If you’re thinking of moving to Malta because it’s sunny, English-speaking and in the EU, I get it. On paper it looks like an easy life. But I’m posting this because a lot of people decide based on the holiday version of Malta, then get hit by the day-to-day reality once they actually live and work here.
This isn’t a “Malta hate” post and it’s not meant to insult anyone. It’s a reality check for anyone who’s considering a big move and wants to know what life here is actually like when the holiday vibe wears off.
I added sources for the objective claims so people can check it for themselves.
One of the first shocks is traffic. Malta is tiny, so you’d assume getting around is simple. It isn’t. A University of Malta study found that Malta has 9.5% of its road network heavily congested, compared to an EU average of 1.7%, and it also notes Malta shows the strongest deterioration in congestion among EU member states. That might not sound like much until you’re living it every week and realise how much time and energy it steals from your life.
Source: https://www.um.edu.mt/media/um/docs/institutes/iccsd/Traffic_EN.pdf
Then there’s construction. This isn’t “one building site near you for a few months.” In many areas it feels constant. Noise, dust, trucks, blocked pavements, roads being dug up, and the feeling that your neighbourhood can change overnight. UNICEF has literally pointed out that the high number of construction sites contributes to widespread dust and air pollution in Malta, while vehicle emissions further worsen air quality. Malta’s own Environmental Resources Authority has an Air Quality Plan that includes measures like regulating and monitoring dust emissions from construction projects, which tells you this isn’t just a “people exaggerate online” issue.
UNICEF: https://ceh.unicef.org/events-and-resources/stories/maltas-children-pay-price-air-pollution
ERA Air Quality Plan: https://era.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DIGITAL-Air-Quality-Plan.pdf
But honestly, what makes Malta exhausting long-term isn’t only the traffic or the dust. It’s the way basic rules and standards often feel optional in everyday life. A lot of people here break the rules constantly because they’re used to getting away with it, and enforcement often feels inconsistent. This is the part that visitors don’t notice because they aren’t living here long enough for it to get under their skin.
You see it in the basics every day. Illegal parking everywhere. Pavements blocked. Corners and junctions blocked. Double parking like it’s normal. People treating hazard lights like a free pass to do whatever they want. Driving behaviour that would get you stopped quickly in other countries just becomes background noise here. And the reason it keeps happening is obvious: if people believe nothing will happen, they’ll keep doing it.
This isn’t only “my opinion” either. The Malta Independent literally said that “enforcement, or rather, the lack thereof, is one of the most common gripes in Malta,” and it mentions everything from parking to construction as part of that complaint.
And to give one very specific example, Transport Malta has had to invite the public to report certain types of illegal parking (like Y-plate vehicles), which shows how normalised this behaviour is. MaltaToday has also reported on cases where parking abuses were known but not acted on properly, which is exactly the kind of “rules exist but results don’t follow” problem that frustrates people here.
Public reporting: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/134052/illegally_parked_yplate_you_can_now_report_it_to_transport_malta
Reports going unactioned: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/124982/yplate_parking_abuse_its_a_jungle_as_reports_go_unactioned_
This “low-trust daily chaos” then spreads into everything else. You start feeling like even when you try to do things properly, you’re the one who has to chase, push, follow up, and keep pressure on the system just to get basic outcomes. That’s the opposite of what many people expect from a normal EU country, and it’s one of the main reasons Malta can start feeling mentally draining over time.
Money is another huge factor. Malta has jobs, sure, but wages often don’t match how expensive life has become, especially if you’re renting normally and trying to save at the same time. Eurostat’s January 2025 minimum wage figures list Malta at €961 per month. If you’re moving here on local wages, it’s very easy to end up in a situation where saving is slow and your “exit plan” keeps getting delayed.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250410-2
And this is the part people misunderstand in practice. When you have a minimum wage that low, it doesn’t just affect a tiny group of people. It sets the tone for what employers think is “normal pay,” especially for entry-level roles and lower-paying sectors. Malta’s own National Statistics Office reported that in Q4 2024 the average monthly basic salary ranged from €3,170 for managers down to €1,239 for people in elementary occupations. That’s only a few hundred euro above minimum wage for an entire category of workers, which helps explain why so many people feel stuck even when they’re working full time.
Source (NSO Labour Force Survey Q4 2024): https://nso.gov.mt/labour-market/labour-force-survey-q4-2024/
This is also why the usual Maltese argument of “other EU countries pay more tax and everything is more expensive” is not some universal truth that cancels out the wage problem here. Taxes vary massively across Europe, and it depends heavily on income, country, and how the tax system is structured. What matters in real life is purchasing power and what you can actually afford after rent and bills, not just “prices are higher somewhere else.” Eurostat’s own price level figures show that the highest household consumption prices in 2024 were in Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg, but that doesn’t mean Malta is “cheap” in a way that matches local wages. In fact, Eurostat’s comparative price data shows Malta is the most expensive EU country for furniture and furnishings, which is exactly the sort of everyday cost people end up feeling when they try to set up a normal home here.
