Anyone been to Malta and costa Rica... Looking for insight into which one to pick for a first timer leaving the U.S.I have my destination narrowed down to the two.

Just from reading this thread it seems like Costa Rica would be easier with the banking and taxes, is that accurate?

Always go closer as possible as your family.

I liked the PI more than Malta but one is 35 hours to get back and this is only 5 hours. (Family in Spain)

heve been to both places which are completely different. drop me a pm if you want more info

anyone know where the finos showroom is in st julians? Not sure whether il go through there or just go with a chair from ebay and hope for the best

which supermarkets do deliveries in Sliema/Gzira? I tried the big one in B'kara but I need a landline to sign up.
Don't want to order at scotts since they're ridic expensive.

Edit: Have to be able to order online

www.maltasupermarket.com

depends how much money you make, for me that is at best pocket change and it's very hard to find good cleaners/assistant/service, etc. in malta. when u play NL10 for a living it's prolly abit above budget though, i understand... on a sidenote i always lived in rather large flats - i don't expect them to charge 70 as well if you live in a 2bedroom apartment... furthermoar you have to also consider teh EV of them being superloyal. i had oftentimes 50 or 100euros in my trousers and forgot about this which would be for sure gone with alot of other cleaners but not wit them

Malta only makes real sense from april until october, CR seems to be better regarding weather all year around. My choice would also be dependant on if i speak spanish or not .

i don't really know of a showroom in st. julians and even if they have one it will prolly be on the smaller side and they will not have all stuff (chairs) there. the big one (and i think only one) is in Mriehel which is like 20mins with a car from St. Ju.

How is the nightlife in Malta now during the winter?
I mean there is alot of pokerplayers living there but is there really any good reason to live there during the winter period?

Hi guys, I am considering moving to Malta sometime this spring. I'm currently in Costa Rica and I am wondering how long you can stay in Malta. Tried searching this thread and didnt come up with anything, sorry if it has already been addressed.

Im a US citizen and Im basically wondering how long i can stay in Malta, been hearing anywhere from 3 months to the whole year. Also if there is a process where you have to apply for extended visa or something can somebody explain to me what is involved?

Thanks!

Weather doesn't bother me too much, so i'd be fine with the cold.

All things being equal, i think i'd choose malta because i speak english and lower crime.

But reading this thread it sounds like there is a potential tax issue with malta if you open a bank account in malta.... Am i correct in saying this differs from Costa Rica? Because in CR if you open a bank account only tax liability would be to the US.

This could be a problem for me as i have a good size account on merge i need to withdraw and this skin doesnt have MB, AFAIK they have check and wire withdraw options.

What skin is it? If you relocated and get your account verified in your new county, moneybookers should then be available as a cashout option since you are not in the states anymore. I would email them and ask if you can do this, I was on a skin that had sportsbetting (playersonly) and they would not transfer my account when i relocated. Everyone else I talked to was fine tho since they didnt have a sportsbook account.

If you have an account in CR you dont have to report your account to the US as long as you keep the balance under 10k. If you have more than 10k in any foreign accounts you are supposed to report this at the end of the year. Poker site balances and moneybooker balances dont count towards this.

Afaik if you withdraw money to your maltese account you are technically liable to pay taxes in malta on that money, altho im not sure if its enforced.

Hit me up if you have any more questions about CR in general

no there isn`t imo, assume what you read was referring to income tax or maybe taxes on capital gains. I know costa rica has no or reduced tax on capital gains abroad so theres the difference (which is what made it super-attractive for US expats) . Poker winnings dont count as capital gains under maltese tax law according to most people. As far as ur withdrawal bank wire to friends account or something seems like an option unless they require verification.

in my opinion if you have money on teh side it makes sense to travel in winter and live somewhere outside europe. on teh brightside though you can put in really good work in winter here so that you have to judge for urself.

partywise weekends are still busy and going out wednesdays and sundays is possible as well. obv it is not nearly as much going as in summer but it is by far not as dead as other island (malta has almost 500k inhabitants on very small space...)

only americans could really help u in that case. laws here are not really strict and there will 100% be some sort of workaround to stay longer, definitely if some money is involved. cannot give any details though bc i dont know...

poker taxes are still a grey area, everybody has a different opinion on that, nobody can tell you whats riight in teh end. that maltese government comes after u is very very unlikely but when u r us citizen you r taxable with ur income in teh us anyways no matter what iirc...

furthermoar it is not very easy to open a bank acc here being american from what i heard...

From what I've heard of people here, if you're an American and want to open a bank account here you have to get some sort of reference letter posted by your american bank to a maltese bank, which none of them will agree to doing for some odd reason.

Thnx Prunus.

Anyone knows where to order workout supplements and shakes online from a seller that actually ships to Malta?

So if im living in costa rica can i just get a reference letter from my bank here?

I have no idea, but maybe!

Has much does it cost per month for a very average apartment in Sliema including gas+electric etc? Are there lots of places available? Say i just turned up some time in january having done nothing prior to find somewhere how long would it take to find a place to live?

ebay.it ships to malta, gonna order a lot of stuff off there- let you know how it works out

Varies wildly. You can find a one bedroom for €350+60 utils if you are on a budget or easily spend €1500+200 utils for a nice place

http://www.franksalt.com.mt/
http://www.remax-malta.com/
http://www.relocatemalta.com/en/

Will give you plenty of ideas. You will be able to find a place within a few days though, just talk to an agent and they'll take you round some places that are available when you get here.

Hi, there are many places you could choose and the rent per month varies. I am talking long let - that is 6months and over so rental would be at least 500 euro plus add another 100 euro a month for water/elec and other services. If you want something larger than 1 bedroom and really luxury then you could even spend 2 to 3000 a month! But the average I would say is between 700 and 1000 monthly in areas around Sliema which is the centre. Availability is always difficult but given some time it is possible to find something nice! If you need any help you can contact me at andreea@malta-property-agents.com

Ok thanks for the info. Also, how many months rent would they want in advance as a minimum from a poker player?

Hi,

Is someone selling a tennis table? Cause I would buy it.

Just 1 for 6months contract.

We have one that might be getting sold. Will talk to the other housemates about it.