Seeking opinions from Londoners that live in Malta

1: its early season yet, there's no humidity yet, it gets a lot worse
2: welcome to the med
3: welcome to the med
4: welcome to the med
5: welcome to small island where everything has to brought in by boat at extreme cost

Not trying to be funny but its kind of obvious day one if one visits here that these things will be how it is, med life style if known widely and joked about for good reason but it cuts both ways - they are chill and so will you if you go with it

I lived in London 15 years before moving here but I am also from a developing country/3rd world country before that and Malta (also a developing / 3rd world country) was thus a reasonably easy to adapt to because its par for the course.  But people who come from more 1st world life can for sure find it a huge adjustment.

Misslv wrote:

I would like to ask those of you who came over from London or the UK  how did you adapt to life in Malta.
I arrived just a month ago and these are the major disparities that I find  in the way of living and that I am finding “hard” to deal with....
1. The level of humidity in the air ( more noticeable indoors)
2. Travelling on buses and having to wait 40 min for one that actually stops
3. Poor customer services including the person addressing someone else when you still in conversation.
4. The Fact that landlords are dishonest
5. The price of food in the supermarket

Not all landlords are dishonest we have had three really good ones, not all landlords in the UK are honest.
Living on Gozo we found it very easy to adapt to they way of life here which is much better then the
UK, once you lived here longer you may find some positives and not just negatives.

Misslv wrote:

I would like to ask those of you who came over from London or the UK  how did you adapt to life in Malta.
I arrived just a month ago and these are the major disparities that I find  in the way of living and that I am finding “hard” to deal with....
1. The level of humidity in the air ( more noticeable indoors)
2. Travelling on buses and having to wait 40 min for one that actually stops
3. Poor customer services including the person addressing someone else when you still in conversation.
4. The Fact that landlords are dishonest
5. The price of food in the supermarket

1.  Fit aircon units.
2.  Move to Gozo, buses mostly run on time
3.  Normal here.
4.  Not had a dishonest landlord yet here on Gozo.
5.  Don't think food prices much different overall, though quality variable.

Solution - move to Gozo and relax!

Many things in Malta are more expensive but many many things are less. Especially if you are from London

We rented a 3 bed in London and had all the usual expenses and cars etc. Having the same here overall we are several 1000 a month better off in total spendings. So indeed some things are more but be patient and wait till the big picture of life is clear.

When you look at things like insurances, property taxes, etc - things get better.

And tbh I don’t know what London busses you used that were so amazing. I used them for a few years and it was the same same - busses full can’t get on, busses stuck in traffic etc (though the bus lanes in the UK help a lot of course we don’t have those). I opted in the end to drive to the station and pay the insane parking a day but stay least I got to work.

Hi there,

For every issue you raise (and they are all valid), the answer is the same:
WELCOME TO MALTA !!!

I am from West London but have lived here in Malta for over 30 years, so have seen many changes and this is not the Malta I fell in love with way back then . . .   That said, the issues you raise have not changed over time, they still remain and from personal experience, they don't look like changing any time soon, resistance is futile . . . so you have to be prepared to accept what you can't change and just go with the flow.

Like any good love affair, compromise is the key and if you can't do that, there's a strong possibility that Malta is not for you . . . Some people can hack it, others not.

I recall many years ago, someone telling me that Malta was like Marmite: You either love it or you hate it, there's no in between - How true !!

Only you can decide - good luck.

I lived in London all my life, before moving to Essex, now been in Malta 21/2years,  get the tallinja app, you then have all the bus times from any stop. Get the farmers products cheaper than the supermarket  &much better quality, and just chill out, don't wear a watch,  & embrace life.

I've recently moved back to London after two years - you need to learn to become calmer and to go with the flow as suggested above and enjoy the weather, its much better than the rain and humidity on the tube today in London.

The customer is never right in Malta. You have learn to be more pushy and authoritative with the Maltese to get your own way, be firm or ask for a manager. Ask any landlord if they are registered and if so they will generally be better people.

Buses are a nightmare and I think I took three in 2 years.... it's why so many people drive or live close to where they can walk to work or shops.

The price of food and toiletries in the supermarket was my biggest issue, but the deli counter is cheap for cold cuts and cheese. Try the local veg trucks, bakery, butchers and fish mongers, but again they don't follow convenient opening hours and customer service will be bad at times. Eating out is so much cheaper when you find your preferred places.

Thanks for the replies peeps!
I came to conclude that Malta will not grow on me and with each passing day I miss London more and more. Maybe at 46 I am not ready yet for a quiet life on the island...
I am flying back to London in two weeks!
True that the sun has shone pretty much every day in the 8 weeks I have been here... and that is indeed priceless. But there is beauty in the rain too!
But I have experience daily nuisances that make me feel deeply annoyed. Those little things that one overlooks because they are deeply rooted in your everyday habits , suddently gone.

... when I first wrote the post I pointed the humidity in the air in the brand new flat where I am living and a few days ago we shockingly found that the clothes in the wardrobe of our room were completely covered in mould. I really cannot comprehend how can that even be possible when the sun is shining and the windows and patio doors are open for ventilation every day! I cannot imagine what woul be like in the winter months!

You've made the right decision. I'm sure you'll be relieved to be back in the first world. The quality of housing here is rock bottom and prices sky high....it is simply not acceptable to have mould in properties that cost as much as they do here.

Thanks. :-)

Misslv wrote:

... when I first wrote the post I pointed the humidity in the air in the brand new flat where I am living and a few days ago we shockingly found that the clothes in the wardrobe of our room were completely covered in mould. I really cannot comprehend how can that even be possible when the sun is shining and the windows and patio doors are open for ventilation every day! I cannot imagine what woul be like in the winter months!

Have lived here six years and never had this problem.