perfect compromise
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- Resident
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I won't personalise this Spanish Lad, but some of the things that have to be taken into consideration are set out below. Have I got it wrong, or do you live with your parents. If so, who pays the bills?prey tell alan, what do you spend 1200€ a month on?? do you own or rent?
Cost of Living Items
Motoring: Vehicle tax; Insurance; Service/Repairs; Petrol/diesel
Insurance: Buildings/contents; Health;
Property/Services: Mortgage/Rental payments; Rates(IBI); Refuse (Basura); Community Charge; Water; Electricity; Gas; Wood; Telephone rental; Telephone calls; Broadband/Internet; Property Repairs; Furniture replacement
Food/Drink/Household Items
Taxes: Wealth tax; Income tax; non-residents imputed income tax; U.K. National Insurance if you want to maintain your U.K. state pension
Sundries: Vet; Dentist; Optician; Newspapers; Fees for Spanish (or other) lessons; stamps; haircuts
Entertainment: Dining out; Cinema; CD’s; Books; DVD's; Video's
Obviously not all items are applicable to everyone.
Some of the sundries may seem to be nit picking, but it is surprising how quickly they mount up. Take newspapers; if you like a daily and Sunday British newspaper, the Daily Mail will cost you €2 and the Mail on Sunday €3. That’s a total of €783 per year. A not insignificant sum. I only buy the Sunday Times each week and that is €5 per issue.
Alan
Alan
Remember that everything that Fred Astaire did, Ginger Rogers did too; except she did it backwards and wearing high heels!
I am sure that you can live the dream on £800/ month, there are many trying to do it on a lot less.Alternative Cost of Living Items
Motoring: Run an old banger like everybody else , do you really need a shiny new car?, it will only get dented.
Insurance: Not required, Free Health cover provided by NHS.
Property/Services: Rent apartment 300/400 € including community charges. Gas bottles, water & electricity on top. Pay as you go mobile phone. Internet cafe. Buy some blankets! And a fan for summer.
Food/Drink/Household Items : This is the big one! LasW, because there is no work you will fall in with the expat crowd and develop a drink problem. But you are in the right place to do this as spirits are cheap! Food will be tapas and English breakfast on the coast.
Taxes: Not an issue as you officialy live in UK.
Sundries: Dont have any pets - you will only have to 'lose' it if you return, sort out your teeth before you go. Newspapers are provided free by bar owners
Entertainment: See under Drinking.
Have a great time anyway it will be an adventure.
- spanish_lad
- Andalucia Guru
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- Location: Alhaurin el Grande since 99, cartama campo since 2022
Just goes to show that there is no definitive answer to this particular question. If it were possible to get 20 ex.pat couples in a bar and ask them the same question I believe 50% would be ecstatic at the thought of £800 pm income and the other 50% would be mortified.
It is only the same as in the UK if you asked the same question.
As people have already said there are too many variables to each persons circumstances to draw a conclusion.
A guy who sells his £500,000 house in UK and takes his £750,000 euros over there to live in the house he bought years ago is laughing with an extra £800 pm coming and need not worry about raiding the pot. where a person with nothing to sell may struggle on that £800 if they are using it for mortgage/rent all of the other bills plus living.
The only comment I could add is that if I had a budget of £800 pm to live on I'm pretty sure it would go further in Spain than here in the UK.
Kenny
PS On my last trip over there I was at a large supermarket on the coast and a weary looking servant was packing 2 crates of bubbly into the boot of a large limo with the reg number KATY 1. One crate was marked Pomagne and the other Asti Spumante
Kenny
It is only the same as in the UK if you asked the same question.
As people have already said there are too many variables to each persons circumstances to draw a conclusion.
A guy who sells his £500,000 house in UK and takes his £750,000 euros over there to live in the house he bought years ago is laughing with an extra £800 pm coming and need not worry about raiding the pot. where a person with nothing to sell may struggle on that £800 if they are using it for mortgage/rent all of the other bills plus living.
