The Cost Of Living In Spain
#16
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 439
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
Petrol and diesel, cheaper, food.. about the same, or higher if you insist on brit foods all the time, VAT is higher, electricity, phone and internet and gas (rare to have mains gas in Spain), all higher, and your internet speed, unless you are very lucky, is likely to be much slower.
Do you need to work? very poor employment prospects, so you would almost certainly need private health care, if you are a pensioners, then you can gete Spanish NHS free, well almost as you will NOT get free prescriptions, you will have to pay part, you get the same healthcare as Spanish pensioners get.
Do you need to work? very poor employment prospects, so you would almost certainly need private health care, if you are a pensioners, then you can gete Spanish NHS free, well almost as you will NOT get free prescriptions, you will have to pay part, you get the same healthcare as Spanish pensioners get.
restaurants too.
#17
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 990
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
It's very nice for you to pay a low IBI, but how on earth did the powers that be come up with that amount?
#18
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 614
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
That's what I'm referring to-it's a joke;how can that derisory amount be justified.No wonder councils are short of money! There should be a basic amount that every property owner pays as all the services are available to them-fire, police,ambulance, roads, street lighting,street cleaning, libraries, health centres etc.Then their local amenity charges can be added to the basic amount.85 euros cannot possibly be a fair charge.
It's very nice for you to pay a low IBI, but how on earth did the powers that be come up with that amount?
It's very nice for you to pay a low IBI, but how on earth did the powers that be come up with that amount?
In the UK C.T. pays for schools, the police, refuse collection, gold-plated pensions for council employees (not an amount to be underestimated, and rising all the time) and a load of other things. I am led to believe that these facilities are NOT funded by local councils from IBI. The Ayumtamiento does collect an extra amount for basura (and water). However, I would have to pay if I ever needed to use a health centre (and probably for an ambulance, too). As for libraries: never seen one and we don't have street lights or road cleaning. For the services I actually get from the Ayumtamiento, €85 seems a fair price.
Personally I'd resent having to pay for all those other things that other local councils in Spain finance, since I can't access them. Maybe the spanish councils should start doing what british ones did in the 1980s and send out leaflets with the annual demands, saying what the money is spent on.
(or maybe that would be the worst way they could shoot themselves in the foot? )
#19
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 990
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
Surely the IBI DOES go towards the services I mentioned, services which must be available to you? Otherwise what on earth does it go on.Someone has posted they pay 450 -why the huge difference?
#20
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
Isn't it the case that councils get a large proportion of income from building developers' fees? Builders can't just build anywhere, they have to pay the council to categorise the land as an urbanisation... Fine in normal times, but with the property crash obviously there were no new builds, so councils got heavily into debt...
#21
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 977
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
We think it is cheaper here, our IBI or rates for example are less tan a quarter of in UK, our wáter is about 40€ a quarter and this includes running a pool. road tax much cheaper, but this is dtermined at your local Ayuntamiento, here our Discovery is 121€ a year, but have heard more elsewhere and less only 10kms away.
We do not need heating in Winter we get by with a Wood burner, but we are in a micro climate in our valley and rarely go as low as 10º in Winter at night, most of Spain gets very cold, yes as others have said internet is much more expensive, electric is more expensive, we have the butano bottles as d most people for our gas, we find they last quite while and half the UK Price.
Our rubbish collection and yes you pay for this, is 35€ a quarter, but the rubbish is taken every day.
As you see different parts of Spain the cost will change due to wether you need central heating for exampe (we obviously do not)
Spares for cars are dearer here but hourly rate for us at our local garaje is 26€ think Citroën are about 49€.
I think food shopping is slightly less than UK, we do not use UK stores, apart from closest is an hour away, live in Spain use their products. But we have friends that do use them.
Fuel at Al Campo in Motril for diesal is currently 127.4€ but locally 142.7€ we dont use him!
If you have pets veterinary prices are less.
Hope it goes well for you
We do not need heating in Winter we get by with a Wood burner, but we are in a micro climate in our valley and rarely go as low as 10º in Winter at night, most of Spain gets very cold, yes as others have said internet is much more expensive, electric is more expensive, we have the butano bottles as d most people for our gas, we find they last quite while and half the UK Price.
Our rubbish collection and yes you pay for this, is 35€ a quarter, but the rubbish is taken every day.
