Moving to Malta in 2012

Hello Summer and welcome to Expat.com!

Nice introduction.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate.

Harmonie.

Hi SummerRaine,

welcome to the forum.

Please take some time and browse through previous posts on work,accomodation and living in Malta. Many of your questions have been discussed in the past.

All I want to say at the moment is that as you don't have to look into schooling at the moment and you and your husband will probably find work in the central area and you both don't want to drive you should stear clear from the Northern area because of the long bus commute.

But you don't really have to look into the rental market until a few weeks before you are arriving.

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Summer,

How exciting for you, I really hope you get over here asap and enjoy it! My boyfriend and I came for a better life too, have been here just over a year now and have loved every moment.

There are ups and downs as with any life and any country and anywhere, but its definitely worth it. I've documented my experiences, good and bad on my blog so check it out sometime if you like;

http://joeandharryabroad.wordpress.com

Also, like Ricky said, check out the forum as it is a fountain of very useful information

Hello Summer,

I sincerely wish you the best for this move.

I would like to inform you that I have a 2 bedroomed apartment with pool in Qawra to rent. One room is double, the other is triple. There is a kitchen./living room and a bathroom. Two verandahs over look the pool . It is served with lift.
It is in the best part of Qawra, close to all amenities,. It is standard, but very welcoming.
I would like to rent it out for a long let.
Should you be interested, pls contact me on
eilrit@hotmaail.com

Kind regards
Eileen

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

iamharibo - I have been reading your blog with interest but have been jumping about a bit. Just finished reading your Cinnabon review (a girl after my own heart :)Can I ask what sort of work you and your boyfriend do and do you speak any Maltese? We are hoping to learn the language, but wanted to find out whether you personally found this a hinderance getting employment.

Right back to your blog

Eileen, could you please post in the classifieds section ?

thanks,

Julien

Hey,

Nice to know people are reading

My boyfriend works on the support desk for an igaming company and I work for a financial company who provide a payment method for igaming companies. We do not speak any Maltese- apart from the odd swear word- and haven't found it a hindrance. It would be good to learn and I always intend on starting a course but it's not at all vital. I have friends who've been here 5+ years and not learned.

It might prove to be a hindrance in certain jobs but I couldn't think of any off the top of my head, quite often it's written and spoken English that jobs are worried about.

Good luck xx

It all depends on which jobs you are going for. If you look at jobs where you will be competing with Maltese for jobs ( crafts,maintainance,sales people,hotel and waiting services and so on)you will have to speak Maltese and expect a meagre average so-called Maltese salary near minimum wage.

If you are qualified for jobs with i-gaming companies, banking and other,often foreign based companies,you won't need Maltese and can expect a much higher salary ( accounting for example up to 25 or 30 thousand/year or more).

English is the second official language in Malta but the efficiency level is similar to what you find with Brit's learning French at school or German's learning English as a second language. Some are very good but others are not so good! So good English language skills in writing and speaking are certainly an asset.

I wish you success with your search for the right job !Don't worry too much about Maltese!

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Summer ....and hi everyone...i've only just joined the expat site so bear with me.
i'm the same as iamharibo, the only maltese i know is swear words. 99percent of maltese speak very good english so not something you should worry about.
im here with my wife and two kids (i also have a 4 month old) and i dont regret moving for one minute. The summers are sunny, i find cost of living a lot cheaper (i.e. instead of having to pay for entertainment in the uk, over here you can just go to the beach or pool.
iamharibo is right that there are ups and downs but so far so good for us. the only thing i miss is contact with english people, which is why i have finally joined the site.
As for employment, i noticed HSBC are looking for staff in a call centre they have over here, might be worth looking into as a start.anyway, good luck and go for it !!
james