The only comment I could add is that if I had a budget of £800 pm to live on I'm pretty sure it would go further in Spain than here in the UK.
Kenny
PS On my last trip over there I was at a large supermarket on the coast and a weary looking servant was packing 2 crates of bubbly into the boot of a large limo with the reg number KATY 1. One crate was marked Pomagne and the other Asti Spumante
Kenny
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- Andalucia.com Amigo
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- Location: not granada anymore;-( near San Pedro
its quite possible to live on 800 a month, we know people who live on 100E a week as their employer pays the accommodation.
However i think it would be called existing rather than living. Doing all your shopping at the cheapest and usually worse quality shops, living on staples such as pasta, rice etc. Having meat as a "luxury"
Neither of these ladies shops for anything thats not in the sales, has to think about buying "luxury" face creams/shampoos etc. The concept of going down the bar to waste 10E in conversation with the local bar flys doesn't exist either. But they still manage to send money to their children.It depends on what you want.
Why do you denounce people who want a good standard of living, I'm with Katy I don't want to spend all my time cleaning my house - its MUCH more work here with the terracotta floors. I would rather try and integrate in the local community and have a local girl do it. The upside is they will watch the house when I'm out of the country, and take in deliveries.
I'd be surprised if you dont have the odd bottle of champagne in your cupboards as well!!
However i think it would be called existing rather than living. Doing all your shopping at the cheapest and usually worse quality shops, living on staples such as pasta, rice etc. Having meat as a "luxury"
Neither of these ladies shops for anything thats not in the sales, has to think about buying "luxury" face creams/shampoos etc. The concept of going down the bar to waste 10E in conversation with the local bar flys doesn't exist either. But they still manage to send money to their children.It depends on what you want.
Why do you denounce people who want a good standard of living, I'm with Katy I don't want to spend all my time cleaning my house - its MUCH more work here with the terracotta floors. I would rather try and integrate in the local community and have a local girl do it. The upside is they will watch the house when I'm out of the country, and take in deliveries.
I'd be surprised if you dont have the odd bottle of champagne in your cupboards as well!!
Cupboards What a common place to keep ones Champagne......ours is kept in the lower Bodega
Seriously though, all the points made above are valid but it still comes down to what you want.
Some people want to retire early and make their money go further whilst improving quality of life at a relativley early age, they want move to Spain and actually improve on their lifestyle rather than compromising, ie boat on the coast, nice house, nice car and and no financial constraints. That is perfect and not to be knocked.
On the other hand you do have people who are from awful parts of UK with their prospects of a better life impossible without a lottery win.
If their £800 goes further in Spain and they can switch the lights out at night without fear of gosh1tes wanting to break in, then a swap for a frugal (to some peoples standards) yet peaceful and happy lifestyle is also to be respected. Spain is no different to the UK and peoples lifestyles needs and wants vary across the spectrum.
Kenny
Seriously though, all the points made above are valid but it still comes down to what you want.
Some people want to retire early and make their money go further whilst improving quality of life at a relativley early age, they want move to Spain and actually improve on their lifestyle rather than compromising, ie boat on the coast, nice house, nice car and and no financial constraints. That is perfect and not to be knocked.
On the other hand you do have people who are from awful parts of UK with their prospects of a better life impossible without a lottery win.
If their £800 goes further in Spain and they can switch the lights out at night without fear of gosh1tes wanting to break in, then a swap for a frugal (to some peoples standards) yet peaceful and happy lifestyle is also to be respected. Spain is no different to the UK and peoples lifestyles needs and wants vary across the spectrum.
Kenny
- peteroldracer
- Andalucia Guru
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There are two levels of living here, with sub-divisions, by the sound of it! There are the Lady Katys, with a staff of three and a Rolls Royce with a personal plate (UK, of course!), prepared to pay 3 Euros for a cup of coffee, and because they have no jobs to do round the house, have to pay for gym membership, golf club, lunches at 30€ per head and heaven knows what for dinner, a car for shopping............they may bring themselves to speak to a Spaniard once a week, but in reality would never dream of lowering themselves to have a chat with the local refuse wagon drivers, the goat herder...........
