Where to live in Malta: a straight guide to the areas
Most people arriving in Malta are pointed at Sliema or St Julian's, sign there, and spend the next year discovering what they traded away. Here is a more honest map.
The central strip
Sliema. The default. Everything is walkable, the seafront promenade is genuinely pleasant, and you will pay for both. Expect noise, expect construction, and expect parking to be a running battle. Best for someone who wants to arrive and immediately have a life.
St Julian's and Paceville. St Julian's proper is fine. Paceville is the nightlife district and living in it is a decision, not an accident — check on a Saturday at one in the morning before you commit, not on a Tuesday afternoon.
Gzira and Ta' Xbiex. Cheaper than Sliema, five minutes from it, and much better value per square metre. Gzira has been improving for years. Ta' Xbiex is quieter and greener, with the marina on the doorstep.
Msida. The university is here, so the rental market moves in September and empties in June. Good transport, unglamorous, priced accordingly.
Slightly out
Swieqi. Residential, quiet, largely families and people who have already done a year in Paceville and had enough. Ten minutes from the noise, which is the whole point.
Birkirkara, Balzan, Lija, Attard. The centre of the island. More space for the money, older housing stock, a proper Maltese neighbourhood rather than an expat one. You will want a car.
North
Mellieha, St Paul's Bay, Bugibba, Qawra. Cheaper, beaches close, and in winter noticeably quieter — some of it shuts down. The commute into the centre is thirty to forty minutes and worse in summer. Good if you work remotely, hard if you do not.
South
Marsascala, Zejtun, Birzebbuga. The best value on the island and the least written about. Traditional, coastal, and increasingly popular with people priced out of the centre. Further from the airport than you would think.
Gozo
A different proposition entirely. Slower, greener, cheaper, and involves a ferry. People who love it really love it. Do not commit to a year on the strength of a summer weekend.
The questions that actually decide it
- Will you have a car? This changes everything. Without one, the central strip is almost the only comfortable answer.
- Where will you actually be at 8am? Malta's distances are short and its traffic is not.
- Have you seen it in August and in January? Coastal towns are two different places in those months.
- Is there construction next door? Look up. Then walk around the block and look up again.