Moving to malta

qawra is on the north coast and so is sliema
average times on the bus are 46 miniutes from bugibba (bus station is in qawra ) to sliema and 1hr 10 mins to valletta
this is using the number 12 bus ..however be advised that traffic is often bad at the moment due to coastal road work
and the buses are usually packed especially in the summer

Thanks robpw2 for your message,much appreciated.
Well,i wouldn't  have thought that it takes so much time to go from Qawra to Sliema or Valetta by bus.
That means 2 hours on the bus daily ,more or less.
Do they run frequently at least?
I have made a research of my own in various Real estate Agencies and athough i have stated that my maximum budget is 400 euros monthly,they keep sending me Information about flats above 500 euros per month.
Do you think that i can find a flat in places such  as Sliema,Gzira,Msida,San Gwann,Birkikara,Marsa etc at around 400 euros monthly or i should just forget about it and focus on Qarwa,Bugibba,St Pauls Bay?

George76 wrote:

Thanks robpw2 for your message,much appreciated.
Well,i wouldn't  have thought that it takes so much time to go from Qawra to Sliema or Valetta by bus.
That means 2 hours on the bus daily ,more or less.
Do they run frequently at least?
I have made a research of my own in various Real estate Agencies and athough i have stated that my maximum budget is 400 euros monthly,they keep sending me Information about flats above 500 euros per month.
Do you think that i can find a flat in places such  as Sliema,Gzira,Msida,San Gwann,Birkikara,Marsa etc at around 400 Euro monthly or i should just forget about it and focus on Qarwa,Bugibba,St Pauls Bay?

i would say that you could find property in gzira ta  xbiex , san gwann, birkikara  for about 400 euros in early novemeber time if you want a long term contract
these areas are usually a lot cheaper than sliema and st julians - it all depends on what kind of property , rooms etc,.

qawra , bugibba , st pauls bay in my opinion are great for holidays but not somewhere i personally would choose to live  ( many may differ)
however buses do run about 3-4 times an hour between qawra and valletta so its not too bad

Hi Rob ( i assume your name is Rob)
thanks again for your Information , it's good to know that i can find a flat withing my budget in central/North Malta.
Can u recommend a reliable Real Estate Agency?
Are there any other ways to look for a flat?
Could you please tell me why you wouldn't consider living in Qawra,Bugibba?
I'm not coming for holidays in Malta,although i wouldn't mind some sea views etc.
I'll be looking for a job in the betting Industry so i need a flat for few months,minimum 6 months

I would suggest looking on Malta park , for long lets - don't really do estate agents - I'm against paying someone to do something I can do my self - half a months rent I can save

I have sea views but I live in the south of the island
I just didn't find buggiba/Qawra to be my kind of place - it far too touristy

Be aware that there has been a rush on properties and rents have gone through the roof  - why am not sure but there have been massive increases...

e.g a friend of mine in Bugibba / Qawra cannot find anything similar to their criteria and under €500 so theyre now looking at Gozo. and our old flat in Mellieha which we left one year ago (was 615 now over 900)

Toon wrote:

Be aware that there has been a rush on properties and rents have gone through the roof  - why am not sure but there have been massive increases...

e.g a friend of mine in Bugibba / Qawra cannot find anything similar to their criteria and under €500 so theyre now looking at Gozo. and our old flat in Mellieha which we left one year ago (was 615 now over 900)

Yep I've been hearing a lot about this as well. This is especially true for mid-range properties (what used to be about €450-650)...

We have lived in Bugibba for three years and really love it! The rent has gone up, but we were told that it's because the government have cracked down on landlords who weren't paying tax - they got caught out when they agreed to let tenants have the cheaper rate electricity and have been charged back taxes for three years so have hiked the rent to cover the taxes they have to pay now (15% of the rent charged)!

George76 wrote:

Hi Rob ( i assume your name is Rob)

I'll be looking for a job in the betting Industry so i need a flat for few months,minimum 6 months

just be carefll with this one as atm on the island there is a big surplus of traders

George76 wrote:

Hi Rob ( i assume your name is Rob)
thanks again for your Information , it's good to know that i can find a flat withing my budget in central/North Malta.
Can u recommend a reliable Real Estate Agency?
Are there any other ways to look for a flat?
Could you please tell me why you wouldn't consider living in Qawra,Bugibba?
I'm not coming for holidays in Malta,although i wouldn't mind some sea views etc.
I'll be looking for a job in the betting Industry so i need a flat for few months,minimum 6 months

To find a flat - estate agents, facebook (many property groups), Malta Times newspaper, sundays especially, MaltaPark website, word of mouth and walking the streets 

I agree I wouldn't live in Qawra/Bugibba though St Pauls Bay is OK. As well as being touristy, there is only one way in, though you can go through St Pauls Bay. And the population trebles in tourist season

That said its a personal opinion, and where you live is  a personal choice, what suits one person doesn't suit another, so you really need to decide what is important to you, and find a place that fits    ie size, facilities, age, sea view or not, transport links, local shops, type of accommodation etc

You can find bus routes and timetables online to help you work out routes and travel times

how long does it take by bus from south malta  ( marsascala, marsaxlokk etc ) to sliema and valetta?
could you tell me some information about south malta?

