Moving to malta

Hi

me my partner and dog are moving to Malta at the end of December and there are a couple of things were not to sure on
1. How dog friendly is Malta, is there places we could let him of the lead for a run?
2. I've been looking online for properties to rent we have been looking around the Sliema/Valletta  area, were looking for a 2 bed with either a yard or sizable terrace near to all amenities our budget is around 500 euros a month. is this realistic and how easy is it to get a place before we actually move?
3. We don't currently drive but we would like to learn as soon as we arrive, where would be the best place to go?
4. I know that English is there second language, we do want to learn Maltese and i know there are classes in the university, but will we find it hard communicating with the locals hard if we don't know Maltese?

Naomi :)

1 . Dog friendly - lots of dogs not many places of greenery but there are designated dog beaches
2.i would avoid looking online for long term lets - many agents have properties in order to attract your attention but most have been let or are from multiple agencies - my strongest advice is book a short term let and then once you arrive in Malta look for long term lets - also be agents charge 50% months rent   as a fee  for sliema I don't think you wi get a 2 bed place for 500euro - I would be expecting to pay nearer 800 euro a month but the further south you go the cheaper places are - try gzira , taxbiex and San Gwann if you want to leave near sliema but not pay such high rents

I personally don't think Valletta or pieta are great places to live - but others may feel differently

3 you can learn to drive in Malta but I would strongly advise against doing so - firstly there is enough traffic on the road and secondly the driving skill here are non existent
4. You can do free Maltese courses via the etc , local councils etc - it depends on your competence of language how easy you will find this though and people will speak to you in English - it's helpful to know a bit of Maltese but in the areas your looking the majority of people are tourists etc
Any other questions please ask me

Welcome,
, Not very dog friendly but plenty of dogs! dogs should be on a lead at all times but the locals ignore this. Few places to let a dog run around in Valletta / Sliema and dogs are banned from most accessible beaches.

Wasting your time looking online as the websites are rarely up to date and for €500 you wont get much in those areas.

Plenty of driving schools around but you will need to get your EID card first.

English is fine, Maltese is a difficult language to learn and most who try give up.

Terry

Thank you for your replies very helpful

We have looked at gzira,pieta, San gwann and also swatar they would be fine we just want to be close to the big towns for jobs ect.

About the housing would it be better to come over and stay in a hotel for a week or so and look when we are over?

Yes naiomi - try air bnb Malta park etc if you want to get properties short term rather than a hotel - then you can see what it's like living in the area

This link gives some pet friendly hotels.....

http://www.lodging-world.com/mt/malta/p … dly-hotels


Terry

thank you both you've been very helpful, i cant wait to move over i have heard so many good things about the country

Moderated by kenjee 8 years ago
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Hello, just wanted to tell you about our experience. We moved to Malta 2 months ago ( family of five plus a dog). Lived in air bnb house in Cospicua ( Birgu), pet friendly ( Nicolettas house) and ended up renting a quite big ground floor apartment with a small garden in StPauls bay ( beautiful place by the sea, peaceful but still has all you need and a lot of restaurants etc . We have enjoyed living here. Quieter now that most of the tourists are gone, very pet friendly everywhere in my experience. Here I think you can find a nice place for less than 800. Easy to catch a bus to Sliema etc.and doesn't cost much. Peacefull places in the north also near. This is just so that you can compare different alternatives. Good luck with everything

Did you move over before you found a house?

Yes we did. I think that that's absolutely necessary because there is no way of knowing what the apartments are really like just looking at the pictures in the internet. We looked at several ones before choosing. We mentioned that we have a  dog after talking with landlord for a while first ( when seeing the apartment and deciding that we like it).  That could help. The agents tend to say no to dogs.