Best area for an expat family to live???
I moved to Malta in December 2014.聽 I stayed in a hotel in St Pauls Bay and went to see several flats with various agents.聽 If you rent through an agent they will charge you half of one months rent plus 18% VAT..I was fortunate to find a 3 bedroom flat privately and pay equivalent to 拢300.聽 You聽 have to pay for water, electricity phone/tv line and bottled gas.
To find an apartment privately you could goggle Malta Park and go on line for Sunday edition of Malta Times. It was my intention to buy but most expats I have met said simply rent.聽 Rent is low and most come fully furnished.聽 You may care to go on British Residents Association Malta web site.
A lot of people go to live in Gozo. Some have moved back here because they found it to quiet. Here in St Pauls Bay is a very active group who also have a library.聽 Look at their page.
Best wishes
Thank you for your valuable info. I also like a bit of life around me and would like to carry on training ice skating. I believe the Ice rink is in Valletta. I also like opera, ballet.聽 I don't mind to drive. I would buy a small car to get around.
I would like to be close to the centre but not too close. Any info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again and best regards
Liz
Have a wonderful weekend
Liz
I'm moving to Malta in late August with my girlfriend and our daughter (5 months old) and are therefore looking for a suitable place for us to settle down. My workplace will be in Ta' Xbiex and I would prefer an area not so far from work.
I've tried to find some info about Gzira, Msida, Pieta and Ta' Xbiex without too much luck.
I'm therefore hoping someone who have knowledge about these areas could provide me some info regarding noise, safety for children, playgrounds, gardens, promenades (for walking with stroller), etc.
All information will be much appreciated!

As for the area, I'd say it always depends on what your preferences are... If you have kids (as we do), schools are an important point to consider, too! (There are many useful threads on this blog about schools...). A friend of mine who moved to Malta 3 years ago advised me to avoid the Greater Valletta area (esp. Gzira, Sliema, St. Julians) for noise and high rent. He lives in Mosta and has rented a large apartment in a quiet street for a good price. So Mosta and Naxxar are cities with cheaper rents, if you like to be in a city. However, you might need to drive to work, and rush hour traffic to and from greater Valletta can be a nightmare. (Last time we had to catch our flight to Austria we needed to get from Gzira to Luqa at around 8 am. It took us more than an hour (for about 10 kilometres' drive)!
The bus service is relatively cheap, but often too slow and unreliable.
Generally, I'd check out the website of a property agent, just google Frank Salt Malta, they have many pictures of homes, too, so you can get an idea of prices and what to expect...
As for playgrounds etc. for children, I find that most communities have nice playgrounds for children and generally seem to do a lot for the young. Traffic and noise, I'd say, is a problem in most of Malta.
As for gardens, St. Anton in Balzan is really nice. The promenades along St. Julians - Sliema - Gzira , and in St. Paul's Bay are also ok with a stroller.
Regards John
Personally, I decided to settle in Sliema for the first year of my arrival as I found a nice apartment right beside my office, which means no need for a car or daily commute. Also, coming from Barcelona I don't find it noisy here at all like some people do. Plus, while the street I live on is quite relaxed, I am just a 5 minute walk to the seaside area for a beer or 15 minutes to St. Julian's for a night out, which is great since I am 30 and single.
Life here is pretty relaxed and the people in general are friendly. Lots of international people due to the gaming industry, so I am always able to grab a beer at a local bar and meet people easily. Rent is quite inexpensive if you are making a Northern European salary, which allows you to live a nice life and save money. Going out to eat or for a beer is quite cheap in comparison to most places in Europe as well.
I can't really speak on anything children/school related as it doesn't affect me, so I can't say I know much other than what I hear from friends.
1) Does anyone know in which village/towns there are international schools? Can anyone recommend any. (I think my daughter 9 will have to go international school,whereas my son is only young so I hope he will pick up the language and can go to state school - is this realistic?)
2) What utilities (bills) do you have to pay in Malta aside from rent? And does anyone know how much approx we would pay 4 a family for water, gas, leccy, internet? Is there anything similar to council tax?
3) we need to be commutable to sliema for my husbands work (ideally 40mins by public transport as he doesn't drive I do). Does anyone know what areas are nice, quiet but not too quiet, have some nice things for the children and are near good international and maybe state schools?
4) how much do people (approx of course) spend on groceries per week. Here in the uk we spend about 拢80 a week give or take.
5) is it realistic to bring my car over wih me? I have noticed cars seem to be more expensive in Malta than the UK, but I know I will have to pay registration tax, so I am not sure what to do. I have a Ford Fiest 2015 plate. I have owned it for a year.
6) Anyone that has moved over from the UK, did you move over furniture etc and if so was it expensive to do so?
My husbands company will help us with all the logistics of moving but he has to accept or decline the offer next week. Then we have 3 months to sort things out before we move. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks in advance!
With regards bills there are only electric and water, no mains gas or council rent to pay, the only gas available is bottled gas which most people use for cooking.

MrsPi88 wrote:When you say to ignore agents (and we have seen this a lot) how do we find the properties that are avaliable? I do know these questions have been asked previously, but some answers are months or even years old and I dont known if they are still correct. I hope you understand if I am going to uproot my kids I want to have as much info as I can get
What I said or at least meant was do not take too much notice of their adverts as many of the properties are not for let,聽 this has not changed over the years.聽 By all means pay them a visit when you are here and you will find out what actually is available as opposed to just looking online.
Properties we have rented and the one we have now have still been advertised when we were and are living in them.
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