Why Malta

Got a job offer - thought why not?

We miss being able to find good/products without having to drive all over the place. (You still don't find everything AND you have to pay through the nose for what you do find).

We also miss US/UK style coffee - Starbucks/Cafe Nero etc

We miss good Customer Service.

We miss generally careful and courteous drivers. And good condition roads.

We miss even reasonably efficient Govt. organizations and services.

I miss country pubs and good English beer (real ale) or good American Craft/Microbrewery Beer. Cisk is OK but it's no Timothy Taylor's Landlord or Bell's Two Hearted Ale!

There's probabaly more.

Tim

Pros

Weather , weather , weather.
Tax, low cost of living, health care.
Anyone can be bought at a price.

Cons.
Have only found useless service and more useless service.
No one is able to get something right the first time.
Most think their service delivery is stellar, where its sub par at best.
High level of dishonesty in any dealings.
High Levels of apathy in getting things repaired, fixed, or generally working to an acceptable level by any third world standard.

But Mondays to Fridays off peak the beaches are empty

I try to fix something but I can't get a reliable person. A few times, people don't come, don't call, don't know or send you to their friends without being aware that you're dealing with another company.

I find the people generally narrow minded and racist towards blacks and arabs. Strong extremist catholic culture.

Politically, the system is corrupted, people don't pay taxes like in Greece, Italy. People consider their island as a landfill.

Everything is double Tariff for foreigners (Arms,for example). If you're Maltese citizen, you are presumed resident here. If you're foreigner, you have to prove it. Beyond that, the Europeans are still considered as foreigners, with less rights than any other Europeans in other European countries. Until when, the Europeans are ready to abide this policy?

The country is very close to Arabic culture with an Italian influence. But they will say no, because of the religion (though this is the same God).

I think most of the people come, stay here because they pay less taxes than in Europe. Give 45% of taxes, I'm pretty sure that 99% of the foreigners will leave the Island in the next months.

Other criteria are security, sun, english. It's not enough, the rich people go to Switzerland for example and pay more taxes.

If the country becomes more and more racist like other european countries now, and if they remove their tax policy, that will be done for Malta.

It's my opinion, and analysis about the country.

As much as my heart wants to disagree with you John, my head says otherwise, at least some of the time.

Pros and cons depend 100% on your home country.
Malta public services are not less organized than other EU countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, all the eastern Countries.
People is not dishonest more than in those Countries and still life there is enjoyable, rich of nature and history, easygoing and very  simple, as in Malta.

What you got more in Malta? The weather, the calm, the sea, history, no crime, good healthcare system, best position to visit Eu, Asian or African Countries, small distances.

The cons are equal to all the Countries I mentioned, of course if you come from the UK, almost every other EU country will seem poor to you, bad-organized, dirty, difficult and dishonest.

I am Italian and I've been living for 3 years in Canada and UK, two of the most advanced countries in healthcare, social security and economical stability. You probably would expect me to enjoy a lot the UK for all these reasons but I don't, as many, at all.

The point is that I don't care about Nero/Starbucks/Costa coffees (no one of them makes a decent espresso) and I despise to find in each city the same big commercial Companies providing clothes, food, entertainments. I found out that living in the UK was like living in a big mall no matter wich city, of course this is my opinion.

Well, the point is that Malta is a developing country, and if all that matters to you concerns high-living facilities, perfect customer services, good public services... well, maybe you have to reconsider your move.

Hope my opinion was worth your reading :-)

Alert - you are welcome to state your opinion - but please don't slam mine at the same time. That's just not fair.

Regards
Tim

hammersfan wrote:

Alert - you are welcome to state your opinion - but please don't slam mine at the same time. That's just not fair.

Regards
Tim

Tim I'm sorry my post was unfair to you, I didn't mean to be unpolite or to slam your opinions on the matter.
So I apologise.

I was just trying to make my point, which in actually still very compatible with yours, it just comes out with the different perspective of a non UK citizen, that's it.

I apologise again if i was unrespectful.

Alert

Put simply-
Most people speak English
People smile because they are genuinely happy
Family bonds are very strong
Most people know each other or know of each other
The Maltese are very helpful so much so that it can be interfering . Yes , they can be racist because they are close -minded , (it is an island after all.)
It is a Catholic country
All live well and there is no poverty.
There is no discrimination with regards to  electricity  bills etc, you need to organise yourself in finding out the right information.
The sun shines daily
It is a safe place to live in !
Frankly  speaking I cannot comprehend why one would write such negative comments that certainly do not convey the Maltese lifestyle  and then  bother to live here.

hammersfan wrote:

Got a job offer - thought why not?

