Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

I know electricity is more expensive here, but looking back in 2006 we were paying £60 a month in the UK on one of those direct debit things in a similar sized house but without a pool. Here, now, I averaged out that our monthly payments are now €90 a month, so it doesnt seem to be that huge a difference.

Electricity is more expensive maybe, but you have to have the heating etc on so much longer in the UK that it pushes your usage up maybe

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

surely that would mean yuo are on the positive side
electricity in the UK has gone up astronomically since 2006
I know it only seems like yesterday but it is 6 inflationary years ago
:eek:

and don't forget the £ : € exchange rates

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Now that has to be one of the daftest thing I've read in a long time. If you can't live like a king, just you, no family, on that in Aus then you're doing something very strange and possibly illegal with most of it.

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

u tthink 715 bucks aweek is alot

£2070 is what $3100 a month so $715 aweek rent is $350, travel/phone and food is at least $180 so $185 aweek for beer at $8 to $10 a pint thats not living well thats surviving for me 2 nites out what do i do the oter five nites

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Learn to brew your own?!? :)

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Considering what we as a family of four are living on, yes I do think it's a good amount for one guy.

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

ok fair enough i get that if you have a nice family it easily outwieghs being single and a little flusher

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Yes we are paying more for electricity as we use more for the A/C, but on the plus side we are not spending much at all on gas which was our main expense in the UK.
Here on bottled gas in the winter we buy a refill once a fortnight, but in the summer it lasts much longer...the last one lasted us for five weeks.

Taking into account how much we would be paying for council tax in the UK and how little we pay here for a rural property we come out very much on the right side here! :D

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

"Price of bread 10 years back US$0.99 and $1.81 in London & Sydney respectively
Price of bread now $2.26 and $3.48 in London & Sydney

Price for 1Kg rice 10 years back US$1.60 and $0.78 in London & Sydney
Price for 1Kg rice now $4.81 and $2.97 in London & Sydney

Price for 1 lire unleaded 10 years back US$1.10 and $0.47 in London & Sydney
Price for 1 litre unleaded now $2.15 and $1.50 in London & Sydney"

One thing to remember is not everyone lives in London.

Loaf of good bread £1.25 €1.50 $A1.90
Kilo of rice in Tesco £0.40 €0.50 $A0.61
3kg pasta twists, Tesco £3.95 €3.72 $A4.50
500gm Spaghetti £0.24 €0.30 $A0.37
Potatoes, Gower grown, 20kg sack £3.50 €4.40 $A5.40
Granulated sugar 5kg £3.99 €5.03 $A6.15
Butter 250gm £1 €1.26 $A1.54

Simple examples but food in the UK is cheaper now than ever, certainly cheaper than Spain overall and the quality is very good contrary to what some here would say

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Bob, are you allowing for the exchange rates in your comparison ?
10 years ago it was €1.50 to £1.00 but now has deteriorated to €1.22 (approx)
I see nothing wrong with the quality of food I am buying - and I am tough on the quality!
the meat bill for 2 is on average €15 per week, when in the UK end of last year would expect that to be at least 50% higher, even when taking into account the special offers at Morrisons and Sainsburys. And I am not factoring in the fuel cost to get there, whilst here I walk to the butchers.

Chicken here is €2.29/kg, perhaps comparable with UK, except they are really fresh, no excessive water pumping them up, no additives so they taste like chicken or to keep for a week. Pork chops are €3.95 or €4.25 or €4.65 dependent on the meat and cut. Eggs from €1.50 for a dozen (someone explain why in a decimal country they sell medium in 12's and large in 10's??)
Also, meat is priced by the weight, there is no hidden extra charge for cutting, mincing, slicing nor for special cuts.

we buy bread for the BH's sandwiches - €0.75 in Spar, whilst others are around €1.20 - €1.50. We also buy baggette loaves (sticks) from local bakery at 2 for €1.00, when did the UK last see them at 50p each ? (ISTR they were 75p a year ago)

Our one concession to UK living is we arrange special shipments via a work colleague for Branston Pickle and Heinz Tomato Ketchup. Everything else is local produce, even the marmalade.
and I can tell you getting the dog to make a choice of favourite food was more difficult. (NO, not Mercadona!)

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

UK is cheaper than Spain for food now and the quality and choice is better. All this myth that food is fresher and natural it's an old wives tale...well an old blokes tale:rofl: Seems the blokes on here know more about prices than the women. You can compare online anyway. Food is cheaper in Holland than Spain too.

Of course Spain has the cheap booze and ciggies!

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Ciggies are not so cheap either. For most brand it is hardly worth the hassle of taking them back to UK now.

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

OK Jacky, perhaps an old blokes tale, but as the BH is off to work in the big city 5 days a week, out of the house for 11 - 12 hours, I do all the shopping, along with the cooking - otherwise we wouldnt get any time together in our "little paradise", but I draw the line at ironing
but........
as my butcher owns the abbatoir how much fresher can it get (other than DIY) ??

as the veggies here come from local fields, again other than DIY, how much fresher can it get ??

I quote prices from the actual till receipts, there aren't the specials the UK supermarkets have to entice people in but we still pay low prices
but I do notice that once again you are just making broad brush statements, not comparing actual prices - isnt the chauffeur back from Harrods yet ??

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

Don't have to mess around comparing prices as I said compare online. My butchers bill was more than 15€ 10 years ago in Spain. Yesterday I shopped in Sainsbury and got a voucher for 10p per litre off petrol too. Also got some wine on offer at 3 for £12 which retails at 7.30€ in Spain. (French) UK shops have local produce too and in this village people leave out boxes of surplus stuff for people to help themselves, soon though it will all be apples.

Our local greengrocer in Spain sold some really nice stuff. Problem was you had to catch it when it arrived as they bought more than they could sell quickly. They carried on selling it until it was carried out of the shop by fruit flies:lol:

Anyway, we have been through this stuff loads of times. If you have to ask about the price of food before living in a country then you probably can't afford to move anywhere! Same as the council tax, apples and pears. In Marbella we paid 1260€ (probably more now) but we had to pay 875€ urbanisation fees too. Here we pay about £2200, not a lot of difference but there is in services if needed!

Re: £478.00 per week, so at what £1.00 to $1.25, thats $597.00 per week
 

I'd love to know how you can check the prices online for our local fruit & veg market! Locally grown in most cases, fresh as it comes, no plastic packaging and dirt cheap. You might get a few weird shaped carrots and peppers but they taste great!

I'm sure they must have these markets on the CDS somewhere, not everyone buys fresh food at supermarkets.