As you see different parts of Spain the cost will change due to wether you need central heating for exampe (we obviously do not)
Spares for cars are dearer here but hourly rate for us at our local garaje is 26€ think Citroën are about 49€.
I think food shopping is slightly less than UK, we do not use UK stores, apart from closest is an hour away, live in Spain use their products. But we have friends that do use them.
Fuel at Al Campo in Motril for diesal is currently 127.4€ but locally 142.7€ we dont use him!
If you have pets veterinary prices are less.
Hope it goes well for you
#22
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Joined: Feb 2011
Location: Mallorca
Posts: 19,367
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
The way I understand it, IBI has little to do with the value of the property, but more to do with history of ownership and family. We pay far more than the previous owner, I've been told mainly because the previous owner inherited it from a long line of family dating back centuries, which never required reassessment of IBI. They paid nearly nothing.
#23
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Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Velez-Malaga
Posts: 4,873
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
The way I understand it, IBI has little to do with the value of the property, but more to do with history of ownership and family. We pay far more than the previous owner, I've been told mainly because the previous owner inherited it from a long line of family dating back centuries, which never required reassessment of IBI. They paid nearly nothing.
http://www.surveyspain.com/blog/the-...anish-property
My IBI bills (€573 for a 3 bed town house with no land - except I get a €243 discount on that) are now far higher than what the previous owners paid, too - that's because our last catastral revision happened in 2008.
More info here:-
http://www.onthepulse.es/content/ibi...lities-much-10
Last edited by Lynn R; Aug 25th 2013 at 1:01 pm.
#24
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 135
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
Our vet in Spain is much cheaper than our UK vet.From time to time our dog manages to eat things she should not and in the UK she had to have an x ray and examination to check what was inside her and it cost us £120. Exactly the same thing in Spain cost us 40euros! However I do think vets bills in the UK can be a joke!
#25
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Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Velez-Malaga
Posts: 4,873
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
If anyone wants to know EXACTLY how the catastral value of properties is calculated (and can read Spanish), I remembered seeing a link to the official Catastro document setting out the exact methodology a while back, and after much furrowing of brow have been able to find it again:-
http://www.catastro.meh.es/ponencias/metodologia.pdf
I wish all you brave souls who embark on the journey to decipher it the best of luck - it did clear up one reason as to why the IBI bill for my house always seemed to be higher than similar sized ones nearby in that the value increases slightly for each "fachada" onto the street that the property has, and I have three!
http://www.catastro.meh.es/ponencias/metodologia.pdf
I wish all you brave souls who embark on the journey to decipher it the best of luck - it did clear up one reason as to why the IBI bill for my house always seemed to be higher than similar sized ones nearby in that the value increases slightly for each "fachada" onto the street that the property has, and I have three!
#26
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
If anyone wants to know EXACTLY how the catastral value of properties is calculated (and can read Spanish), I remembered seeing a link to the official Catastro document setting out the exact methodology a while back, and after much furrowing of brow have been able to find it again:-
http://www.catastro.meh.es/ponencias/metodologia.pdf
I wish all you brave souls who embark on the journey to decipher it the best of luck - it did clear up one reason as to why the IBI bill for my house always seemed to be higher than similar sized ones nearby in that the value increases slightly for each "fachada" onto the street that the property has, and I have three!
http://www.catastro.meh.es/ponencias/metodologia.pdf
I wish all you brave souls who embark on the journey to decipher it the best of luck - it did clear up one reason as to why the IBI bill for my house always seemed to be higher than similar sized ones nearby in that the value increases slightly for each "fachada" onto the street that the property has, and I have three!
On that last point,...... and I haven't yet looked at your link!! ..... what happens if there's no street for the property to have a fachada onto? !!
#27
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Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Velez-Malaga
Posts: 4,873
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
No alternative but to read the document, I'm afraid (abandon hope all ye who enter here) - I couldn't even begin to try to explain it!
#28
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,368
Re: The Cost Of Living In Spain
Our vet in Spain is much cheaper than our UK vet.From time to time our dog manages to eat things she should not and in the UK she had to have an x ray and examination to check what was inside her and it cost us £120. Exactly the same thing in Spain cost us 40euros! However I do think vets bills in the UK can be a joke!
http://www.abc.es/familia-educacion/...308281133.html