Price levels (Eurostat 2024): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250619-1
Comparative price levels (Eurostat): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Comparative_price_levels_of_consumer_goods_and_services
Tax variation example (Europe-wide range): https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/05/16/personal-average-tax-rates-in-europe-which-countries-saw-the-biggest-rise-in-2024
And something else people don’t talk about enough is how common it is for young Maltese people to talk about leaving. I’m not saying everyone actually leaves in practice, but it’s telling that so many want to. The EY Generate Youth Survey has been covered by multiple local outlets and it consistently shows that a majority of younger people would rather live outside Malta. For example, The Malta Independent reported that only 28% of Gen Z and 26% of millennials wanted to stay in Malta in the survey it quoted, and Times of Malta reported that almost 60% of young people would rather live in another European country. That lines up perfectly with what you hear constantly in real life, especially from people who have higher standards (which are considered normal in other EU countries) or people who want a proper career path with real progression and not a dead-end.
Malta Independent: https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2021-10-21/local-news/60-of-youths-would-rather-move-to-elsewhere-in-Europe-than-stay-in-Malta-survey-finds-6736237703
Times of Malta: https://timesofmalta.com/article/have-the-young-given-up-on-malta.909199
So yeah, Malta has positives. Weather, social life, English, and it can feel great as a visitor. But if you’re planning to build a long-term life here, don’t decide based on a temporary holiday vibe. Malta can be a very frustrating place to live if you value calm streets, consistent enforcement, clean surroundings, predictable systems, and real upward career movement.
I’m posting this because I genuinely think people deserve the truth before they commit years of their life to a decision they made after a week of good weather and good restaurants.
Sources used above (so nobody has to do the “trust me bro” thing):
University of Malta traffic report: https://www.um.edu.mt/media/um/docs/institutes/iccsd/Traffic_EN.pdf
UNICEF on construction dust and air pollution: https://ceh.unicef.org/events-and-resources/stories/maltas-children-pay-price-air-pollution
ERA Air Quality Plan: https://era.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DIGITAL-Air-Quality-Plan.pdf
Eurostat minimum wage (Malta €961, Jan 2025): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250410-2
NSO Labour Force Survey Q4 2024 (salary range incl. €1,239 elementary occupations): https://nso.gov.mt/labour-market/labour-force-survey-q4-2024/
Eurostat household consumption price levels 2024: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250619-1
Eurostat comparative price levels (Malta most expensive for furniture/furnishings): https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Comparative_price_levels_of_consumer_goods_and_services
Euronews on tax variation across Europe (example): https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/05/16/personal-average-tax-rates-in-europe-which-countries-saw-the-biggest-rise-in-2024
Malta Independent on enforcement being a common gripe: https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2019-04-21/local-news/Keeping-the-country-in-check-inspections-and-enforcement-6736206947
MaltaToday public reporting of illegal Y-plate parking: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/134052/illegally_parked_yplate_you_can_now_report_it_to_transport_malta
MaltaToday on reports going unactioned: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/124982/yplate_parking_abuse_its_a_jungle_as_reports_go_unactioned_
Malta Independent on youth wanting to leave: https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2021-10-21/local-news/60-of-youths-would-rather-move-to-elsewhere-in-Europe-than-stay-in-Malta-survey-finds-6736237703
Times of Malta on youth wanting to live elsewhere: https://timesofmalta.com/article/have-the-young-given-up-on-malta.909199
https://i.redd.it/g0wllwdsmbfg1.png
Posted by True-Ingenuity-8974
18 Comments
Who are you doing this for? People will move regardless. If they don’t like it, they’ll move again.
Lol, if you think Malta has it bad, then you should come to Greece.
Similar situation like Malta in some levels, but Greece uses a progressive tax system like Northern EU (without the benefits of such economies ofc), 40000 EUR income is taxed 44%(!!!), that salary is considered a ” very good salary” (most people get paid significantly less) which gets taxed to oblivion, and may provide a kind of average quality of life, corruption runs rampant in both goverment and the Greek folks, daily life feels like a free-for-all with people killing each other for no reason, most stuff is taxed with 24% VAT (FYI, in Denmark, VAT is 25% and prices have become dangerously close to Danish level), Malta is a little cheaper to rent than Athens and Thessaloniki with better quality of houses(Greek countryside is significantly cheaper than Malta).
