| British expat Steve is taking it easy nowadays, having moved with his wife from the UK to Gozo in Malta. Here he shares his plans for a consultancy business, samples of housing costs in Malta, and just why Malta fits their wants and needs 100%. |
 Steve Holmes |
-Where were you born?
London, England
-In which country and city are you living now?
Gozo, Malta
-Are you living alone or with your family?
-How long have you been living in Malta?
18 months now.-What is your age?
52
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Malta?
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
-How do you make your living in Malta? Do you have any type of income generated?
-Do you speak Maltese and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
We of course miss the regular contact with family and friends, I still see most of them once or twice a year as they either come here for a break and we intend to return to the UK at least twice a year. Here in Gozo we are almost walking distance from the sea, we did not have that in London.
Restaurants in Malta and Gozo are cheap (again compared to London) and the standard of food is high. The lovely Gozitan countryside encourages you to walk more often, and if you like your Gym membership this is cheaper than London also. You do not have the choice here that we had in London when it comes to clothes, furniture and any electrical goods you may need. I came here to live the Mediterranean life, if I had wanted London I would have stayed in London.
-Do you have other plans for the future?
Future plans involve the restoration of another derelict farmhouse we have found (400 years old). To develop my 'Fire Safety Consultancy' into a thriving business. To explore the nearby countries to Malta, we are very close to north Africa, Italy and not far from Cyprus and Greece.
To see if I can find that ideal work life balance that so many people look for in life.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
We bought a derelict 200 year old farmhouse 5 years ago, it took 2 years to bring it back to its former glory, we kept as many of the original features as possible and added a few modern day luxuries. I will try to offer a list of properties to give an example of prices, these will of course change over time, these examples are correct as of October 2008.
- Corner finished spacious APARTMENT being sold partly furnished excellently located facing a green area. Comprising sitting room, kitchen/living room combined, spare toilet, 3 bedrooms, bathroom and 2 balconies. Price €173000. (You can buy in shell form for less money).
- TOWN HOUSE set in this sought after, popular area, converted to excellent standard by present owners. Accommodation comprising an entrance hall, living room with fireplace, dining room, fitted kitchen breakfast overlooking a sunny courtyard, original Maltese stairs leading onto 2 double bedrooms and bathroom, third bedroom/washroom on next level with lovely roof garden, enjoying open country views. Freehold. €322000
- Furnished TERRACED HOUSE located in this highly sought after area of Attard. Property comprising an entrance hall, lounge, sitting/dining room, kitchen/living room, 4 double bedrooms, bathroom, guest toilet, large basement, washroom, back yard and 2 car street level garage. €372000.
- FARMHOUSE in need of restoration, in very good structural condition, centrally situated in the heart of the village tucked at the end of a quiet alley way. Accommodation consists of entrance hall, lounge/dining room combined, kitchen, three bedrooms, space for a large pool and deck area. Plans approved for converting into a lovely farmhouse with beautiful views from the terraces. €175000. You would of course need to budget for restoration on this type of property.
- Set on the outskirts of this charming most sought after village and enjoying open country and seaviews. This lovely recently renovated authentic FARMHOUSE is a gem of property. Comprising entrance hall, dining room, kitchen/breakfast, sitting room, three double bedrooms, two ensuite bath/shower rooms, lovely large central courtyard, internal/external stairs, spare toilet/laundry and huge terrace enjoying lovely views. Full of authentic traditional features including arches, mangers, wooden beams, patterned tiles. €350000.
-What is the cost of living in Malta?
Compared to the UK:
More expensive: Cars, clothing, white goods, computers, TV's, furniture, books.
Cheaper: Fuel, water, gas, locally produced fresh food, local wine, income tax, no council tax at all.
Overall, living in Malta / Gozo is cheaper than the UK although the gap seems to be closing.
The British have been a big influence here for a long, long time and much of the infrastructure is set up as in the UK, as such the locals do like the British and interact very well. Malta and Gozo have a thriving expat community and yet I have more local friends than I do expat friends. The locals are friendly to all foreigners as this is in the nature of the locals.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Malta?
After living in London, Gozo is the exact opposite, life is slow, relaxed, nothing happens quickly or immediately, so if you are used to people jumping to your command forget it, it ain't happening here. Customer services in some areas of business may not be to the standard you are used to.
