How does Malta see foreigners?

well said

Toon, i love your comment( i have,nt mastered English yet) i also have,nt mastered it, so you are not alone.

      Frank.

In response to Scubaboy's questions:

I work in accounting/finance area. In this field, mostly English is a required language, but some job postings I saw also listed fluent Maltese. Recruiting agents were also mentioning on the interviews that some companies preferred Maltese speaking candidates. I can't say it's hard to get hired, it was relatively straightforward. The question is whether you would be satisfied with working conditions.

I don't really think the way I feel about living here has much to do with were I'm based. I'm pretty mobile and go to other towns and places quite often. People are generally welcoming and helpful in the area I live now. There are many things, however, that I find unacceptable and unable to close my eyes to: trash on the streets everywhere from small villages to bigger towns is one of them. Dog shit - in US you must clean after your dog and I believe here is the law as well, just no one seems to care or is OK with it. A lot of places also look very beat up and the roads are in very bed shape. I can make the list much longer, but I won't be repeating my previous posts. There are things I like about this place as well: food, fresh fruit and vegetables, the sea, sunshine, low crime rate, it's also very easy to get set up for newcomers (rentals, phone, internet, buying a car, insurance etc.)

Really interested to hear more opinions and experiences, especially comparing to other places you lived in.

Thanks for a great post actually detailing about the Bad and the Good.

I know a nice story and try to translate it in short:

An old man was sitting in front of the city gates as a stranges came to him and asks, "Hello my friend, can you tell me how the people in this city deals with strangers?"
The old man answers with a counter question, "How did the people treat you in the town you lived before?"
"They have been very friendly, helpful and seemed to be very interested".
"You will meet exactly the same in this town", the old man answers.

Some times later another stranger came along the street and before entering the town he turned his head looking down to the old man and asks, "Old man, tell me, how do the people in this town behave to strangers?"
Again the old man asks, "How did the people treat you in the town you lived before?"
"They have been very unfriendly, arrogent and seemed to be completely uninterested to my person".

And again the old man replys, "You will meet exactly the same in this town" ...

matm911: Your post says it all;)

Markus,

Brilliant...

a good example - treat people as you would have them treat you is the watchword....

I lived and worked in Malta in the difficult times at the end of the 70's. I have visited frequently and I have never had cause to feel an outcast or treated in any other way than with respect.
This is one reason why Lynn and I are moving out there.
We expect to mix with the local communities, we expect to learn the language; it's theirs so why shouldn't they speak it any time they choose? As the excellent story above illustrates, it's the attitudes we project that cause others to reflect back.