Possibly Malta?

At your age I would say go for it irrespective of whats happening at the country level and unless you were planning on moving to some war torn country.
International experience will give you the growth you need, new cultural aspects etc, etc.

Malta has a lot on for the pub / club scene, as long as you dont spend to much on beer you should be ok with you salary.

25K in malta is good money, and though the island and it's culture do have a couple drawbacks, it really is a beautiful country.   

1. Do you remember bumber cars at teh theme parks when you were younger?  Same thing

2. rent in Birk, 350ish for a little 2 bedroom place ( just read the postings about renting and warnings.

I like th ountry, and a year sounds about like the right amount of time. I'm not sure but I think I will only be here for 2 and I'm out as well.


Chad

Alex,
Just go for it, at 23 its a perfect time for you to see different cultures. I started this expat lark quite late, I´m 31 now and moved to Barcelona just over a year ago with hubbie and daughter. We are moving to Malta in the next few months too. 25k from what I can see is a very good salary in Malta and rentals are a lot cheaper than the UK especially for one person. A year goes incredibly quickly and I think once you get the travelling bug you´ll want to try some more places before settling back home xxx

I agree with the other replies - go for it.

Don't be worried about being stuck inside on your own, there are multiple expat community groups you can check-out to see if they have stuff you are intreested in doing:

meetup.com/Expats-Malta
246expats (see Classifieds here)
and impromptu get togethers from this forum amonst others.

You may or may not find Maltese and/or work colleagues to socialize with - that seems to be a bit hit or miss.

Search this forum for info - there's plenty here, at your age and situation I wouldn't worry too much about the negative stuff.

Regards
Tim

Yes, listen to everyone and do it do it do it! I moved out here a year ago (same age as you) and have never looked back. I've got a blog all about it if you want to check it out (joeandharryabroad.wordpress.com) but otherwise, a lot of questions are answered on the forum so have a look around.

25k is a really good salary, you could rent a rather nice place (much cheaper than england) and have plenty to spend on socialising! It did take me a little while to make friends but I'm really shy in person so it was my own fault! The people are very friendly though, I get 100 'good mornings!'on my way to work!

the only real trouble I've had out here is cheating landlords (running off with your deposit) and the bank I chose (Banif) is a bit useless but I'll just open an account with BOV instead. In regards to landlords, strike up a good relationship with your estate agent and they'll fight on your behalf!

Let us know what you decide!