In a nutshell the slow life, the sea and superb weather. Winter sunshine is average 7 hours a day with low temperature around 12c. You can almost guarantee no rainfall between the months of late April to the first week in September, yes the summer is that predictable, daytime highs in August will be 35c - 40c with 12 hours of sunshine a day.
A recent report has named Malta as one of the safest holiday destinations in the world. The report also goes on to praise the island’s roads which have the lowest fatality rate in the EU.These are very small communities on the Maltese Islands, when you live here you have to be very guarded with what you may not want other people to know, people talk and things you may have said have an uncanny habit of coming back to you through third parties.
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Malta?
Spend as much time as you can here as possible, before making your mind up to live here. I love it; it suits my wife and I 100%, but we are all different, it may not suit everyone.
Make sure you visit the islands outside the peak summer months as between the months of October and April the Islands have a completely different feel to them. Also keep in mind that to holiday here is different from living here. If you intend to live in an apartment, town house or old farmhouse when you come to live here, then make sure you rent whichever applies when you come and stay on holidays, not a four or five star hotel.
-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Malta?
- http://in-search-of-nirvana.blogspot.com: This is my own blog about my expat life, Gozo, Music, Malta, Wine, Fire Service, Fire Safety, Poker, London, Politics, European Union, Travel and Eco - technology.
- http://www.an-american-in-malta.com: This web site is for expatriates living in Malta--and for people anywhere considering or planning to move to Malta. If you're about to retire, work or study in Malta, here are the facts you need.
- http://www.gozo.gov.mt: All you need to know about the sunny Maltese Island of Gozo.
A big move
Hello,
My mane is Suzanne & I am from Kildare in Ireland. Following a holiday to Malta last year my partner, George who is originally from Liverpool, & I decided to buy a small apt just for holidays as we loved the country, people & lifestyle so much. We eventually bought a lovely little penthouse apt in Naxxar which we adore. But with the econmy in ever increasing meltdown here in Ireland we have decided it might be best to sell up & move over permanently. George is a structural & civil engineer who owns his own small company specialising in precast concrete, & I was an administrator until I was made reduntant. My worry is that I may not get a job and I also have a 19yr old son who is not terribly keen on the idea of moving over, who would also need to work. I have tried to find out what the job situation is like over there but there does not seem to be any links to job websites. Can anyone give me some advise on this?
Many thanks
Work in Malta
Hi Suzanne,
I don't know if your huband intends moving his business here to Malta, I know that grants are available for people setting up new busineses here in the Maltese Islands, but I know that you have to meet certain criteria to obtain those grants. The following link may be of help for this. http://www.maltaenterprise.com
The general employment situation here in Malta is perhaps not as bad as Ireland but is not great, unless you have something special or in demand in the way of experience or qualifications.
The wages here are generally quite low so don't expect UK or Ireland wages. Again I have found the following website that may be of some help. http://www.maltajobsearch.com
Jobs are around but you will not be able to rely on the internet too much here, for that sort of information. A lot is still not available online, here in Malta.
I hope this helps.
If I can be further just ask.
Hi Steve, Thanks for the
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the email. I suppose we are lucky that we already have the apt over there & we have a very good Maltese friend who was fantastically helpful when we were buying the apt. He has already told George he will introduce him to some local engineers & architects so that sounds promising. I have also checked out the websites you very kindly sent me and I am quite hopeful that it will all work out. I just have to convince my son! Do you own a car over there, if so is tax & insurance expensive do you know? Do you miss London? I have been to lovely Gozo & it is quite literally the total opposite of London! Good luck with your business venture & I will keep in touch.
Suzanne
Work and cars
Good friends are important, the Maltese are friendly people by nature so it will be easy blend in with the community here. I have not come across any seperate expat communities here that you will find in Spain which is a good thing. I see no point at all in moving to a foreign country and only socialising with the British, as the culture and the people are what makes the move worthwhile, yes you have the sun but there is more to life than the sunshine. (I will get off my soapbox now).
To find work personal introductions, word of mouth (the grape vine is very good here) or the mordern term I believe is networking, is the way to go.
Do I miss London, some aspects yes, London is very convenient everything is at your fingertips, and that certainly is not the things work here. The positives far outway the negatives though.
