Is this salary enough to support a family?

Hi

Malta is reasonably cheap compared to other European countries.  There is a good quality of life, maybe if you did have a second salary coming in, then it would help.  Everyone speaks English there and you would have no problem getting a job there.

It is a very family oriented way of life there, of course there are playgrounds, and obviously you have the beaches and the sea all around you.

Malta is a small island so flights can be quite steep due to that.  There are lots of thing to do and you are only a ferry away from Sicily and I would definitely recommend that you rent a farm house and go over to Gozo for small breaks as well.

I'm not sure what Lija is like but it's probably pretty inexpensive (I live in Sliema, very touristy), so that salary sounds ok; have you chrcked rental costs in Lija? You won't find the outdoor and green spaces you have in Germany and it is extremely hot in July and August but otherwise sunny weather year round and fun for kids if they like swimming and water sports.
Just to note- I believe Germans smoke a lot and perhaps you are a smoker yourself- but the prevalence of smoking here is very high and people think nothing of smoking around children. This might not be an issue for you but in that regard it's very different from Canada (or think Canada in the 1970s so a heads-up if that would concern you .

Most of Malta is not that child friendly when compared to Berlin...

What I mean by that is: no big open green spaces, very narrow sidewalks, noise pollution, crazy amounts of traffic, unhealthy foods are very popular and sold everywhere. Walking is... well everyone drives everywhere.

Also, depending on what kind of service you're used to, things like paid daycare in Malta are nowhere near German or Spanish level. Like literally completely different worlds... everything's much simpler here in Malta - basic outdoor space, basic activities for kids in daycare/summer schools, and so on. So if that kind of stuff is important be prepared for a proper shock to your system.

I would strongly suggest coming here for a 2 weeks visit (not vacation) to see how things work and do your own comparison. It's a very unique country with a unique way of doing things.

Whether €2500 pm is enough to live on depends on how you want to live.
Yes its enough if you have a regular lifestyle, I'm not sure its enough for 3 of you to be travelling and extras as well.

If you run a car, eat out/socialise regularly and buy things for the house/garden I'd say you'd find it tight, and would probably want some additional income.

It is very possible to live on a  budget here, its really down to personal choice and circumstances

I would agree with the last 2 posts.  Definitely come here for 2 weeks and see how the Island works.  It is an amazing place but it is its own culture with a different way of doing things.  It is a great place for families and there are a lot of green spaces but not in towns.  Anywhere there is a town its pretty much built up.  Lija is expensive place to rent and there isn't a lot to do there.. Its very much a quiet village, but it s quite central.  If your going to move here I would, (for  the first year), choose a central place or go to Sliema or St. Paul's Bay or Saint Julians .. Where the expats tend to settle and there are lots of tourists so you have everything to hand, then look further out to some of the places like Naxxar, etc.

2,500 for family is a pretty basic wage.  You will get by on it but you will have to make choices, but here for instance you can vacation on the Island for the first few years until your more settled and maybe find a new job.

I would re-iterate that moving here with no real knowledge of the place is going to set you up for disappointment because every country is different and you really need to understand what it will be like to some extent being here.

P

I could live like a king for 2500 pcm but then I don't have kids - I disagree with comment suggesting moving to sliema ,st Julian's etc because that's going to wipe 800-1200 ish from your monthly income
Avoid the tourist areas in the north and you will start to save dramatically - the problem  will arise when you want to find work - you will need to factor in transport etc but still with 3bed apartments in marsascala for around €550 a month  the savings are dramatic

I agree with people who say come and try the island
But as someone who came here pretty much on a whim - I don't think you will be disaapointed

Well I suggest living in the tourist areas because when your trying to find your feet, one of the more tourist areas , while more expensive, also has everything on your doorstep.. Thats why I suggested the first ear and then move out when you have a better idea.  If your a stay at home parent and you move to a small village your going to feel very isolated, very fast.

Family of 4 on 2,500 is a basic wage. You will pay rent, food etc but you will have to make choices on other aspects of your life.. And if you have come from a much better salary and more amenities to hand you are going to find it a big change dropping down.

And just a cautionary note.. Moving somewhere as a single person is a world of difference than moving somewhere with a family, and all the attendant issues that go with that such as schooling, healthcare etc

Just making an observation.

