Moving to Malta. Suggest me an area to live in

Hi

best area is Paceville

Best Regards

Lotfi

ChezLouLou wrote:

Hi

best area is Paceville

We might help you in a good accommodation place for you

Best Regards

Lotfi

You're joking, right? That's like the worst place if he's relying on public transport, especially after the 202/203 bus doesn't go to Birkirkara anymore!

@Jethink: Mriehel Bypass is quite long - are you closer to the Balzan end or the Hamrun end?

I'd look into Birkirkara itself especially if you may even want to walk to work. Buses so far have not been reliable, either they don't come or they're full. I was late for a few job interviews even though I allowed an extra 1 1/2 hours! We live in Naxxar with a good connection to Birkirkara but it's a real gamble sometimes.

Also, we looked at some great apartments in Birkirkara. You get good value there.

Working in B'kara - living in Paceville ?

You must be kidding or really desperate to rent out appartments in the worst area of Malta !

But it's the best place to stay if you are into drinking,drugs, fighting , prostitution and loud night life in general -)))

Cheers
Ricky

Agree! Paceville??? ahahha ok if you are some kinda vampire and dont need to sleep

Hi what about gzira? i'm planning to move on january/february...is it a good zone?

blackangelheart wrote:

ChezLouLou wrote:

Hi

best area is Paceville

We might help you in a good accommodation place for you

Best Regards

Lotfi

You're joking, right? That's like the worst place if he's relying on public transport, especially after the 202/203 bus doesn't go to Birkirkara anymore!

@Jethink: Mriehel Bypass is quite long - are you closer to the Balzan end or the Hamrun end?

I'd look into Birkirkara itself especially if you may even want to walk to work. Buses so far have not been reliable, either they don't come or they're full. I was late for a few job interviews even though I allowed an extra 1 1/2 hours! We live in Naxxar with a good connection to Birkirkara but it's a real gamble sometimes.

Also, we looked at some great apartments in Birkirkara. You get good value there.

As i can see from google maps it's in the middle of mriehel road.
Do you think Birkirkara, Hamrun or Balzan are nice to place to live in?
Can you tell me what price range are for 2 bedroom apartments?

One of the areas that's often not on expats' radar is Pieta'. Perched between Valletta, Msida, Hamrun and G'manga, living there is like being very central. Sure you won't have quaint cafes and such but otherwise highly recommended. You can get to Mriehel via St Joseph Street, Hamrun via a direct bus connection.

hey jethink ..birkirkara can be a nice place to live with some reasonable property prices to boot

what are your needs ? in terms of housing if you send me a private message i can recommend a friend of mine who can help you find a property if your still looking

DavideM wrote:

Hi what about gzira? i'm planning to move on january/february...is it a good zone?

I live in Gzira and work in B'kara, but since the buses 202/203 stop driving to b'kara and walk to work, much easier then chaning 22 buses which are never on time

takes me 30 minutes to get to psaila street walking

for living in Gzira, yeah it very nice place

hvala duxx...i think i'm gonna look for a room there or in sliema

Hi Davide. If you will be working in Mriehel, then live close to there. If you then want to go out to Sliema, go with a bus. Balzan is close to Mriehel and is one of the nicest places to live in - but only because it is authentically Maltese, quiet, and quite central to most of Malta - if you have a car. I got a room in Balzan if you want to discuss.

Hi! maybe u are making a bit of confusion. i didnt start the topic so i m not going to work in that city....I just asked infos about gzira...anyway thanks for the offer but i'm not moving yet...maybe in a month time....i will let u know. thanks

jethink wrote:

As i can see from google maps it's in the middle of mriehel road.
Do you think Birkirkara, Hamrun or Balzan are nice to place to live in?
Can you tell me what price range are for 2 bedroom apartments?

Sorry for the late reply, we only just got internet in our place! I don't live in these areas myself so I can't say if they're good but so far on this forum I've read only good things about Balzan. Birkirkara is a very large area, according to the Wikipedia the most populated town in Malta so it really depends where you live!

