Auf Wiedersehen Pet

Just thought I'd use a German phrase as I do work for a German company, but it's the TV show I'm referring to. More importantly, the fact it was set on building sites.

One of the first things you might notice when you arrive in Malta, and take any kind of journey in a vehicle is the amount of construction sites you'll see. Not necessarily with the roadworks that you associate with them in the UK, but construction workers erecting new blocks of flats where-ever there is a spare acre or two of land. The skyline at any given point will always contain a handful of cranes, and if you step outside during the hours of daylight, you won't fail to hear the sound of a drill or cement mixer. Perhaps you're wondering why I'm mentioning this...

Sliema (the area I live in) is seen as one of the main tourist magnets. It combines all the usual necessities for the tourist trade; bars, shops, restaurants, and the launching docks for almost all the tourist ferry trips. It also boasts at least 6 different construction sites that I can think of (just off the top of my head). There are two at the end of my street, and now one directly opposite me. Sitting out on my balcony is no longer the pleasurable experience it could have been as it is now accompanied by a crane towering over me and the lovely sound of hammers and drills. I thought I left this behind in Southampton!

To cap it all, I now find out my local pub has been reclaimed by the lease holder and all the staff have been given notice. The reason? The owner plans on turning it into luxury flats!

There is a strange edge to this though. Talking to a few locals, it seems Malta has over 50,000 empty flats right now. I seem to remember the Isle of Man going through a similar transistion, Douglas sea-front became awash with flats, but no one seemed to know who was expected to buy them.

What all this means for me is I am paying a premium on my rent for the 'location' I'm in and for the 'luxury penthouse' but when you step back and view it, I'm paying to live in the middle of a series of building sites, and to have a balcony that is only of use after normal working hours. I can guarentee, unless something dramatic happens in the next 10 months I won't be renewing my lease, and I'll move to a different area for half the rent...

...and I can bet my landlord will find himself with a flat he's unable to lease out. After all, would you choose a penthouse to live in if it was overlooked by a crane and had constant noise 12 hours a day?