Paul

Paul

The need for healthcare is the same regardless of whether you have kids or not. In some ways coming with a family is essier. Apart from the obvious needs of children, having a partner for support when going through homesickness, etc is a huge plus.
Rob is right about Sliema, St Julian's, etc being more expensive for day to day living. I would not choose to live here if I didn't have the luxury of living in my mum's flat. The cost of living in Sliema vs (what I've heard about) the wages are way off.

Did I move as a single person - who's this strange man living in my house then ?
I disagree Paul if you want to come witness the island to live here you don't want to go to the tourist areas as it gives a completely different impression .
Plus I wouldn't take children to st Julian's especially to live it's noisy , dirty and full of pissed up teens - each to their own of course

Yea the salary will be a drop in what they are used to how still  it's certainly not a bad wage  and but then they will have to weigh up what's important -that bit I agree with you on

I guess we all have different opinions then.  I seem to know people on both sides of the divide and as I said twice now I was advocating for only the first year.  I live in a village and love it but I also know Malta inside out so no where seems far to me. I know people who came and felt so isolated because they started off living in a village. Sliema is expensive .. But it depends where you live.. Same as for St. Pauls (which I also suggested), or one of the other tourist areas just to take some of the pressure off. I also didn't mean to imply you were single.. Just that the pressures on a family are totally different to that on even a couple.

Anyway ill bow out of this.

Well personally I didn't like Sliema myself - too touristy, too many cheesy bars, noisy, dirty... To each his own.

We liked Mellieha the most but even there is quite built up and noisy/busy. I'm comparing this to Berlin which, even though a huge city, has countless parks, playgrounds, places to go cycle, go for a walk without the risk of being run over, events (village festas in Malta get old fast...), the list is endless...

Malta has better weather (June-August are too hot though). Also rents are cheaper in Malta (except maybe Sliema) than in Berlin. Also restaurants are slightly cheaper. Food (supermarkets and groceries/markets) is cheaper in Berlin so don't count on saving anything there. Same goes for utilities. I really wouldn't expect to save much moving from Berlin to Malta - especially if you want to travel, eat out, live in a nice apartment/house... So far from my travels I have found Malta to be the most expensive place overall for long-term living (not counting England ofc) - pricier than Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands. And I'm not talking villages in those places either - Valencia, Palma, Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Cascais, Porto - all large Cities with a lot to offer.

Also keep in mind that you're more likely to find a job in Malta than any of the other places I mention so there's that. Weather, English spoken everywhere and relatively good employment prospects is why Malta is so popular. I get it - but I wouldn't give up a good job in Berlin to move there (with kids that is).

Edit: here's a quick (pretty accurate) comparison http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … ty2=Sliema

Thank you so much for your insight everyone! It's definitely given us a lot to consider

As always, thanks to everyone for the great insights! We're considering moving to Malta from Austria - we're a family of 4, our youngest is barely 6 months old, so we won't be coming for good anytime before 2017, I guess...

I'd like to add some of my own thoughts on that topic:

- As many others have pointed out before, I too think it's best if you come over to Malta and see / experience the island for yourself before making any decisions! I've been to Malta 3 times so far, my first stay being a 4-week CELTA course, and then twice with my family for around 10 days each, once in September, once in February. We've stayed in Mellieha and Sliema. Mellieha is definitely nicer, but then again our holiday apartment was in Santa Maria Estate, which I figure is one of the pricier areas (for property). We've already booked our next stay next February in St. Paul's - as our plans to move have only now become more serious, we're going to check out different areas, schools etc. then. We've booked our apartment on airbnb, I think that's one of the best ways to find affordable short lets that also allow you to experience a bit of "real" life (as opposed to holiday apartment complexes or hotels).

- From what we have experienced so far, it should be possible to have a decent life with 2500/month as a family of 4, provided your rent is reasonable. But I have to say that we certainly aren't rich here in Austria, our family income being less than 2500 - and rental costs are crazy high here in our city (it's a university town, so lots of students sharing apartments and driving the rent prices up), we're lucky we "only" pay about 1300/month rent for 2 bedrooms (including energy bills, water and internet), which makes just about 1000/month for any other expenses like food, transport, etc. So I believe we could get by on the same money (1000/month after rent) in Malta - but as others have said, it always depends on what you're used to. We don't go out much (wouldn't work out with the children, anyway), we don't do expensive sports (like skiing - a day pass sets you back over 50 euros/person), we buy at Lidl or other cheaper shops or from the farmer's market, we cook instead of eating out or getting takeaway food. And we'd be doing the same in Malta.

