Cost of living 2019 in Malta

Regards cost of living, we pay less for electric and water, gas is just a bottle at €16 which lasts 2 or 3 months. We have lots of electrical appliances including a/c.
I pay a little less for gym. Petrol about the same, car insurance and car tax slightly less. Garage repairs a lot less.
Alcohol and cigarettes a lot less and unfortunately food a lot more. Over 60 's means we have free bus pass.
Medical, dentists slightly less , vets a lot less, pharmacy products about the same.
To see a GP there is a fee of €15 which I am personally happy to pay. It prevents time wasters taking up the doctors time.
Basically, keeping things simple, a lot of things are cheaper or about the same except for food which I feel is expensive.
I realise that it is imported mostly and expect that's the main reason.

I thought Id chime in as these things were important to me when I first came to live in Malta. (FYI, I’m a brit, Londoner, have lived in Malta about four years. I work p/t at the university, as well as occasional freelance tech or education work.)

Food: More expensive than general London prices. Vegetables are costly especially, relative to what you may be used to in inner London. Bread and milk are not that expensive, and bread is delicious so watch out for that waistline! Examples:
Cabbage: €2.50
Cauliflower: €2.75
Potatoes: €1.20 per kg
Bread: 0.90c
Milk (semi-skimmed): €0.83c
Fresh Chicken: €3.00 per kg approx

Utilities: Be aware that almost no buildings in Malta have C/H, so heating in winter is more of an issue here than you might think. I have found that by far the most efficient way of heating your apartment is A/C. I also use an oil filled electric radiator which is good for small rooms. I have a fitted gas fire which is cosy and does chuck out the heat, but is expensive to run. Gas also tends to create a lot of moisture which isn’t that good. Gas bottles (€16 for 12kg bottle) for heating can last as little as 14 days, even only using it for evenings, but depends on the heater you are using. In general, once you have the residential tariff, cost for electricity and water are not that different to the majority of UK providers. Also bear in mind we do not pay council tax here, and internet can be cheaper too.

Transport: I don’t drive, so am reliant on the buses. They have improved quite a bit and are very cheap in UK terms. We use cards (like Oyster), called Tallinja cards, and the single person rate is €0.75 per journey, inc having to change buses, valid for 2 hrs (so a max of €1.50 for a return journey anywhere on the island, in real terms), with a monthly maximum of €26.00 total - you never pay more than €26.00 per month, in other words.

I am also a Brit moved from Southampton 9/17 and like your clarification of expenses. I forgot we don't pay council tax when I rattled off my message. That is a good help as we paid in excess of £250 a month. I also use a/c and oil radiator in bedroooms. We don't have a gas fire and I should have stated that we only have a gas hob to worry about, hence bottle lasting approx 3 months. If you have a Lidl nearby that can save on shopping bills, even fruit and vegetables are cheaper, it helps even if stocking up occasionally. Overall I love it here and though the foods a little more expensive the quality of life is better.

4500 euro

Aryabhai wrote:

4500 euro

Can you explain what this amount is for?

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Malta? How about buying an apartment or a house in Malta?
[b]Apartment for Rent in Malta are available from 450€ for single bedroom to 1000€ for a 3 bedroom apartment and if you can live on a shared basis your rent will be from 150€.
To buy an apartment the average minimum cost will be 150,000€ . You can checkout the availability of apartments or properties in Malta on different websites such as century21 as well as coldwell banker malta

How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?
Bus - There are travel cards available for tourists for 1 week with unlimited travel at 21 € as well as limited travel of 14 uses at 15€.
For people who work , study or live in malta can apply for monthly card which costs 21€ monthly recharge for unlimited travel for students and 26€ for others.
You can apply for the monthly card at Valletta bus terminal.
You can also travel by paying 0.75 € and use the receipt to travel free anywhere for 2 hours . The 0.75€ is in winter and it increases to 1.25€ during winter.

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?
Rice costs 1 kg min - 1€
Basmati rice 1 kg  - 2.5€
Bread - 1€
Pasta-1€


What is your monthly budget for groceries?
It will be 50 € per month

How much does it cost to see a doctor or health specialist in Malta?
There are govt medical centers in Malta which is free of cost or if we are going directly to a doctor the visiting fees starts from 5€ minimum.

How much do you pay for health insurance per month?
Insurance per year costs from 150€

How much does it cost to fill up your car’s fuel tank?
Diesel and Petrol costs 1.23€ 1.36€ respectively.

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?
Gas costs 16€ for 12 kg. You can buy a new cylinder at just 30 € and it will be reimbursed when you return it back


How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?
Internet/Wifi costs 23€ per month and phone prepaid connections are available at an initial recharge of 10€.

How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?
Lunch pack will cost you  from min 15€ from a restaurant. But if you go to passeteria you can have a snack from 0.30€ to a small box of rice/ noodles at 5€


How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?
It will cost you a 2€ and a normal coffee/tea starts from 0.30 €

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?
Cinema ticket costs from 10€

How much does a gym membership cost in Malta?
Gym membership from 100$

Hi all,
I've recently moved permanently to Malta 6 months ago, and from my perspective the cost of living exploded over the last 5 years. I've visited the island couple of times in the past, and its more and more expensive every year.

