Lynn R

Why not change your doctor if you are not happy with your present one?

My doctor doesn't examine me when she renews my prescription either, and nor did her predecessor before he retired, but that's because it was the cardiologist who prescribed the medications and he is the one who monitors my condition and orders annual blood tests. I am always given a printout of the blood test results as well as a copy of his report on the consultation (as was my husband when he had blood and urine tests ordered by our GP recently) although we can also access them ourselves, with our digital certificates, on the Andalucian health service website. They are not hard to read, each category tested has the normal range printed alongside the result and any which are higher or lower than the normal range are highlighted in bold type.

Lynn R

That's a very generous system - if pensions weren't taxed here I wouldn't mind if my energy bills were quadrupled!

Finknottle

Again, if you don't mind, what is your common cost (mgmt fee) for your apartment?
Ours is €80 pcm, that includes water, rubbish collection, property taxes & building insurance (not contents), building, communal area and garden maintenance, concierge.
I think that's pretty good.

Lynn R

When we bought the apartment almost 7 years ago it was €40 per month, after the community of owners voted on an increase it went up to €45 two years ago. We don't have a concierge and that doesn't include water, rubbish collection or property tax though (those are payable by individual owners of properties). We also pay a "tasa de caruajes" which is 10% of the annual IBI bill, that's effectively for driving into and out of the driveway down to the basement parking area and having a no parking restriction at the entrance (even though we don't actually use it as we don't have a car, we rent our parking space to a neighbour as they have 2 cars and only 1 space). The €45 per month covers maintenance of 2 lifts, cleaning and lighting of the communal areas (cleaners come twice a week), maintenance of the communal garden and water supply for it (when they are allowed to water it which they aren't at the moment), external lighting, buildings insurance, the community administrator's fees and all but major repairs (eg all the communal internal areas were repainted and that was included in the normal community fees, but when our electronic door entry system was renewed in 2022 we had to pay an extra charge for that - it was voted on at the community AGM).

Finknottle

Again that sounds pretty good, although the "all but major repairs" sounds a bit iffy!

Lynn R

I think that's quite common in Spain, they call such payments derramas and they always require a vote of the community of owners.

¿Derrama en la comunidad? Así es cómo debe pagarla (larazon.es)

1sexsmith

I am just pointing out that the public health system is not seen as very good in Spain when it comes to public opinion. Just like how people feel in UK about NHS. I think foreigners have their personal experiences to provide their general view of the system in much the same way that foreigners in UK view the NHS as excellent. But if you follow the news and politics of Spain you can see the same level of criticism levelled at their system. I think public healthcare is seen as the 3rd biggest preoccupation of Spanish voters. Below is an article I saw last week.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...IU0tDtxFSrX8Fy

Finknottle

A vote makes sense - but I guess that approves (or not) additional expenditure by the members?

growinspain

That is good for 2 lifts...
We pay nothing per month but have no lift - ground floor - and weekly the residents clean the public areas. There is a little card that hangs on your door to tell you it is your week to clean the front door glass and common area....

Lynn R

When we'd sold our old house and started looking for an apartment, the first one we viewed had a system like that, the estate agent told us that the residents did the cleaning of the common areas themselves on a rota system to keep the costs down. The building had a lift and the community fees were higher than we pay here, I think that was because it was a very small block, only 7 flats in total, to share the costs. As we'd moved because I was going to have to have heart surgery I didn't fancy getting the mop and bucket out and cleaning the corridors and staircase, to be honest.

This community has 2 blocks with 20 flats in each, so more people for the costs to be divided between.

Finknottle

As regards repairs I forgot to mention that our combined charges include a sum of approximately €1000 pcm for the repairs and renovation fund.

Notdunroamin

Not necessarily and ironically those people can end up paying MORE tax in Spain not less and that's because it's the gross amount of a crown pension which is used to calculate liability after which tax paid in UK is taken off.

With the tax regime in Spain being less generous than in UK that can mean a higher tax bill.

Lynn R

When completing my tax return online, I have tried entering the amount of both occupational pensions in the Renta Exenta box (where they would go if they were both Crown Pensions) instead of in the Rendimiento del Trabajo one, rather than adding the larger one which is not a Crown Pension to my state pension, and it definitely would result in a much lower Spanish tax bill.

Barriej

But is cheap the determining factor for ANYONE to move from one country to the next??

it certainly wasn't one of the tick boxes on my list.

And what is the definition of cheap anyway?
Second hand cars here are at least 60% dearer than the Uk, my insurance is around 20% higher as well (and we lived in a bad area).
I pay twice the income tax here than I would if we were still in the Uk.

My daughter lives in Australia which according to the above survey is near the bottom of the list, yet I would say its only expensive if you dont work.
We would struggle with the income we have now, but if we had moved over and I had been employed by the Australian agent who was attached to the company I worked for in the Uk I would have be in the top 30% of earners in the country.
Food is comparable in price to the Uk but the quality is 200% better or more.

The Uk wages within the same company were on average 20% higher than every other EU country, including the Italians who were my bosses.

There are four or five countries on that list I would not move to even if I was paid to go there.

As to the inefficiency of the Uk NHS, well thats just like here and France a lottery..
My FIL went to the hospital in La Vila last week with breathing problems, we sat in the waiting area for 5 hours and both times my wife went to ask if they could let her know how her father was, they told her to go away and we will get you later. After six hours (the A&E was empty) she found a nurse who said you go home, we keep him..
Two hours later (at 2am) they let him go, didn't contact us and expected an 85yr old to get a taxi, luckily there was a couple who were driving near his house and they dropped him off. He had no wallet or phone.
Other side of the coin, last year a friend who spends 90/180 here was taken to the same hospital as he had breathing problems, he showed his GHIC they looked at him, gave him some tablets and sent him home.
When he got back to the Uk he went to Halifax General they checked him over, did Xrays they found blood clots on his lungs he was in a bed that morning, two weeks in Hospital and he was allowed home.he was checked on daily by his GP with phone calls and he has only just been given the all clear...

I also cant see how the US can be a cheaper place to live than the UK, NZ or Oz the healthcare system there costs as much as a house would anywhere else.

These lists all assume you will coming from a richer country with more money to spend than the general populace with lower earnings.
Which is why i never usually look at such things anyway,
But thats just my 10c (adjusted from 2c because of inflation).....

rspltd

One of the problems in this posting is that the ‘researchers’ ( more like Google searchers) have little first hand knowledge of the things they report about. In a similar way a lot of people who comment on some things such as health care, taxes, etc use media reports to inform themselves. Just as a personal example, over the Christmas period here in the U.K. I managed to pick-up the coughing bug that seemed to be prevalent across the U.K. and some countries of Europe ( memo to self - avoid students and little people). As the New Year dawned, it became obvious I had picked up a secondary infection. On New Year’s day I contacted 111, was given an appointment at a walk-in in centre two hour later. Attended same centre, was triaged, and checked by a doctor, prescribed antibiotics, dispensed tablets and discharged within 90 minutes. Was contacted by my local health centre two days later as to progress. A personal experience certainly, and maybe one which wouldn’t’ reflect others experiences, but it did for me.