- As for travelling throughout the year: A Dutch friend of mine who now lives in Malta told me that they weren't able to travel anywhere for 2 years after they had moved, as they had no money left. But then again, he said, you can spend nice holidays on Gozo and Malta, too...

- Oh yes, and one last note: I agree with mantasmo that the standard of certain services and amenities (like daycare) in Malta is not comparable to Germany - we have family in Italy and are used to it, but to some it might be a problem. Again, the best thing to do imho is come over and see for yourself!

Also don't forget to consider stuff like daycare/school hours (usually very short - good if you've a lot of free time), quality of sports facilities (many schools have none in Malta), food served during school lunches (many allow basically anything including coke, candy, cakes...), activities at summer schools (poor even if you go for the most expensive options).

And don't forget about driving (depending on where you live) - there's no school bus service in most areas or the service is poor (doesn't include anything other than basic pickup when lessons end - any afterschool activities and you have to organize your own transport). Living somewhere within walking distance from schools might actually be a good idea (that's why Mellieha is out for most families).

Many Maltese kids lead very sedentary lifestyles from very early age... I know it because I've spoken to many Maltese mums/dads about this over my eight month stay on the islands. So be prepared to do a lot of work/encourage your kids to be active as that's not something that comes naturally in Malta (and it shows - watch a group of youngsters play in a park - at least half are overweight by age 10).

Basically moving as a couple with no kids was a great adventure and lots of fun. But now that we have a baby on the way Malta isn't even on our radar lol.

Weigh the pros and cons very seriously. Also note that there are exceptions to all of the above.

As someone who lives in Melieha, I am struggling with all these negative comments about it! You clearly were not in the  same place I live

I live right in town and it is neither noisy nor busy. Certainly not in comparison to most other towns on the island.

There is a huge primary school here which kids WALK to, and I know lots of expats with secondary age children who manage fine, some drive them, some get a bus, tends to depend on the parents.

socialwhirl wrote:

As someone who lives in Melieha, I am struggling with all these negative comments about it! You clearly were not in the  same place I live

I live right in town and it is neither noisy nor busy. Certainly not in comparison to most other towns on the island.

There is a huge primary school here which kids WALK to, and I know lots of expats with secondary age children who manage fine, some drive them, some get a bus, tends to depend on the parents.

I really like Mellieha. It's about the only place in Malta where I could see myself living so...

It's busy and noisy compared to perhaps more tranquil places but that's because of narrow roads, narrow sidewalks, lots of traffic (especially in season)... otherwise it's great as there are some green areas and beautiful beaches nearby. Honestly as a place to live Mellieha is as good as it gets in Malta.

What I meant by driving was distance to private schools like San Andrea, Anton or perhaps even Verdala... I personally wouldn't put my kids into public schools unless I intended to stay in Malta until they graduate. Definitely wouldn't put a teenager into a public school.

I have friends with kids in Verdala, and another school, I think its St Anton, they get the bus. Some mums drive it, they don't seem to have a problem.

As for busy/noisy/traffic there is more to Mellieha than the main street - which is the only one with any traffic - and I frequently walk down there when its dead. We also have far fewer festas and fireworks than most other towns on the islands, including the tiny tranquil villages 

socialwhirl wrote:

I have friends with kids in Verdala, and another school, I think its St Anton, they get the bus. Some mums drive it, they don't seem to have a problem.

That's why I said that it might be a consideration for some... for us it wouldn't work because we both work 8-4/5 (albeit from a home office) and it would eat too much into our work day. I like the idea of putting my kid on a secure school coach with professional supervisors. I also like the idea of being able to arrange late pickup, etc. I don't mind paying as long as the service is safe and professional. This might be a non-issue for many parents.

We are then free to spend 5pm to midnight chilling, going to the beach, parks, and so on - that's the best time to go out anyways as it's (usually) not scorching hot in the evenings.

socialwhirl wrote:

As for busy/noisy/traffic there is more to Mellieha than the main street - which is the only one with any traffic - and I frequently walk down there when its dead. We also have far fewer festas and fireworks than most other towns on the islands, including the tiny tranquil villages 

I suppose it's relative... I like Mellieha and always recommend it as a great place to live and/or visit.

Actually I just learned that there's been a big push sometime in 2014 to extend daycare hours, renew facilities and offer all students and/or employed mums free daycare "credits" (so a mum working full time would be entitled to 40 hours/week). So that's awesome.

