Is that worth going to Malta?

Malta state pensions are low ( as is the basic wage ) so you would need some form of private pension.
The state runs retirement homes but how good they are and if as a resident you would be eligible I don't know.
However, predicting what will happen in 30 years time is impossible!

Would you stay for the next 30 years, I doubt it, Malta is a small island in a big world.

Can you live on wages in Malta? of course you can but it will depend on what lifestyle you want.

I think language teaching is not well paid in Malta but there are lots of language schools so jobs are plentiful

I have no information regarding gaming companies.

Beach time? it will depend on your work life balance and income.

Come for a long holiday or 3 month work search before you commit .

Terry

As I understand it, from a Maltese teacher friend, pensions are capped at a maximum 900€ a month for all government employees regardless of there salary level. Not sure whether that applies to the state pensions of private sector employees as well.

Ray

Hello!
Thank you for the answers
Yes, I think private pension would be a better idea. After all the state pension is bad in the UK as well.

Regarding the beach... I was more curious about the safety there. Is it safe to swim there anytime you want? Or are there any restrictions? Or you just decide at the moment and you go? Does it cost money?

Tearnet, when you say I wouldn't live there for the next 30 years...do you think it's because of the quick development for tourists? I know it's impossible to predict the future, but looking at the current state of Malta, is it possible that in 30 years time it's going to be even busier?
We'd also want to have a baby there in the next 1-2 years. Would that cause any problems/annoyances as far as anybody knows?

Hi Krisztian,

I'm not an expat yet but we're thinking about moving to Malta some time in the next 2 years or so. I've been on the island several times already.

As for the beach: It usually doesn't cost anything (except for parking, maybe), the beaches in the north are nicer (Tuffieha Bay is my favourite, Golden Bay is popular, too), personally I find Pretty Bay in the south nice too, but you have a view of the free port with lots of freight ships, so I know many people who think it's not so pretty... In the end it always depends on your personal preferences, I guess. Is it safe to swim? I'd say yes, unless you've got rough sea (like yesterday, I think...), and there may be jellyfish sometimes. But generally the water is very clean.

As for Malta NOT being a place you'd like to live in for the next 30 years: I've heard that, too, but I don't see why. Yes, the island is very small, but so are other places. My wife comes from a mountain valley where there's far less to do than in Malta, and many people decide to live there for the rest of their lives (and many of them rarely go further than the next town which has a population of about 11 000) - I wouldn't want to live in her home village, but it's always a question of what you like, isn't it? My parents-in-law have lived there all their life.
I can only speak for myself, but I can imagine living in Malta for the next 30 years or longer and raising our two young children (now 4 years and 6 months old) there. I have a good friend who moved from Holland to Malta with his wife (South African) 3 years ago, they've got a lovely daughter now, too, and are very happy. And since they've just bought a house in Mosta, I guess they're planning to stay. (The friend I mentioned, and I, are both in our early 30ies, like you.)

As for language teaching, I would be able to tell you more after next summer as I am planning to work as a teacher in an English school in Malta over the summer months. But I can share a few of the things I already know: From what I know, the average pay is about 10 EUR/hour for an English teacher, which is more than in other jobs in Malta but not too good... Taxes/social security etc are low, though. There are lots of English schools, so finding a job as an EFL teacher shouldn't be too hard - you do need a TEFL certificate to be allowed to teach (there are different schools that offer courses; I did my CELTA at NSTS in Gzira. There are cheaper / less intensive courses, too.) As I understand it, if you want to work in a government school / centre, you need to speak Maltese. I don't know about private schools (For children, I mean. Not language schools.)
My friend from Holland initially worked as an English teacher in Malta, but soon changed into iGaming (customer care) as he earns much more there. If you know other languages, I'm informed there are good job opportunities in customer care roles. It's mostly shift work, though, so you need to be ok with working at nights / weekends. Many iGaming companies are in the Sliema/Gzira area.

