perfect compromise

Do you have a query on how to get things done in Andalucia, where to find things, who to call? Find out by posting and hear about others experiences.
julian
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cost

Postby julian » Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:32 pm

Katy, I´m not surprised you can´t believe 800 pounds is enough to live on here if your first thought is the cost of Moet & C !!

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Chalky
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Postby Chalky » Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:53 pm

katy wrote:I can't believe that people actually live on a budget.
"Location: Marbella" - says it all.

melandsharon

Postby melandsharon » Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:31 pm

In the real world people have to live on one, and there are only the two of us.
In fact how do you think pensioners live in the UK on a lot less than 800 pounds per month.

Alan-LaCala
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Postby Alan-LaCala » Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:35 pm

prey tell alan, what do you spend 1200€ a month on?? do you own or rent?
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?

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!

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kevin77
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Postby kevin77 » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:28 am

Alternative Cost of Living Items 8)
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.
I am sure that you can live the dream on £800/ month, there are many trying to do it on a lot less. :lol:
Have a great time anyway it will be an adventure.

Bongtrees
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Postby Bongtrees » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:31 am

katy wrote:About drinks prices, Moet y chandon varies from 28 to 32 euros here, in Sainsburys its only 15 pounds, soon be transporting drinks the opposite way!
Is it because its French ? (':)')

swerve
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Postby swerve » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:25 am

Maybe the cleaner costs more than 800 quid a month? i dont know I'm just a commoner.Please excuse me maam.
It always seems imposible until its done. Nelson Mandela

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spanish_lad
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Postby spanish_lad » Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:52 am

Alan-LaCala wrote:Have I got it wrong, or do you live with your parents. If so, who pays the bills?
yes i do and i pay 1/3.

i would garentee that our bills dont add up to more than 500€ a month.

and i have a legal and insured spanish car that i run.

Campo Kenny

Postby Campo Kenny » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:49 am

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 :shock: :wink:

Kenny

samizdat
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Postby samizdat » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:15 am

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!!




:lol:

Campo Kenny

Postby Campo Kenny » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:31 am

Cupboards :? What a common place to keep ones Champagne......ours is kept in the lower Bodega :shock:

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

samizdat
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Postby samizdat » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:46 pm

Cupboards Confused What a common place to keep ones Champagne......ours is kept in the lower Bodega Shocked

one would love to keep ones booze and jamon in the lower bodega as well, however due to the previously mentioned quality plumbing in spain, its normally full of hot water or gas oil leaks :cry:

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peteroldracer
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Postby peteroldracer » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:14 pm

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.....
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

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Babby
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Postby Babby » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:49 pm

1200 euros a month is what the average family in Andalucia have to live on - with mortgage, kids, etc.
I used to be indecisive but now I´m not so sure.

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spanish_lad
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Postby spanish_lad » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:46 pm

seems strange to me that a spanish FAMILY can manage it, where an english SINGLE person cant...

:roll: :roll: :roll: :?

:(

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toddcl
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Postby toddcl » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:46 pm

I would have thought that as you both already live separate lives, separate bedrooms and separate social lives. Then the perfect compromise would be a DIVORCE.

Then as friends you can visit each other for holidays.

:lol: :lol: :lol: 8)
Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated into the collective

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spanish_lad
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Postby spanish_lad » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:05 pm

i'm not sure that there will be enough in the budget for a divorce as well todd, what do you reckon ?

still gotta buy all the G+T's for when ur on the terrace ;)

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Postby Grouser » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:43 pm

redsoxbrit wrote:......out of sight, out of mind :roll:
I take it you're a glass half empty kind of person then.
Grouser

anyroads
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Postby anyroads » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:32 am

"One crate was marked Pomagne and the other Asti Spumante"

AH !, how the other half live.


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Nicks
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Postby Nicks » Sat Jan 06, 2007 7:35 pm

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?


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