moving to Spain

Thanks John. I suppose we are drifting a bit, but in libraries, do they put the bible in the fiction or non-fiction section?

apparently the bible (and othe relgious scripts) is always in nonfiction - dont ask me why asthey are the biggest fictional books/scipts/novels of all time

https://www.quora.com/Do-libraries-put-the-Bible-in-fiction-or-non-fiction

OK, so the general concensus on our moving to Spain has tended toward the negative. Maybe it is a romantic notion but we thought about it in terms of how the average spaniard lives, which was our intention to copy. The questions I now ask myself are; do they have better or equivalent pensions? do they live in inferior accomodation and eat inferior food? do they go without television or internet and don't have a car? Are they all as poor as Catholic Chuch Mice? We Brits do seem to have lost our understanding of what 'poverty' is, and have also misplaced the ability to recognize at what level of income real ''wealth' begins. My outgoings in the UK (in euros) are: Rent and C/C 550 euros, utilities 170 euros, internet 40 euros. Jin pays for the rest. Of course, I don't mind paying the bills, but it would be so much more pleasing to pay them under a sunnier sky. By the way, what is ibi? Is it the Commuity Charge?  

IBI is your council tax on the property, if you was renting you would not pay, and if there is a community charge on the property, if you was renting you won't pay that either, it's the owners job responsibility to pat the fees, your pay the utilities & rent. 

Fred

Not negative just being realistic

The Spanish live no differently to any expats or anyone in the UK.

IBI is property tax which if you are renting shoudl not apply. If you are living in an urbanisation you may want to check if there is a communtiy charge or is it incldued in the rent you have been offered

We find cost of living approx 30% less than UK all in - others may disagree and I am sure they will but that is what we see

If you or your wife need or plan to work it will be hard to find work in any field

Health care may also be an issue - you say you are retired (and have health cover for yourslef)  but you don't say if you are a UK pensioner or an early reitree.

Stil far too many unkowns to give any specific advice but yes you could manage on 1000€ per month

"if worst comes to worst and my wife can't find a job, is it possible to live on about 1000 euros a month without having to dip into my savings?"

How much do you have in savings and how disastrous would it be if you did end up resorting to using them? (No need to answer!)

You have to start with the assumption that she won't find a job. Negative perhaps, but realistic and better than depending on it and then finding yourselves in schtuck. Her qualifications won't count for anything here, even if they're officially translated, and even if she becomes fluent in Spanish she will almost certainly never get a job in the Spanish health sector - so she'll be limited to caring for elderly expats, most of whom are probably skint themselves & can't pay much. There are some expat run care homes (probably mostly illegal) but at least in my neck of the woods they're mainly out in the sticks and only accesible if you drive & have your own car. 

"outgoings in the UK are: Rent and C/C 550 euros, utilities 170 euros, internet 40 euros. Jin pays for the rest"

It seems from this that you're thinking that by cutting your rent & utilities down to €400 (from a combined €720) you'll be able to survive on the savings alone - the "rest" that Jin currently pays for will have to come out of that €320. So as someone else suggested, try making a budget, & see if you can live on that in the UK: if you can, then you can also live on it in Spain. 

Don't know where you can get an apartment for €400 p/m inclusive, but is it near any facilities? Are you sure you'll be able to manage without a car? Because I doubt your €1000 a month will stretch to running one. 

Dog walks are free, but golf certainly isn't. Can't see you playing too much, while still feeding pooch and paying any vet bills etc. Please don't become one of those horrible people who abandon their pets in Spain because they can no longer afford to look after them. 

Healthcare - you say your needs are "assured" but Jin will have to pay. The question has already been asked (about whether you would qualify for free state healthcare etc.) but if you don't know the answer to this one, you need to do more research anyway. It's important.

Sorry if it all sounds negative, but many of us have seen far too many cases of people determined to "live the dream", no matter what sacrifices or compromises they have to make, only for it all to go pear shaped and then struggle to get back home.