Duxx wrote:

George76 wrote:

Hi Rob ( i assume your name is Rob)

I'll be looking for a job in the betting Industry so i need a flat for few months,minimum 6 months

just be carefll with this one as atm on the island there is a big surplus of traders

i have applied for betfair and they told me to come to malta for interview,they're looking for people with language abilities.
i can speak fluent english and native greek,and they're looking for people at the custome service departments

socialwhirl wrote:

George76 wrote:

Hi Rob ( i assume your name is Rob)
thanks again for your Information , it's good to know that i can find a flat withing my budget in central/North Malta.
Can u recommend a reliable Real Estate Agency?
Are there any other ways to look for a flat?
Could you please tell me why you wouldn't consider living in Qawra,Bugibba?
I'm not coming for holidays in Malta,although i wouldn't mind some sea views etc.
I'll be looking for a job in the betting Industry so i need a flat for few months,minimum 6 months

To find a flat - estate agents, facebook (many property groups), Malta Times newspaper, sundays especially, MaltaPark website, word of mouth and walking the streets 

I agree I wouldn't live in Qawra/Bugibba though St Pauls Bay is OK. As well as being touristy, there is only one way in, though you can go through St Pauls Bay. And the population trebles in tourist season

That said its a personal opinion, and where you live is  a personal choice, what suits one person doesn't suit another, so you really need to decide what is important to you, and find a place that fits    ie size, facilities, age, sea view or not, transport links, local shops, type of accommodation etc

You can find bus routes and timetables online to help you work out routes and travel times

yes,word of mouth and walking the streets can be very effective!
what do you mean by ""there is only one way in,though yo can go through st Pauls Bay""?
Qawra,Bugibba and St Pauls Bay are really close to each other?, can you walk from one place to the other in 10-15 minutes?
where would you recommend me to look for a flat?, i just want a normal 1 bedroom flat,close to groceries shops,supermarkets etc, and access to bus

the south is very developed & crowded but rents are cheaper.
From Marsascala it will take @ least 45/50 mins on good day to get to Vallatta  as there is only 1 road & then another 30/45 mins to Sliema depending where.
Traffic@ rush hour is very congested on most main routes.

mkiel wrote:

the south is very developed & crowded but rents are cheaper.
From Marsascala it will take @ least 45/50 mins on good day to get to Vallatta  as there is only 1 road & then another 30/45 mins to Sliema depending where.
Traffic@ rush hour is very congested on most main routes.

i see,rents are cheaper in north or south malta,but traffic is a problem as i'll be spending lots of time on the bus.
I guess we can't have it all, thanks for your message.

George76 wrote:

what do you mean by ""there is only one way in,though yo can go through st Pauls Bay""?
Qawra,Bugibba and St Pauls Bay are really close to each other?, can you walk from one place to the other in 10-15 minutes?
where would you recommend me to look for a flat?, i just want a normal 1 bedroom flat,close to groceries shops,supermarkets etc, and access to bus

If you're going to be working in betting/gaming why don't you look in Swieqi/Ibragg/Pembroke or SanGwann? All accessible to St Julians/Sliema without traveling too far.

Re Qawra etc there is only one road junction to access these places, plus another way in from the other end of St Pauls Bay, hence it can be very congested. I dont know if there will be another exit like there used to be after the roadworks are finished

You can walk from SPB to Bugibba in 10 min, or from Bugibba to Qawra, to walk from one end to the other may be nearer half an hour

hi george i have roomlets in satar birkirkara buses here are very close if you interested let me know .thanks joanne

Ridiculous. On the one hand you have these titally unregulated rent increases at the whim of the landlord (absolutely no tenant advocation group on this island), and then on the other hand you have 1930s frozen rents and outdated laws which mean that some landlords can't raise rents beyond €200/year- YES you heard that right. Even when the original tenant has moved into a retirement home- because the entitled, corrupt chikdren and grandchildren think they have a right to continue the joke 'tenancy'.
Welcome to Malta.