: Cost of Living and Lifestyle in Spain ( Mallorca ) 2007 onwards

[Big Pete]

Hi all

As there always seems to be some uncertainty as to what it costs to live and survive in Spain i shall keep a ongoing up to date report of my New adventure there .

My story so far i still live in England as i am waitting the Sale of my property prior to fully taking early retirement to the Mallorca island in Spain.

Mallorca you must also bear in mind is generally more expensive than the Mainland beeing less Industrialised etc etc.. However this should give members a safety factor to work there own costs from , as its pretty sure to be cheaper on the mainland ..

I will add to the Thread as and when i have any storys to tell or whenever i purchase items or have any relevant info to share ..

Firstly ;

Legal costs to purchase my Villa equated to some 9 % of final sale price.

Council Taxes are 495 Euros yearly ( £ 344 British ) @1.43 exch
3 Bedroomed detached Villa with Pool and large Garden.

Local urbanisation Charge yearly 195 Euros ( £ 135 British ) @ 1.42 exch
This pays for the upkeep of the streets and street lights etc etc .

Daewoo 29" Flat Screen TV 280 Euros ( £ 194 British ) @ 1.42 exch

Insurance Property and Contents 280 Euros ( £ 194 British ) @ 1.42 exch

Household Rubbish collected every day !!! Free of Charge as many bags as you have .. Recycling is at your discretion with Bins available all over !!!

Food did a typical normal shop including Breads Milks and cat foods etc and a host of items a full Shopping trolley full .. = 80 Euros ( £ 56 British ) @ 1.42 exch ( in Uk this would of been around £ 90+ ...)

Cigarettes 20 Benson hedges 3.10 Euros ( £ 2.15p British ) @ 1.42 exch

NO TV license needed .

Petrol cost to fill a Renault small Hire car ,Full Tank from empty to full !! 41 Euros ( £ 28 British ) drove hundreds of miles ,but didnt take the price per litre , will do next visit ..

Iron steam type with lead etc , 12 Euros ( £ 8.30p British ) @1.42 exch

Microwave top of the range , Roasts, grill ,rotate etc , 82 Euros ( £ 57 British ) @ 1.42 exch

Kettle simple inbuilt filter one , 26 Euros ( £ 18 British ) @ 1.42 exch

3 course meal at smart Restaurant overlooking marina ,includes 4 drinks ( 2 small beers 2 x Tia maria and cokes ) starters followed by main and then deserts . 41 Euros ( £ 28.50 British ) @ 1.42 exch ( And you could smoke to your hearts content )

Coka Cola genuine !! in Lidl Supermarket pack of 12 tins .. 6 Euros ( £ 4.17p British ) @ 1.42 exch

Set of 4 Brushed alluminium flash outside lights ground mounted . 14 Euros each ( £ 9.74p British ) @ 1.42 exch
Bulbs for above energy saving 75watt Phillips 6 Euros each ( £ 4.17p British ) @ 1.42 exch

Will add as and when i have anything to add . hope it helps anyone wondering as to living expenses ..

[JulieP]

Hiya BP,

That's a brilliant idea, we've been doing a similar thing on a forum I use here in France. It really gives people a good idea of what expenses they need to take into account.

I'm kinda putting together a 'hit-list' of my own of things to sort in prep of coming to live in Spain and to include an annual living expense will be very useful. It seems like you have to trawl through loads of different sites to get the information so perhaps between us all here we can put it all in one place.

We plan on doing a lot more research this time around although it doesn't matter how much work you put into this there's always going to be something that comes up that you didn't think about or realise you needed to do. We're planning on driving down the end of Nov to do a reccy on the area were thinking of living in so hopefully we'll come accross loads of other stuff then.

Anyway, don't know if you're interested but just as a comparison I've budgeted our current annual living costs here as approximately 25,000 euros, we have a 4 bed property with 2 gites and swimming pool on land of approx 1 acre. We're looking to downgrade to a 2 bed property so hopefully will be able to substancially reduce these costs, especially as yourself and others have pointed out that cost of living is much cheaper in Spain.

I'll definately be watching this thread for your future postings.

Cheers!
Jules

[Big Pete]

Originally Posted by julie.plowman@gmail.com

Hiya BP,

That's a brilliant idea, we've been doing a similar thing on a forum I use here in France. It really gives people a good idea of what expenses they need to take into account.

I'm kinda putting together a 'hit-list' of my own of things to sort in prep of coming to live in Spain and to include an annual living expense will be very useful. It seems like you have to trawl through loads of different sites to get the information so perhaps between us all here we can put it all in one place.

We plan on doing a lot more research this time around although it doesn't matter how much work you put into this there's always going to be something that comes up that you didn't think about or realise you needed to do. We're planning on driving down the end of Nov to do a reccy on the area were thinking of living in so hopefully we'll come accross loads of other stuff then.

Anyway, don't know if you're interested but just as a comparison I've budgeted our current annual living costs here as approximately 25,000 euros, we have a 4 bed property with 2 gites and swimming pool on land of approx 1 acre. We're looking to downgrade to a 2 bed property so hopefully will be able to substancially reduce these costs, especially as yourself and others have pointed out that cost of living is much cheaper in Spain.

