costs england ,spain

i have recently bought a new fridge -169 euros,and a freezer-229 euros,i shoped around for the cheapest...as im moving back to uk ive been checking prices their,and i can buy fridges and freezers for 99 pound each,and im paying 299 euros for my car insurance here,and for the same model and age car in the uk its 130 pounds,..i have seen adverts here for linea directa car insurance with 1 month free,in the uk they are giving 2 months free,why cant they do that here?..and last of all for now ,we shop at iceland and they put an average of 25 cents per euro on items some are more,and the most rediculus thing i have seen in iceland is a computer mag with a serling price of 5 pound on sale for 10 euros,i know it costs money to get their supplies here,but im sure theirs no need to charge as much as they do....their is a well known saying in spain-the brits ripping the brits off,--

Not so long ago, those fridges and freezers would have been the same price as UK but the pound crashing makes them more expensive.  However, I don't think you can blame the Spanish for not reducing their prices because our pound has crashed.  I think you will find that goods in the UK will go up rather a lot when new stock starts coming in and the VAT goes back up in the new year as most of these items will be imported and they will charge the same to whichever country they flog them to.

Iceland, again, sounds a lot when you say "adds 25 cents on a euro item" as it seems like 25% markup, but it isn't.  The pound is 1 euro 10 cents so the extra 15 cents isn't as bad as it looks.  In fact, it's only 13p on the pound so not quite that bad considering the shipping costs and the fact that they stock the items the Brits want (and lots of Spanish as well, by the way).  Sticking to Spanish items (which is why we come here, after all) works out much better value.  Check out how much 10 slices of Serrano ham will cost in a UK supermarket, for example.  (Don't bother checking cos it's £2.99 in Tesco and less than a euro in Mercadona).

I do agree on the magazines but, on the other hand, El Pais in UK from WH Smiths costs £2.30 which is over double the cover price.

What I do find expensive are things we take for granted in UK, like frying pans and kitchen utensils.  Even the "cheapy" ones in the markets are 3 or 4 times what you'd pay in UK (example: Ken Hom grill pan from Tesco or Matalan - £8.  Spanish market non branded- 23 euros which, even at old exchange prices, is a bit of a rip off.  However, after discovering IKEA, I now find it cheaper to get things like that there as the prices are about the same as UK (example 2: double duvet at Carrefour - 55 euros, IKEA - 18 to 23 euros (same tog)).

Forgot to add.  The petrol to get you there will be 10p a litre less in Spain or over 20p if you have a diesel.

......... and lets not forget how much cheaper booze is in spain............

I was over in Spain in the Summer and thought that the Supermarkets were quite expensive for food.  But, having gone to Tesco this week i was gobsmacked at the prices here .... not sure if they put up prices prior to Christmas or just dropped alot of the offers.

Both seem to be very expensive these days.  Whereas the UK Supermarkets have an abundance of choice, Spain has better quality imho.

 I am in the UK at present, the wife made me come but only for a week.

The reason we are here is Christmas is coming and we have to see the family.

While we are here, of course we go to the shops, my god, what has happened to the prices. Tesco, Sainsbury etc, ok, they are still cheaper than Spain for lots of general foods, but only the offers. Compare Spanish produce for local in the UK, probably the same if not cheaper in Spain, Generally,  offers aside, it does look like prices are rocketing in the UK hypermarkets.

I went to Merry Hell, (sorry Hill) one of the biggest malls in the UK the other day looking for gifts and cloths, lots of cheap stuff but all specially brought in rubbish, for any thing decent, again the prices are through the roof.

In Spain there is not the competition that there is in the UK, so the likes of Carrefour, Eroski and Mercadona do not have to drop their prices as low as Tesco etc could if they wished. I have noticed though that in Spain, all the supermarkets are now reducing generally and during offers, lead by Aldi, Lidl and the other cheapies.

Where you shop at Overseas (Iceland) in Spain, of course you will pay more than in in UK, they have to get the stuff to you, but remember, the 25% that Iceland put on top is reduced as we are getting around 1.10 euro to the pound at present, still reasonable value though.

You know, in rip off Britain diesel is now 1.11 and unleaded 1.09 at most pumps. Electric, gas, water and the M.P 's all ripping you off and worst of all, astronomical council tax for, what service?

 mr kevin, I tend to find prices for lots of things in Spain dearer than the UK. Electrcity is dearer! Gas what gas? Many items for the home, electrical goods, furniture and cars to name a few. We have not long purchased a property and it has been cheaper to buy things in the UK and take them to Spain. I do think if you are an alcoholic smoker you will save a lot of money. Some but not all foods might be cheaper if you buy what is in season. Don't get me wrong I love the place but I find most of the shops expensive compared to the UK. It seems to me that the shops in Spain have not realised that there is a world crisis. The  prices have stayed the same and the shops on the whole seem very quiet to me. We only came back on Monday. Kevin

i read an article on the internet the other day where the Which magazine has done a survey on the cheapest places to live in europe..the cheapest country to live and the cheapest was france then england 3rd was spain and i cant believe that someone like which getting it wrong

 We could not afford to live in the UK without both of us working full time, we can in Spain, at present that is. So we will be staying with the better quality of life and better standard of living.

Regards

I initially thought that Spain was cheap, but having lived here for a year now, I actually think it is expensive and that's not just because of the exchange rate.  The only things that I find cheap are:

- alcohol and cigarettes

- tapas/raciones and coffee in Spanish bars

- public transport (excluding the AVE)

Discretionary goods/items (i.e. electrical goods, computer games, books etc) are very expensive in Spain, mainly down to the lack of competition for these sort of goods.  Although things do seem to be changing somewhat with the likes of Carrefour and Al Campo copying the Tesco/Asda approach of the UK, with some good deals on electrical and household goods.