At least a specialized Maltese professional can work at an iGaming/fintech/pharma company, for example, and earn a starting salary of 40000 EUR – 70000 EUR+ per year, with a generous tax regime compared to most EU countries. Greece does not offer even that level of wages to its specialists, like ever.
But on everything else, I may agree with you, since I just arrived in Malta for work. I guess we will see how it goes.
Cheers, from a Greek expat that could not afford to rent his own place with his cybersecurity job back in Greece XD
What is it with these accounts who just post hate for Malta, really nothing better to do.
Where are you from though?
It’s the same story for every single third world country.
On average foreign workers leave Malta within [3 year](https://timesofmalta.com/article/about-half-foreign-workers-leave-three-years-study.1118929) (EU workers typically stay for a shorter period).
That says a lot about our quality of life.
We read this in the expats group. Well done this time with a graphic 😂
I love how everyone complains about this country yet we are still infiltrated by expats and most Maltese complainers also stay here. If you don’t like it here then leave to a better country, not that difficult.
My parents literally moved here after their first holiday on the island. Where was this information in 2014? 😂
This reddit should be called anti-Malta (DO NOT COME HERE) 🤣
Looking at your past posts I’m struggling to see your angle and motivation behind these posts. Are you seeking validation and a pat on your back to move out of Malta? Jfc, just do it already! I’ve lived in other countries for the record.
Proset ta l informazjoni habib. Anka ghalina l maltin min ihobb u jahseb f’pajjizu, importanti din l informazjoni.
Nibqa mbellah meta nies jiehdu l hin biex ibaxxuk flok jaghlqu halqhom u jahsbu li qed taghmel riklam hazin jew qed tkun negattiv. Meta fil verita tkun qed titfa r realta abjad fuq iswed ta x’tista ittik din l gzira bhala bniedem li ha jiehu decizjoni, x’jista isib ma wiccu. Nahseb twegga naqa r realta meta ma tkunx daqshekk mohhok miftuh.
Jesus Christ man ever heard of paragraphs?
This post is extremely negative to Malta, and as in many things, the reality is more nuanced. As everywhere, it’s confidently that people can say malta is worse now than it was 10 years ago.
I will summarise the situation from a paris perspective, putting aside the stereotypical weather (especially since we got a storm just right now):
Pros :
– Renting is process wise simpler : if you have the money you have the apartment, which is way nicer than the average 6 month process you need in Paris.
– Tax system and administration is very straightforward and simpler. Just a few yearly forms, not dozens !
– it may be a isolate phenomena, but in Paris, you have 35 hours ‘formally’ on your contract and everyone works 50 hours ‘informally’ . So far I’ve seen people sticking to their 40 hours here, so maybe the work culture is more healthy.
– wages are following offer and demand on an island with limited manpower. Opportunities when entering the market are generally good.
– if you are paid the median in Malta , you will feel richer than if you are paid the median in Paris, but it has downsides (see cons).
– Each time I needed a doctor in Malta, I was able to see one IN THE WEEK. It’s crazy to me. Same for dentists, where you can get one in the month reliably.
– I encountered few social communities in europe that were so kind and collectively protective of children. It’s hard to explain, but they genuinely made me change my mind from ‘children ? Never’ to ‘children ? Here, why not
Cons :
– Malta is a car centric island that isn’t designed for cars. This will impact everything you do when living here. Don’t take the bus if your heart hasn’t made peace with the concept of ‘
– Malta is waging a genocide war against the trees, and the ents ain’t winning.
– Real estate is an unending bubble of noisy public works especially in the north and east.
– Rents are in average as bad as everywhere (aka it eats 50% of your wage if you are single income, good ol’ Europe), but what makes it worst in pricing is that it’s seasonal. You will see rents fluctuating by 30% depending on if it’s the summer season.
– You thought US were polarised ? Don’t delve into Maltese politics.
– Malta isn’t a big job market. Therefore, it’s hard to do what is objectively the best way to increase your wage, jumping from one company to another.
– kiss goodbye to Amazon and similar delivery comfort. You’ll be better to pay local, and it will be sometimes cheaper (I find clothes for 1/4 the price I was used to) sometimes more expensive ( glassware, why is it so expensive here).
I’d give Malta a score above Paris in general, but it’s not exceptional. There’s a reason young Maltese want to live, and it’s the same young French want to live France.
Note : been here only for 3 years, so maybe the most negative parts of the island will grow in my brain.
I didn’t actually live in Malta (although I spent almost a year here) but from what I’ve seen it can be sunny and everybody speaks English. Idk if it’s easy to live here but the expectations are correct. But the downsides are probably also correct.
Great post, all true
One hundred percent true.
The fact that the temperature is 17° higher than in my home country right now makes up for all the inconveniences.
I moved to Malta three years ago, and I don’t regret it.
You only need to be there for 1 day to know the right hand side is true.