Coming to Malta for 3 months before finally deciding whether to move

Hi all,

We are a family of four from Austria seriously thinking about moving to Malta. We've been to Malta before and liked it, but as moving with a family is quite a big step to take, we have decided to check out how “real life” (as opposed to holiday life) is there for a family, especially for the kids, so the plan is to come over for about 3 months next summer. I am a freelance English teacher and the centres I teach at are closed over the summer months, and my wife's on maternity leave for 2 years (unpaid, but she'll be able to return to her job after those 2 years if she wants), so we're kind of free over the summer anyway.

I'm planning to work, while my wife and the children try to figure out if they really want to live in Malta. (I must admit I'm the driving force in this venture, as I've always wanted to leave the cold Austrian winters behind… but my wife's sister has left Austria for Italy and started a family there, too, so we have “expat family members” already and are not complete strangers to the whole idea of moving to another (warmer!) country  

We are coming in February for two weeks to do some preparing for the long stay in the summer, and that's where I've got some questions I hope some of you experienced expats can help us with:

First, the plan would be to rent an apartment (2 bedrooms) for about 6 months, or 9 months if necessary. We'll be living in Malta all the way from July to September, for approximately 3 months, but I might come (without my family) over before the summer for a few days, and my wife and the kids might come over with my parents-in-law, too, so all things considered, I think finding a “long let” is our best bet. 2 questions now: First – is it realistic to find a property in February (I believe we'll need to use a real estate agency as we've only got 2 weeks to find something) but only rent it from the start of April or May, i.e. for 6 months (and not 9 months – from February to September)? And is it realistic to find something for not much more than 400 or 450 Euros? (I have read the related posts on this forum, and I've noticed robpw in particular seems to have some tricks up his sleeve to find affordable property )
We do have to think carefully about the money, as we will of course be paying the rent for our apartment in Austria all the time (which is about 900 Euros/month), and as I'm self employed, I rent an office in Austria, too, which is another 450 Euros… 

On another subject, for the stay in summer I am considering coming to Malta in our car, as we have quite a lot of baby-stuff (our younger boy will be a bit over a year next summer), and the toys for the bigger boy (he'll be 5), and stuff I need for work. I know about driving in Malta, it's not the most pleasant thing to do but I'm ok with it, but my question is: Am I right that I can legally drive our Austrian car in Malta for up to 3 months? The insurance covers all EU countries, including Malta, so no problem there, and in my opinion it would be no different to a trip to, say, Italy – where we often drive. I do realise that strictly speaking, I won't be on holiday but temporarily resident in Malta, but I'll still be registered in Austria, have my address there and everything, so I don't see any problems there. Could anyone who knows more about this confirm or correct me, please? (Please note: I have been following the other discussions on foreign plated cars on the forum, and they have often led to hot debates… I am certainly NOT trying to do anything illegal here, it's just that taking our own car over seems much less hassle than trying to get our stuff to Malta in another way, renting a car when we need one, etc., and then after 3 months shipping all our stuff back again. And registering the car in Malta is no option for a number of reasons…

I know that's a long post and a lot of questions, so thanks for being patient…
I do have another question (about where to stay), but I will write this in a separate post.

Bernie