Why Malta you ask?

I always dreamed of having my own island. Guess what, dreams come true. Even though I do not have my own island yet, I do live on an island and to be honest it feels damn good. Just the feeling of  living here is already so dreamy and inspiring that it completely fulfils my desire of an island life. Every day I wake up with the wonderful realisation that we made it, we followed our dream and it gives me so much strength and motivation. At this point I know at least one person who shares the exact same excitement, my husband. We had this dream for the past 1,5 years before it came true. Kudos to him by the way for that, he is the one who made it possible for us. Unlike me, he already has some “island experience”. He spent 3 years on Curaçao. The idea of Malta also came from him, I loved it from the very first moment I saw Malta during our first visit in June 2019. The decision was made then - to move to Malta as soon as possible. Although we visited Malta again in November to see how it is here during the “low season” - it was so wonderful.

Now it seems  all so easy and fast, but to be fair we had so much to figure out and overall it was a very risky step to take. Frankly speaking, those 1,5 years seemed so slow, we thought it would have never come to an end. Well, we love challenges and adventures, both of us has traveled and lived in different countries, but yet this time it was way different. Perhaps, we had to make a more mature and certain decision. After all, it wasn’t just us moving with a single suitcase. It was also a descision made on behalf of our little one, who after experiencing his first 2 years in Holland, currently really enjoys himself on Malta. It is one thing to leave your comfort zone for some fun adventure and completely different to leave it and start all from the scratch as a family elsewhere. My point is that it is never too late to start your dream life, even if you are a parent already. I do know that some things are a bit more complicated when you got a kid, yet it is still possible. After all, every kid needs happy parents, right. It is so important to continue challenging yourself and to chase your dreams. Life is too short to be stuck in a unpleasant phase of life and pretend to enjoy it.

I get asked a lot, whether we are happy with our choice, honestly, we are absolutely happy. We are trying to adjust to this beautiful reality and enjoying every little bit of it. If I look back and see us exactly 3,5 months ago, how fed up we were in Holland, and now, I can’t imagine or understand that feeling anymore. We had quite some challenges before moving over here and thousands of things on our minds. Starting from selling our house, me leaving my job, sharing the news with the family and with all of that, also the pandemic. We were packing and meanwhile getting rid of lots of stuff we weren’t able to take. Arranging so many things and being scared about a unexpected a border closure, canceled flight etc. It was truly stressful and tiring from one hand, but super exciting from another. It felt so nice to finally arrive to Malta with an actual realisation that the tourist phase would pass and we would just continue living here and being a part of this unique island.

Another question we get asked a lot, also asked by many locals here; “Why Malta?” Well, why not? It is right in the heart of the Mediterranean, with old and rich culture, history and unlimited sunny days. Delicious food, hospitable and kind locals. Seriously, Maltese people are one of a kind and I mean it as a compliment. In my opinion, one of the most important factors, why Malta is so amazing, is because of Maltese people. I am not going to start with all the points about the Maltese, otherwise it might take a while. The list of reasons which make you leave everything behind and move to Malta is also endless, so it is impossible to fit it all in one post. Thus this is exactly why I have decided to start my blog and share my amazing Malta experience. Of course it will be shared from my own point of view and based on my experience. Sometimes when I read some expats chats/groups, I get a feeling that I live on a completely different island, based on how different opinions on certain things can be. I mean it all depends on one’s perspective and it’s logical. Each of us has different background, different experience, opinion and the idea of happiness and comfort. It happens everywhere, not just on Malta. When you are in Malta or else where, the most important is to understand for yourself whether you and the place belong to each other or not. Once you figure it out, the rest does not matter that much anymore. No place is perfect, there are always things you like and dislike and it is completely normal. Malta is not an exception, either it gets completely under your skin or leaves you indifferent and disappointed whether you are visiting it as a tourist or moving to live here.