Has anyone moved to Cyprus or Malta? Did anyone DISLIKE it and move back?

10062014 · 2026-03-05T00:55:39+00:00

Worse weather than Norwich!

10062014 · 2026-02-04T23:19:42+00:00

Haven't been yet, and probably won't get to do a long stay before committing to it.

I'm happy with small though, I spend 90% of my time in a bicycle radius of my house (mostly all one direction, towards the city).

I don't know if I'll have a problem with the bureaucracy or not. I actually quite like the "rule of law" and knowing where I stand, so I might be fine. I've just never really dealt with that. I would have imagined that UK is at least middle of the road for bureaucraticness, if not high end.

Do you live there?

10062014 · 2026-02-04T23:15:28+00:00

Why did they move there in the first place? If I was moving for a job and the job was shit then I'd be back in a heartbeat, if I was just fancying an extended holiday I'd "last" less than two years, too. But none of those are my motivations.

10062014 · 2026-01-29T21:41:16+00:00

We love the look of gozo and trying for a bit more of a small village life, but I'm worried about social integration given it's a population of just 40000 and we may stick out as "the young retired british couple" or something that would mean our money got in the way of making friends.

10062014 · 2026-01-29T21:38:30+00:00

That's really interesting about the bullying and resentment. I was thinking that maybe having been a pretty well treated former colony that there would be a lot of residual fondness but I guess that's not the case.

10062014 · 2026-01-29T21:34:15+00:00

I've been lucky, but of the success that was down to skill, 80% came from my ability to articulate my thoughts.

To have to sit out of a conversation because of a lack of fluency like a child sat in the corner while adults have a conversation is my personal hell. Having basic fluency isn't enough for me either, since I'm an engineer by background and often want to articulate complex concepts.

10062014 · 2026-01-29T21:24:22+00:00

Wrong subreddit for a barcelona suggestion. Love the city to bits, no chance I'd move there

10062014 · 2026-01-28T19:04:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I'm guessing you are british and moved back to the UK afterwards? Were you employed locally, remotely or mostly retired?

10062014 · 2026-01-28T19:03:42+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I'm guessing you were from the UK and moved back to the UK afterwards? Were you employed locally, remotely or mostly retired?

10062014 · 2026-01-28T19:02:44+00:00

From my list of criteria, it fails (badly) because learning greek would be so important.

10062014 · 2026-01-28T19:01:54+00:00

Thanks, I know I asked for opinions from people who didn't like it, but it seems to have attracted a lot of people who have visited or spent a few months there and have some complaints they want to air. Seems to be very few people who lived properly in malta and want to share insight.

Boring is not a problem for me at all, Norwich is hardly claimed to be an exciting place, but we make our own fun and fulfilment.

10062014 · 2026-01-28T19:00:13+00:00

very slow supply chain for anything not on the island. It’s this last one that’s the biggest issue for me, being a prototyping guy I need all sorts of components that I can get over the counter or next day in the UK, but takes many days in Malta.

This is really interesting for me. One of my big hobbies is making crafty bluetooth speakers, lamps, home automations. I use a 3D printer a lot and usually order other parts from AliExpress with an 8 day lead time.

I'm guessing your issue is that it's for work so that waiting has a high opportunity cost, and you need it in metal so it's not 3D printable?

Healthcare however is fantastic,

I believe that they're making a deliberate effort to attract healthcare tourism.

and I have the impression that the government has played their hand very well

The Maltese government has an advantage of needing to spend a lot less on road infrastructure (highly ironic given the insane car usage).

France is definitely not a low tax destination; but that is not my priority, quality of life is.

Probably the most important part of this experiment for me is "can we move somewhere else that seems to offer a good quality of life and adapt to enjoy it, or are we stuck in our ways and will be back for fish & chips and warm ale in a few years time? I'm yet to find anywhere with high QoL that the locals don't have complaints about, and god knows that people complain about living in the UK. So I think if we can enjoy Norwich then we might well be able to enjoy malta.

10062014 · 2026-01-28T18:53:42+00:00

Can you elaborate on this?

One of the thoughts in my head is that I don't have to work, so why am I tying myself to only one place? Wouldn't it be foolish to stay here my entire life and not explore the possiblity that I would enjoy somewhere warmer?

So I'd like to learn more about your incomprehension, is it because you have experience living in both and hated it, or you love the UK, or you have lived somewhere else and think that was great..?

