Is it cheaper to live in Spain?

Car Insutance more than double the cost of UK, every day items such as food more. Tyres more, Electronics more. Second hand cars ridiculous prices for some right heaps!

Rip off britain? Yeah right!

Spain has become a very expensive country since it joined the euro.  The recent strong euro has made it even worse.  The only things I would say are cheap in Spain are coffee (1 euro in bars where we are) and wine (a decent bottle for 2 euros in the supermarkets).  Tapas is quite a cheap way to eat, especially in Granada, Almeria and Jaen where it is free.

Everything else is expensive.  Especially when you consider that a large chunk of the population are mileuristas (earning 1000 euros per month).  I watched something on Spanish tv recently where it said that 63% of the people in Madrid were mileuristas.  How do they survive in Madrid on that salary?

Spain may be more expensive but it is worth it!

Spain is more expensive than the UK. I wish I could shop in Asda!!!!!

Some things are more expensive but some things are cheaper, especially if you shop around.

For example fresh produce is cheaper (and better quality) than the UK, however Electronic and other consumer goods can be more expensive, but even these are getting close to UK prices, and you have a 2 year guarantee not just 12 months.

For us, when you take all the bills into consideration, it is far cheaper to live in Spain than it was to live in North Devon, and now that the heating is off, and will be until November, even more so!

 nowhere near as cheap as it used to be but..............living costs are cheaper and the sun is coming back now so don't worry, be happy 

 Great advice, Georgia!

Went for a lovely stroll around Parque Paloma in Benamádena today in the warm spring sunshine. Some things money can´t buy. But just for the record, €1 will buy you a pint of San Miguel on the beachfront down the hill at Rincon Pepe!

Everything is relative, but if it's a lot of bang for your Buck you're after (no prizes for spotting innuendoes or puns), it seems to me you can do a lot worse than Thailand. A good friend of mine just e-mailed a picture of the beautiful hotel he's living in on Phuket, full air con and use of the pool etc., where he pays about €160, or £145 per month. That's less than my community charge and electric bill. So if we can sell our place quickly, maybe we should head out there and not just live like, but actually be (Baht) millionaires. Oh, and they have Tesco and Carrefour there now apparently.

Bugger!  Just spent half an hour posting how it is actually cheaper in Spain now for TVs/DVD recorders etc and gave price comparisons.  Plus trawled through Asda and Carrefour on line shops and 20 basic items in Carrefour were cheaper than Asda!  Also put that small electrical items were cheaper in UK as were bedding etc and gave price comparisons.

Then pressed some stupid button and lost it all.  Arrrgggggggh.

However, just to point out my electric/gas bill in UK for the last quarter was almost €500, out in the sticks we don't get deals on phones/broadband and I pay £168 a quarter for mine (which includes free calls after 6 and at weekends).

Would also like to point out my council tax is £1420 a year and water rates just gone to £432 a year (£43.20 a month for ten months).

Darn, not going to plough through the comparisons again but the only thing that really came out more expensive in Spain was butter but olive oil was cheaper.  And, as most of us were used to 1.40 or 1.50 to the pound, the fact that the pound has lost a third against the euro then it shows how cheap it was in Spain in the first place.

(One of my TV comparison was an LG 42 LCD at €699 in Carrefour an £649 (€713) in Currys and the DVD recorder was an LG at €199 in Spain and the same in pounds from Amazon.)  Not going to plough through the Asda/Carrefour one again.

Arggggggghhhhhhh

€1 may get you a san miguel, but you can´t live on that alone. I fail to be convinced that spain is cheaper at the moment. I am going to england soon and will be going out with an empty case and will be coming back with as much as Ryanair will allow!

Just the 15 kilo's then !!

K Five

It would be interesting to know exactly what you intend to buy in the UK that costs a lot more in Spain.  From time to time we check online websites such as Tesco to see how much we would be spending on food if we still lived in the UK, and rarely find things are cheaper (apart from tea bags!)

Sue

True, you cannot live on San Miguel alone (although some may argue), but most of the time when I hear about how much cheaper the UK is now, the comparisons given are items such as 42" LCD TVs and Porsche Cayennes, neither of which appear in my average weekly shop too often either(more's the pity). 

I am near Huercal Overa Almeria and are in the process of setting up a new villa

Took a TV over from UK because it was much cheaper and thought the price for the dish and set up for UK TV ' expensive' relative to the work and cost of equipment involved...but I suppose it is a limited market for those doing the job!

The air con units I have bought are the same price as UK for same brand but all electrical goods seem more expensive - no big discount retailers except perhaps in the large cities

With current exchange rates you certainly have to look hard to get household goods cheaper in Spain , if you can buy in the sales in UK

The local Ferreteria seem expensive but cheaper if you find those who cater only for the Spanish! .. In UK we buy from B & Q etc and stores like that are only in selected retail parks so these cost can be more expensive...but look around and use the local products

Eg: needed some weed killer..... Roundup looked the first choice but the Spanish brand was 25% cheaper and I hope just as good!...told so ..we shall see  

Food and drink we always find cheaper provided you shop around and use the markets and ' buy fruit and Veg in season' 

Eating out...well just use those busy with the locals!....and eat their food in the same way as they do 

Even having a drink...a bottle of Campo 1 € in the local's in Huercal Overa but in Mojacar 2.50 €!