We miss being able to find good/products without having to drive all over the place. (You still don't find everything AND you have to pay through the nose for what you do find).

We also miss US/UK style coffee - Starbucks/Cafe Nero etc

We miss good Customer Service.

We miss generally careful and courteous drivers. And good condition roads.

We miss even reasonably efficient Govt. organizations and services.

I miss country pubs and good English beer (real ale) or good American Craft/Microbrewery Beer. Cisk is OK but it's no Timothy Taylor's Landlord or Bell's Two Hearted Ale!

There's probabaly more.

Tim

You think Malta is bad for the above,  jeez,... you should try living in Spain.  Basically, take the above, multiply it by 1000 and then you will get some idea....

I was surprised by the customer service though.... I've found them all very good since I've been here.

HAVE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BLOGS, YOU WILL SEE PLENTY OF PRO AND CONS ON THERE- THE FISH IN MALTA - ENGLISH, REFLECTIONS - CANADIAN. BOTH GOOD

Hello maby1967,

Could you please post in lower caps! You mean the blogs registered on our blog section?

From my perspective (I'm a UK retiree), I have found Malta friendly, welcoming, inexpensive, low-tax, and a pleasant place to live. 

Services, including public services, seem to me to work decently.  They are not gold-plated, but for me they're OK.

The country certainly has a Mediterranean culture and a Catholic religious tradition.  Neither of these things are part of my own background, but I've found them easy enough to live with.

lucyanya wrote:

hammersfan wrote:

Got a job offer - thought why not?

We miss being able to find good/products without having to drive all over the place. (You still don't find everything AND you have to pay through the nose for what you do find).

We also miss US/UK style coffee - Starbucks/Cafe Nero etc

We miss good Customer Service.

We miss generally careful and courteous drivers. And good condition roads.

We miss even reasonably efficient Govt. organizations and services.

I miss country pubs and good English beer (real ale) or good American Craft/Microbrewery Beer. Cisk is OK but it's no Timothy Taylor's Landlord or Bell's Two Hearted Ale!

There's probabaly more.

Tim

You think Malta is bad for the above,  jeez,... you should try living in Spain.  Basically, take the above, multiply it by 1000 and then you will get some idea....

I was surprised by the customer service though.... I've found them all very good since I've been here.

Blimey! Everyone's having a dig at me today!

We're all different and miss/value different things - I've been here 15 months and those are some of the things I miss...sorry!

Tim

Hi Tim,

I apologise for my delivery, I really wasn't having a dig at you, I was merely commenting on how bad it is in Spain (if you think its bad here, try doing something there kinda thing).  Please don't feel sad.... I'm still your friend..

I promise not to make any more wisecracks until I've worked on my delivery...hehe

Take care

Hi all,

I was more after why you all chose Malta and lets be honest as much as some don't like the customer service etc... you have all stuck it out so far! So i'd say the good is far out weighing the bad....rose tinted glasses are still smear free

Amanda x

I feel its more a question of what your expectations are and what you are planning on doing once you are here.
I am in the camp Malta has actually more of a North African influence in terms of mentality, attitudes , quality of work done etc apart from religion.

If you're on holiday for a year or two its great, if you plan on starting a business or working for yourself it will have lots of ups and downs.

I guess your attitude combined with your partners will make the difference. Good luck !

I'd decided I wanted to leave England and go ANYWHERE and chose Malta for a number of reasons;

1. I'd visited it once and quite enjoyed myself! It's like nowhere else, it has quaint places like Mdina and Valletta and then the party places like Paceville! Lots of lovely beaches, temples, so much to see.
2. The weather- amazing!!!
3. Igaming- a lot of igaming companies over here and thats the sector I worked in, in England so hoped finding a job wouldn't be too hard.
4. The lifestyle being so much more laid back and relaxed
5. Rent is much cheaper than in England- we have a lovely place here and a horrid hell hole in England!

The only one thing I really miss is Tesco!! Having one big supermarket that just does EVERYTHING and has their cheap brand like tesco own and value. Sometimes things can be a bit pricy here although supermarkets like Scotts have their Conad (i think?) brand which is good and cheap.

I do find, now I'm here, that it can be hard to get stuff done- like internet set up, or get things fixed. Everyone is so laid back that nothing is ever done in a hurry!

Don't regret the move for a moment though!