Living the millionaire lifestyle - it's possible in Spain!
Friday, September 6, 2013 @ 4:07 PM
Yesterday, we spent the day with friends we hadn't seen for almost six months. Although we live fairly close to each other, overlapping spells in the UK mean we haven't seen them since March, so there was a lot of catching up to do. They invited us to their place - it's a hacienda-style bungalow in 500 square metres of ground, with an 8 x 4 metre swimming pool. It's gated and detached, and there are terraces or courtyards at all 4 compass points so that you can chase or escape the sun. There's also a large outdoor kitchen area.
We spent most of the afternoon in the pool, and then repaired to the Andalusian-style courtyard for a barbecue. The wine and conversation flowed, and we felt very cosseted, and priviliged to be basically living the millionaire lifestyle, although none of us are particularly affluent.
Of course, it's all been made possible by the property price crash. Just five years ago, this particular des res would have been beyond the means of most ordinary people. However, our friends snagged a bargain at around 200,000 Euro earlier this year, and the place is not expensive to run either. It's not part of a community, so there are no fees on top of the Ibi, which is a reasonable 300 Euro per annum.
The thing is, even if our friends had picked up a similar bargain in the UK, the Council Tax would have probably priced it out of their league, and you couldn't guarantee that the swimming pool would have been pressed into service every day from April until November.
Even with the current economic problems, it's still possible for ordinary people to live the millionaire lifestyle in Spain.
Note: The villa illustrated is similar to our friends' place, and on the same estate.