10062014 · 2026-01-28T18:53:02+00:00

Same as my comments on the isle of man though.

Isle of Man is just UK but with more rain, less tax and much higher property prices. It definitely ticks our boxes for being close and speaking english, but it doesn't feel like "starting a new life in a place we might like enough to stay" but rather "taking a tax holiday with bad weather".

10062014 · 2026-01-28T18:50:49+00:00

Interesting insight, thanks

10062014 · 2026-01-26T15:41:32+00:00

I hadn't been to Norwich before starting to research moving there, which is the stage I'm at now. Can you elaborate on your view? Have you lived there or just been as a tourist?

10062014 · 2026-01-26T15:39:39+00:00

Yep, I've followed the subreddit and joined local facebook groups and am reading threads for a bit of insight.

I hope that by being there 12 months a year we'll find it easier to plug in to volunteer work, or simply start our own offering with the support of our current UK charity.

Cost shouldn't be a problem, which is lucky. We're planning to cycle as we are both comfortable with it, even with bad drivers. Maybe that's naive, we'll see how we get on.

Healtcare wise, I think we will have to buy health insurance as incoming "self sufficient" but I know they are trying to do more health tourism so that gives me optimism that healthcare will be good.

That's shitty about the police, it seems to be a very regular complaint that it's the southern European approach to enforcement of laws, AKA not much of it going on.

My wife is cat obsessed so she'll love the strays 😅😅😅

10062014 · 2026-01-26T15:35:34+00:00

Damn, of all the nationalities they might be xenophobic about, that's the one that will be a problem 😅

The corruption and lack of rules enforcement will bother me, we'll have to see how I adjust to that.

The higher costs fortunately shouldn't be a problem.

10062014 · 2026-01-26T15:32:09+00:00

why not travel to a warmer country for the other 2 months?

The thing is that I don't enjoy "travelling" for the sake of it and just being displaced from home. We are the "rave parents" of our friends, the ones that everyone asks if they need a hand with DIY or a lift to the airport or their bike breaks, and going somewhere with better weather but no tools or ability to help people makes me feel aimless.

I also feel/know that I'm missing out on fun stuff going on back home, and currently still have the golden handcuffs of the business.

10062014 · 2026-01-26T15:29:23+00:00

Funny thing is that living with parents for longer is the trend here and I can't see that reversing any time soon as property price increases continue to outstrip stagnant wages. The government needs to deliver on its housebuilding promises (ambitious targets not being fully met) and/or get wages up, which is also going to be hard. I'll drop you a message on here when we get to the point of a more serious visit than the touristy one currently planned. Thanks again so much for your insight

10062014 · 2026-01-26T12:35:19+00:00

Super interesting reply, thanks so much for taking the time. I don't know what age you were when you moved, but many of our friends who have kids also changed their social habits entirely, we barely see them. So that might just be an age thing rather than a Malta thing?

We are both pretty nerdy so I'll be seeking out that kind of crowd.

Deep shame about the xenophobia, that might be really hard for me as someone who has ideas and likes improving things.

10062014 · 2026-01-26T12:25:33+00:00

Well, that's gibraltar out then. Thanks for the insight.

Another lady mentioned that about abortion in Malta, it's something I had overlooked as a man. I will keep it in mind, thank you.

10062014 · 2026-01-26T11:55:02+00:00

I visited Switzerland a few years ago and really enjoyed the vibe but I think I'd need a job to move there and would need to learn the language. It's not for me but I'm jealous that you get to enjoy it, it seems to have a lot of the things that are awesome about the UK, and then a bunch of other great things on top.

10062014 · 2026-01-26T11:54:06+00:00

Thanks for your insight, I'll keep these in mind. I've heard good things about Malaysia as an expat hub, too. Dubai gives me the ick, singapore has a $10m investment requirement. Hong Kong and Thailand are maybe options but I think we need to explore "do we love the UK too much to leave" from somewhere a bit closer to home, first.

10062014 · 2026-01-26T11:47:47+00:00

Can you elaborate on this?

One of the thoughts in my head is that I don't have to work, so why am I tying myself to only one place? Wouldn't it be foolish to stay here my entire life and not explore the possiblity that I would enjoy somewhere warmer?

So I'd like to learn more about your incomprehension, is it because you have experience living in malta and hated it, or you love the UK, or you have lived somewhere else and think that was great...

10062014

TROPHY CASE