If you want UK food then you pay the going rate in your locality

If you want a steak then the best is in Garrucha and busy all year round- prices similar to what you pay in UK but ' massive' and great ' real ' chips!!   

We have solar for hot water and overall expect that our base cost for a part time home in Spain will be much less than a second home [ or even a caravan] in UK ...very low

The same size home in UK would as you all know cost much more to buy!  

Our day to day living cost are much cheaper and we eat better 

So . Yes, Spain even with our low exchange rate is overall cheaper than UK  

Roberto, when did you stop buying Porsche Cayennes?  Things must be tough

Justin

OK, I know, I'm sad.  However, now that I've retired and am just waiting to get on that ferry, I went through the food price comparison between UK and Spain.  All these prices come from Tesco online and Carrefour online.  I've tried to pick like for like (own brands where possible).  I haven't included wine which would put too much of a slant on Spain (eg. Bottle of Rioja White in Spain €2.45 and same brand in Tesco £5.99) nor beer (both about the same but brands are totally different.)  I also haven't included regional specialities like Serrano ham or Cheddar Cheese as this would also be unfair.  (local cheeses in both countries cost about the same) I have included what we call UK ham (as it is also popular in Spain).  The reason I picked the items I have is because they appear on the National Statistics Office basket of popular goods.

Here goes

So that small basket is 10 euros cheaper in Spain. 

wow, bobaol, thanks for doing that!  I've been meaning to do it myself for some time.

That certainly isn't what I was expecting.  I would have thought that prices would be much closer.

Out of interest, did you pick the lowest prices for these products, such as their own brands, or are they middle-of-the-range type prices?

Thanks

Justin

I'm not surprised by the result. It's a good comparison, especially as we know it's totally unbiased and properly researched - thanks Bob. Couple of points - I think olive oil is bound to be significantly cheaper in Spain, and I think cod is hard to come by this far south (??) so is bound to be dearer in most of Spain.

The other point that I think should be made is that lifestyles can no doubt play a role in determining where is cheaper to shop / live. For example, a busy working family with hungry kids to feed on the hop, who buy mostly frozen, microwave-able dinners, will definitely find a far greater range available in the UK, and I imagine, cheaper too. Whereas a chilled out retired couple who enjoy leisurely cook-ins using local fresh produce, will almost certainly find better choice and prices in Spain. This is just my hunch, I hasten to add, but Bob, if your ferry isn't leaving soon, feel free to investigate.

Oh, and it also makes a huge difference if you regularly buy Porsches, or prefer to walk!

Own brand where available, eg cornflakes.  If not, then the cheapest of the branded ones.  I deliberately didn't pick the so-called Tesco value range because we never buy them, for example eggs.  I was surprised that onions were cheaper in Tescos than Carrefour because we went to Tesco today and the onions come from, guess where, Spain.  Mind you, I guess they'd be cheaper in the market.

I couldn't find things like toothpaste or dishwasher tablets on the Carrefour site or I'd have included stuff like that but as we paid £3.78 for a tube of Sensodyne and £9.99 for a pack of 45 dishwasher tablets today I can't see they'd be more expensive in Spain.

However, items we take for granted as cheap in UK, such as frying pans, kettles etc are a lot more in Spain.  eg, we looked for a griddle pan in the market in Spain and they were all around €20 whereas they are £8 in Tesco.  Branded kettles (such as Bosch) are about the same prices but you can pick up a decent kettle in UK for less than a tenner.  Same as, eg, quilts.  Couldn't see a decent king size in Spain for less than €40 whereas Asda do them for £11.99.  So it does pay to shop around. 

And, yes, the choice in UK hypermarkets is far greater than Spain but always look at the "special" offers.  Would you believe 160 teabags worked out more expensive than 2 boxes of 80?  We bought a pack of cream crackers last week at 45p.  This week they are "on offer" of buy one get one free but one pack was 67p, so a saving but not as much as they claim. 

Oh yes, frying pans! Doesn't matter if you buy the most expensive and latest space age technology, the so called non-stick surface doesn't even last as long as my Porsches. SWMBO is forever replacing them, and I don't mind admitting last time over, we did bring one back in the hand luggage! Kettles - few cheapies simply because Spaniards don't use them. When we rented holiday apartments, we put kettles in them, but after several times of Spaniards boiling milk in them, we gave up.

How about medication, Bob? Quite interesting one to compare.

"Would you believe 160 teabags worked out more expensive than 2 boxes of 80? 

" Boboal, yes I would. That's one thing I always check now since I noticed it many years ago. It's not just food it happens with but anything. I've found it on hundreds of things in all supermercados ,diy shops etc.