Are you happy in Malta?

Not so much. I find people here quite grumpy. Always complaining or arguying/shouting over something. Generally people walk around with surly faces.

I'm not so happy here myself.  The grumpiness of the people in Malta has rubbed me the wrong way.  I have lived in many different places, but this is the grumpiest place I have ever been to!  Why? Perhaps the noise? The crowdedness? Maybe it's just the way they are..
I won't be living my life out here, that's for sure.  I prefer people who are more jovial and easy going.

YES. People may be loud, but they are mostly friendly and helpful. Be nice to them, they'll be nice to you. You get what you give.
And most of the Maltese are very honest people.
It does not mean I approve of everything I see here. But nor did I in the several countries where I have lived before. Malta is definitely a favourite for me.

I also find the locals grumpy. My colleagues talk in Maltese making me feel unwelcome despite that I was headhunted to the role. Luckily my husband work for an English company and are enjoying his employment. We find living costs expensive and the food surprisingly average. I have been an expat in GB for a long time and we thought this could be a fun adventure and challenge. I never felt this unwelcome in GB.

I am. I see this question posed a lot these days.  My view is that Malta is a great place to live.  I love the general ambience and feel and the lifestyle, if you use it, is great. Weather, nightlife, beaches and overall sense of being.

Having said that I think that the whole "malta is the friendliest island and people" story is a bit over blown.  its the same as anywhere else.  some people are ok some are not. I find many aspects of malta have become a strange mix of traditional attitudes mixed with american style expectations.

its an island so you have to expect some tendency to have an island persona but I have found in the working world it can be hard as an expat you have to be careful.  This isn't only my experience but generally other expats I speak to have experienced the same feeling that they are treated as outsiders and unwelcome.  I sort of expect it because thats what we are, but if you work in a predominantly maltese workplace you might find yourself feeling a little isolated. Im not surprised.  I think some people tend to be because they have bought into this over sold story of the friendly isle narrative.

The other thing that is quite different is the way the work place is.  unless its an international company, the environment can be challenging as you often find yourself working with people who have known each other since school.

Overall its a great place to live and work and I feel at home here.

Knoda wrote:

I also find the locals grumpy. My colleagues talk in Maltese making me feel unwelcome despite that I was headhunted to the role. Luckily my husband work for an English company and are enjoying his employment. We find living costs expensive and the food surprisingly average. I have been an expat in GB for a long time and we thought this could be a fun adventure and challenge. I never felt this unwelcome in GB.

In Malta, do you not expect locals to talk in Maltese? Why should they talk in English, which is very much a second language, just for you!

As for living costs, compared with Scandinavia it is very cheap.

You will also see more smiley faces here than in Scandinavia!

Ray

Personally, we have found ourselves more welcome in Malta than in most parts of the UK. give respect; get respect; simple!

My wife and I are much happier on Gozo than we were in the UK.  In the UK we felt we were working hard just to pay the bills and not much else - living here we return to the UK every couple of months to work for 1 or 2 weeks.  We then spend the time in between enjoying life.
The people on Gozo are so friendly and welcoming - total strangers will stop you in the street to talk to you - something that would never happen in England.  We've got to know some lovely people during the past year, some Brits and some Gozitans, and everybody we've met is happy to help us with information about how to get things done and where to go.
The pace of life is much slower, you don't get bothered several times a day with marketing phone calls and piles of junk mail, and there's no traffic jams (not by UK standards).  Although there are thing we can't get in the shops this is outweighed by having fresh food available at affordable prices.  We both feel this move is the best thing we've done for many years and wish we had made the move sooner.

Actually English is also an official language
according to the Constitution

I find Summer Great, but the winter hard - every year i think of returning, but then summer comes around and we stay another year!

Malta is great! You will find that locals value their reputation much, that is the best part of Malta , which means you can trust most of them, I wish modern china could be like this!

How can we say Maltese people are grumpy if you have ever visited Switzerland 😌All the people I knew here were friendly and smiley 😄

I love Malta !

mkiel wrote:

Actually English is also an official language
according to the Constitution

I don't think anyone would argue with that, but Maltese in day to day life always speak Malti.

Maltese language - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_language

Maltese (Maltese: Malti) is the national language of Malta and a co-official language of the country alongside English, while also serving as an official language of the European Union

Ray

Michelle Attard wrote:

I find Summer Great, but the winter hard - every year i think of returning, but then summer comes around and we stay another year!

How can you find the winters hard in Malta compared to the UK?

Humid, poor insulation, expensive to heat. That would be my guess.

Edit: in reply to GozoMo - hit the wrong button.

mantasmo wrote:

Humid, poor insulation, expensive to heat. That would be my guess.

Edit: in reply to GozoMo - hit the wrong button.