We looked at apartments in the Ta'Paris area (close to Mater Dei) which was very pleasant and purely residential. Perhaps a bit too quiet - no cafes or restaurants which is one of the reasons we didn't go for it in the end. Price range was €700-800 for large 3 beds (120+ sqm), very modern or even brand new.

I agree with MaltaAugust2014 that Pieta is often overlooked. Some parts of it can look a bit rough but there's plenty of stylish apartments and penthouses available now. We looked at a few places there, one 2 bed penthouse with a lovely terrace close to the hospital but sadly the landlady was horrible. Bonus: The Lidl in St Venera is really close. You'll be saving loads on food shopping.

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

Google maps shows all of the bus stops, and has labelled most of them with the bus routes that stop at each. You should look at the bus stops near your work, and then see where those routes go, and which ones run with the most frequency.

Of course, you could just live in Birkirkara and walk to work - that would probably be simplest, and a lot of bus routes go through B'kara when you want to go to other parts of the island for non-work.

kateblank wrote:

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

.

I needed a good laugh - the bus fiasco is dire tourist are paying 3 times as much per week , the majority of bus stops don't have timetables for the correct routes now , buses simply don't turn up or go on whatever route the driver can be bothered about and there is complete and utter confusion and a lot of buses have reduced frequency including from sliema to the airport and to the hospital

robpw2 wrote:

kateblank wrote:

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

.

I needed a good laugh - the bus fiasco is dire tourist are paying 3 times as much per week , the majority of bus stops don't have timetables for the correct routes now , buses simply don't turn up or go on whatever route the driver can be bothered about and there is complete and utter confusion and a lot of buses have reduced frequency including from sliema to the airport and to the hospital

Me, too Rob! First of all - walking to Sliema from St. Pauls Bay on a daily basis? I don't think so! I enjoy walking and do lots of it but 10km one way, wow!

The buses are a joke. They either a) don't come b) are too full or c) arrive too early presumably due to b) which saves time at some bus stops. Some numbers are completely missing from most stops whereas others shown don't go that route anymore. Bus timetables still missing or incorrect. There are four buses across the road from us and only 2 timetables displayed, one doesn't stop there anymore.

I have applied for a Tallinja card weeks ago and still nothing. My partner and I are both paying around €50 a month for transport each due to this! It's atrocious that you cannot buy a cheaper monthly pass and have to wait for this card to arrive (which might never happen).

I've been on buses where the driver simply changed the route and drove wherever he felt good. Luckily he could be bothered to stop in Naxxar. Some Maltese pointed it out and in the end they shouted at each other for 15 minutes (it was kind of amusing I have to say).

The biggest joke is MPT's website though. Some days it works, then on other it shows the worst connections and sometimes it displays the walking route only. Very useful - not!

Rant over

Hi Jethink,

It Depends on what you are looking for really, if you want to live in a quiet and residential area then there are plenty of Central areas to choose from...the closest would be Balzan, Birkirkara is nice but i feel its a bit too busy with all the shops and traffic.

So Quiet and Residential? - Balzan,Lija,Attard,Mosta/Naxxar and Santa Venera.

I laughed when that person commented Paceville, public transport isn't great here - i suggest staying a bit close to where you work.

But if you want to be closer to the seaside but still kind of close to work (Birkirkara) then you could opt for Swatar,Msida and maybe Gzira...since catching a bus from there to B'kara would be direct.

For bus routes ext. check out this website of transport malta.

http://www.transport.gov.mt/land-transport/bus-service

Good luck, if you need help finding a place to live i can also help I specialise in letting here in Malta.

Regards

You are incorrect. I use the buses 7 days a week, to get to work and to go other places around the island. All of the new timetables are up, and since December 20 (when the timetables and routes changed) only one of my buses has been late.

Also, that day we had the really hard rain, my bus broke down halfway to work, and a replacement bus was sent to pick us up in under 12 minutes.