Well, I am living in Mellieha for over a year and in Malta for over 2 years and I have to disagree with few things that have been posted here.

mantasmo wrote:

Also don't forget to consider stuff like daycare/school hours (usually very short - good if you've a lot of free time), quality of sports facilities (many schools have none in Malta), food served during school lunches (many allow basically anything including coke, candy, cakes...), activities at summer schools (poor even if you go for the most expensive options).

It's true that some daycare places are only open for short periods of the day (like until 2pm i.e.) but that will vary depending on each daycare opening hours. I know of others where you can drop your child from 6-7am and picking him/her up until 5-6pm. My son is 6 and he attends Mellieha's primary school and he has sports activities twice a week. They also have the "after school program", where he can stay at school for a long period, after 2pm when the school finishes. With regards to the food, I can assure you that they don't allow that kind of food you've mentioned. My son is not allowed to take to school junk food such as crisps, candies, biscuits, fizzy drinks, cakes and so on...At summer holidays, they have what's called "the summer school" program where for a small fee and through near mostly of the summer holidays, your child is taken to the beach and participates in different sports activities.

mantasmo wrote:

And don't forget about driving (depending on where you live) - there's no school bus service in most areas or the service is poor (doesn't include anything other than basic pickup when lessons end - any afterschool activities and you have to organize your own transport). Living somewhere within walking distance from schools might actually be a good idea (that's why Mellieha is out for most families).

Again, I don't agree with that! I live about 7-10 mins within a walking distance to my son's school and if I wanted, for free (no cost whatsoever), he could use the school bus. He actually doesn't use it because my wife likes to walk him everyday to school. And also from what I know, kids who live in places like Santa Maria Estate or even Manikata, are also picked up from the bus provided by the school.

mantasmo wrote:

Many Maltese kids lead very sedentary lifestyles from very early age... I know it because I've spoken to many Maltese mums/dads about this over my eight month stay on the islands. So be prepared to do a lot of work/encourage your kids to be active as that's not something that comes naturally in Malta (and it shows - watch a group of youngsters play in a park - at least half are overweight by age 10).

I agree that the overweight is an issue in Malta, not only with the kids but also with the adults. But then again, that depends on the family life style and the kind of food they eat and give to the kids. If you eat a lot of pastizzis, pasta, pizzas, and drink fizzy drinks on a daily basis, of course you gonna put on weight. For me it's a matter of life style and making the right choices. There are a lot of sports grounds, swimming pools, martial art places where you can take your kid to practice.

Now, sharing a bit of my 2 and half years of experience in Malta, I have to say that it wasn't easy to adapt and adjust to the Maltese way of life, but like everywhere, there are good and bad points. There are things I hate here like driving (because Maltese drivers are crazy and careless), I can't stand the public transport also cos there is no timetable and the bus drivers are also careless. I don't like the prejudice mentality of some people but then again and like everywhere, you find good and bad people. It can be too hot in the summer and when it rains, it's crazy, you see floods everywhere.
Bu in the end, I reckon that the pros of living in Malta are heavier than the cons. The overall weather is not too bad, apart of the humidity, long summers and very shorts winters (more rain than cold), the cost of living it's not that expensive (if you do your shopping in the right places), it's a safe country and with a criminality rate of almost zero, a very safe place to raise your kids, free nursery if both parents are working, the school system it's okay (apart of having to learn Maltese   ) and the health system it's also not too bad. Like living on any island, you need to go out of it sometimes or otherwise, you might feel a bit suffocated after some time. I am still not sure if Malta THE a place I want to settle down but so far, I am quite happy here. For me an my family, Mellieha it's the perfect place for us, I don't mind the hassle of having to drive everyday to Sliema for work, but then, I know I have the quality and the peace of mind of living in a small village. It might be a bit busier in summer time but to be honest, I could not cope leaving in places like Sliema, Saint Julian, Valleta...too crowdy, noisy and touristic all the time.

Good post ^^. No one place is perfect - that's very true. Some of my comments may be overly critical, but I actually enjoyed my time in Malta immensely.

Now that I've had the privilege to live (long term) in many different countries... I wouldn't choose Malta as a place to raise kids (this thread is about supporting a family). That's just one opinion though.

I will be coming back to Malta/Gozo sometime to revisit all of the beaches and (very much) unused hiking trails in Gozo heh.

I lived in Malta for 9 months and I was shocked by how expensive it is!! it is more expensive than Austria -where i lived for most of my life- in many ways!!! Except for apartment rent! But we rented an apartment in Zabbar! Which is around 20mins drive to the center!
To tell you the truth we went bankrupt during these 9 months!! And we weren't doing anything special nor were we eating out that much!!
Electricity is soooo expensive!! and we are only 2 adults and one toddler!!
During the winter the buildings are very cold with no central heating!