Cars! welcome to the country with probably the most expensive cars in Europe, on your visits to Malta you may have noticed the number of very old cars on the road, this is because the Maltese government applies what is known as a registration tax to a vehicle, this tax is very high, to the point that the price of new or nearly new low polluting cars are in the region of 50 - 80% dearer than the same car would cost you in most other European countries. The registration tax is based on co2 output, engine size, vehicle length, vehicle value. If you bring a vehicle in from Ireland you will need to register it here in Malta soon after you arrive and when you register the car you will have to pay the tax on this imported vehicle. Let me give you a couple of examples Lets take a nice low poluting green car, Toyota Prius around 2 years old 2007 cost to buy in the UK around £7500.00 when you register it here in Malta you will pay a further €4126.00 in registration tax. The tax on the Prius is low most family cars would pay around double that. If you have the right car you are still better off importing it. The only way to own a car here, and pay a reasonable price is to buy one of the local smoke belching old bangors. If you would like to find out the registration tax on you car you can check it out here. http://www.capconnect.co.uk/Malta/car.aspx Road Tax is about the same as the UK and insurance I have found is cheaper, but I do come from London.
Good Luck with all your plans.
More information about Malta
Hi Steve,
First thank you very much for all your advise about Malta, it is being very useful. I am Juliana, brazilian who had lived in few European countries. At the moment I am living in Belfast, but credit crunch is doing real damage over here. As usual following our instincts of living in a warm country we are looking to move to Malta. Me, my husband and our 7 months old son. My husband is applying for jobs in Malta, they are in need of multilingual customer service.
I have been doing some reserach about houses to rent and found that in Gozo is much cheaper, we are looking for a country side houses ideally. But if Mauro find job as CSR, probably he will be working in the main land, mostly around Sliema, St Lucja or Valleta. We have a family car over here. We intent to bring with us, in spite of car registration cost. My question is about daily relocating from Gozo to Mainland. Is it expensive the ferry? By foot and bus will be cheaper? What are the routs? We intend to bring our car, but I would like to know if the public transport is good enough that you will not need a car.
About houses to rent, we have seen lovely old houses to rent, dream farm houses, but as they are made from stone, which is ideal for hot summer, at the winter time will they be freezing? Old houses usually don't have isolation or proper bases.
Also if you have information about nursery for my 7 months old son, just in case I find job.
Thank you in advance and have a happy warm easter!
Juliana Lazzari
Transport links
Hi Juliana,
Sorry about the delayed reply I have been away.
The buses here in Gozo do not run very often, which is why here on Gozo just about every person runs a car or small motorbike. Bus timetable here http://www.gozo.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=896 it says 2008 but I think that this is still current. Buses on Malta run slightly more often.
Gozo Channel Ferry Fares can be found here http://www.gozochannel.com/companyop_rates_glance.htm
Old farmhouses and old houses of character keep very cool in summer compared to newer houses or appartments as they have walls 1 meter thick, this however also means they stay warmer in winter. Winter fires are either from (LPG) gas fires or wood burning stoves (wood can be expensive). It is rare to find houses that are heated throughout as is often found in other European countries. The Maltese islands are built on solid rock, so the bases of houses are not likely to move, for example my own house is more tha 200 years old and does not appear to have moved an inch. If possible I would advise you to go for an older house they are warmer in winter and cooler in summer, but they are harder work to keep clean.
I can not help you with information about nursery's I have no experience in this area at all, the locals rely on family to look after the children whilst mum works, I am sure there must be a nursery somwhere.
I hope this information helps and good luck with your re location.
Steve
Caring in Malta
Hi folks I'm new to this so I hope I'm posting in the right place. I am have been a carer for my local council for 6 years and I was wandering how easy it is to get into similar in Malta as I've just about had enough of the UK and need a change, can anyone help in this matter please?
Regards
Cherry
Older parents and not in the best of health
Hi there.
Currently my boyfriend is over in Malta and is raving about the place so much, that he dosen't want to come home, he's saying that he thinks we could live out there very easily. Bearing in mind that I have an 80 year old mother and a totally blind uncle who is not in the best of health he's 78. (mums' brother) and whilst I want to support my boyfriend I also have to think about the realistic side of life for them.
What are the hospitals like?
What provisions does Malta have for folks on an Old Age Pension with no other income?
How easy is it to find accommodation, Rented?
What are the best areas to chose to live?
Are there local amenities, shops? Dr's, Post Offices?