Musings on Malta, misery and moustaches

Been off having a baby!

It's been a while, about 9 months since the last post on here. We've had a baby since I last posted.
Having a baby in Malta if you're a foreigner is a much easier experience than I expected it to be.
We chose to go privately for our scans and check ups at St James hospital in Sliema. We did plan to have the delivery privately but we were told (even by staff at St James) that it would be better to go to the island's free hospital Mater Dei.
It seems that St James is great for pre and ante-natal care but is only really equipped for uncomplicated births and that if anything happens they'll just whizz you to Mater Dei anyway.
Nice information and it saved us a couple of thousand euros too.
Mater Dei is a wonderful hospital, incredibly spacious and clean, so there's nothing to be concerned about.
The young Maltese nurses act like they're only there because they've been forced into it but the older ones, and the British nurses are great.

Registering the birth:
Registering the birth was very straightforward. Just visit the registrars office in valletta pay about 2 euros and give in your details. Within a week you can call for a reference number which you then use online to order a birth certificate (less than 10 euros).
Simple!
We're both British so it may have gone a bit smoother than for non-EU nationals but we have chatted to a couple from New Zealand who had no problems.

A mild Maltese winter?

I'm probably tempting fate here but after my last post waiting for the big chill I've had to eat my words, as well as quite a few ice creams.

The weather has been wonderful so far in November and December.

I haven't needed a jacket once and have been forced to remove my jumper on the 3 occasions I've worn it.

Last night we had about 5 minutes of rain at around 5AM but today is lovely yet again.

Fingers crossed it continues!

Brrrr here comes the big chill.

OK, it's not quite a Big Chill, but it does start to feel pretty cool aroud this time of the year.

Oddly it feels much colder indoors than out. For the next 3 or 4 months Malta residents are likely to awake shivering in their beds before stepping outside into some nice bright sunshine (at least util it goes dark - currently that's about 5.30pm).

It's the way they build the houses - don't get me wrong you'll be glad of it in Summer but it'll get up your nose in Winter.

Today is November 3rd and I was very hot in my v-neck pullover this lunchtime - but I'll be chilly walking home. It's not COLD, I'm just acclimatised I think, I didn't need a big coat at all last year - except when I was sitting indoors watching TV!

Where are all the fat lazy dwarves?

Officially Maltese men are the

Shortest: (average 5' 6" men, 5' 2" women)

Fattest: 25% of Maltese men are obese

and the Laziest in the whole of Europe. Less than 0.8 hours of exercise per week.

Which isn't surprising as if a Maltese man needs to pop next door to visit his neighbour he's likely to jump in the car and drive 3 yards.

It's strange though, maybe because I live in Sliema, but I rarely see these fatties. In fact there seems to be a bit of a buff body obsession around these parts.

The young men and women are constantly power-walking along the strand or playing volleyball and water polo.

Of course as soon as the girls hit 30 something incredible happens to their backsides - it's as if they have in-built arse-inflater on a 30-year timer.

Renting an apartment or house in Malta

I thought I'd better include some useful information here occasionally - the kind of info I wanted before I moved to Malta.

I recently moved apartment so the latest info on prices for renting seems like a good place to start.

Rental prices vary greatly depending on where you wish to live. The Eastern mid-section of the island is the most expensive, Sliema especially. The cheapest parts are, well, more or less anywhere else.

There really is a gulf of difference though. For the price of an average one-bedroom flat, off the front, in Sliema (about 500 euros) I have a friend living 10-minutes drive away in Pieta who has a three-storey townhouse with a roof and parking.

For the price of a nice 3 bedroom seafront apartment in Tower Road Sliema (swanky address, actually noisy and polluted from traffic) - about 950euros - you can get an absolutely amazing house or penthouse anywhere else on the island.

There are a number of estate agents, of wildly varying quality. When I arrived I met with Dahlia and was assured that for 1200 euros I would never be able to find any apartment in Sliema with a sea view. Now prices have dropped in the last year but not that much! You can find a 3-bed seafront with balconies for 700euros. But hey, you won't know that when you're straight off the plane.

Sara Grech. Sliema expert I'm assured, their office is on Tower Road Sliema so they should know their onions. They have a great website and I'm told for the mid-high end they're a good choice.

Frank Salt - a large letting and estate agent. They have a big range of properties and a good reputation. Be sure to negotiate a discount on their fees though.

All estate agents charge 2-weeks rent to the lessor and lessee for finding a property. Money for old rope! You will get this down with a bit of haggling though.

The best way to find an apartment is to ask about. If you're here for a couple of weeks find a bar in the area you want to live in and ask around. It's better for you and the owner as everyone will pay less (and they'll no doubt do a fiddle on the tax!)

Links

Dahlia: http://www.dhalia.com/page.asp?n=home

Sara Grech: http://www.saragrech.com/home

Frank Salt: http://www.franksalt.com.mt/page.asp?n=home&l=1

Good luck finding a place - there are plenty of them so don't rush!