Bottom line: If 2500euros is not enough in Berlin it is definetly not enough in Malta!!

I am sorry to put u down but I had a bad experience moving from Vienna to Malta!! Especialy that we thought it was cheaper!!

Sarah-Abz wrote:

I lived in Malta for 9 months and I was shocked by how expensive it is!! it is more expensive than Austria -where i lived for most of my life- in many ways!!! Except for apartment rent! But we rented an apartment in Zabbar! Which is around 20mins drive to the center!
To tell you the truth we went bankrupt during these 9 months!! And we weren't doing anything special nor were we eating out that much!!
Electricity is soooo expensive!! and we are only 2 adults and one toddler!!
During the winter the buildings are very cold with no central heating!

Bottom line: If 2500euros is not enough in Berlin it is definetly not enough in Malta!!

I am sorry to put u down but I had a bad experience moving from Vienna to Malta!! Especialy that we thought it was cheaper!!

To be honest, that depends from the life style of each person. I can tell you that I have 2 kids (6 and 1 and half years old), my wife is not working at the moment and I earn less than E 2500.00/month net and we just manage. Of course we cannot go out that much or buy expensive stuff, but if you're organized with your finances, you can do it IMHO.

mantonas wrote:

Sarah-Abz wrote:

I lived in Malta for 9 months and I was shocked by how expensive it is!! it is more expensive than Austria -where i lived for most of my life- in many ways!!! Except for apartment rent! But we rented an apartment in Zabbar! Which is around 20mins drive to the center!
To tell you the truth we went bankrupt during these 9 months!! And we weren't doing anything special nor were we eating out that much!!
Electricity is soooo expensive!! and we are only 2 adults and one toddler!!
During the winter the buildings are very cold with no central heating!

Bottom line: If 2500euros is not enough in Berlin it is definetly not enough in Malta!!

I am sorry to put u down but I had a bad experience moving from Vienna to Malta!! Especialy that we thought it was cheaper!!

To be honest, that depends from the life style of each person. I can tell you that I have 2 kids (6 and 1 and half years old), my wife is not working at the moment and I earn less than E 2500.00/month net and we just manage. Of course we cannot go out that much or buy expensive stuff, but if you're organized with your finances, you can do it IMHO.

You are right about organizing your finances! For us we had a very bad luck with electricity bills!! We didnt know that we had to switch off the water heater when we didnt use the hot water!! This is not how things are here in Vienna!! We
i am comparing expenses in countries like germany and austria with malta!! In vienna u'd live in a warm apartment and have warm water throughtout the winter with less than 100 euros a month but in malta u'll have to buy heaters and extra clothes and think about when to switch the water heater on and off!! And after all of this tu'll get a fat bill every month!! It is not the same!!
If the asker wants to move to malta i advise her to take these little things into consideration!

Yeah, you're right! You have to be a bit careful specially about the electricity usage. In my case for example, I try to switch the boiler only during the night so I have hot water through all day at least, as instead of have it on at all times as it will end up consuming more energy. It also depends on the price of the rent as well. I live in Mellieha where I pay €550 (incl bills) a month for a 3 bed apartment and it's quite nice tbh. Of course that if you gonna rent something much more expensive, than you'll end up with less money left for your other expenses. As I said, it's not easy but if you plan it well and wisely, I sure it's more than enough

There must be something wrong with us as we live quite well on no more than 2000 euros a month.

Our electric and water combined only average about 60 euros a month and we have 2 electric water heaters which are left on continuously day and night in a 3 bed 3.5 bath house. Electric and water in UK was £150 a month (190 euros)
We go to Bavaria about 4 times a year and could not afford to live there with beer @ 4 or 5 euros a pint and also up to 5 for just a coffee! Our son pays in excess of 2500 a month to rent his 4 bed house near Munich compared to the 4 bed with pool we had here for 650. Travel card is approx. 20 euros a week in Munich compared with 2 euros a week here!
Certainly won't be moving to Germany although I do love Bavaria apart from the cold winters!

Ray

F0xgl0ve wrote:

There must be something wrong with us as we live quite well on no more than 2000 euros a month.