I hope that helps. Good luck with planning the move
Bernie

For sure the urbanisation of Malta will continue, its sad but the Maltese in general have no regard for their heritage or history.
Its all s about the money  and short term  gain.

I personally would not have moved to Malta if I had not been retired as I would have found it far to restrictive and limiting for my family.
The opportunities for young people are just not here and most would have to travel out of Malta to obtain experience of the real world.
Its just a personal view and others may disagree.

Health care is good so childbirth should not be a worry for you.

good luck

Terry

Thanks for the answer
I think you are right when you say that when they finish secondary school or university, the possibilities for work are limited here. My fiancee however would not work in English teaching, but rather German or Polish. Possibly in a private language school? Or if not that, she could maybe work in iGaming, although I don't want her to work at nights as it wouldn't be too good once we have a baby. She also has phone sales experience, selling IT softwares over phone to potential customers. Have you heard about such jobs available on the island? 

As for staying here forever...I think it really depends on our needs, you are right.
We are usually not big travelers, but like to do a trip here and there. We would like when there are events happening on the island, for example the recent strawberry festival I saw on youtube. On the other hand we like to go home to a quiet place and rest a bit on the sun.
That's actually one of my worries. Noise! I have heard that noise is a constant problem on Malta, but would it be so bad slightly away from the main St Julians/Sliema/Valletta area? Say in Bugibba/Mellieha?
I'm planning to start applying on jobs from January remotely from UK and see if that works. If it doesn't, I will travel there alone and look jobs from here. My fiancee would come after me once I found a job.
Hope then when we are there we can meet you and find friends over the years

I never found the noise to be such a problem in Malta - but I've been living in a city all my life... I think you can find nice and (relatively) quiet places in the north (Mgarr, maybe, or Mellieha) or the south.

I'm not sure about the demand for Polish or German teachers - but then again, I recently saw a report ion Spanish TV about Spaniards who had moved to Malta, and one of them was a Spanish teacher in Malta. So there might be something?? I'm sure your fiancee could work in iGaming, and I heard there are also part-time positions (once you have children). BTW, as far as I know, if both parents work, daycare for children is free. (At least my Dutch friend has told me so.)

Although finding a job from the UK might be possible in iGaming, generally it seems to be a lot easier once you're on the island. But you could check out one of the recruitment companies' websites (e.g. toplanguagejobs) and start from there...

And yes, I agree with Terry that the opportunities for young people are limited - but then that's true for many places, isn't it?

I suppose its all down to how easy it is to travel for opportunities.
Malta is a small island with few opportunities and fewer options when it comes to travelling to and from  the Island.
There are only two options for Malta and only one for Gozo!
Malta has regular flights to the EU and a ferry to Sicily ( the ferry has not run for the last three days because of rough seas),
Gozo has only the ferry option and that has been running slow or not at all because of the weather.

So unlike mainland Europe commuting is not an option for work outside of Malta, that I suppose is why lots of Maltese leave the Island for work but return when they retire.

Noise is certainly a problem, the Maltese do not talk, they SHOUT, barking dogs, loud cars,, gunshots, fireworks all the year round.

Terry

Agree with Terry that mainland Europe usually offers more options, i.e. commuting.

When I said opportunities are limited in many places I was actually thinking of the situation my wife's sister and her family are in, they live in Sardinia and jobs are hard to find. (Her husband now works offshore in Brazil 2 months, then 2 months at home, then back to Brazil again... not easy for a family!)
And friends in Spain (commuting for 2 hours every day), and in the south of Italy.

But sure, commuting out of Malta for work is not an option unless you've got your own private jet 

In regards to question 4:

Most iGaming companies are in Sliema and quite a few in the Tagliaferro Business Centre on High Street:
http://tagliaferrobusinesscentre.com/Cl … fault.aspx

My partner and I tried applying for jobs directly and through recruiters for two years before we found a job. I can't confirm if it's true but I believe us living in Ireland was quite a problem. The only roles that would have been available were entry level customer service roles with €19k salary which was too low.

