Sliema or Swieqi?

at the moment property is cheaper  due to it being winter and they want the rental income

I would say it all depends on what your after, if you like sliema then rent there just remember that come the summer its going to be full of tourists etc  there were a spate of burglaries in Sliema during the summer.

you also have to think about public transport from there again in the summer those buses become extrremly crowded etc

Plus points for sliema, there are plenty of nice places to sunbathe and swim in the warmer months , You have the point shopping centre ,etc

from my exp.:
prices of rent in sliema and swieqi are about the same, in sliema there is more newly builded apartments

sliema has point shopping mall, many other shops, 3 playgrounds (one really big) everything is close, you have plenty of bus lines to go anywhere, some nice (rocky) beaches
but also it is crowded, especially in summer months and  more noisy, but easily avoided if you move a bit from main streets

swieqi is more of a family town, someone told me that there is not bars in it, much more quieter, has 3 children playground, has small markets, bigger ones can be found in pacevile/st julian, same like all the other shops, shopping mall is in paceville (but much smaller than Point), there are few bus lines, if you walk from upper part to paceville that is a nice walk (especially going back as you'll go uphill ), closes beach is in pacevile (sandy one) but too crowded when all tourist's come in

my first idea was to rent in swieqi but in 14 days I didn't manage to find anything for me for long let, I wasn't interested in renting nice place with condition that I have to move out on 1.May as from then they rent on daily/weekly basis (the search was in september)

if you wonder - we settled in Gzira in the end, have a 15 minute walk to Sliema, everything is close and I still don't own a car

my suggestion: check both locations and don't trust if agent tells you everything is on 5 min walk, test it later for yourself, don't exclude st.julian, check it out also

btw. I moved in september and april - the prices were the same

Oh that doesn't sound good.  It doesn't look like I should hold out much hope of renting anywhere in Swieqi if you couldn't find anywhere within two weeks.  Did you try looking at properties through an agent, Duxx, or did you try direct with the landlord?   

Thanks for your help, Rob.  I'm not into sunbathing or swimming, so being a bit further back in Swieqi would be okay for me. I did wonder whether Sliema would be a bit more crowded in the summer months, so I was a bit put off by that.  I'm wanting something a lot more family friendly if possible, so Swieqi still sounds ideal from what Duxx has said.  Finding somewhere to rent there sounds like it's not going to be easy though.

I had an agent, but maybe I was just unlucky, don't give up hope 
besides, probably you and I don't have same expectations for property and maybe you have bigger budget so that will open more possibilities

Is there a reason why you chose swieqi or silema?
sweiqi
http://www.maltapark.com/item.aspx?ItemID=3906872http://www.maltapark.com/item.aspx?ItemID=3906278http://www.maltapark.com/item.aspx?ItemID=3906271http://www.maltapark.com/item.aspx?ItemID=3905958http://www.maltapark.com/item.aspx?ItemID=3905462

there are plenty of propeties on Maltapark added today all in swieqi but i guess it depends on how much your looking to spend i have included a few above

Hi
Well  it's  like  this. .
If  you  have  a work  already  in Sliema or  valleta  then is  clearly  this  part  best  and  cheaper  for  you  if  you  don't  have  a  car
But  if  you  came  hier  and  have  in  mind  to  look  for  summer  job in bar's  or  restaurant  then  St.julian  is  the  heart of  party  every  night  long  ;from may  to  October!
Then  is  better  swiegi  wich  is  a  nice  quiet aria  and  just  5mnt. Walk  to  Paceville  the  heart bit party of  St.julian.
From St.julian  to  sliema  center harbor  is  about 20 mnt.by  bus in summer+/- around 6kmt maybe  more...not  sure
Restaurants  are in  Sliema  to  and  all the  way up  by  the  cost  from  St.julian  Bay  up  to sliema
Usually  in  April  many  owners  put  in  windows  sign, , To Let" apartment  or  room
Same  phone  nr.ar  from agents
I  lieve  in  swiegi 2 y  ago  and had  a nice  park in  front  if  my apartment shopping  store around 3 mnt.walk etc.very quiet  loved  yo  walk  to  Paceville  every  morning
Praise  starting  from  400 er./1 apartment room  to  500er/ and  more for 2roms  apartment
But  you  have  starting erly April to look 4
Hopefully  was helping you a  bit
God  lock

Thanks for all your help.

We work from home and will be taking our car, so we won't need to be located near a certain area for work or anything. I like the idea of my son possibly being able to walk to Paceville, so Swieqi still seems ideal.  I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that there's something available and it feels the place for us when we go to see apartments at the weekend.

Just updating!

We managed to find a three bed maisonette on in Swiegi.  I've never looked at maisonettes because I thought they were the same things as you get in England, but really it's just a ground floor apartment with it's own entrance.

Just updating because we got back yesterday.

Having never been to Malta, I loved the place as soon as we got there.  I'm not sure about the rubbish I keep reading about because I didn't see any anywhere and it was spotlessly clean on the streets.  Is that going to change when the tourist season is in full force? 

We managed to get somewhere in Swieqi with a garage space underneath within our original budget.  I think Sliema would've been far too busy for us. We drove up the coast towards and beyond St Pauls and my god it's stunning up there! 







To live, it wouldn't be for us at the moment, so I think we've picked the right place picking Swieqi for a family with it being quiet.  I hope we have, but at least it'll be a good starting point for us.

glad you found somewhere your happy with , those are some lovely pictures, St pauls bay can be very pretty

There is a lot of litter/trash in Sliema Exiles area. I'm coping as best I can- often pick up bottles, etc and discard them properly. The seawall is ok but the side streets- Eeeks, it's been a test on my OCD in that area, haha!

St Pauls bay was very pretty.  We'd already signed for the place in Swieqi but I was having doubts when we saw it up there.  It's under a ten minute drive to some beautiful scenery up there, so it won't be hard to visit whenever we want. 

I did see a bit of rubbish and broken glass on the rocks at St Julians, but nothing anywhere else that we walked. I might stay away from the side streets as much as possible though, so I can stay in my bubble for a while, lol.  It really is a stunning island though, very different to what I was expecting.