I'll definately be watching this thread for your future postings.

Cheers!
Jules

Thanks for that , you should save a lot with that budget , but as i keep popping over i will report back with anything useful ..But like i say its cheaper on the Mainland so this will be the worst scenario being posted ..

[barbara preston]

Hi Julie, where are you thinking of relocating to in Spain?

[JulieP]

Hi Barbara,

Nice to hear from you, we're looking around Almeria area to start but hope to make a few trips over the next 12/18 months checking out different area's.

I notice from your other thread you've been in the Murica region for over 7 years but are looking to move on too. Funny how we always think the grass is greener on the other side isn't it... we bumped into a man last week whilst shopping who has recently moved from Southern Spain back to our neck of the woods here in France - apparantly it was too hot for them down there. Hope he's prepared for the big temperature difference, it can get down to -16ºc here in winter and even August can be quite changable! I know what you mean about wanting to get back to proper seasons but -16ºc is just too damn cold for me. I think I'm ready for some winter sun. I'm not very green fingered so not having a garden doesn't bother me either. I just feel really isolated here, we're about 3km outside a village with just one farmer neighbour at the end of the drive. Although we've made a few good friends (mainly ex-pats) winter's here are so lonely. My French isn't too bad although I find it realy frustrating not being able to have a proper chin wag with my French neighbour. I'm now trying to pick up a bit of Spanish. We'd like to live nearer to a village with a mixture of both Spanish and ex-pats and hopefully somewhere with a bit of life.
After being there for 7 years your Spanish must be pretty good now, is it difficult to learn?
Jules

[barbara preston]

Hello Jules, Nice to make contact. We have more or less ruled out moving to France for a number of reasons, mainly because of the need to learn another language and go through all the rigmarole of becoming resident, signing on with health service etc. etc. We are still intending to look at northern spain but are a bit held up at the moment as Pete is awaiting a hospital appointment (nothing too serious), so we can't really go anywhere at the moment. Our house is on the market but we have had only one viewing in about 8 weeks and we are aware that we will have to wait many months before anything positive happens. I don't know if you have ever been to Almeria, neither do I know what you are looking for in Spain but we have visited that province and found it very desert-like. I believe it is the driest area in Spain and the landscape is rather bleak. (There will probably be loads of people who will post messages to the contrary). However we found it arid and very hot although the property down there is definitely cheaper. Incidentally, did you know that they filmed several western films down there? From that you can get an idea of what the landscape is like! You say that you find France lonely, how strange, because, despite having loads of friends here I too am often lonely. I think it must be because, in my heart of hearts, I still long to go back to the UK, an impossible dream because my OH definitely won't consider it and if I am practical and sensible, it would be a bad move with all the rotten things we read and hear about the country over the past few years. We live in Murcia, inland from Mazarron. In the winter and spring the countryside is pretty with almond groves and lots of wild flowers, but from about the end of May onwards it gradually becomes hotter and hotter and I am finding that I can no longer tolerate the heat as well as I used to when we first came here, hence looking for a more moderate climate. With regard to speaking Spanish, I went to night classes for 6 months before coming out here and found that very helpful. By the time we moved here I could cope with simple things like ordering food, shopping, asking directions, talking about my family, work etc. Since then I went twice a week to a local spanish class,free of charge and run by the local council. After about 5 years I found that I wasn't absorbing anything as naturally, it gets harder the more advanced you become, so I gave up about a year ago. It is difficult to learn a new language if you are getting on a bit like me, (63) but I do have a fairly good grasp of the basics and find I can get along reasonably well, although I can understand much more that I can actually speak. I have a number of stock phrases and verbs which I try to adapt to the situation and have so far managed with that. The verb tenses are very difficult (14 in all) but I don't really think you need all those as the Spanish can understand you even if you only use the present tense. An added difficulty is that there are so many regional accents, for instance, in Murcia the locals drop the s sound
from the end of words eg. they say La Pala as the name of a nearby village called Las Palas and awa for agua (water). Anyway, better not go on any more, if I can help in any way please contact me again. Best wishes, Barbara

[Big Pete]

Got update on costs on the fuel , its 98cents a litre = English 68p a litre.
@ 1.44 exch rate



What a Country

[Hurricane]

Income tax at 24% on my earnings equivalent in Spain, 18% is what I pay in the UK

[Big Pete]

Originally Posted by Hurricane

Income tax at 24% on my earnings equivalent in Spain, 18% is what I pay in the UK

And ? LOL

Cost of living is 30 % cheaper so overall your 6 % better of arent you !!
Well maybe you arent as you live on a shoestring

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by Big Pete

And ? LOL

Cost of living is 30 % cheaper so overall your 6 % better of arent you !!
Well maybe you arent as you live on a shoestring

Live on a shoestring................interesting summary of the financial situation of someone you don't even know.

Oh but then, from your postings, you know EVERYTHING.


Oh and things aren't 30% cheaper in Mallorca, mainland Spain in some areas away from British enclaves yeah, but not in Mallorca.