Things are changing on the island and more financial services companies are setting up an office in Malta. They are willing to pay a lot higher salaries such as 45k+ for Account Management roles instead of the usual 25-30k.

I have compiled a list of gaming/financial/technology companies I applied for / checked out regularly. Maybe you'll find this useful

Pokerstars (Rational Group) - Gaming
http://www.rationalgroup.com/about-us/careers/jobs/

Tipico - Gaming
http://www.tipico-careers.com/vacancies/

Betsson - Gaming
http://www.betssongroup.com/jobs

Unibet - Gaming
https://team.unibet.com/vacancy/find/results/

Betfair - Gaming
http://www.betfair.jobs/job-locations/malta/

Tipbet - Gaming
http://careers.tipbet.com/jobs/

Cherry AB - Gaming
http://cherry.se/en/work-for-cherry/

Mr Green - Gaming
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mr-green-online-casino

Europe Entertainment Ltd - Gaming
http://www.eel.com.mt/careers/

BetClic Everest - Gaming
http://jobs.jobvite.com/betclic/

NetEnt - Gaming
https://www.netent.com/career/vacancies/

Gaming1 - Gaming
http://www.gaming1.com/en/jobs

PlatinGaming - Gaming
https://platingaming.com/platingaming-ltd-career.html

GCV - Gaming
https://www.linkedin.com/company/522991 … %3Aprimary

Trustly - Online Payment Provider
https://trustly.com/en/jobs

Ixaris - Online Payment Provider
https://www.ixaris.com/careers/

Credorax - Online Payment Provider
https://www.credorax.com/careers

Microsoft - Technology
https://careers.microsoft.com/search.aspx

Tek Experts - Technology
http://tek-experts.com/careers/


Good luck!
Melanie

Oh wow, I'll definitely visit these links in January! Thanks a million!
When you say account management role, what do you exactly refer to? For me it's such a ambiguous term I'm asking because my fiancee's title is exactly that here in UK.
Do you think it's not worth looking from Ireland? I'm not planning to wait long if I don't find remotely. Maximum until March next year.
Thanks

Soni84 wrote:

Oh wow, I'll definitely visit these links in January! Thanks a million!
When you say account management role, what do you exactly refer to? For me it's such a ambiguous term I'm asking because my fiancee's title is exactly that here in UK.
Do you think it's not worth looking from Ireland? I'm not planning to wait long if I don't find remotely. Maximum until March next year.
Thanks

It is quite ambiguous I agree! With Account Management I mean someone managing a portfolio of customers dealing with operational queries and upselling/cross-selling products. it's quite a common job title in FinTech but perhaps not so much in Gaming. I've seen very few AM roles, mostly VIP Managers.

I've had good dealings with Pentasia and Betting Connections  but they also weren't able to find anything for us. In the end we got the job through networking on Linkedin. Most iGaming companies prefer people from the iGaming sector sadly (a recruiter told us) and not being on the island doesn't help either. I'd save money to last 6 months and just move over tbh. If they do offer you a job you'll probably have to move quickly anyway. Plus moving in December, January or February means lower costs for flights and temporary accommodation. We paid €25 from DUB to MLA!

Thanks Melanie, yeah I think I will need to be patient from there once I arrive, and not to expect too much from Ireland.
I'll keep following the forum meanwhile, plenty of useful information here!

So many naysayers lol - I love Malta almost at two years and I love it more each day - setting up a business here and I don't plan on leaving I can see my self on the beach in 30 years time with a pint of gin and tonic checking out all the hot lads lol -pretty much the same as I do today

Soni84 wrote:

Thanks Melanie, yeah I think I will need to be patient from there once I arrive, and not to expect too much from Ireland.
I'll keep following the forum meanwhile, plenty of useful information here!

Hey Soni,

I'm wondering if you have had any luck in your job hunt yet?