Preparing our move to Malta - need help

Hiya Genicon

as you will guess this is going to be based totally on my experience of coming to Malta for 35 years (Since Child) and owning apartment for 11 years and living here full time for 3 and half years.


1. I am budgeting right now 2,000 EUR per month for all costs for my entire family (rent, food, entertainment, utilities and anything else - having in mind what I said above). Would this be enough or should I increase the numbers here?

I would say that 2000 a month is going to be fine.  it more than most people earn here in Malta.  based on your budgets of property its ok.

2. Out of the 2,000 I am budgeting 400-450 EUR for rent (but would go as high as 500 EUR for something really good). Would this be enough for a two bedroom apartment situated close to the beach (not necessarily with sea view)? I mean fully furnished (it doesn't have to be luxury, regular furniture and appliances are OK) and with air con and, A MUST, wi-fi connection because otherwise I can't do my job Would it be possible to get something really nice for this money (like sea view or shared pool?) or we should only expect crappier places?

You can get a 2 Bed Apartment for around 250 in Birzebbuga (Quiet town and Beach but with the freeport there) or more for Marsascala again another Village in the South.  The South is more quieter than Sliema, St Julians, Buggiba, Areas.  Although you would need to travel by bus or car to the larger towns for Clothes Shopping and the bigger shops.  Marsascala has some nice restaurants and a great park for the kids. Wifi and all you can get yourself here  and if its just Internet you can get Fibre for about 25 euro a month

3. Which village to choose?
This is really tricky for us, as we'd like a building that's quiet and not over a noisy pub so that the baby can get his night's sleep without problems. However, we'd prefer not to be too isolated (like I consider Mellieha to be, the place I saw recommended most of the times for families). I'd like us to be close to supermarket(s), but also have other things around, like shops and maybe a few restaurants to choose from. If there would be parks nearby, that would be perfect. So, to sum it up: not noisy is a must, within walking distance to shops, restaurants and beach/sea.
I know that most expats prefer the Sliema region and I would have nothing against going there. But could we find a silent area? I am sure that you guys can help.

See First Answer, The South i much prefer for quietness and being out of the way, I suppose i am not your usual Expat.

4. Agent or no agent?
I've read a lot about getting an apartment with the help of an agency and many people complained. Plus, we'd save some money. However, I believe it's safer to go with an agency and also we'd have access to more apartments compared to what we'd get if we started looking on our own. Am I right about this or could we try finding something on our own (we plan to stay about 5 nights in a hotel while we search for a place to live in).

To be honest with this the Newspaper, Bars, restaurants etc are a good way of finding somewhere as is people on here.  you will have to pay a bigger deposit and also the agent would also be getting there cut as they should as they are in business.  You will find people here (in malta) very approachable and you will be able to get some good deals. 

Hope this Helps

Julian

Thanks, Julian. I haven't really considered the South yet, I'll sure give it a look and decide. Ah, it's certainly going to be a bit more complicated than I expected with so many decisions to make.

Regarding the Internet, since I would only be staying 2 - maximum 3 months at first, would it be possible to get a contract for just this period or the standard is 12 or 6 months? Isn't there a big chance to just find a place that already has internet and I pay the owner?

i think all contracts are for 24 months
and no, from my experience in looking 50+ places 6 months ago and few weeks ago - just 2 had internet in flat
maybe it was just my bad luck but dont think so

Hi Genicon,

have you tried AirBnB airbnb.com ?
There are a number of short lets available for Malta, and most offers include all amenities ready to use, also Wi-Fi.
I had very good experiences with an apartment I found there when I came here in November. The review and rating system works well and usually is very reliable.

Finding a place, also a temporary one, is certainly easier from October to March/April than in spring/summer season.

Good luck and all the best,

Florianita

Hi,

I currently rent an apartment in Gozo and the minimum period of time to let was 6 months.  I haven't really come across any apartments with a shorter period to let. 

Hope this helps!

Good luck!

Sarah

I meant to say that this is the case if you look at the long term letting pages -which I found to be much cheaper per month!  However, if you use an agent many of them do have short term lets as well (although when I looked at these I found them to be a lot more expensive!)

Sarah

Yes, it makes sense for short lets to be more expensive than long lets. Probably I will have to go for an agent and hope for the best I checked airbnb and although the apartments there are really beautiful, the prices are extremely high.