Can we afford to live in Spain

Hi all,

Have been receiving EOS newsletter for some time and have now decided to get online.

At 60 I have had enough of the rat race and having paid off my mortgage want to move to Spain.

We (my wife and I) love the Costa del Sol but realise it is probably the dearest area (we intend to rent not buy).

Can anyone give me an idea of what the cost of living in Spain is like now? Really I need an idea

of the cost for services and food for 2 people in a modest 1/2 bed apartment. I have lots of other

questions if anyone would like to converse on a 1 to 1 basis.

We are really eager to move to Spain but I guess the fear of unkown costs is holding us back. I

do not intend to work apart from possibly a part time jub, so the money I have will have to see

us through to the end!

Looking forward to any advice you can offer.

Tight lines

Paul

You should be able to find a lovely 2 bed apartment for around €500 in Mijas Costa, a one bedroom would cost you around €50 less so i belive its worth looking at a 2 bedroom apartment.  Looking at my tenants bills you are looking at paying around €100 a month for electric and water. 

Hope this helps.

Joan

Thanks for your help Joan,

Would you say it is better to rent direct or is there any

advantage in going via an agency? We intend to come out for a

few weeks to look around and one place we intended to visit was

Mijas Costas! Any idea what a monthly supermarket shop would be

or should we expect to pay about the same as we do here?

I realise this is difficult to answer as it all depends on what we want to buy

but any lead on an 'average'shop would be helpful.

Thanks Paul

Hi Paul,

There is no real advantage to go through an agency as far as i am aware apart for that they drive you around.  There is a website called ownersdirect which is quite good, it is normally for holiday lets but some rent long term.

A weekly shop for me on my own is around €50 a week and that is including meat and drinks, it is a little cheaper than the UK. The alcohol is speacially cheaper, you pay around €3.00 for 12 cans of beer and €0.50 for a litre carton of wine in supermarkets like Mercadona.    Plus in Fuengirola there is an Iceland and their prices are great and that way you can get all you miss from home.

Let me know the areas you are looking into as i know quite a few people that rent long term.

I also know a lot of the local agents if you do want to go through an agent, one thing i will tell you is get a lawyer to check over the rental contract for you, this will not cost you much and will give you piece of mind, somple people are not always as correct as they should be.

Many places are now asking for 2 months deposit but if you push a little most will accept 1 specially if there are no agent fees to pay.

Joan

Hi Paul

If you look at the Siesta TV, Susan did one on grocery prices between stores

 Hi legweak, From our experience it is far cheaper to live on the Costa Blance, the weather is as good and everything seems much more reasonable. Hence our reason for buying there late last year. You should have a look if money is going to be an issue!

 Hi Paul

Good to see you on the forums.

Regarding long term lets, there are many listed on the site here.

I think if you're careful with what you buy you could be ok spending 200 Euros per month at the supermarket.

You have to budget for unforseen expenses too so make sure you have a reserve fund.  You will also need to run a car so look at insurance and servicing costs and the annual tax too.

Even though the Costa del Sol is not cheap any more you can still live frugally if you have to.

Best of luck with it.

Justin

It's just about possible to live without a car - this isn't the USA! (Justin is a petrol head so will disagree with this point!!)

Most important - healthcare. You can get up to 2 years cover on the Spanish NHS initially, but after that, you won't be entitled to free healthcare until 65, so you need to check into private cover - which many ex-pats prefer to opt for anyway, due to language problems. Search the forums for threads on this topic - it's been well covered many times.

Edited to add this useful link!

Hi ya

My parents are both retired and living in Spain (Estepona). If you would like any advice or have any questions please let me know.  The only difference with using an agency when renting is usually a commission charge at the start of the lease but at the moment most property owners are paying this charge so it should make no difference to you at all (financially.).

Please let me know if you need any help as I would be happy to ask my parents any questions you may have.

Good Luck

Many thanks for all your messages. A lot of useful advice to mull over.

I have not had time to follow them up but will do soon.

Once again thanks to all.

Paul