Not sure quite what your post means but the winters are nothing here, the problem lies with damp, poorly built properties which, are in the main, designed to remain cool.
If you have a damp property you will feel cold indoors but the winters are very mild.

As for the cost of heating, we use about 8 - 10 cylinders of gas in the winter for heating which costs around €120 - 180 total. In the UK our bill for heating oil alone was over £1000 per winter!

I know you did not live here very long and it was 2.5 years ago but I think perhaps you are getting a little confused!

Ray

Michelle Attard wrote:

I find Summer Great, but the winter hard - every year i think of returning, but then summer comes around and we stay another year!

Can't understand how you can find the winters hard here compared with Manchester!

Ray

we were really cold last winter (our first), total shock - eventhough of course we read all the warnings.

Hopefully this winter we'll be moved into a place with underfloor heating and double glazing and things will be better!

Last winter was extremely mild!!! 

And yes, I'm happy in Malta (mostly).

Last Dec/Jan was great weather.
Hoping it's the same this year.   
Ray

I personally feel very happy.  The relaxed rhythm of life here,companied with the sea can help everyone find joy.
I don't know if the locals feel happy as me, but surely they are enjoying themselves , so i am guessing that they must feel happy too.

RayAucote wrote:

Last Dec/Jan was great weather.
Hoping it's the same this year.   
Ray

It was perfect, really loved the outside - inside, not that much

F0xgl0ve wrote:

I know you did not live here very long and it was 2.5 years ago but I think perhaps you are getting a little confused!

Ray

LOL calm down Ray. I'm in Gozo right now actually.

I meant that indoors can get very damp and therefore feel cold/uncomfortable in winter. Strong wind can also be an issue in some places.

Well built apartments are quite expensive even in Gozo. Mostly because there aren't that many of them here.

Gas heating has pros and cons. We prefer aircon (and fans in summer). Gas is cheaper but also a pain in the ass - especially when you have small children.

Overall I find winter weather here to be more of less perfect. Cyprus is slightly better in winter though - less humid and a couple degrees warmer.

I lived in Malta for a little over a year and I absolutely loved it, from the exciting virtually non-stop fireworks during summer festivals to the amazing archeological sites and architectural wonders to the houses and people of great character.  Malta has wonderful arts and cultural events and a superb health care system consistently ranked in the top five in the world!  Hardly a day goes by when I don't miss something or other and I would love to return even this winter to see among so many other things the wonderful Christmas Panto performance at the spectacular Manoel Theater!  I also generally found people extremely friendly, caring, intelligent and honest!  Aside from traffic congestion, the only other beef I had was with the energy costs which were sky high, especially since we used our a/c and dryer a lot.  I wish Malta would adopt solar energy and even off shore wind, two free sources they have plenty of and I hope to move back before long!

Ironically, from Malta, I moved to Iceland, another island with roughly the same population, and, for the life of me, I can't figure out how Iceland could be considered such a happy place.  Outside of the tourist area, I found people to be generally dour and/or arrogant and, even though the country is enormous and the terrain fascinating, urban sprawl in the capital made it downright ugly.  On top of that, their health care system is notoriously archaic, unbridled tourism has all but ruined the country, and, other than bars, there is almost nothing to do culturally, particularly in comparison to Malta. The restaurants are generally bad as is housing which lacks the character of Malta, is overpriced for what you get and generally run down.  And even though I personally much prefer Iceland's cooler weather even in winter, the ice that they don't bother to clean on the sidewalks and parking lots is appalling and to me indicates a lack of care about other citizens, particularly the elderly.  I personally think Iceland has done an excellent public relations job, but that's the extent of the basis for their happiness ranking.   If it were so great, why would so many of their young people be choosing to leave?

I'm very sorry to hear, Adiosbichachos, that you don't like Malta so much.  I'm curious where you live and wondering if  perhaps it makes a difference.

I live in the Republic of Ireland and not happy. Maybe the Irish don't like the English, which I am, but they are not friendly in the area that I live. I am from Liverpool originally and will speak to anyone. In Malta, where I have been holidaying for nine years, I can't wait to move there. People say they are friendly to tourists, but in many ways how do they know. Moving next year, can't wait.
Goodison

Hi all,

I totally agree! I have never felt so welcome in the UK, as I felt in Malta. The two years I have spent in Malta where the happiest in my whole life. I can't wait to be able to get back and live the rest of my life on the island. Deep down in my soul, I feel Maltese. Don't ask me why, as I have no idea. I guess I said it all!

Wishing you all the best!

There are Maltese who speak predominantly English, even at home. My mother's family speak English as a first language, and among my cousins a few of the younger ones can only speak Maltese 'to get by'. But I agree that unless you are in contact with them it is easy to forget that English is an official language spoken fluently by many.