People can complain about Arriva all they want, but this winter the buses are doing a very good job.

(And any tourist who bothers to do five minutes of reading can pay the same prices as a resident.)

Re-read for comprehension -
I wrote that I walk *OR* take the bus.
Clearly I meant that I use the bus to commute between St Paul's and Sliema every day.

kateblank wrote:

You are incorrect. I use the buses 7 days a week, to get to work and to go other places around the island. All of the new timetables are up, and since December 20 (when the timetables and routes changed) only one of my buses has been late.

Also, that day we had the really hard rain, my bus broke down halfway to work, and a replacement bus was sent to pick us up in under 12 minutes.

People can complain about Arriva all they want, but this winter the buses are doing a very good job.

(And any tourist who bothers to do five minutes of reading can pay the same prices as a resident.)

Arriva have not run the buses for over a year now!

And we still have the Summer 2015 timetable up in Gharb!

blackangelheart wrote:

robpw2 wrote:

kateblank wrote:

Hi,
I don't keep a car; I live in St. Paul's Bay and work in Sliema, and I either walk or take the bus. On the upside, a new company has taken over running the buses, and after a year or so of studies, in December they made a lot of changes that seems to be very much for the better. The buses I take are almost always on time (although, in bad weather or very bad traffic, they still do fall behind).

.

I needed a good laugh - the bus fiasco is dire tourist are paying 3 times as much per week , the majority of bus stops don't have timetables for the correct routes now , buses simply don't turn up or go on whatever route the driver can be bothered about and there is complete and utter confusion and a lot of buses have reduced frequency including from sliema to the airport and to the hospital

Me, too Rob! First of all - walking to Sliema from St. Pauls Bay on a daily basis? I don't think so! I enjoy walking and do lots of it but 10km one way, wow!

The buses are a joke. They either a) don't come b) are too full or c) arrive too early presumably due to b) which saves time at some bus stops. Some numbers are completely missing from most stops whereas others shown don't go that route anymore. Bus timetables still missing or incorrect. There are four buses across the road from us and only 2 timetables displayed, one doesn't stop there anymore.

I have applied for a Tallinja card weeks ago and still nothing. My partner and I are both paying around €50 a month for transport each due to this! It's atrocious that you cannot buy a cheaper monthly pass and have to wait for this card to arrive (which might never happen).

I've been on buses where the driver simply changed the route and drove wherever he felt good. Luckily he could be bothered to stop in Naxxar. Some Maltese pointed it out and in the end they shouted at each other for 15 minutes (it was kind of amusing I have to say).

The biggest joke is MPT's website though. Some days it works, then on other it shows the worst connections and sometimes it displays the walking route only. Very useful - not!

Rant over

Welcome to Malta!

Ray

kateblank must be a troll or working for Malta Public Transport ?? So far I've heard no one, neither expats nor Maltese, say a good thing about the changes introduced on 20th December. Most bus stops have not been updated properly, timetables as well as numbers stopping there and the website is also incomplete with some timetables missing.

Yes, tourists can in theory get the same prices as residents but only if they apply for the Tallinja card well in advance. They have to pay €6 for postage and pray that the card arrives before their holiday. Also you have to register with your passport. Bureaucracy in Malta at its best!

kateblank wrote:

You are incorrect. I use the buses 7 days a week, to get to work and to go other places around the island. All of the new timetables are up, and since December 20 (when the timetables and routes changed) only one of my buses has been late.

Also, that day we had the really hard rain, my bus broke down halfway to work, and a replacement bus was sent to pick us up in under 12 minutes.

People can complain about Arriva all they want, but this winter the buses are doing a very good job.

(And any tourist who bothers to do five minutes of reading can pay the same prices as a resident.)

your deluded .. it hasnt been arriva for at least two years ... the new company is a spanish company
and secondly none  of the new timetables are at bus stops ... im a frequent bus user and i have eyes and thats why they are receiving so many complaints ... you only have to read the times of malta to see that people are complaining !!

