"'Why Malta'? The question I was frequently asked by my friends. Basically, my husband's boss in Japan (although a genius in his field) was an ass and the working hours were too much. It was the only company that hired non-Japanese speaking people, so with three years left on our Visa, it was heartbreaking that we had to leave.

Back in 2009, I was invited on a press trip by the Malta Tourism Authority to write about my experience of the island for a London online publication. When I got the email, I had to Google Malta (hangs head in shame). I very much enjoyed my experience but never in my life would a single 20-year-old me have thought about living here. To cut a long story short, and before I digress, we decided on Malta as we did not want to go back to the UK, nor did we want to go back to a country where we'd need to Google Translate everything *unless it was Japan).

From ancient Japanese temples to towering skyscrapers, Tokyo has it all 

We landed on October 2019, I started working as a full time content writer at Lovin' Malta.  They didn't like that I was concentrating too much on food so we parted ways. I decided to start my independent blog What's Cooking Malta as a hobby - a foodie guide showcasing the latest restaurant openings, news and reviews. Traffic grew to around 20k hits a month within six weeks. I also regularly freelanced for various local print and online publications.

In February 2020, l organised a high profile charity dinner to help raise funds for Australia's wildlife. The event was a great success and it involved me getting six of Malta's top chefs/restaurateurs joining forces to serve a course each. Using my contacts, I managed to get tons of sponsors for the venue, produce, the wines and more. 3000EUR was raised and all proceeds went to the charity of my choice. This was one of my biggest accomplishments in Malta.

Organising foodie events is also my bread and butter (former restaurant PR girl here), so I was on cloud nine and felt a real buzz. I thought to myself 'This is what I want to do in Malta full time', to start some sort of events/PR company strictly for restaurant clients... then Covid raised its ugly head. Let's talk about bloody Covid.

I say this with no exaggeration but, like many others, Covid hit me hard, real hard (as in wahm bam, thank you ma'am). My professional career was at a standstill. I had been made redundant from my new full time marketing role because they could no longer afford me.

Restaurants were on lockdown (I cook but eat out a lot so that was hell), the hospitality sector was pretty dead which meant that my freelance work suffered majorly (the publications I was writing for took a break).  I thank the Lord that my husband could support me financially throughout.

Job hunting sucked (roles were pretty non-existent), my morale was low and the whole situation majorly affected my mental health a great deal (that and the fact that as a very frequent traveller, I could not fly anywhere).

Currently, I have lost interest and faith in the local restaurant scene (which I have greatly supported), for an epicurean and food writer, that is a big dealbreaker.

I sympathise that restaurants have been hit hard (and there is a huge shortage of staff) but I am really frustrated with constantly spending lots of money on meals that have left me disappointed (and the way many restaurants diabolically handle private complaints or constructive criticism). Menu prices have ridiculously surged, quality has gone down the drain (from good to bad or mediocre to awful) and there is no consistency in many places (even before Covid). This is hair-pulling frustrating for me.

However a special thanks to those restaurants that have provided me with an excellent dining experience/good food whether a one off or consistently. They know who they are.

Fast forward to today, as I am writing this on holiday from a sunny island in Greece, I am officially announcing that my husband and I have decided that it is time to say goodbye to Malta for many reasons, the people here, who have always been very friendly to me (well, most of them), isn't one of them. The island just isn't for me in the long term.

I miss my actual career which there isn't scope for here, I miss immersive dining experiences, experiential theatre, a consistently top notch and buzzing restaurant scene (whether street or a three-Michelin), I miss going to the ballet, having a huge melting pot of real authentic regional cuisines from all over the world at your doorstep, trees, good public transport, to name a few.

Where to next? Athens, Singapore or Toronto are our current potential options. It has been fun, Malta. I am grateful for the name I have made for myself here and how I was welcomed with open arms by the locals and expats. However, the cons are now outweighing the pros so it's time to go... there is nothing left for me to do or see here anymore.

This series is conceived and edited by Marie Benoît who contributes her own Diary occasionally. [email protected]