I am an artist: https://kenii.artstation.com/
Are you Maltese or an immigrant?
Maltese
On a scale of 0 to 10, how patriotic are you?
5
How long have you been living in Malta?
22 years, all my life
How would you describe life in Malta?
Can be beautiful at times but very fast pased unfortunately
Has it been easy to settle down, to find accommodation and a job?
I would say yes to actually find opportunities, but money can be an issue
How is the standard of living
As a whole pretty decent, since its relatively safe
How is the cost of living?
In some aspects its pretty avrage however, inflation is doing a number on groceries and such, making it way more expensive that weve ever been used to
Is it easy to make friends in Malta?
Yes definetely, even if its not within the maltese community, malta is filled with different cultures and poeople from different countries so, everyone can find someone they get along with
How safe is Malta?
I would say its relatively safe, near alot of other countries where you hear about shootings and such. Not saying we havent had a number of thefts, fights and deaths, but in relation to other places its decent.
What are your thoughts on nature in Malta?
I think the overall nature is very beautiful and theres alot of areas that are gems to find an explore. However, its become a problem with people littering which ends up spoiling the little countryside and beaches we have.
Is English widely spoken?
Yes, most maltese speak english since it is our second language, however most of the older generation arent as keen to learn the language since it wasnt as present in their time in school, but anyone from the age of 40-45 and under will probably be able to speak to you in english
How diverse is Malta?
Very diverse, Malta thrives through tourism and different exposures though such cultures, that its become very diverse
Do you like the weather?
The summers can be very unbearable with some heatwaves along the months. The winters can be cold but it doesnt snow here, ever, so atleast no need to worry about frozen cars and streets on your way to work, just some hail maybe.
How is Maltese cuisine?
I think alot of the maltese cusine focuses on family style dishes, things that mainly can be shared with your family across a table. Mainly as the maltese say, most of us rather pay a good ammount of money for the amount of food you receive rather than the quality. (Obviously this isnt everyone and i can guarantee noone will eat bad food no matter how much of it there is)
What are your favorite Maltese foods?
The very classic of dishes would be, stewed rabbit, which then tbe sauce is usually used with a pasta dish with aswell. Horse meat is quite a delicacy here, which some might find quite weird. We obviously have the Pastizzi which are quite a staple snack I guess. Other things such as “Imqarrun il-forn” which is pasta dish. And I think one of the highlights are seasonal desserts and pastries, specifically the “Figolla” which almost every maltese family usually makes their own during easter time, which is my personal favourite.
Does Malta suffer any natural disasters? If Yes, how often?
Dont think weve ever had anything major. The closest i would say to natural disasters that happened in the past 8 years would be either very strong winds, which usally just cause small damages sometimes haveing some old building be effected, or boats in the sea. There has been some small earthquakes the past years coming from Italy’s plates but none have caused major damage.
How is tax in Malta?
Everything we buy is already added with tax, so you technically wont actually see the tax, its usually listed down with the bill though. When it comes to work, theres wuite a problem since a decent amount of your pay is just immedietly deducted towards tax.
How is the transportation system?
Its quite poor, but only because we are so over crowded with literally having like 50 cars being added to the roads daily. The public transport is not bad its the traffic that usually end up making you late is what makes it annoying.
What do you think about the standard of education?
I think we have a decent education system. We do have different schools like government, private and church schools that sometimes teach differently but over all its quite decent. For universities they ahve grown alot and have quite a divers number of courses.
What is the most popular sport?
Definitely football (soccer). Its the most played and the most followed sport online aswell. Swimming and anything related to the water is also quite common and as a culture we are quite good at however more money is being put into football which is a shame
How is the entertainment industry?
I think its quite good, alot of different things to do and experience, i would say theres not many varieties so only a couple of things like cinemas boiling alleys and other activities. But then you can find things that are more adventurous like hiking, rock climbing, water sports and such. Unfortunately some of these can come at quite a high price
What are your thoughts on beauty standards in Malta?
Dont really know how to explain it. I think its different for every city to be honest. Theres alot of stereotypes on the way people look, and for example being from a specific town. But overall I think we dont suffer alot on reaching a certain standard and people are more likely to just live their life I guess
How is racism in Malta?
I would say its quite bad unfortunately, but mainly from the older generation, unfortunately they do make up a very big percentage of our country. Unfortunately alot of the racism has gotten bad because of the people coming to live in malta and the effect it has on the island, so people just seem to link the chaos that happens in the streets with new people. Which isnt necessarly wrong, but the locals are as an issue as anyone else.
How is religion in Malta?
Its very inforced from when youre younger and its quite a part of our culture. Weve all mainly been raised into a Roman Catholic religion. Alot of the older generation are the ones that still attend church every saturday or sunday, some even daily. Alot of the maltese people that maybe dont follow the religion as much i think still have some respect towards it, since again alot of couples still get married through churches and such. I think its very impacted by our feasts, the community is very proud of them and alot of the feasts are all centered around religious figures, and we still have a big chunk of the population that still celebrates and groups that set up such feasts and such. I think overall malta is still very religious as a whole since its been quite a big part of our culture and our history.
Is Malta LGBTQ+ friendly?
Yes very! Its become very open, gay marriage is legal and alot is being done to protect the community. As said before, the older generation are maybe still not so inclined on it, but i dont think its much of an issue at all
What are your thoughts on the healthcare system?
Were very lucky to have free health care which is just a great thing on its own. However, we do have like one major hospital other than private ones. Which at times of emergency can be a hassle, since it can be understaffed at times, and quite busy as a whole, having clinics and hospitals making you wait long times to get assesed let alone get treated.
