Mediterranean Luxury for the Rest of Us in Malta

Mediterranean Luxury for the Rest of Us in Malta
Malta is called an open-air museum for good reason.|iStock/tobiasjo

If you look for Malta on a globe, you may not find it.

It’s only when you squint your eyes—and get close enough to touch your nose to the globe—that a beige archipelago comes into sight, swimming in miles of blue. That’s Malta: the world’s tenth-smallest country, hosting Europe’s smallest capital.

Many of the Mediterranean’s best coastlines are reserved for the richest of the rich, who keep the seashores for themselves… and their neglected summer residences. But Malta sings a different tune.

Its rocky seaside beauty and its cultural richness are all on offer for the rest of us. It’s an island adage that, due to Malta’s size, every home has a view of the sea.

A lowly commoner, I myself lived there for a year, and from my roof terrace, I could do a full spin and never stop seeing ocean.

Sitting about 100 miles off the coast of Italy, Malta has been the pulsing center of a cultural crossroads for thousands of years (yes, actual thousands). This tiny nation boasts architecture that speaks to a varied history of Middle Eastern, Italian, African, French, and ancient Maltese influence.

It only takes a glance down any Maltese street to understand why the country is called an "open-air museum."

Grand cathedrals tower over homes made of carved stone. Villages neighbor ancient temples (including one of the oldest free-standing manmade structures in the world—older than the Pyramids of Giza) alongside olive groves, wineries, and cliffside caves.

Robin Cambre, a 64-year-old retiree from New Orleans, gave up her American digs for Maltese ones eight years ago. Her front door is just a stone’s throw from the Mediterranean Sea in the bustling village of Sliema. Sliema’s name means "peace" or "comfort," but it has quickly become one of the most popular destinations in Malta.

"The Med," as Robin calls the nearby sea, is her backyard. Her typical day consists of meandering down cobblestone streets in search of a fresh lunch and calling some of her many friends—whom she affectionately terms her "tribe"—to join her for a glass of wine or a hike along the coast.

"There are coffee shops and clothes shops, I go window shopping and I just like to be outside. I love walking and looking at the Med," she gushes. "I’ll call a girlfriend and say, ‘I’m five minutes from you, you want to have lunch?’ If I’ve got nothing going on, I’m still outside. The weather is so nice. I spend a lot of time out, sometimes with no gain, just to meander."

Duane Edwards, a 55-year-old software entrepreneur from Washington, agrees. He says Malta’s balmy year-round weather means he has the opportunity to prioritize his physical health in ways he rarely did in the US.

He now exercises every morning—yoga, running, weightlifting—along the seaside promenade right outside his building, or on his penthouse terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.

The €2,200 ($2,400) he pays in rent in Sliema would get him a cramped apartment back in his home state of Washington. That price point is in the tippity-top percentile. Furnished apartments with sea views and terraces are available for as little as $900 a month throughout Malta.

Although Malta isn’t as affordable as many mainland European countries, Americans will find it much cheaper than anywhere comparable in the US.

And though it bears some of the costs of an island, naturally, it bears the benefits too: the fresh sea breeze is inescapable, the community is tight-knit, and there’s a slower pace of life that comes with being detached from the rest of the world.

Plus, Malta’s compact size means you don’t need a car. Public transport is simple and cheap; buses are free for residents.

Duane’s grocery bills in Malta are consistently half the cost of his US groceries, with Maltese produce clocking in at around a fifth of the US price.

And Robin’s lifestyle is a third of its cost in New Orleans. Her cell phone bill is €30 ($32) per month, and cable and electricity is €50–€60 ($55–$65) per month.

Those savings extend to entertainment as well. What isn’t free is incredibly cheap. The Maltese people are famous for their community-driven celebrations, including their iconic festas, which are held throughout the summer. These multi-day events fill the streets with dancing and singing, and the sky with fireworks.

Robin and Duane regaled me with their various escapades. Robin has hopped over for a weekend to sail the Turkish coast and rents villas with her tribe in Crete, and Duane takes advantage of Malta’s proximity to the museums of Vienna and Paris. (For any curious adventurers, at the time of writing, a flight from Malta to Paris costs just under $50.)

Though Malta is impressively cosmopolitan for its size and location, it can also be insular. In the most literal sense, what you see is what you get. Both Duane and I experienced early difficulties in finding our community in Malta. (I lived in the rural north of Malta’s sister island, Gozo, where fewer expats roam.)

And while Robin’s had enormous success in this department, she laments the architectural aesthetics.

"I tell people, don’t come here looking for colorful. My friends and I call it 50 shades of beige," she says.

Life expectancy in Malta is high, and the population spends, on average, 90% of their lifespan in good health, longer than any other EU country. For top-of-the-line international health insurance, Robin pays just €200 a month ($220). Back in the US, she was paying four times that… for the most basic health insurance plan.

On the topic of health and happiness, Malta is one of the safest countries in Europe. Robin walks everywhere and has "never felt unsafe." My real estate agent moved back from Australia to her hometown of Ghajnsielem so that her children could have the same freedoms and safety she had when she was growing up.

And the best part: you don’t have to be uber wealthy to live here. Not even close.

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