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too many people, too much dirt, a xenophobic and racist attitude (by some), an overly powerful church which occasionally makes Malta feel like Iran (eg in the divorce debate)

Depends how high / low your expectations are. There is a lot which is great in Malta . But as the heading is focused on the negative... and Since all countries have a plus and minus range.
I think its going to boil down to whats important on that range for you and your family.

I still maintain its a North African situation over here, with the luck of landing in the EU somehow. Its not really European, the language is Arabic cloaked in the Roman alphabet. The laziness, loudness, brashness / boorishness of people is typically North African. Hell even the driving and attention spans.

So negatives would be general filthiness and laziness from the streets to the service, eg expect to get shocked looks when asking someone in a bakery to not handle the bread with their  bare hands.

Close your eyes and enjoy the restaurants, dont worry what goes on behind the kitchens. You may not sleep .

So in a nutshell,
Poor service delivery of any kind, dirtiness, loudness , rudeness, a primitive / survivalist way of thinking which is possibly 20-30 years behind rest of europe , overconstruction of empty buildings,lack of awareness on the environment, outdated health ideas (organic is non existent ). Basic facilities, employment opportunities due to size.


But the positives could make you decide to live with some of those above.

I would go along with what Eagle stated.

Plus a general disrespect for anybody not sitting behind a steering wheel.

That means,having to deal with pavements in narrow streets blocked by parking cars forcing even mothers with prams to use the main road. Having to fear for your life on pedestrian crossings or anywhere else where pedestrians and cars come together. And expect your car to be scratched,bumped or otherwise damaged within a short time if you park on the street. A kamikaze kind of driving in the narrowest and busiest streets adds to the dangers.

The low mortality rates are only due to the frequent traffic jams and potholes in the roads limiting speeds somewhat.

I'm also very sceptical about the chances of making a decent living and not having to accept 'Maltese' salaries. Count yourself lucky if you have a highly specialized job and get offered a job by one of the foreign companies operating in Malta that have to pay more than the average Maltese salary.

But there are also many reasons to accept all these  issues and enjoy the mediterranean lifestyle.

Ricky

Ditto with Eagle and Ricky.

Also, as a parent of school-age kids - I don't think there are many opportunities for my kids here, short or long-term. Or much for them to do outside school - yes the beach etc but not the depth and breadth of opportunites that you get in other "western-style" countries (which is where I am from so what I compare to...before anyone jumps on me again for my comments!). Also, we're not sure our kids are getting a "good" education and dealing with the school is really frustrating (very poor communication etc).

We are constantly re-evaluating whether or not to stay here - we've been here nearly 18 months and we've had lots of bad days where we just want to leave it all behind and some good days when Malta seems like the best place on earth....sadly those are quite few though and mainly at the weekend when I am not working and having to deal with commuting/traffic etc.

Other things:
The Asian Tiger Mosquito last summer made my life a living nightmare. We have since moved to an apartment with insect screens and hope that this year it won't be so bad, but last summer I nearly went insane - those creatures are really, really nasty! If it is as bad this summer I will leave the island - no doubt about it.

Shopping - nowhere has everything so you have to go to multiple different places just to do a normal weekly shop. The opening hours are rediculous (though getting better slowly).

I could go on.

But it really does depend on your personal circumstances, experiences and expectations.

Thankyou everyone for your honesty. I know it was a strange question to ask but I like to have a broad view of a place. We are visiting for a week at the end of the month but as any expat knows living somewhere is very different from a holiday (the comments from non expats only holidayed in the Costa's and think they know it all bores me!!!)
The tiger mosquito worries me a bit I´m prone to getting bitten so will need to find somewhere that as you say has insect screens and the schooling is interesting, my daughter is only 15 months at the mo but if we decided to stay there a little longer this is something we could come up against as well.
You say about shopping, does the island not have a Carrefour/Mercadona or something similar to what we have in Spain?
I think coming from the UK anything mediterranean can seem a little daunting, health and safety etc as the UK is such a stickler for it.
Having seen people on the outskirts of Barcelona regularly going through the bins to find food and anything else they can get there hands on and children being allowed to wee in the street (Barcelona stinks of it) and general rudeness I think I´m kinda getting used to it.
We all strive for a better life somewhere and we have all had the guts to try it. I do worry taking my daughter from England at such a young age and moving her from country to country won´t do any good so we do need to settle somewhere at least for a few years so I hope Malta is what we are looking for otherwise it may be back to grey old England x

Hiya,  where in Spain are you coming from.  We have recently moved here from Alicante (Pilar de la Horadada).

When I went to the supermarket (PAVI) I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, so many English products at half the price they were in Spain, and the selection....  I did come over a little woozy for a while.

If you want to do a comparison to Spain, it is similar but I have known Malta for a long time, since I was a child and I still think I prefer Malta.  Education... probably similar to Spain except the curriculum is more closely related to the UK one, the teaching is better and it is less laid back...  They expect results!!  so no slacking allowed.  I had a kid in primary and instituto in Spain and I prefer the education system here.

Maybe I am the exception but I have found everybody I have spoken to to be very helpful and friendly, except my bloody gardener who keeps knicking my crops and fruit...grrr.  This battle is still ongoing.

The worse thing I have found in Malta so far.... the bloody hills, and why do they all go up and none of them down...aargh.  Oh well, I suppose I could compensation in that it will take my butt longer to sag..

If you have any other comparison (spain/malta) questions please feel free to ask me and I'll give my honest opinion, good or bad.

Jules
x
edited for typos''  uk state education system  hehe.  If there are any more sorry,  too tired to correct them.  nite nite.x

Hi Jules,
We are coming from the Sant Montjuic area in Barcelona. Please don´t think my comments relate to the whole of Spain I just find the Catalans a different breed compared to the rest ha ha. For all my moaning I do actually like living in a city like Barcelona but we really need somewhere slightly laid back and just generally better for our daughter and maybe the next child to come along. I looked at schooling here and have no interest in sending her anywhere here, I think the UK has a good system so I´m pleased to hear that its fairly similar in Malta. I don´t really want to go back to the UK (well not for a few years anyway) just love the lifestyle of being an expat.
We won´t need to worry about jobs as my partner has already got a job to go to there if we choose to make the move so that's one less thing to worry about.
Its hard to find English food products here and the little shop I have found that sells cadburys, walkers etc is totally over priced but I suppose that's import costs as well.
Can you get a lot of the beauty products like Garnier, Loreal etc as love the range you can buy in Spain?
I´m really looking forward to our visit now because even with the negatives I still think I will prefer it to here xxx

Just checked Pavi online Mmmmm galaxy chocolate and all sorts think I might have a little dance in the aisles ha ha x

I too have lived in Spain for a good few years- not far from Barcelona actually. The main difference I have found it just how small island life is. O the mainland you can hop in the car and be skiing in Andorra one day then down on the Costas the next. There is plenty to see and do here- there just doesn't seem to be that huge difference in geography or culture. Having said that, I haven't been here all that long so perhpas things will seem different after I have been exploring a bit more.

georgeingozo wrote:

too many people, too much dirt, a xenophobic and racist attitude (by some), an overly powerful church which occasionally makes Malta feel like Iran (eg in the divorce debate)

hahaha personally I love the open xenophobic attitude and racism...   I think it's better than there being a surpressed hatred .