If there's something wrong with you living on 2000 a month people must think we're stark raving bonkers as we survive on 1400 a month

If there's something wrong with you living on 2000 a month people must think we're stark raving bonkers as we survive on 1400 a month

^^ Survive is the key word there Rob. Many people, especially those coming from places like Austria and Germany, are used to a relatively high standard of living that would be very difficult to maintain in Malta. Especially if they needed to work in/around Valletta or Sliema.

I pay about euro 1000/month (including all bills) here for a place that would easily cost me 2500/month to rent and maintain in Malta. Maybe even more.

The answer is always.. it depends.

I couldn't afford to live in Bavaria, either. Mostly because it'd force me into local employment which is a no no for me.

My husband works in sliema - we live in a lovely appartment , 2 bed roof terrace etc and we pay €450 for rent €60-100 for electric and water - we don't live in sliema because it's a mess we live in marsascala -
You have to look around , you have to negotiate and you have to learn how to get the best value for money but Malta is cheap compare to the uk for example

Hello. I didn't want to create new post with almost the same question, so I'll just ask here:

An IT company offered me a contract at around 1,600 EUR (after taxes), so I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth switching places(I'm currently in Serbia). Now, I read all the posts from above, and my case is different to the question poster's in these:

* I'll get around 1,600 EUR a month
* I need 1 bad accomodation, and I only need it to be somewhat decent, not looking for anything special
* I'd work on Birkikara Hill, but would be OK with renting a place around 30 mins away from my job via public transportation, which, based on what I read, i quite cheap.
* As for the food, I don't really need anything special, just what a regular guy needs to eat. I'm also in for local food and trying to find cheaper markets, if that's gonna get my expenses down a notch.
* WRT eating out/night life, I'm not such a big fan of it. I'd eat out probably once-twice a month, if that. Same goes for going out at night.
* As far as electricity bills go, I'm all in for turning water heater on at night(lower tariff)
* As for any luxuries, I don't really need much.
* I don't own a car nor do I plan on having one in near future.
* I do need internet(cheap one will do), but I don't really need TV...

Now, what I'd like to know: If I'm gonna try saving up some money(living cheaply but not so cheap as barely surviving, or surviving for that matter), how much money would I need to spend on everything I listed up?

Also, where should I look for long lets( possibly over internet, as I can't come to Malta before I start with at nf=y job)?

Thanks in advance.

The biggest problem you would find would be finding a property via the internet as most agents and landlords will not bother replying and as has been said many times on here the majority of the properties advertised by agents will not be available. Ours has been advertised since the day we moved in and we have a 3 year deal.
There is no 2 tier tariff on electricity, we leave ours (2) on 24/7, others choose to turn them off. Both ours have a switch by the bed so you don't have to get up just to turn them on! You might be lucky and have solar water heating.

As you are on your own and you don't plan on an extravagant lifestyle I would think you will be fine on 1600 a month.
Can't comment on where to live within a 30 minute commute as we live in Gozo.
Good luck

Ray

If you open to a house what that might significantly save you money - in order to save that but extra but on 1600 for a single person you could easily save 400-600 a month

robpw2 wrote:

If you open to a house what that might significantly save you money - in order to save that but extra but on 1600 for a single person you could easily save 400-600 a month

I don't mind living in a house, but I do have a problem with noise as I tend to work until late at night. Any advice on which area would fit me best and which websites should I search through to find accommodation?

To be honest, if you're on your own, you will be fine with that sort of money. You can easly rent a 1 or 2 bed apartment in Birkirkara for about €500 +/- a month and maybe with bills. With about €1000 left, you can manage pretty well, even going out for lunch/dinner/drinks occasionally.
You won't spend more than €250/month in grocery, about €50/month in internet and mobile phone and even if you have to pay for electricity/water/gas, it will be around €100/month. So, adding up all that together and generally speaking, you might be left with about €700/month to spend after bills. If you're willing to live in a share accommodation, you'll save even more money IMHO. This is just a general calculation, could be a bit more or a bit less.

Good luck though!

Thank you kindly for your responses, I've heard mostly everything I wanted to know.

Now, given the company is on Birikara hill, where would you advise me to look for accommodation?

Like Rob says... you should be able to save up about 400-500/month. But don't forget about "emergency/extra" expenses, especially in the first six months or so.

Birkirkara Hill is St Julians?

Milossh wrote:

robpw2 wrote:

If you open to a house what that might significantly save you money - in order to save that but extra but on 1600 for a single person you could easily save 400-600 a month

I don't mind living in a house, but I do have a problem with noise as I tend to work until late at night. Any advice on which area would fit me best and which websites should I search through to find accommodation?

should say share