We come to Spain in July but have been coming for holidays for a few years. I agree that certain things are dearer in Spain such as those mentioned below. But how often do you buy a washing machine, fridge or a computer?

Overall though we find it slightly cheaper here. There is no council  or car tax here for a start. We have about £1200 a month coming in from pensions and no mortgage and maqnage quite well. We mainly buy Spainish food in Mercadona and fresh food from the market. We don't smoke and only drink a little.

We feel we live better here than in England on our limited budget.

These are all well considered and thought provoking replies. What a cerebral lot we are on here! As a single bloke I live in a beautiful apartment with lovely gardens: It costs me 350€ a month - inclusive.  I couldn't be happier and visitors often say how lucky I am. The local newspapers are fllled with advertisments for similar.

The same in the UK would set me back at least £600 a month - plus rates and utilities; all of which are far more expensive than they are in Spain. So let's say half the price of England + the weather to enjoy it.

Petrol here is cheaper as someone has already pointed out. My food and drinks bill is less than 25€ a week. Try that in the UK. - and I do not go short. Five of us regularly go to a Chinese; three course inc' wine 6€ a head. It is a no brainer.

No council or car tax in Spain ?????

Think you will find there is Jack 5340.   Although neither are yet on the extortionate level of UK thankgoodness. Of course if you are renting IBI might be included otherwise it starts from January each year and your local townhall deals with the car tax ,assuming of course you are on Spanish plates, and differs in amounts from about 90 to 160 euros pa dependant on where you live.

Floella,

I was told no car tax in Spain but, even at that rate it is only half of what i was paying in England. As for council tax I was paying £1338 per year and it was going up and getting very little for it except threats about fines for putting a plastic bottle in the wrong bin.

We own our apartment here so no mortgage or rent. Water rates here about 80 to 90 euro per year. In England water rates £320 per year and going up again.

Menu of the day 6 to 8 euro for 3 courses. In England you would be lucky to get just a main course for that.

We haven't been here long but so far we have found it cheaper here overall than in England. We go back every three or four months to see the kids and have noticed that the prices have gone up a lot.

In England we found it tight to live and run a car on our pensions but here we live and eat better, have more sun and can go out when we want without worrying about whether we have enough money to heat or eat. There could be other things Im missing but I have kept a careful check on our outgoings in England ( Microsoft money records for 7 years) and here and it works out about 10 to 15% cheaper here than in England.

Agree Jack, even with the pound in dire straits v euro we do have a good life here whereas both council tax of almost 3,000 BGP  in my area of UK+ road tax would have more than strained the budget.

Probably told  "no" road tax here by an expat still driving on UK plates and sans insurance however you are not issued with a tax disc.  Different villages have different  procedures, pricing structure and times of year for issuing so suggest you inquire what happens where you are especially as they are more than happy to "forget" to inform you until the 11th hour thereby you incur interest.

Similarly with IBI.  Sometimes takes ages to log one into the system and then interest charged again . Think it's done purposely because most councils are now broke so best try to get both sorted asap.

Enjoy you new life.

Thanks Floella,

Yes,  I was told that by someone driving a british plated car. Even the salesman that sold us the Spanish car never mentioned car tax. The car company did all the paperwork. They did give us an orange plastic label with a bar code that has to be stuck in the front windscreen.  I will check it out with the Ayuntamiento.

As for IBI we are paying that. D/Ds were set up for it and electic and water. Although I was caught out by the fact that our parking space and store room are not included in the apartment amount but are paid seperately.

If there is anything else you or anyone can thinks I should be aware of I would be gratefull.

Cheers   

 Road fund in the UK depends on the emissions and can be down to £0 per year. My  wife has a corsa and we only pay £35 per year! The price of buying a car is a lot less in the UK plus you are able to obtain a discount! Spain doesn't do discounts on cars! Car insurance also seems a lot cheaper in UK as we pay around £160 for each car and seems a lot cheaper than the quotes I've been able to obtain in Spain which have been over 300 Euros..

You can eat out in the UK at a reasonable price and many pubs do 2 meals for under a tenner which probably rivals many menu of the day. The main savings have to be on Property prices, Council Tax, heating costs, cigarettes and drink.

However, the real advantage of Spain has to be the weather and the fact that one can live outdoors most of the year. The ability to go for a swim a lot of the year is so attractive. We've had our place just over a year and go out as often as possible. Not sure I want to live there full time but we will see. The main additional cost we face is now running two homes! Kevin

Jack,

The spanish car tax is paid to your local council as you would your IBI, here in Alicante province, we pay it via the SUMA.

Who ever is shown to own the car on the official paper work on Jan 1st, pays the tax for following year.

We have a Citroen Picasso 2.0 diesel which costs 126 euro a year for car tax, you don't get a disc or sticker in Spain but you do need to keep the receipt in the car in car the Guardia stop you.

Now, we bought our car in Dec. 2006, as the paper work was not completed until after Jan 1st of the following year, the previous owner or dealer had to pay the car tax before the deadline date which is some time early in May (varies). Some time later that year we received a letter from the SUMA telling us we were now responsible to pay the tax next year.

Regards

We pay £240 per month for council tax in England ? sorry Scotland sorry Wales ! or is it Ireland doh just remembered  its the UK.. I wish all the members would remember that there are and hopefully will always be a united kindom !!! NOT JUST ENGLAND. PS merry christmas

This message was last edited by amcgrory on 07/12/2009.

Heck! Rates?  That figure isn't far short of my ALL INCLUSIVE RENT here in Spain: This for a charming two-bed apartment; private driveways, a gated community; and lovely gardens. You REALLY own Buck 'ouse?