional, also linked in job search feature has been good source of jobs.
Had a few interviews but in the end decided that it's hard to compete over Skype with someone already in Malta. Also felt like business get messed around as in ppl pull out of the move once the job is given 2nd thoughts etc etc . The company's seem to want some evidence of your commitment to the move to Malta. An actual moving date helps. also felt the wage offered was high compared to the average but still the attitude is " on yeah it's only 26k but it's malta 300 days sun, laid back lifestyle etc etc" so decided to stop the interviews and just move to take that part out of the wage negotiation process.
Somewhere to Live: Estate Agents work completely different than from the UK they are just middle men. First off forget looking on the websites they are all out of date contact an agent tell them what you are looking for go from there. I found a place through frank Salt, The Place I got in the end was advertised for 580 and we came to an agreement of 600 ??? I know but that's how it works. The place was going for 650 managed to knock 60 off for signing a year contract instead of 6 months. Once you have paid the agent they have no involvement going forward. It's between you and the landlord. No credit checks, no background checks, and contract was not worth the paper it was printed on. But Landlords are really nice been really understanding and helpful.
Traveling with Pet Dog: Finding somewhere to live with the dog was pretty easy, only two places said no because of the Dog the rest was just overpriced or I did not like. Flying a 32kg dog to malta. Went through an agency who wanted to charge me £1300. Felt that was a bit steep so contacted Air Malta the Price came to £610. The agency made up a bunch of charges and added VAT on. Air Malta told me the charges and the VAT are included in the £610. You need the correct type of crate, a bunch of stickers to go on it. can only fly from Heathrow with pets on a Monday. And you need to fill in a form on the Malta Gov website and send off so they have a Vet waiting at the airport to check you have followed all the EU rules, check the pet passport etc etc. Will give an update on how it goes.
Extra stuff: visited Malta a few times to make sure I knew what I was getting into and it was right for me, joined a face book group called RUBS, made some friends on line, visited them out in Malta, met a woman who became more than a friend ;-). Been think about Malta for over a year and planning since January all the logistics. We got together in December I would be lying if she was not a big factor in the final decision
Conclusions: won't lie I'm Still worried about finding work but I'm going out with enough to last 3-4 months, if I don't find anything in the 1st month I will just get some bar work or something. Just to get some money coming in. I Know there are jobs in Malta I can do, it's just finding the right one for me.
The move its self is still a scary thing but all in all I'm sure it's the right decision for me. If I don't try it I will never know.
It's a fresh start for me, I'm almost through a Divorce hoping to get it all wrapped up by the end of 2017, it's still early days but the woman I have met makes me very happy,
I have 16yr old daughter, it cost me more money for her train ticket from Reading to Cardiff then it does for the flight from Heathrow to Malta. So she still visiting for half terms and will be as much as part of my life as she is now.
Anyway.. thought I would share some thoughts and lessons learned. I did not speak much on the forum but it has really helped me reading the posts thank you all
Any questions I will do my best to answer