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Sam4321 wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

I think it sounds like we should avoid ground floors because I'm not into uninvited creepy crawlies making their way in.

creepy crawlies are on of my biggest fears, the first time i saw a cockroach in the house i freaked but now its quite interesting to see the different variety of wildlife who come in for a chat , the lizard was one of the funniest he ran in  round the bathroom and ran straight out again  , you get used to them after a while and most dont cause any harm. the other thing we have is the cats who will sit out side the door miaowing their heads off - i have tried talking to them but my maltese really isnt that great

be careful in summer whaterver floor you live on not to leave windows open .. flys , mosquitos and flying cockroaches like to visit but  I reccomend BOP lol its a fly spray that kills all flying insects.
we have found food in the kitchen cubaoards can get damp even if it doesnt look damp , things like salt and cereals  , if its in a cardboard package .. so tupperware is your friend lol
we have a dehumidifier this helps a lot

rooikat wrote:

Try to find an apartment with airconditioners in the living area and bedrooms as they work well in both summer and the approx 3 months of winter - however they can wipe out your Eco allowance on your utilities bill if used in excess.

Thanks for that.  It's really useful to know what to look for when we come over.  I've read loads of the forum, but I don't have a clue what the Eco allowance is.  I seem to remember seeing it mentioned, but can't find any information about what exactly it is?

robpw2 wrote:

creepy crawlies are on of my biggest fears, the first time i saw a cockroach in the house i freaked but now its quite interesting to see the different variety of wildlife who come in for a chat , the lizard was one of the funniest he ran in  round the bathroom and ran straight out again  , you get used to them after a while and most dont cause any harm. the other thing we have is the cats who will sit out side the door miaowing their heads off - i have tried talking to them but my maltese really isnt that great

be careful in summer whaterver floor you live on not to leave windows open .. flys , mosquitos and flying cockroaches like to visit but  I reccomend BOP lol its a fly spray that kills all flying insects.
we have found food in the kitchen cubaoards can get damp even if it doesnt look damp , things like salt and cereals  , if its in a cardboard package .. so tupperware is your friend lol
we have a dehumidifier this helps a lot

That's useful to know about the dehumidifier and tupperware.  I suppose it'll take a while to get used to how the different climate will affect things, including what insects come for a visit.  I think it might've been one of your posts that I read about a cockraoch near your bed?  Since then I've been having a slight panic about them, but I've not read up on them yet because I don't want to freak out too much before we get there.  We're used to lizards and scorpions and have even had a snake in the house, but cockroaches will be very new to us.

fayeb wrote:

I suppose the driving would be a real eye open for us. When you were looking round accommodation do you know if anyone lets you rent with pets as we have a dog who we would want to bring with us.

How long have you been planning your move for has it taken a long time to get sorted. Did you visit Malta a few times before hand.
Thanks.

I think it's much harder if you're wanting to rent when you've got a pet, but it is possible.  Our contract states no pets, including birds, cats or dogs, but maybe other accommodation types allow them. We've rented through an agent from somebody who has a number of properties, but I think you maybe have more chance going directly through a private landlord.

No, we've never been to Malta.  This weekend just gone was our first time. We haven't been planning for long.  It probably sounds rushed, but when you've already done it once in another country it's not so scary.  I've done lots of reading and lots of phone call making over the last month or so after first having the idea to move in the middle of November after coming home from a holiday (not Malta).  I had done a bit of research about two years before that though and decided the time wasn't right. We used to live in Montpellier nearer the Languedoc coast line, but we moved more inland towards Toulouse two years ago and we hate it here. I just can't stay here any longer because it's not what we want.  We only rent in France, so we're not tied to anywhere.  We were going to move towards Nice and St Tropez, but to be honest we've had our time in France and just want a change.  Malta sounded absolutely perfect for us, so we thought we'd give it a try because we were planning on moving to a totally new area within France anyway.

fayeb wrote:

Hi Sam

Do you know if you have to have loads of money behind you to show you can support yourself as read somewhere couples have to have £23,000 and extra for each dependant.

Thanks Faye.

I'm not sure about a lump sum because we have a regular income and will be applying for residency as being self employed.  Hopefully somebody else should be able to help you with that, but I've read loads of times on this forum about people going over with very little before finding a job, so I don't think that's the case, at least for someone coming from another European country.

Obviously if you don't have an income it's wise to have a bit in savings while you look for a job, but I don't know what, if anything, you need to have to be able to apply for residency.

fayeb wrote:

Hi
We are a family of four in the uk looking at moving over to malta. Can I just ask you did you go and have a look round at the weekend and if so how did you get on. We are also little unsure were to live and are focusing on area close to good school as we have 11 year old twins who will be going high school but really if possible don't want them in separated schools I have noticed  a lot of schools are boy and girl only.
Any advice tips will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Hi Fayeb, if they are 11 they will be in form 1 or 2 depending on their year of birth ( my daughter is born nov 2003 she is in form 1) Pembroke secondary  is in the  Swieqi / sliema / St Julian's / Gzira catchment area it currently has forms 1 and 2 as co-ed as this was the pilot school last year for mixed classes,  all other state secondary schools in Malta now  have form 1 as co-ed, they brought co- education in this September across all state schools in Malta for form 1 so eventually in another 4 years all years will be mixed sex classes

Izzybenjaz wrote:

Sorry I've just realised I've probably given you some duff info,  if your son turns 16 in 2016 he can go to sliema boys, as I don't think they have 4th year boys at Pembroke ( don't take my word for it!) can ask my daughter though she will know!  if  he is 16 this year before end December you will probably have to put him back a year anyway as the 5th formers finish school at the beginning of April and take their o levels straight after, the o levels had to be booked and paid for end of last year. My son started at the end of September and has had to try and cram 3 years worth of work and coursework into a few months, along with learning Maltese as he's the only British person in his school so the kids tend to mostly speak in Maltese, he can only take a certain number of o levels as he's not fluent in Maltese and some classes are only taught in the Maltese language,  it's been tough but he's on target to do well......plus he's guranteed to pass his English and Spanish! If you need any info at all just get in touch x

Thank you so much!  It's lovely to hear from somebody in a very similar situation.  We definitely plan to put him back a year, plus we hopefully want to pay for some private tuition over the summer so that he can catch up a bit. He turns 16 in October and we assumed he'd be going to Sliema boys with living in Swieqi?  Is that where your son goes?  We did look at private, but with him only having a French education I thought it'd be a waste of money because he'd be so far behind that we'd have to pay for extra tuition anyway.

I've not even thought about my daughter yet, so thanks for that.  She hasn't started any schooling in France yet and doesn't speak any French, so I'm fine with her going into a school speaking only Maltese.  How old is your youngest and how are they getting on?

fayeb wrote:

Hi izzybenjaz
Thank you for that information my twins were born October 2003 so same age as your daughter. That's good they are starting to mix them they have been in same class for seven  years and even though for last three years don't bother do much in school together they are very close and bit unsure what impact on top of a big move it would have on them being split up.
Do you have to pay for this school and if so how much roughly.
Thank you for your help much appreciated.
Faye.

Hi Faye,

No you don't pay for state school, you also get a free school bus service, you have to pay for uniform and stationary etc.