Sliema or Swieqi?
I'm having difficulty with deciding where to view apartments. We only have a really limited amount of time to view them, so I wanted to be aiming to look at only one area this weekend if possible. Having never been to Malta, I can't work out which area would be best suited to us. I know people can't tell me which to choose, but I'm hoping somebody who knows both areas could give me an idea what both are like. It doesn't seem as if there's much available at Swieqi at the moment, whereas at Sliema there seems to be a huge amount of properties to rent. I thought Sliema would be more expensive, but it looks like you get more for your money there when it comes to size and furnishing. Is this the case? I'd rather go with the better area, than the larger properties and better furnishings to be honest, but I don't know which is classed as the better area. I don't mean better as in posh or anything, just better for a family.
at the moment property is cheaper due to it being winter and they want the rental income
I would say it all depends on what your after, if you like sliema then rent there just remember that come the summer its going to be full of tourists etc there were a spate of burglaries in Sliema during the summer.
you also have to think about public transport from there again in the summer those buses become extrremly crowded etc
Plus points for sliema, there are plenty of nice places to sunbathe and swim in the warmer months , You have the point shopping centre ,etc
from my exp.:
prices of rent in sliema and swieqi are about the same, in sliema there is more newly builded apartments
sliema has point shopping mall, many other shops, 3 playgrounds (one really big) everything is close, you have plenty of bus lines to go anywhere, some nice (rocky) beaches
but also it is crowded, especially in summer months and more noisy, but easily avoided if you move a bit from main streets
swieqi is more of a family town, someone told me that there is not bars in it, much more quieter, has 3 children playground, has small markets, bigger ones can be found in pacevile/st julian, same like all the other shops, shopping mall is in paceville (but much smaller than Point), there are few bus lines, if you walk from upper part to paceville that is a nice walk (especially going back as you'll go uphill ), closes beach is in pacevile (sandy one) but too crowded when all tourist's come in
my first idea was to rent in swieqi but in 14 days I didn't manage to find anything for me for long let, I wasn't interested in renting nice place with condition that I have to move out on 1.May as from then they rent on daily/weekly basis (the search was in september)
if you wonder - we settled in Gzira in the end, have a 15 minute walk to Sliema, everything is close and I still don't own a car
my suggestion: check both locations and don't trust if agent tells you everything is on 5 min walk, test it later for yourself, don't exclude st.julian, check it out also
btw. I moved in september and april - the prices were the same
Oh that doesn't sound good. It doesn't look like I should hold out much hope of renting anywhere in Swieqi if you couldn't find anywhere within two weeks. Did you try looking at properties through an agent, Duxx, or did you try direct with the landlord? Â
Thanks for your help, Rob. I'm not into sunbathing or swimming, so being a bit further back in Swieqi would be okay for me. I did wonder whether Sliema would be a bit more crowded in the summer months, so I was a bit put off by that. I'm wanting something a lot more family friendly if possible, so Swieqi still sounds ideal from what Duxx has said. Finding somewhere to rent there sounds like it's not going to be easy though.
I had an agent, but maybe I was just unlucky, don't give up hopeÂ
besides, probably you and I don't have same expectations for property and maybe you have bigger budget so that will open more possibilities
Is there a reason why you chose swieqi or silema?
sweiqi
there are plenty of propeties on Maltapark added today all in swieqi but i guess it depends on how much your looking to spend i have included a few above
Duxx wrote:I had an agent, but maybe I was just unlucky, don't give up hopeÂ
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besides, probably you and I don't have same expectations for property and maybe you have bigger budget so that will open more possibilities
I'm not sure what expectations I have. I'm quite open, but it has to be fairly modern inside. I don't know whether that is going to be easy to find or not.
robpw2 wrote:Is there a reason why you chose swieqi or silema?
sweiqi
there are plenty of propeties on Maltapark added today all in swieqi but i guess it depends on how much your looking to spend i have included a few above
So new properties are still coming available - thanks for that. Yes, we need to be in the catchment area for a certain school and both Sliema and Swieqi seem ideal. Our son, who is fifteen, has been educated in France since he was four, so we want him to be in a school with plenty of nationalities. Private wouldn't be an option because he'd be too far behind with him having only a French education with no English at all.
Our budget is 1000€ a month, but we could go a bit higher if need be. At the moment we live in the middle of nowhere, so we don't want quiet. Both sliema and Swieqi seem to be around a bit of life and that's where the agent at Frank Salt recommended.
Hi
Well it's like this. .
If you have a work already in Sliema or valleta then is clearly this part best and cheaper for you if you don't have a car
But if you came hier and have in mind to look for summer job in bar's or restaurant then St.julian is the heart of party every night long ;from may to October!
Then is better swiegi wich is a nice quiet aria and just 5mnt. Walk to Paceville the heart bit party of St.julian.
From St.julian to sliema center harbor is about 20 mnt.by bus in summer+/- around 6kmt maybe more...not sure
Restaurants are in Sliema to and all the way up by the cost from St.julian Bay up to sliema
Usually in April many owners put in windows sign, , To Let" apartment or room
Same phone nr.ar from agents
I lieve in swiegi 2 y ago and had a nice park in front if my apartment shopping store around 3 mnt.walk etc.very quiet loved yo walk to Paceville every morning
Praise starting from 400 er./1 apartment room to 500er/ and more for 2roms apartment
But you have starting erly April to look 4
Hopefully was helping you a bit
God lock
Thanks for all your help.
We work from home and will be taking our car, so we won't need to be located near a certain area for work or anything. I like the idea of my son possibly being able to walk to Paceville, so Swieqi still seems ideal. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that there's something available and it feels the place for us when we go to see apartments at the weekend.
Just updating!
We managed to find a three bed maisonette on in Swiegi. I've never looked at maisonettes because I thought they were the same things as you get in England, but really it's just a ground floor apartment with it's own entrance.
Just updating because we got back yesterday.
Having never been to Malta, I loved the place as soon as we got there. I'm not sure about the rubbish I keep reading about because I didn't see any anywhere and it was spotlessly clean on the streets. Is that going to change when the tourist season is in full force?Â
We managed to get somewhere in Swieqi with a garage space underneath within our original budget. I think Sliema would've been far too busy for us. We drove up the coast towards and beyond St Pauls and my god it's stunning up there!Â
To live, it wouldn't be for us at the moment, so I think we've picked the right place picking Swieqi for a family with it being quiet. I hope we have, but at least it'll be a good starting point for us.
glad you found somewhere your happy with , those are some lovely pictures, St pauls bay can be very pretty
There is a lot of litter/trash in Sliema Exiles area. I'm coping as best I can- often pick up bottles, etc and discard them properly. The seawall is ok but the side streets- Eeeks, it's been a test on my OCD in that area, haha!
St Pauls bay was very pretty. We'd already signed for the place in Swieqi but I was having doubts when we saw it up there. It's under a ten minute drive to some beautiful scenery up there, so it won't be hard to visit whenever we want.Â
I did see a bit of rubbish and broken glass on the rocks at St Julians, but nothing anywhere else that we walked. I might stay away from the side streets as much as possible though, so I can stay in my bubble for a while, lol. It really is a stunning island though, very different to what I was expecting.
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