Part 1 of the vast topic – Why am I living in Malta. Here focusing only on the pros, the positive side of living here. The negative side with a list of cons you can find in a separate post! 

I believe there is no ideal place on Earth where all life aspects would fall into the right places like jigsaw puzzles. However, it happened that I chose to live here, not in Poland, the UK, or Germany which could seem very rational options in my life. Why am I living in Malta?

One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist…..Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.

Stephen Hawking

Malta. World’s tenth smallest country, located in the Mediterranean Sea somewhere between Sicily, Tunisia, and Lybia.

Area: 316 km²

Population: 514,564

Currency: Euro

Languages: Maltese, English

Malta is a tourist destination, rich in history and culture. It’s a very particular place I would say. Many of my foreign friends and colleagues living here are describing the relationship between them and the island as a love-hate. I have my moments when I see it this way as well, however, I would describe my love for the island as a marriage in progress – I am already aware of most of the demerits, weaknesses, and imperfections, but I can still see and appreciate all the beauty and remember all the reasons why I love it. It is after all the place that I can finally call home and feel home.

I will share here my personal opinion and my goal is not to rant about the country I chose to live, but rather be fair and square. I am aware as for each person, different things are important, and something that I may see as a demerit may be the biggest treasure of the other. It also depends on our own experience and the country we are from.

I consider myself as a simple human being who doesn’t need much to reach happiness, hence on my list of pros/reasons why I love Malta, you will find many small but bringing smile on my face topics.

Let’s go with good stuff

1. Sun, sun, and more sun.

Maybe not everyone from Malta will agree as they take the sun for granted and see it often as an enemy you need to hide from rather than a source of life and mood booster. Up, in the north of Europe, we really appreciate the sun much more. Since I live in Malta I rarely experience low mood caused by the weather, even in winter. Sometimes a bit of sun is all I need to feel better.

2. Sea and beautiful walking trails.

I divide my year into two parts: the one when I mainly swim – summer, and the other one when I mainly walk – winter (depending on the weather). Malta has only two seasons – and I don’t need more for full happiness! Sea, landscapes, and nature are just breathtaking. You can never get bored of those.

After a day of work quick jump to the sea? Why not, I do it and it just feels like living a dream.

You just need to know where to find the right spots for you on this island. My favourite spots are usually not the busy touristic ones, which just adds up to the whole experience.

3. Patata, tomatoes, and olive oil…

Local fruits and veggies are my favorite. Riped in the sun tomatoes are just delicious! Citrus fruits fresh from the fields, olive oil from a local farmer… awww… It’s all I need! Plus thanks to the Maltese climate there are things growing all year round!  

4. It just feels like time goes slower.

Although everywhere around the world is the same tendency towards busy and stressful life, I really feel a different flow in Malta. It’s probably because of its size and more rural nature. You won’t find here really big cities, I would rather call them towns. People know each other in their neighborhoods, and they speak with each other more often. Plus all above: sun, sea, food… you just must slow down and take your time to appreciate them, otherwise it’s a profanity.

5. People.

The place is nothing without people. Unless you are an extreme introvert who reached a higher level of social independence, you will need people in your life. I feel extremely grateful for those who I met on my way when living in Malta, both Maltese, and foreigners. Malta is a cultural hub with many nationalities living together. It’s not always easy and for sure they have their differences and struggles but after all my life in this bubble is very fine.

My closest friends are like family to me, truly wonderful human beings, each of them is special and unique. Without them, the quality of my life in Malta, for sure, wouldn’t be the same.

If I would have to speak only about Maltese as a nation, you can see some common traits, but honestly, everywhere in the world, you will meet all kinds of people, good and bad, friendly and annoying. There is no point in generalizing too much. However, since it’s a tiny island, there is a tendency for the small-town mentality, which can be at the same time negative and positive.

6. It is just relatively easy to play LIFE…?

And again it all depends on what are you comparing it with and many, many other life aspects. It will be a different experience of a single, healthy person, different when you have special needs or disability, different if you have here your whole family.

However from my experience and what I know:

a) it was super easy and fast to get self-employed and make business running,

b) unemployment ratio in Malta (at least before COVID) is super low, so finding a job is easier,

c) if you have a local business you can spend little money and be able to reach almost all population (impossible in bigger countries),

d) Malta is a part of the EU, which makes for European people life way easier,

e) taxes are relatively low,

I lost a point of view on how easy or hard is life in Poland. Although I have quite a good comparison with Germany, as my mum is living there, and so often we compare certain bureaucratic aspects with each other. Most of the time it’s easier to manage things in Malta (surprisingly), they seem to have fewer procedures.

I am sure I will find many people complaining about those things in Malta but is the grass really greener somewhere else? (if it’s summertime all the grass is burned out so, yeah, bad example)

To the above I would like to add a few additional, positive things:

7. Constant improvements and new projects for public use funded by the EU.

New parks, playgrounds, roads. Lots of things are changing from one year to another!

8. Most of the year the weather is good for riding a motorbike.

9. Dog-friendly (at least where I live on the south).

Bins for dog poop everywhere, many pet shops, and vet clinics (more than convenience stores). In our area, we have as well 2 dog parks! It may be more of an issue to rent if you have a dog, however, we have been very lucky and found a perfect pet-friendly rental – so it is possible.

10. It’s a green country

Before someone gets angry about this one here let me explain why. I hear so often how much people miss greenery here, not enough forests, etc. I agree but only to a certain degree. The thing is that for example, Poland is a beautiful green country but only from mid-April till August, the other half of the year is gloomy grey and very depressing. In Malta, it may feel like it’s not green because people don’t see the greenery when they would expect it normally (summer).

However, Malta is striving with life all year-round except for hot summer! End of September with the first rain the grass and green trees start already to be reborn and will last until the end of June. As I already mentioned before, the fruit and veg vegetation is all year round as well. When the winter approaches it feels just like spring in the rest of Europe.

That is why

All the above just sold me, and I’m living here already over 5 years, settling roots, starting a family. I want to keep on living in Malta as I am very happy here. After all, I believe as well that my happiness highly depends on how I want to perceive things around me. Do I prefer to worry and complain? Am I more grateful for what I have?

It doesn’t mean tho that living here is all iced in sugar. Check my list of cons of living in Malta!