I’ve lived in San Diego and thought finding housing there was hard but it’s a cakewalk compared to the hell that is finding an apartment in Amsterdam. I’ve considered leaving the city at times because finding somewhere decent here that’s also affordable seems close to impossible.
Malta - in general it’s very easy to find a place, but it takes some work to avoid scammy landlord, even high end places are often badly maintained and in poor condition, and it’s quite expensive for what you get (this is obviously in general - I’m sure someone has found an amazing bargain of the best quality place somewhere).