Neither - just a regular user of public transportation in Malta and other countries. I know from bad buses.

I didn't say we still have Arriva; I said Arriva were complaint-worthy, but the new system is running just fine.

And we all know you cannot judge the quality of a thing by the people who write to local newspapers and websites. People love to complain about anything. I honestly don't take seriously the complaints about the Arriva era because of people's tendency to gripe; I wasn't here then, but I definitely take those stories with a grain of salt.

I would have to agree with user kateblank about media perception management in Malta. I monitor media due to the nature of my job (print, online, TV, radio) in both English and Maltese first thing every day and have to admit that the letters and comments infesting the columns and online boxes are a bit more complex than me typing my views here as an individual.

I haven't heard many good things about public transport in Malta either - friends of ours live in Mosta, it takes them about an hour to get to work by bus (not sure where, I think around Sliema, Gzira...) vs. 15 minutes by car - this makes the choice for the car easy... (they work evening shifts most of the time, so less traffic). And I myself have waited for the bus in vain in Sliema several times - and when it finally came, it didn't stop because it was already full...
I must say that I've never been a big fan of public transport - not in my home city in Austria (I prefer the bicycle, faster, cheaper and more reliable), not in Spain or Italy (terribly unreliable and crowded) and not in Malta.

But as we are going to look for an apartment somewhere in Malta to stay over the summer months - and we haven't decided on where exactly, yet (I'll probably be working in Sliema, but our budget is limited, so we're thinking about the north - maybe St Paul's or Mellieha - or the south - M'skala or B'bbuga - for the apartment) - how bad are the connections really? And is kateblank the only one who has good connections from St Paul's area to Sliema, or are there others who can confirm this? (Has the new coast road improved the reliablility of the buses there?)

So you cannot judge a service by the number of complaints! 

That's exactly how you should judge a service.

Terry

Terry, you almost never hear from the people who are satisfied with a service.

If all you use for analysis are complaints on easy-to-access mass media, you are getting only a very narrow slice of the picture.

Bernie, I think two factors have been at the heart of the St. Paul's-Sliema improvements:

The coast road provided a route that is more direct and split the traffic between people heading toward coast towns and people heading to the center.

Eliminating the 12 and creating the twice-hourly 212, which goes only to Sliema and does not go on to Valletta, has made the route more efficient. The majority of riders are commuters and tourists who are riding the full route; people starting in Sliema who only need the shorter legs (stops in St. Julian's or Swieqi, for example) hop on the more frequent routes (13, 16, etc.) So now the 212 runs pretty much like clockwork, like the other 200s.

kateblank wrote:

I didn't say we still have Arriva; I said Arriva were complaint-worthy, but the new system is running just fine.

And we all know you cannot judge the quality of a thing by the people who write to local newspapers and websites. People love to complain about anything. I honestly don't take seriously the complaints about the Arriva era because of people's tendency to gripe; I wasn't here then, but I definitely take those stories with a grain of salt.

People complained about Arriva because they didn't know just how bad it could really get! 

I agree that not all comments on Times of Malta or MaltaToday should be taken seriously because some people complain that they have to walk a few hundred meters to the bus stop. However the vast majority of complaints are valid since many routes were scrapped or changed and the frequency has been reduced.

Consider yourself very lucky if you have more than 1 bus per hour that actually stops and doesn't just drive past full. For many others that's the reality

most surveys regarding service are based on narrow slice of customers either by surveys in the street or via newspapers.
The results of these surveys or figures from the service provider rate services.

As TM do not release figures on the number of complaints its only by papers like the TOM conducting its own survey or complaints to it that the overall service can be rated.
I think the last one carried out by the TOM  rated the bus service as pretty bad.

This is a link to  an EU wide survey in which Malta had a 22% satisfaction ratio on punctuality and reliability.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … but.522954

Terry

Our bus service in Gozo with Arriva and since is very good, so no complaints here!