Is it cheaper to live in Spain?

No problems with bringing fish in from a EU country.  Certain other countries have restrictions but no restrictions to UK from Spain.  After all, they probably caught most of it in UK waters, anyway. 

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Id say it prabably is cheaper to live in spain than the UK, especially London. Since 2004 Spain has suffered some inflation – particularly in the property market – but generally speaking the cost of living in Spain remains affordable whether you’re considering retiring or living and working in Spain. However, the property market in Spain cannot be considered as being cheap or even low cost.  The most popular southern coastal regions of this Mediterranean country have some of the highest property prices in Europe in fact.  But for those on a budget and determined to live in Spain then areas such as Northern Spain or the lesser explored coastal regions of Costa Almeria or Costa de la Luz provide an affordable alternative.

Hope that helps! x

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Hello all

My husband and I are moving to Spain in September will be looking for long term rental in and around Fuengirola but not in Fuengirola...
Can anyone recommend an area which is suitable for a couple but who will have 4 children visiting frequently.

I must also say thank heavens I found this blog I thought I did a big mistake when looked at other forums, they are so negative, I know that Spain is moving forward with prices etc but gosh surely it must be better than the UK.

I have given up my home, job and children for this opportunity so I hope that Spain will be somewhere I can call 'home'.
I have been supporting Spain both in football and tennis and been saying 'my new homeside' so my committment is there already.

Sorry if message a bit all over the place a bit like me at the moment  

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Hello and welcome to the site.

Now that you've found us I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

My advice to you would be to spend sometime reading all the different threads as there's a wealth of information there which no doubt you will find useful.

There's a separate section regarding renting so it might be worth coypying question on there and even a couple of other places.

Time seems to be critical for you as you want to be in Spain by September.

The one thing you can be sure of is that everyone who does aswer any questions you have will be doing so honestly.

Spain is not a place of milk and honey and depending on your circumstances it can be hard work if you have to make a living.

Some people live there happily for years whilst others go back to UK after 6 months.

It might also be helpful if you do another post in the first message board for new users.  There you could expand on the reasons why you want to live in Spain and what you expect to get out of the move.  That would help others to suggest areas that might suit you.

Good luck in your search

E

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Hi E

Thanks for your reply and your advice.
I understand it is not the pot of gold and the end of the rainbow but we are taking the plunge because we have put a deposit on a cafe/bar and want a change of direction in what has been an extremly hard first two years of married life due to unfortunate circumstances.
We have sold our business in UK and I always wanted to live abroad, so whilst we are still young but not too young nor too old we thought we would bite the bullet.

Thanks for you wishes,

Loops

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After I posted I read your blog Tick Tock.

Whereabout is your cafe/bar in Spain.

Hope it all works out for you

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Hi

It is in Fuengirola, I thought I would try a blog, first time ever and it gives me a good opportunity to map my journey.

I have to say the cafe/bar is not a cafe/bar which will be for loud music etc, more you chilled out relax, some nice snacky food and my very own 'Kickin Coffee'.

You have to come and visit for a try of that hey.

Loops

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If I'm ever in the area I'll certainly pop in for a cuppa and a chat.

My house is in Torrevieja, Costa Blanca which I think would be a 3/4 hour drive away but you never know.

Keep on blogging as it will be good to hear how you're getting on.

It might ease the pressure when you hit the brick wall of beurocracy.

Keep smiling it's the only thing that will keep you sane

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A lot of English-speaking people tend to prefer English-speaking countries (or close by) to migrate to. There was a time I looked at Romania on cost-of-living scale, followed by Asia for it's English language awareness.
Spain looks like a better choice for expats as it's definitely cheaper than both UK and France. Wonder how many of us look at the political state of a country before deciding to move to it.


This message was last edited by HiSpain on 7/24/2008.

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Personally I chose Spain because it was easier to commute back to UK in any emergency.

I can travel UK to Spain door to door in less time than it took us to drive to see friends in Southport.

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Yes, I get the commute part too...
Reminds me of places in Asia where commuting to and to work used to take about 3 hrs daily

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Thins has changed dramtically in Spain and now the cost of living is much higher than it used to be.

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But at least it's sunny................................we would pay MORE in UK without the sun !!

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The cost of living has certainly risen in Spain.  However (sorry for stating the bleedin' obvious) it has everywhere else.  Even with petrol dropping to a quid a litre in UK, that's still about 15% higher than Spain.  I was rather shocked at my last electricity bill in Spain until I came back and got my UK one which was almost double the Spanish one.  As I also use Gas in UK, my fuel bills are more than double the prices I pay in Spain.  Food around the world is shooting up, unfortunately.  A few days in France last month proved that as the French prices in supermarkets are astronomical.  Carrefour in a town in Normandy were higher than Tescos in UK and, therefore, a lot more than Spain.  Rice, pasta and bread have risen by almost 100% in UK in the last year whereas these staples are still pretty cheap in Spain.
Cigarettes (maybe not on your normal shopping bill) have gone up 4 times in the last year in France to the level of UK (over a fiver a pack).  Even with the pound sinking against the euro, the ciggys in Spain are still less than half the UK price.  Booze, mainly spirits, have gone up a lot in Spain in the last year for some reason, even in euros let alone taking into account the euro/pound difference but, again, still half the price in UK.  Beer is still reasonable at around 1 euro a litre in the supermarkets for decent brands.  UK about the same price if you go for unbranded ones.
Eating out in Spain is still excellent value for money whether in cheapo or posh restaurants.  I paid €140 for a mediocre meal for two in a restaurant in Paris last month and I thought they were taking the mick when a half litre of beer was €8.  A glass of house white was €4.  My wife likes a tipple of Valencian white in UK and you can get it at Asda for £3.12 a bottle.  Same brand in Mercadona is 99 cents a bottle.  Campo Viejo red in UK is over £6 a bottle (around €7.50) in a supermarket which is about the same price you pay in a restaurant in Spain.  Bottle of (not very nice) red in a pub restaurant here was £13 last weekend (about €16.50).
And as Karensun so rightly points out, it's sunny and warm in Spain!!!  Sunny here in UK too, today, but had to wear a thick jacket cos it was bl%%$y freezing!!!
Oh, and apart from the £240 I'm now paying on road tax, the £126 a year for a TV licence, I'm paying £42 a month for Sky TV (because the main channels are pathetic) and my (non-metered) water rates have just gone up to £49 a month. 
Count your blessings, dearies.

