Posted on 05/24/2008 7:04:32 AM PDT by LS
All,
Have any of you been to Malta? If so, please share as much info as you can. I'm seriously looking at this as a potential retirement spot. It appears to have low taxes, great climate, does allow immigrants, decent economy, and is free from most natural disasters and not (yet) on the terrorism blip screen.
Have flown over and it does look nice but I don’t know if I’d want to be that close to Qaddafi in Libya. On the plus side, you can always keep an eye on him for the US government and collect a “consulting” fee for your troubles.
My dad’s been there. I asked him about it . . . all he said was, “hot.” :)
not (yet) on the terrorism blip screen
____________________________________________
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Malta was a crucial strategic spot during WWII...
It could be again...
Everyone I know that visited Malta loved it.
I heard Aruba is a good place to retire because the Dutch subsidize your retirement if you invest in Aruba real estate. The taxes are also crazy low.
And despite the Natalee Holloway madness, it is a very safe island.
95-98% Roman Catholic... that’s good in itself. Malta’s also getting tighter with the EU and US. It’s a little too arid for my liking though...
I made a two day stop there last year.
All I learned is this:
1. Illegal immigration is a problem and has the same voices on both sides of the crime just as we do.
2. They drive on the wrong side of the road.
3. Predominantly Christian with a visible and vocal Mohammedean minority.
4. Destroying their own country and currency by joining the EU.
5. CROWDED AND EXPENSIVE. It’s an island after all.
6. TOO MANY old fat French dudes running around in banana hammocks.
:-)
I’ve a friend who attended university there. He says there is a huge Russian mafia presence, like Cyprus.
I’ve been there twice. The weather is nice; it’s rocky with a few decent beaches. If I had to retire there, I’d be worried about island fever. If you had a boat it could be quite fun. Sicily is not far away; Sardinia a bit further but has spectacular beaches.
Most people in Malta speak english very well and are friendly.
I have a friend (US citizen)who lived there for a year on a sabbatical. She has been back only a couple of years. I will e mail her and ask her about it.
Then...will let you know what she says.
Is English or Dutch the main language in Aruba?
A pretty little drunk girl can find trouble anywhere.
It’s been several years but I lived there for almost 3 yrs. I was working in the ME and commuted. Except for August....tourist...its a great place.
My mom is from Malta - but she hasn’t been there for 45 years (and NOT because she doesn’t want to go - she talks about visiting every winter..she just doesn’t travel at all). If nothing else, the seasons should be as she described them - no real winter (it goes down to 50 at the lowest, with a bit of rain) and the (dry) summers are not blistering (temperatures above 90 are very uncommon). It sounds like a pretty comfortable climate. Near the coasts, you may not need any A/C even in the worst of summer, because of the sea breeze. I plan to visit when I have enough time and money for travel.
International Living agrees: http://www.internationalliving.com/countries/malta/country_archive/01_25_07_worlds_best
Speaking with relatives over the phone, they say that the economy is doing well, and that there is a growing number of retirees (almost all British) bringing in a lot of money and driving down “specialty food” prices (the Maltese are food obsessed). I think unemployment is even lower than it is in the USA (i.e. extremely low by European standards). This, together with strong traditional family ties, is probably why there is almost no crime on the island (no panhandling either). It may also help (hehe) that Malta has some of the least restrictive firearms laws in Europe - several of my relatives there are target shooters.
By any standard, Malta is very socially conservative. When my mom grew up there, it was almost entirely Catholic (IIRC, it is still the national religion), and the only significant immigrant group has been British retirees, so it is still probably 99.99% Christian. Do not be put off by the Muslim-sounding place names and such - the Maltese language resembles a mix of Italian and Arabic, and though some Muslims reside on the island (there is one Mosque), something that sounds like “Misrah l-Assedju l-Kbir” is not in any way Islamic. Maltese often sounds like Arabic as well - some of the words and expressions are shared.
You probably want to look closely at the cities of Mellieha and St. Paul’s Bay. Also Sliema, Msida, Siggiewi, but they are apparently more touristy. My uncle keeps scheming to retire in Malta - I see him looking at these Maltese newspaper adverts for modern 3-bedroom villas with enclosed courtyards and such for $150K US. There are apparently large 2-bedroom condos in Sliema for $75K US. Another good thing is that the US and Malta have an agreement on income taxation (i.e. you don’t get the usual double-whammy).
We visited Aruba during a cruise and liked the place. The waterfront reminded me of a European city, the locals didn’t have an anti-white attitude and the place was clean and well run, in contrast to some of the other Carribbean islands we visited. The northern part is arid and the economy is based on tourism because the oil companies bailed out. Holloway notwithstanding, we felt safe there and wandered all over the place.
I have friends who vacation there and like it. A bit too small for retirement.
Have you considered a bigger island, like Cyprus?
Never been there. Malta at least used to encourage pensioners to buy there, and recommended finding a local (to you) law firm with connections and experience in real estate deals. There’s a bit of a building boom on Malta, with a focus on what passes for condos, for retirees and snow birds.
Gozo (the smaller island) used to be much more rural, but I think that’s changing to some extent.
The official languages are Maltese (which is mostly one thing, with a bunch of other stuff) and English, but Italian and now Arabic are supposedly widely understood. As with plenty of other heavily populated islands, there is constant concern over the water supply.
I think there was a recent topic about the illegal immigrant problem on Malta, which problem was mentioned by someone earlier in this thread.
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