No Friends in Malta? Why It’s Hard and What Actually Works

Short answer: if you have no friends in Malta yet, you are far from alone, and it is usually not about you. Making friends here is genuinely harder than it looks: expats come and go, many locals have full family lives, work eats the week, and most newcomers rely on one-off events instead of seeing the same people again. What actually works is the opposite of a busy calendar: one or two weekly activities, the same people every week, and you suggesting small specific plans. Give that eight weeks before judging it. If loneliness is weighing on your mood, the national mental health helpline 1579 is free and available 24/7.

A reader wrote to me last winter: “I’ve been here nine months, I go to events all the time, and I still don’t have one person I could call on a Sunday.” When we went through her week, the problem was clear. She went to a different event every time, met new people at each one, and never saw any of them again. Within two months of switching to a weekly running club and a Thursday language exchange, she had three people she could call. The fix was not more effort; it was a different kind.

Why it is hard to make friends in Malta

Before the plan, it helps to know what you are up against. These are the reasons expats give most often for having no friends in Malta, and they are real.

Diagnose your situation

Answer these honestly; each “no” points to the fix.

1. Do you see the same people at least once a week? If not, you need a recurring activity, not more events.
2. Have you suggested a plan to anyone in the last two weeks? If not, you are waiting to be invited; most people are waiting too.
3. Do you have at least two fixed social slots in your week? If not, work and errands will fill everything.
4. Do you know any long-term residents or Maltese people? If not, your circle is exposed to turnover.
5. Do you go back to things that felt awkward the first time? If not, you are quitting at the point where it starts to work.

Most people answer “no” to two or three of these, and that is good news: each one is fixable within a few weeks. If you answered “yes” to all five and still feel you have no friends in Malta after several months, the issue may be fit rather than effort. Try a different kind of group, such as a sport instead of a social, a local club instead of an expat one, or a smaller group instead of a big one, and give the new one the same eight weeks. Sometimes the right people are simply in a different room.

Friendship takes hours, not events

A widely cited 2018 study by communication researcher Jeffrey Hall at the University of Kansas estimated that it takes around 50 hours together to go from acquaintance to casual friend, about 90 hours to become a friend and more than 200 hours to become a close friend. Whatever the exact numbers, the point holds: friendship is built through time spent together. A different event every week gives you two hours with strangers; a weekly club gives you two hours with the same people, adding up week after week. That is why the plan below is built around repetition.

Situations that make it harder

Remote workers

With no colleagues, there is no natural daily contact. Make your week do the work: a coworking day or two, a lunchtime class, a weekly sport. Choose the same days each week so the same people see you.

Shift and hospitality workers

If you work evenings and weekends, most social events clash with your shifts. Look for morning activities, such as swim groups, gyms and daytime classes, and befriend colleagues on the same rota; they have the same problem.

Couples

Moving as a couple can make it easy to stop trying, because you always have company. It also means one partner can end up isolated if the other has a busy job. Each of you should have at least one activity of your own, and couples’ plans with other couples help too.

Over 40

Many expat events skew younger, and peers are busier with family. Professional networks, hobby clubs, walking groups and volunteering usually work better than nightlife. Age-specific meet-ups exist too; check Meetup for current ones.

Short-term residents

If you are here for a few months, focus on one intense weekly commitment, such as a class, a club or a volunteering project, rather than spreading yourself thin. People are more willing to invest when they see you every week.

What actually works: an 8-week plan

Planning ranges, not quotes. Our 30-day plan for making friends in Malta goes deeper into weeks one to four.

Openers that work

• “You were here last week too, weren’t you? How long have you been coming?”
• “How long have you been in Malta? What do you wish you’d known when you arrived?”
• “Any tips for a good beach that isn’t packed?”
• Follow-up: “A few of us are watching the sunset at the Upper Barrakka on Saturday. Want to come?”
• Follow-up: “I’m going for a swim at Balluta before work on Thursday. Join?”

The follow-up is what matters. A specific time and place makes it easy to say yes.

Where to find recurring activities

• Running, hiking and sports clubs: weekly by design.
• Language exchanges: regular, social and mixed.
• Classes: yoga, dance, art, cooking, Maltese.
• Volunteering: heritage, nature and animal charities.
• Village life: festas, band clubs and parish events.

Our guides to the expat community in Malta and how to meet Maltese people list groups we have checked.

It is not a verdict on you

When weeks go by without a real connection, it is easy to start believing something is wrong with you. Almost always, it is a structural problem: no repetition, no fixed social time, too much reliance on events where everyone is a stranger. People who are funny, kind and interesting at home end up isolated here for exactly these reasons. Fix the structure first, and give it time before drawing conclusions about yourself.

It also helps to lower the bar for what counts as progress. A person who greets you by name at the running club, a neighbour you chat with on the stairs, a colleague who asks about your weekend: these are the first stages of friendship, not failures to get there. Count them.

When friends leave

Turnover is the part of expat life nobody warns you about. You finally build a circle, and then one person moves to Lisbon, another goes home and a third changes job and disappears into a new routine. A few habits soften the blow:

• Keep your weekly anchors even when you have friends; they are where new people keep arriving.
• Mix your circle: newcomers, long-term residents and Maltese friends who are not going anywhere.
• Be the connector: introduce people to each other, so the group survives when one person leaves.
• Stay in touch with people who leave; Malta is a cheap flight from most of Europe, and visits keep friendships alive.

Online groups: useful, but not enough

Facebook groups, Meetup and chat groups are good for finding activities, but scrolling them is not the same as being part of them. Use them as a directory: find a recurring event, then show up in person. If you join a chat group, be the person who suggests a concrete plan rather than just reacting to others’ posts.

Summer and winter

Malta’s social life changes with the seasons. From June to September, everything happens outdoors: beaches, boat days, festas, rooftop bars. It is easy to meet people, but many of them are visitors, and long-term residents often travel in August. From November to March, the beach crowd disappears, evenings are darker and some expats feel the isolation more. That is when indoor anchors matter most: classes, clubs, gyms, choirs and dinners at home. If you arrive in autumn, set up your weekly activities early, before winter makes it harder.

Things to do this week

1. Pick two recurring activities and put them in your calendar for the next eight weeks.
2. Message one person you have met before and suggest a specific plan.
3. Join one local group: a club, a volunteering project, a festa committee.
4. Tell one person at home how you are really doing.
5. Save 1579 in your phone, just in case.

If you would rather go to small plans than big events, that is what MeetNow is being built for: hosts post a specific plan at a public place, and say up front who pays.

No friends in Malta: FAQ

Why is it hard to make friends in Malta?

Expat turnover is high, many locals have close family and school friendships that fill their time, long working hours and remote work leave little social space, and newcomers often rely on one-off events rather than repeated contact with the same people.

Is it normal to have no friends after moving to Malta?

Yes, especially in the first three to six months. Friendships usually need repeated contact over weeks, so most people only start to feel settled after a few months of regular activities.

What is the fastest way to make friends in Malta?

Choose one or two weekly activities, attend them every week, and suggest a specific small plan to people you see repeatedly. Repetition and invitations matter more than the number of events you go to.

Should I leave Malta if I have no friends?

Give a structured plan at least two to three months before deciding. Many people who felt isolated early on found their circle once they had regular activities. If loneliness is affecting your mental health, get support at the same time.

Where can I get support if I feel very lonely in Malta?

The national mental health helpline 1579 is free and available 24/7, Richmond Foundation’s 1770 helpline and chat run on weekdays and Saturdays, and Kellimni.com offers free online chat. In an emergency, call 112.