Thoughts That Cross Your Mind When You Start Working In Valletta
Lovin Malta has just moved into Valletta Hub, an awesome new space designed for co-working and hot-desking. That means we’re basically #Beltos now. We’re sure that, for better or worse, working in Valletta will inspire many articles as we go along, but so far we’re in love with the space, so allow us to be mushy as we explain the first things that cross your mind when you start working in Valletta.
‘There’s no two ways about it, I’m gonna have to take the bus.’
It only takes a couple of days in Malta’s capital to realise that you really have to ditch your car and subscribe to Tallinja. Parking is practically impossible unless you get there before 6am. You could brave the walk from one of the car parks on the periphery of the city but that’s not an option for those who’d rather not arrive at work looking (and smelling) like wet dog.
If you do choose to take your car, beware of parkers. An alternative is using MCP car park but that will set you back around €5 a day unless you commit to a longer membership.
‘Wow. There’s actual decent food here.’
It’s official. Valletta is Malta’s food district. If you’ve worked anywhere else you know how difficult lunch breaks can be. Here, you could probably spend a year eating at different places and never get bored of it. Spare yourself the guess work of what’s good, and don’t eat anywhere that doesn’t have a queue of at least 10 Maltese people at lunchtime.
Our favourite place has quickly become No. 43 in Merchant Street which does insanely good salads (but more on that later). If you prefer carb-loading, there’s a crazy good sandwich place called The Submarine Malta just next door. Try their new piadigella and you definitely won’t be disappointed.
‘I’m never leaving Valletta for a meeting again.’
When you don’t work in Valletta, you never want to have meetings here (unless you’re already a bus wanker). But once you do start working in the capital, it basically becomes offensive for anyone to offer an alternative meeting place.
As a quick tip, if you’re planning to meet someone who works around Sliema or The Three Cities: tell them to catch the ferry. Everyone likes catching a ferry once in a while, and if they resist, remind them how great it will look on Instagram.
‘Hello convenience, I’ve missed you.’
So you’re on your lunch break but you also need to go to the bank, cut keys, buy an expensive gift for your partner and a cheap one for your colleague, stock up on random household goods and get yourself a new outfit for the weekend. You can do all that within a 100-metre radius. We tried. Ok, we didn’t actually try. But we’re pretty sure that it’s totally doable.
‘But where the fuck is the supermarket?’
Unless it’s hiding in one of Valletta’s underground tunnels, there is no actual supermarket in Malta’s capital city. The closest thing to a supermarket is Wembley Store which isn’t big enough to qualify. Supermarket chain Arkadia will soon take over what used to be Valletta’s market (Is-Suq) so there is some hope that convenience shopping will return at some stage. But until then, where do the residents buy all their shit?
‘Oh, I get it, we don’t need a supermarket.’
Everything you could possibly ever want to buy is available in Valletta. You just have to find the shop selling it. This is quite a revelation for us suburban folk who are used to shopping at places like Pama, Pavi, LIDL and GS, where you can expect to find anything from fresh milk to yoga mats alongside each other. Valletta may not have a supermarket, but it does have all those quaint shops you won’t easily find elsewhere such as watchmakers, framers, gilders and sweet shops.
‘And let’s ditch the coffee machine too.’
Who needs a shitty coffee machine when you can extend your coffee break at one of the many amazing cafes around Valletta instead? Seriously. There is so many good cups of coffee to be found in the capital. and any boss should be happy about extended coffee breaks because it serves as a perfect networking opportunity. Coffee breaks should be compulsory in the capital. If you know of any amazing places, please let us know below!
‘Can we stay here all evening?’
After a nice productive day in the capital, the last thing you feel like doing is driving back home. You definitely don’t want to leave between 5pm and 6pm because you’ll just get stuck in the worst traffic of your life. So after-work drinks anyone? And that’s probably the nicest time of the day in Valletta as people start to wind down over an Aperol Spritz.
What’s your ‘working in Valletta’ experience been like? Let us know on Facebook, or send us a Snap!
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