Like so many other Brits I used to spend many a dull, cold, dreary or rainy day (and believe me, there's a lot of them in the UK!), daydreaming about escaping to sunny shores for more than just a holiday. I kept my craving for sunshine and an all year-round tan satisfied by regular holidays and long weekends to European countries where the sun actually shines. One such holiday took me to Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean. Now, almost 6 years after my first trip to Malta I am a full time resident here and have been for a year and a half. Most people I talk to are curious to find out why a young Brit such as myself would leave big, bustling, vibrant England for the tiny island of Malta and how Malta compares to the UK. This I will share with you.

Reason No.1- Brits are sad because of the weather

My first and most important reason for fleeing the UK to settle in Malta is the weather. Quite simply, I like sunshine, when the suns out and the weather is warm I'm happy, energetic and sociable. In comparison, when the sun hasn't appeared for a couple of days and the temperature is below 10 degrees I feel depressed, unsociable, tired and crave comfort food and lots of it! I know I'm not alone in this feeling, us many of us Brits seem to get the winter blues. We often go in to hibernation in the winter months, only leaving the house when we have to (i.e to work and get food) and spending the rest of the time lazing in front of the tv stuffing comfort food.

I found out a couple of years ago that there is actually a medical explanation for this, we are experiencing something called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The website of the NHS (national health system in the UK) describes SAD as a type of depression that is experienced in winter months. It affects 1 in 50 people in the and it is most common amongst people aged between 18-30. SAD is caused by a lack of sunlight. Not surprisingly, SAD is most common in the northern hemisphere .

The sun doesn't shine much in England during the winter (or even in the summer for that matter!). Instead Brits get frequent fog*(a low-lying cloud made up of small water droplets), cloud, grey skies and a lot of rain. The average amount of hours of sunshine in the UK in mid-winter ranges between one and two and the average temperature is around 4 degrees. Long, wet, cold winters are followed by blink and you'll miss it summers when cloud and rain are still more common than sunshine.

In comparison winters in Malta are mild and full of sun and warmth with an approximately 5 to 6 hours of sunshine mid-winter and an average temperature of about 15 degrees. Frost and snow are virtually non-existent. Annual rainfall in Malta is low. The spring and summers are long and hot and the sun is typically out for 10-12 hours.

Reason No.2-A nightlife to rival Ibiza’s

For such a small island Malta’s nightlife is big with top name DJ’s such as Armin Van Buuren, Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfield, David Guetta and Tiesto making regular appearances at one of the many quality clubbing venues on the island. Paceville, the islands party capital is brimming with clubs and bars to suit everyone’s needs and the surrounding areas host many more varieties including beach bars, cocktail bars and karaoke bars. Quite rightly Malta has been compared to Ibiza, the number one clubbing destination in Europe. However, Malta is a much cheaper alternative than Ibiza as the majority of clubs and bars are free to get in to and drink prices are cheap meaning that the average night out clubbing costs around €20 .

There are of course, many more clubs, bars and pubs to choose from in the UK, but with charges of £10-20 to get in to most clubs and £5 or more for a drink, the average young Brit can’t afford to go clubbing all that often. This would explain why only 1.5 per cent of the UK’s population regularly hit the clubs at the weekend, compared to more than 3 per cent (12,000) in Malta.

Reason No.3-The Food

Malta's close proximity to Italy means that it's food is heavily influenced by the country famous for pizza and pasta, however Malta also has it's own rustic dishes such as Rabbit Stew, Fried Rabbit, Rabbit Sauce Spaghetti, Lampuki Pie (Lampuki is a local fish), Bragioli (Beef Olives) and Octupus Stew. Portions in Malta are generous and even better, they're pretty cheap, starting at as little as €7 for a starter, main course and glass of wine.

Reason No.4-The Language

Whilst the Maltese do have their own language, a curious sounding semantic language which is written in the roman alphabet, English is also the official language. This is a leftover from the 160 years of British colonisation of Malta. This is obviously a great bonus for English people and also to the millions of people who speak English as a 2nd language which explains why Malta is one of the top destinations to learn English as a 2nd Language.

The Downside

There are of course some downsides to living to Malta. Firstly, unless you work in I-gaming, the salary in Malta is rather low, the average wage for 18 to 30 year olds is around 10,000 to 20,000 Euro per year in Malta, depending on qualifications and experience (compared to 16,000 to 30,000 per year in the UK).   However, this is balanced out by a low cost of living.  Secondly, the style of driving is aggressive, haphazard and often reckless and the roads are full of pot-holes making travel by car a less enjoyable experience than in the UK.
Also, beach lovers may be disappointed with the mostly small and non-sandy beaches Malta has to offer which get jam-packed with tourists, language students and Maltese in the summer. Lastly, the heat in August can be a little bit too much too handle, particularly if you have to be out in the middle of the day.

However, overall, I believe that the good points to Malta outweigh the bad and I'm not alone in this, International Living a website dedicated to giving its 420,000 members free information about where they can live a better life for less overseas, thinks so too. In 2007 they voted it the best climate in the world, giving the weather, festivals, diving, sailing, theatre, the lack of crime, the hospitable people and the fact that everyone speaks English as the reasons. Don’t just take our word for it, why not come and find out for yourself?!