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Count your blessings, dearies.


I do, bobaol, I DO ! ! !                  

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We agree with everybody regarding bills - definitely a lot cheaper in Spain.  As for eating and drinking in Spain - no contest!  We went to a local bar on Friday night, asked for a vino rosado and vino tinto, plus 1 tapa: we were given the bottles of vino rosado and tinto, so had roughly 5 large copas de vino, and la cuenta was 5 euros ( in the UK  it would have probably been close to £5 for one large glass of wine!).  We went out for menu del dia on Saturday: 3 courses, with ensalada first., bread, an extra carafe of wine,  la casera, plus 2 cafe solos for only 8 euros each,  Tonight we went to another bar and ordered 2 glasses of wine (we were then given another 2 glasses on the house) after which we ordered some olives plus another glass of wine (John drinks his wine more quickly than me!) and the bill came to 2.50 euros!!!

As jubilados, we are definitely better off living in Spain!

Sue

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Hello all,

I am a newbie and this is my first post. Hopefully this is the right forum for this post.
As is common I would like information on the cost of living in Spain and whether the money we will have coming in will enable us to live reasonably. We hope to retire to Spain in May/June 2009 and expect to have about £1360 PM before taxes. This is made up of £1000 gross from my company pension and £360 from the wifes company and state pension. If any-one can give us an approximation of the tax we would pay on this income it would be helpful. It will be another 33 months before I get my state pension.
We already own our apartment and have no outstanding loans. Our community charge is 334euros per 3 months. We wonder if this income after tax will be enough to have a reasonable standard of living. We intend to run a car and scooter but will not be eating out a lot. The info I need is an approximation of the cost of food for two people, electric, water, petrol, servicing and other general costs. We will be buying mostly Spanish products and shopping in the markets. I know it will depend on how we intend to live but we will not be expecting to live the high live but just to be comfortable. 
Even a ball park figure would be useful. We would appreciate any help we can get.

Jack & Linda

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Hopefully the exchange rate will move back in your favour before you move over. For the time being, however, at least the conversion is easy! Let's call it 1:1.

I'm not certain of the personal allowance (before tax), it may be dependent on individual circumstances and/or status, but last year my allowance was €5050. Income over and above this is generally taxed at 18%. So your wife should pay no tax, and you should only be liable to the tune of €1250 or so. There may be other deductables. Best to consult a gestor once you are living here. Mine charges €35 to do my annual tax return on my behalf - well worth it in my opinion.

So by my calculations, you should have about €15,000 pa (more if the ex-rate improves - of course, you have to consider that it could go the opposite way).

Everybody has their own idea of what "comfortable" is, but I think you should be able to manage OK.

Everybody will have different levels of expenditure on certain things, so it's very difficult to give definitive answers to your questions about costs, but for what it's worth, for two people in a 2/2 apartment, our expenditure for 2008 for electricity (no gas), water & rubbish collection, telephone line incl ADSL, mobile and calls, community charge (similar to yours), IBI (rates), home insurance, 1 x car insurance (fully comp), tax and annual service:- total €4,500

Note that this does not include fuel for the car. Where we live, we hardly ever use the car (36,000kms in 5 years) but if you do need to use one, fuel costs are a big outgoing.

Hope this is of some help.

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Hi Jack & Linda

It would be helpful to know which part of Spain you will be living in, and whether you will be on the coast or inland.  

John and I live inland, in Murcia.  Between the two of us, we reckon we have been spending around 800 euros a month, since moving here permanently in June.  This includes our gas, electricity and water bills, weekly shopping bills, plus the occasional meal out, regular coffees with friends, also tapas and wine with friends, travelling by bus a couple of times a month, plus buying items for the home.  I think that covers everything.  At the moment we are renting (an additional 400 euros a month), but hope to have our own home by February/March next year.  Obviously we could cut back if we needed to, however we are enjoying a reasonable social life, plus day trips and a few treats.

We shop at our local market, plus we have Consum and Dia cards, which give us savings when we shop in the supermarkets.  As you will be retired too, you will have time to shop around to save money, as many pensioners have to do in the UK!  We have also discovered a shop in somebody's garage, where we can get cheap fresh eggs, potatoes etc!  Our local pescaderia is good too, as a lot of her fish only costs 2 euros a kilo, and she often throws something extra in once she has weighed our fish.

As we are inland and it has been exceptionally cold here, I must add that we aren't looking forward to our next electricity bill though!

I nearly forgot to mention that there is a lot of free (or very cheap) entertainment in our area: concerts, exhibitions and of course fiestas!

Sue  

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I forgot to mention that, since I gather from the information given, you are about 3 years off pensionable age, you will almost certainly not qualify for free health care on the Social Security - it does vary from one part of Spain to another, but most areas have been tightening up on foreigners. You may therefore have to factor in private health insurance, and remember that you will have to pay full price for any prescription medication until you reach 65. Search this forum for threads on healthcare for more on this, there's plenty been posted.

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