What are your thoughts on the economic situation in Malta?
The economy is mainly driven by tourists and people that are coming to malta to work. And alot of our economy depends on our export and import aswell, since we are an island.
Is corruption an existing issue in Malta?
Yes very much so unfortunately. We have a very toxic relationship with political parties where alot of the maltese community is only loyal to one party and noone else (very toxic tradition thats just been moved down to generations). Because of this alot of the public dont actually realise the corruption thats being done because if its your party doing it noones going to bat an eye, which ruins the whole point if having these parties controlling our country in the first place. Money have become to powerfull and people in power just abuse it more and more
Who is your favorite Maltese celebrity?
Malta doesnt have alot of people we can consider celebrities, however personally, Sarah Zerafa is a great inspiration. She is a social media beauty influencer. I personally dont follow any beauty related stuff at all, but she give insight to malta’s culture along with her content
What is the most celebrated festival/holiday?
Christmas is very big here along with easter. But during the summer each town has its own feast and theyre usually celebrated through fireworks and traditional maltese ground fireworks, which makes them veryyy popular.
What are your favorite Maltese slangs, and their meanings?
Most people will agree “Mela” is one of them. We use it in basically every other sentence and it can mean alot of things. From agreeing to something, to starting sentencd with it, its just very versatile
What are your thought on politics? Do you think they are doing well?
Not at all as mentioned before, we have a very old mentality of following one party and thats it. Which ruins tbe community ever havign a say. Some things can be postiive but some are very negative.
What bothers you about Malta?
The fact that the public as a whole doesnt push more to protect our lands and overall island. Its become very populated with grey buildings and construction in every corner, and its honestly just ruining our skylines and quality of life.
Do you think Malta is the greatest country in the world? If not, what country do you think is the greatest?
I personally wouldnt say its the greatest, because it has alot of faults, but like any other country. But overall, ive been abroad before ive been to places around europe and the cultures are very different, from the way people intereact and such. So i would say that personally Malta is the best thing for me.
What advice would you like to give someone who would like to live in/visit Malta?
I think the thing i always say is research well where you want to go, because its interesting to go to the very traditional parts of malta that every tourist visits, however there are so many other nice places and highlights in the island that arent so busy with people visiting that are, at times even nicer than these touristic towns. And also the earlier the better, malta can be quiet int he morning which is great for the summer for an early swim.
Which city will you likely recommend to a foreigner to live? And why?
The most common ones and st julians, sleima etcc.. because they are quite high end but unfortunately veryy busy and poluted to be honest. I think the nrth side so st pauls bay and mellieha aldo can be busy at times but its surrounded buy the water and can be nice to go for walks and such without it being toooo crazy. However there are other towns in the south that can be quite peacefull and at times properties are cheaper. Gozo is honestly perfect to live in its much calmer and quiter than Malta however, its might be difficult to find a proper job since youd have to go back and forth with the ferry to Malta to work most likely, but if youre retired, or maybe work remotely Gozo is perfect.
What places/things would you recommend people to visit/do?
Definetly visit the very iconic places like Mdina and Valetta, checking out thebhistoric museums. Comino is always nice to visit once, because it is veryyy crowded but the blue water is worth atleast going once. Search some hikes and routes to follow since it can lead to very nice scenery. And Gozo is worth the visit aswell. Going to things like the aquarium and visiting the different veaches is definetly a highlight
What are the biggest misconceptions about Malta?
That we are quite old fashioned. I do agree that some of our characteristics may make it so, but malta as a whole has been advancing past and were moving towarda a more modern life for sure while still keeping the culture.
What Maltese stereotypes do you not relate to?
That we’re quite dumb i guess. I think our population is mainly made up of the older generation where their education was lacking at an early age which explains maybe the lack of knowledge.
What Maltese stereotypes do you relate to?
That were quite loud, since we tend like talking alot and scream at times
What are cons of living in Malta?
Lack of parking, traffic in the streets and maybe not so many opportunities for work. But there are remote schemes that llow people to live in malta and work remotely across the globe so its not too big of an issue.
What are pros of living in Malta?
Its quite safe and honestly there not much to worry about when going through your day to day life. Also we dont have alot of wild life that can cause harm to us. Almost no poisonous insects or animals and no wild animals like bears or anything like that.
If you could relocate, what country would you relocate to?
Probably somewhere like sweden or norway. But I honestly wouldnt relocate I think.
What are interesting facts about Malta?
We have one of the oldest standing structures in the world (ggantija). We have a church for every day of the year. And Malta was a very big part in WW2 that alot of people done seem to know
What are things that are normal in Malta but may surprise foreigners?
Definetly the heat is one of them, since most people dont expect the heat that there is here. I think the free healthcare is also one of them. And the fact that alot of us can speak fluent english and italian
What would you like to say to people living in Malta?
To enjoy our country and make it better
What would you like to say to people living elsewhere?
To take care of their culture and protect is as we would like to do with ours
On a scale of 1 to 10, rate Malta.
8
Tell your story, opinions, experiences.
Ive had a great upbringing in malta i never complained about anything. Life was definitely more comfortable and more easy before but it has gotten more busy which is expected with a lot of people living here. I do think that as a whole malta’s system has been favoring economy more than the people living here, since there have been benefits and progess done to help people that are coming into Malta than to the Maltese communies around the island that have been here since they were born. But overall im happy to be Maltese and live how I do.