Hello all,
I have a rather specific query regarding the cost of living in Malta.
I currently live in Portugal and generally earn between €1000 and €3000 per month working as a freelance professional translator for (Northern) European clients. My partner does the same so our yearly combined income is (to be quite conservative I'll assume a monthly income of €1750 each) approximately €42,000 before tax/deductions so let's say around €36,000 net combined income or €18,000 each per year.
We live relatively well here and I'm interesting in knowing how far those of you already in Malta would think our income would go there...?
To give you a (rough, I know) indication of our life style:
We would need to rent a two bedroom (we work from home) modern and fully equipped apartment in a central area (Valletta, Sliema, Gzira probably) and would obviously need to pay electricty, gas, internet, water charges etc. Here we are paying €550 per month for a (completely) unfurnished but brand new 2 bedroom in a good location, not including any bills. The bills probably amount to €150-200 each month (varies according to time of year and our bills are quite high as we work from home).
In addition to those basic costs we also spend about €70-100 on groceries per week plus we eat out every day at lunch (€25-35 each per week as they have reasonably priced lunch menus here) and a few times at the weekend (maybe €30-60 each per week). We travel quite a bit, mostly just for short weekend breaks, say 3-4 times a year(using Ryanair usually!). The other major cost we have is a (very good) gym membership at about €70 each a month. The bulk of our (disposable) income goes on eating out and traveling as this is what we enjoy doing. We don't spend very much, comparatively, on clothes, going out to bars/clubs etc. I am concerned that, in comparison to Portugal, eating out in Malta may be alot pricier... Would I be correct in my assumption? If so, this would be a major factor in our decision to possibly move to Malta...
So...! My question is, I suppose, do you think that we could have a similar/comparable standard of living in Malta on our income? We are not committed to leaving Portugal at this point, as we really love it here, but some negative points (such as the long, wet, cold winters) are making us consider other places and a possible relocation at some point. Malta is one possibility so I would really appreciate any help/advice you could give me.
Thanks to in advance for your help.