Is it cheaper to live in Spain?

hola, i am off to spain for a month in january,house hunting.........

i would be grateful to any one who could give me a good guide to the cost of living in spain

to include running a car

telephone rental

broadband internet

as well as the usual utility bills

many thanks

The question is too general to answer as it depends on size of property etc - some things cost more here and some things less. If you need a generalisation work on the basis that whatever it costs you to live in pounds in the UK will be about the same number of Euros here. Very very sweeping but yours is a very general question and it can cost more than you think it will.

Rgds

Personally I do not find it cheaper to live in Spain than in the UK. As Smiley and Justin say you end up with a far busier social life automatically costing you more money. Enjoyable but not cheap!!

Certain things of course are cheaper, Council tax versus IBI/Basura phenomenal savings. Fuel cheaper. Gas and electric, well you can use far more than you expect what with aircon in summer and heating in winter. (Marble floors etc make for cold housing) Telephone more expensive, broadband more expensive.

Food bills some things cheaper some things more expensive. And to make savings you have to go all over the place getting things from different shops and markets. Also forget buying British brands of anything you will pay twice the price.

I think its easier to work out for a pensioner, if you can afford to live in the UK and you move to Spain adopting the same way of life that you had in the UK then you will likely be better off. For a family or younger people that need to find work, its a completely different story. And if you do have to work then the tax rate is higher in Spain and the  tax allowances lower, and the wages way lower.

Trish said:

'And if you do have to work then the tax rate is higher in Spain and the  tax allowances lower, and the wages way lower'

can anyone tell me what the tax rate is?

Thanks

Jill

Rough guide to income tax rates in Spain:

In other words, if you make 20.000€, the first 4000€ are taxed at 18%, the next 9000€ is charged at 24%, and the last 7000€ is charged at 29%.

The provincial tax rate is only a guide. Some autonomous communities have different rates.

If you continue to pay tax in UK on, for example, pensions, you will not have to pay tax in Spain.

You can transfer your tax liability to Spain by using form E101 (transfer of tax liability) if you think you will benefit from this but please note that, unlike UK, there is no tax threshold below which you don't pay tax. 

UK bands are as follows

Thanks Boboal,

dont know why, but always thought tax was less in Spain,

Jill

jillb said: "dont know why, but always thought tax was less in Spain" - maybe because avoiding taxes is a National passtime here. Have a read of all the threads discussing black money in property transactions.

Smiley said: "whatever it costs you to live in pounds in the UK will be about the same number of Euros here." I would tend to agree with him (as I usually do).

Trisha said: "Personally I do not find it cheaper to live in Spain than in the UK." Where the hell in the UK do you live, Trisha? maybe I'll move back! How much was your last rates bill?

Marciae, running a car is cheaper. Insurance may be comparable, but road tax is far less and fuel is cheaper. A telephone line and ADSL should cost around about 50 or 60 euros a month, phone calls can be very cheap or free depending on your provider (get SKYPE, it's free to other SKYPE users and almost nothing to landlines anywhere else in the world). Electricity is about the only thing I can think of that is dearer than UK. If you do choose to socialise and dine out, it's certainly far cheaper, but of course, if you decide to live a different lifestyle to that which you had in the UK and do it far more frequently, well then you're comparing apples & pears. There's a distinct difference between "cost of living", and how much you actually spend!

Roberto,

You are so right all of the time!

Why didn't I find you when I chose a husband?!

Yes, it IS cheaper to live in Spain!

In the UK, I pay £165 per month in Council Tax....................................in Spain?

€97 per year, no contest!

Plus, the food is so much cheaper, can we buy fresh fish at such low prices?

No, and the rest of the daily living expenses are so much lower too, give me Spanish prices every time!

Rgds,

Cheap in Spain?

Bring it back to the UK and be cheap here too!

We are seasoned travellers now, out with empty suitcases, back with full!

Goodness knows what customs would think of us if we were stopped, we bring back so much better quality food & wine, I need a bigger cool bag!

Smiley, I love Roberto's avatar, a man that gives that silly shake of his head, how can I resist, yours? Well, the teethe look a bit scary, don't fancy them wrapped around my lips...................

You mentioned the council tax in UK (mine has gone up to £1200 this years - that's around €1750)

I've just had my water rates bill for the year, £319 (€470), gas and Electricy have gone up to £64 a month (almost €1300 a year), plus road tax gone up, TV licence gone up (my God, I could go on and on).

Yes, booze and fags are cheaper in Spain but so are the good things, like fruit, veg, cheese etc.  As an example, I bought 8 slices of Serrano ham in Mercadona for 61 cents.  In Tescos, 8 slices was £1.99 and that was on special offer.

Wages are definitely lower, and taxes may be higher, so of course it stands to reason that most things are cheaper here - otherwise all the locals would be skint!

Climate also plays a role in keeping cost of living down. Apart from lower fuel bills (unless you spend all summer indoors with the A/C cranked up, in which case you shouldn't be here), you need far fewer clothes. Unless of course like Smiley, you have to keep two seperate wardrobes........