SteveBrett

Hi

We are thinking of moving to live in Malta and I was wondering if anyone had an experience of Malta ?

We've holidayed there a few times and have ex-family who live there. I work in IT (7 years) so don't anticipate problems finding work.

This is the first serious enquiry though - to be followed by much more work.

We were turned down for the STNI in Victoria last year which dented our confidence somewhat, and almost certainly damaged my career as doors started to close soon after. Can't blame them to be honest but I was upfront about it all, when it didn't work out I guess I looked a bit stupid.

Anyway, not wanting to make the same mistakes I would appreciate any and all advice.

thanks again

Steve

Beachhutman

Steve, I was brought up there and am thinking of retiring there, so can't advise on the work front, but guess IT is pretty safe anywhere! But property prices look horrifying at present. The Malta Lira seems VERY overvalued, perhaps based on it's protected status as a very small independent country.I wonder if there will be a crash after they join the Euro - I spoke to an estate agent who told me there's a lot of speculative activity just now.

bishop

Hi,

Log into timesofmalta.com and you'll have a mine of info about anything. For property try frank salt, dhalia and propertyline. Depends were you want to settle cause it makes a hugh difference. IT in Malta is in high demand. There's going to be an IT city like the one in Saudi Arabia. It's being called Smart City. Hope this helps.

Beachhutman

Depends were you want to settle cause it makes a hugh difference.

Can you help with that? Do you mean "rural vs urban", or "North vs South"? sort of thing? I know the island (brought up there) and am planning to return. NO real wish to live in Paceville!!!!

bishop

Well, where property is concerened Malta is divided into 2. The south and the rest! A 3 bed flat at the south could fetch Lm55,000 whereas the same flat up north or central could fetch x3 the amount. Rural is very very expensive anywhere!
Go for the village life - choose the south! Inexpensive everyday life, the most friendly people you could ever imagine in the whole wide world, cheaper property prices, laid back lifestyle, festas galore, community life, less crime (virtually inexistent), excellent scenery and walks. You could still see sellers with the horse drawn cart and other pushing baby prams selling fresh veggies etc.. .
Then there is Gozo. The sister island of Malta. Perfect! Just perfect! But the sea gap makes all the difference!

Beachhutman

Ah. Well, I always quite liked the Marsaxlokk area - although transport wasn't as good. I know Gozo well, spent many evenings in "The Pirates" at Marsaforn, but it's just a bit TOO small for me! Rural is likewaise a bit rural - vilage is best I reckon. Hmmmm.

divegirl

Hi there - only just joined the site but will add my two-penny worth to this question and hope it helps!....
I currently live in Malta and work in the IT industry. Indeed there are plenty job opportunities in this sector and as previously mentioned it will be growing with the introduction of Smart City. There are a lot of foreign companies setting up shop in IT.
I don't know if you are aware of the wages here though - compared to the UK (and everywhere else!) they are VERY low! 8K sterling a year is considered a good wage! Property prices are proportionately extremely expensive on average although as mentioned already it does depend very much on where you choose to live on the island. There is a lot of building going on at present everywhere it seems -cranes as far as the eye can see!

Please feel free to message me if I can be of any help with the current situation in Malta.

Beachhutman

Neither situation will survive the full accession to the Euro. The Malta Lira is overvalued by proteciton, and that (like the requirement that new EU settlers currently have to pay a minimum of LM40,000 for property) about to disappear, so both wages and property will adjust. Also Euro conversion is hugely inflationary, so I would expect to see that average wage (currently about STG 12,000 Euro 20,000) go to around Euro 25,000 - 27,000 over the next couple of years, so hang on in there!

Note your tag divegirl - do you know the Uptons at Maltaqua?

divegirl

Being a diver I do know of them certainly, although I don't know them personally..

By the way the weather is gorgeous today which always helps to remind you why you are here!

nickzeff

Hi - I'm in IT in the web industry here in the UK. I've been a web developer for about 7 years (HTML, PHP, AJAX, mySQL, SQL-Server and more). In that time I have been a senior developer, team leader and am currently in a senior project management role (I also have a PRINCE2 PM qualification).

If there are any techies out there in Malta (esp. Divegirl) - are there many opportunities for people with my experience in Malta? I've seen a few jobs advertised, but am curious if they will get me enough income to afford a decent quality of life.

All advice gratefully received! I am happy to provide more info if necessary.

Thanks.

N