Best areas to live close to San Anton and San Andreas

The most immediate localities are Mġarr and Mosta. Then a little further there is Rabat and Mtarfa.

I would check that you will be able to obtain residency in the first place, if you have not already done so, as your profile shows that you are a TCN not EU.

Hi Foxglove,

Thanks for you message. I appreciate your concern.

I have an EU passport, as do our children. My husband is from SA but he is economically self-sufficient and would apply through the Malta Residence Programme.

We're visiting my family in the Netherlands so will be adding on a trip to Malta, as all the research in the world won't give us a real feel for the country and it's people.

Schools are the most important for us to start. I've done quite a bit of research on this already. I'd have to come back when they're open to have an interview as they'll be closed when we visit this time.

I'd like to look at the areas where families live that attend San Anton and San Andrea as these are my favourite schools thus far.

I've spoken to an acquaintance who lives in Sliema and really loves it there, and recommends that area above other, quieter areas, but I'm not sure my boys will thrive in Chiswick due to the bigger class sizes.

Every little it of info helps xxx

Thanks for mentioning these areas. I'm making notes as I go along.
So far Attard comes up quite a bit (central with amenities), and Mellieha, but the commute might be a bit tough.
I haven't read anyone mentioned St Paul's? Any input on this area?
Thanks in advance xxx

Can't help with the areas, but good to make sure you can actually get into the schools when you want to and the waiting list isn't too long.

We went through the same process before we ended up moving over - we got our daughter into St Michael's in Pembroke which we liked a lot because of what we heard from them, and from friends of ours whose kids had been through the system.

We're living initially in Qawra, just along from St Pauls Bay, and taking our time to see where to eventually base ourselves. We've done a few test runs down to the school in the morning peak .. and so far it's been much smoother than expected, the coast road not being busy until you reach the turn off to Pembroke. We might just have had a lucky few days though!

The San Anton / San Andrea schools both had waiting lists when we were looking for our daughter (this was for her starting at Kindergarten) - she was 6 months old when we started our search. However, I know quite a few kids leave the private sector if they get places in good church schools, not sure how many places may free up, perhaps the admissions people can give you a better idea.

One thing to weigh up is that if you live close to the school, but traffic is very bad, you might be better off living further out, with a longer distance, but same travel time. Some people (like my wife) feel a bit too far away from the action in Qawra / Mellieha .. I like the (relative) peace and quiet though ... and being close to the sea.

Thanks so much for your reply Lastminuteman.
Really appreciate it. Looking forward to coming to check it all out.

No problem, there's a lot to try and absorb ... we've just moved, and are still figuring out a lot of things ... (and my wife is a local).

Feel free to ask any more questions!

Thank you lastminuteman. We are in the same situation as  Annuschka, find the  school and later the House in a quite área but
with amenities. We are a spanish family with two kids. San Anton school was our favorite one, but they told me they have a long waiting list. So now we are checking at San Andrea and Chiswick, but we are afraid that both are very strict schools, in terms of discipline and competitiveness, homework.
I would really appreciatte your opinión.

My son is un a Waldorf, Montessori school and It will be tough.

On the other hand, we were looking for a House with Garden un Ghaghur or Naxxar , as we thought It Will be Wells connected with San Andrea to Ta'Xbiex. What do you think?

Thank you so much!!!!

correct me if i'm wrong but i have been to malta for the last 10 years and
the San Anton and San Andreas are hotels in saint pauls bay not places to live ii towns ?

inbed79 wrote:

correct me if i'm wrong but i have been to malta for the last 10 years and
the San Anton and San Andreas are hotels in saint pauls bay not places to live ii towns ?

I think you will find they are schools.

San Anton and San Andreas so they are hotel and schools stopped in the   San Anton about 4 years a go Triq Ir-Ramel, San Pawl il-Baħar, San Pawl il-Baħar  Malta
and the
San Andrea Hotel, Xatt Ix Xlendi, Munxa in gozo 2 years ago
you learn somthink new every day

Yeah, this is Malta, there's lots of places named after saints ... particularly hotels and schools!

We've gone through the same thing ... our daughter has completed her first year in kindergarten and now in her second year. It was a steep learning curve for her (and for all the kids really!), since she had been used to a very relaxed and comforting nursery environment in London, with a carer she adored (and one carer to 3 little ones).

She then went into a formal school environment (even though it's the kindergarten), with uniforms, hair tied up every day, rules on what food can be taken etc. And one teacher for 17 or so kids.

Her confidence took a knock for sure, she went from being very outgoing and confident to being seen as quiet and shy ... but she quickly made friends and settled in - the teacher was great. We've also tried to make sure she has some activities outside of school to mix with other kids of varying backgrounds.

Oh, and worth pointing out that from one school year to the next, they mix the kids up .... lots of nervous parents on the day that the classes were revealed!! We did well, got a nice mix this year.

So basically from my experience, it will be a bit of a shock to the system starting formal education, but they adapt and the vast majority of the kids are fine.

If you pick a school, it doesn't mean its forever, you can try and move them - just do enough digging to make sure that you get the right feeling about the school - I've heard that San Anton does have issues with parents getting too involved and interfering for example.

Living somewhere central is also what I would advise - Ghargur and Naxxar are both very nice choices, I would prefer Naxxar as it feels like there is more happening - but homes with outdoor space are rare and at a high premium (we've been looking for something for the last 6 months) ...

Good luck, and feel free to ask anything you might need to know more about.

Thank you so much, lastminuteman for sharing your personal experience. I do appreciate.
I know it will be a bit  change for my 6 y.o. , also because he is not an english speaker but we hope that the language inmersion Will be a gift for his future.
Also I am a little afraid about the bullying that I have read there is a lot in Malta...
What school do you recommend us? St. Michael? I have seen it is a religious school and we are not. I do no
Regarding houses, indeed I have seen that It  is not usual to have garden being a newly furnished house. But What is the rent range price for that in Naxxar?
What other type of House or flat do you recommend us, or any other área?
My husband Office Will be un ta' Xbiex, and he plan to go by motorbike, is It a good option?
Thank you again!!

Hello everyone,

Please note that i have put aside some off-topic posts from this thread.

This is quite an old topic though and i think there has been some misunderstanding due to that.

All the best,
Bhavna

I can't comment too much on bullying - I've read about it in posts on this forum, so I would say to have a search and see if there is a pattern with the school in question ... It's not been an issue so far for us, but we're still in the Kindergarten years ...

Religion is a subject at some point at St Michael school (I think next year possibly) ... but you can opt out, which I'll probably be pushing for - they do incorporate a little bit of religion in the class, like saying grace before eating their food, but I'm OK with that - I don't get the feeling that it's something they will be brainwashing the kids with for sure ...

I only really have experience with this one school, but so far so good, and I very much agree with the aims of what the school wants for its kids, given a free choice, I'd choose it again.

Housing ... this is a big issue for a lot of people at the moment - rents have spiralled (upwards) and so have the prices if you want to buy. I think the easiest thing to begin with is to rent a flat in a good area - there are more choices for you this way, and then you can decide if you like Malta and the area you're in.

With kids, you'll probably want to have a car to get around, buses can be a pain ...

Travelling by motorbike to work has the benefit of being able to get through the traffic jams ... but the standard of driving here is so bad, it's also pretty risky ... it's very hard to anticipate what people are going to do, and you need to be very defensive.