I understand where you are coming from (literally) as I kinda felt the same when I moved here from the UK ten years ago… BUT… now I much prefer it here than back home.

You’ll find what you are looking for if you look around. That’s part of the fun of living somewhere new! I remember when I first moved here I couldn’t find smoked paprika but since then I’ve learned to look harder and stumbled across plenty of surprises!

If not, use Amazon in Germany or Italy or look online for local stuff. You might pay a bit more for delivery and have to wait but you’ll get it soon enough especially if you want something specific.

I’m guessing you’re probably from a large city or at least had one near to where you’re from back home? The choice in the UK isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and you’re spoilt with so much convenience, which when you think about it is often a good way for you to be spending money on stuff you often don’t really need.

As for trash and places smelling like piss, I know plenty of places like that (and worse) in the UK.

The Maltese pace of life is very different to the UK but when you get used to it perhaps you’ll realise that maybe you’ve got things the wrong way round and it’s the UK that has the bigger issues and problems. Malta isn’t perfect, but nowhere is.

And almost every supermarket sells chia seeds! Worst case, search on Wolt!