Rental prices are really ridiculous and if you are looking for a property in the areas of Msida, Pieta, Gzira, Sliema, St. Gullians, San Gwann, Swieggi - you wont find anything good for less than 1,000. Actually if you are in my position - family with a kid, and look for modern apartment with 2 or 3 bedrooms - that would be 1200 - 1700 euro. (apartment with enough space, new furniture, dishwasher and A/C). For around 1000 apartments on the market are generally bad in these areas - they would lack either space (you would find literally a sofa next to the sink , and its classified as open plan kitchen in the living room), or they would lack dishwasher (which seem to be a fancy thing in Malta), or they would lack the AC in the living room. If you are used to decent property and dont want to compromise with your living conditions - 1200++ euro is the price to go with. In the other areas such as Qawra, St.Pauls bay, Marsaskala rent prices are around 200-300eu  cheaper, but then you face the transporting issue if you dont drive (buses are not great idea if you work early mornings, and need to travel 30-40 mins - there are bus stops literally every 500m, buses are crowded and if they are full - they wont stop, and it all affects your timing). Finding good 3 bedroom apartment in good area for 1000 is no longer true . At all.

Food
So far we buy our groceries from Lidl, and the fruit/veggies from local store, freshly stocked every Monday. We spend 150 euro per week (we cook daily) for a family of 3 (kid is 1 year old). 40-50 would go for the fruit/veggies every monday (good variery of everything) , 60-80 weekly would go for basic Lidl shopping not including anything fancy. Home supplies and kids diapers and other stuff are another 50-70 per month.

For us -  family of 2 with a little kid the basic cost of living - rent,bills,food is 2000 - 2200

On top of that comes the transport, eating out (which is cheap compared to most of Europe, but not so cheap compared to Maltese lifestyle). Good Pizza and Burgers are 10-15 eu for example, local beer Cisk is 1,40-1.70 in the stores (TIP : dont buy cold beer from the store, they would charge you another 50cents if you get it from the fridge LOL)

Hello, me and my husband will be moving to Makta beginning of march. We have found a large 3 bed apartment in Mellieha in a quuet residential area but walking distance from shops etc and our monthlyvrent is €800 plus €50 for electric and water. Plus it is fully furnished. We are really pleased with our search earlier this month.

Julie McKellar wrote:

Hello, me and my husband will be moving to Makta beginning of march. We have found a large 3 bed apartment in Mellieha in a quuet residential area but walking distance from shops etc and our monthlyvrent is €800 plus €50 for electric and water. Plus it is fully furnished. We are really pleased with our search earlier this month.

Your rental sounds very reasonable, we pay €50 as well for electric and water which we find to
be enough as we quite often end up in credit, make sure you are on the cheaper rate.
Good luck with your move.

Hi Julie

I’m moving next month and wonder where you found the apartment you mention? Did you go through an agent or private? We are moving from Canada (hubby is Maltese and I’m British)

Thanks!

I went through Frank Salt, the agent for the area really looked after us and found some great properties to look at. I think areas further south like st. Julians etc are more exoensive. So we stayed within Mellieha and st. Pauls area, though this is because we have had lots of holidays in these areas so already know and like them. Good luck in your search.

Spring 2019

Food-
I love fresh veg and am vegan, here's how its going for me.
Aside from the occasional fresh lettuce I'm getting frozen sprouts and spinach at 1 euro a bag. Not bad really, both high protein and have better flavour than some UK supermarkets.

Carbs are ridiculously popular and cheap here. I usually get a croissant a day and then have either dried soya mince [1 euro a bag, massive protein content and can be used in lots of ways] - or porridge oats, 1 euro a bag, filling and better than wheat.

Eggs are cheap, Tofu can be got in 500g blocks for 2 Euros, cheaper than the UK and better flavour - perfect uncooked as an alternative snack to the perennial pastizzi glowing with an oily overcooked look in almost every café.

My daily food spend here is about 10 euros which includes the odd treat -
I really think shopping sensibly and eating in most of the time its pretty good,
Unless you really really crave a good salad, then be prepared to splash out!


:]

Malta is expensive, very expensive in my opinion. I just compared the prices on costoflivingreports.com with the Maldives and it turns out to be a pretty big difference. Just for a meal, in an inexpensive restaurant, it's a 13$ difference. So if I'll want to travel on an island, I'd better pay more for the ticket to travel in the Maldives and live cheaper there, than cheaper for a ticket to Malta and spend a lot on staying there.

blackash wrote:

Malta is expensive, very expensive in my opinion. I just compared the prices on costoflivingreports.com with the Maldives and it turns out to be a pretty big difference. Just for a meal, in an inexpensive restaurant, it's a 13$ difference. So if I'll want to travel on an island, I'd better pay more for the ticket to travel in the Maldives and live cheaper there, than cheaper for a ticket to Malta and spend a lot on staying there.

not bad, not bad...

blackash wrote:

Malta is expensive, very expensive in my opinion. I just compared the prices on costoflivingreports.com with the Maldives and it turns out to be a pretty big difference. Just for a meal, in an inexpensive restaurant, it's a 13$ difference. So if I'll want to travel on an island, I'd better pay more for the ticket to travel in the Maldives and live cheaper there, than cheaper for a ticket to Malta and spend a lot on staying there.

Yeah, Maldives is much cheaper to live in

I've been browsing a few jobs and learning a bit more on the costs - and whew, I'm not sure how a single person can make it nicely.

I think the rent alone is often 50% of a net salary.

The rest of the expenses (to me) don't seem seriously excessive - but the rentals appears to be an issue. Plus, I have cats - so I'd need a small courtyard or something. That takes rentals to 700 Euro+ leaving (what appears to be) 300-500 Euro left of a salary.

Dolby1980 wrote:

I've been browsing a few jobs and learning a bit more on the costs - and whew, I'm not sure how a single person can make it nicely.

I think the rent alone is often 50% of a net salary.

The rest of the expenses (to me) don't seem seriously excessive - but the rentals appears to be an issue. Plus, I have cats - so I'd need a small courtyard or something. That takes rentals to 700 Euro+ leaving (what appears to be) 300-500 Euro left of a salary.

I'd say that would make you very luckily - most not even that. Like in other european countries renting a room in a shared house is becoming popular for singletons