Then there are those with different priorities, who read an English paper in the local cafe, or on-line (because after all what is the point in knowing what goes on in a foreign country?), eat well but not exotically (we regularly have king prawns, steaks, pork chops and certainly are a long way from a "celebrity in the jungle" diet!), have bought their home outright, avoiding ghettos with community charges, and pay 25€ a month IBI & water, 700€ a year car insurance + 130€ (?) road tax, 75€ a month electric (don't use gas), if pensioners get free health cover and a Xmas parcel from the mayor. The neighbours? They are all or mostly Spanish, and bring gifts of fruit and veg - just because they are welcoming people, proud of what they grow, and are suitably pleased when in return one gives them something English to try, a card on a birthday, a small gift for Xmas.....
There are of course many variations on the theme, with some scum not paying insurance, road tax, import duty on cars, and fiddling the EHIC rather than pay health insurance, but this underclass exists in the UK, so is going to be here, too!
Maybe there are hints in here of what I believe is the way to live, but I always think of my ex-mother in law, who was born one of five children of a miner in Pontefract, living in a cottage and scrubbing along, but within 20 years had adopted the sticking-out-finger-while-drinking-cocktails pose of what she felt was the upper class, and was deeply offended if offered sliced bread! What a shallow view of life.....
Then there are those with different priorities, who read an English paper in the local cafe, or on-line (because after all what is the point in knowing what goes on in a foreign country?), eat well but not exotically (we regularly have king prawns, steaks, pork chops and certainly are a long way from a "celebrity in the jungle" diet!), have bought their home outright, avoiding ghettos with community charges, and pay 25€ a month IBI & water, 700€ a year car insurance + 130€ (?) road tax, 75€ a month electric (don't use gas), if pensioners get free health cover and a Xmas parcel from the mayor. The neighbours? They are all or mostly Spanish, and bring gifts of fruit and veg - just because they are welcoming people, proud of what they grow, and are suitably pleased when in return one gives them something English to try, a card on a birthday, a small gift for Xmas.....
There are of course many variations on the theme, with some scum not paying insurance, road tax, import duty on cars, and fiddling the EHIC rather than pay health insurance, but this underclass exists in the UK, so is going to be here, too!
Maybe there are hints in here of what I believe is the way to live, but I always think of my ex-mother in law, who was born one of five children of a miner in Pontefract, living in a cottage and scrubbing along, but within 20 years had adopted the sticking-out-finger-while-drinking-cocktails pose of what she felt was the upper class, and was deeply offended if offered sliced bread! What a shallow view of life.....
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.
- spanish_lad
- Andalucia Guru
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- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:13 pm
- Location: Alhaurin el Grande since 99, cartama campo since 2022
- spanish_lad
- Andalucia Guru
- Posts: 6218
- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:13 pm
- Location: Alhaurin el Grande since 99, cartama campo since 2022
I think whether you can live on 800 pm depends entirely on what you end up paying to rent a property. If you get a long let inland, at a very reasonable rate, you will fare better than a property with a sea view close to all amenities in a popular tourist area.
Best thing is to shop around for the type of rental you want : rural or busy, big place or small etc then you can budget for all the other costs everyone has listed on this forum. Plenty of rental property websites to get this information from, so it shouldn't be too tricky to plan well ahead before making your decision. Remember also how long your pension may have to last for and if costs rise over time, will you manage long term?
Best thing is to shop around for the type of rental you want : rural or busy, big place or small etc then you can budget for all the other costs everyone has listed on this forum. Plenty of rental property websites to get this information from, so it shouldn't be too tricky to plan well ahead before making your decision. Remember also how long your pension may have to last for and if costs rise over time, will you manage long term?
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