Cost of Living
#46
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Re: Cost of Living
LOL I think they must shop in the middle of London or something, so many of the prices are way out of line, way too high compared to the reality of popping into Tesco et al.
A lot depends on what you cook, if your brand dependant, home made vs read made, where you shop etc. You expect items like toms/peppers/melons/strawberries et al to be cheaper in Spain because they are grown there but you should also expect to pay top dollar for a tin of beans, pack of bacon, lump of cheddar or box of tea bags (UK sourced).
I love cooking, its a major pastime/hobby for me and are extremely fortunate in not having to worry about price hikes but be under no doubt that the massive leap in fuel/gas/electricity and food is having a major impact on low income families and the popular belief that brits living on benefits live the life of Riley is now well and truly shown to be a myth/Daily Mail fantasy.
On a more positive note, we have the young (9 and 14) grandchildren for much of the summer holidays while their parents work and this year we are doing four weeks in Spain and two on Crete, happy days
A lot depends on what you cook, if your brand dependant, home made vs read made, where you shop etc. You expect items like toms/peppers/melons/strawberries et al to be cheaper in Spain because they are grown there but you should also expect to pay top dollar for a tin of beans, pack of bacon, lump of cheddar or box of tea bags (UK sourced).
I love cooking, its a major pastime/hobby for me and are extremely fortunate in not having to worry about price hikes but be under no doubt that the massive leap in fuel/gas/electricity and food is having a major impact on low income families and the popular belief that brits living on benefits live the life of Riley is now well and truly shown to be a myth/Daily Mail fantasy.
On a more positive note, we have the young (9 and 14) grandchildren for much of the summer holidays while their parents work and this year we are doing four weeks in Spain and two on Crete, happy days
Last edited by bobd22; Apr 28th 2022 at 11:12 am.
#47
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Re: Cost of Living
#48
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Re: Cost of Living
Yes I have found over the last 12 months Internet costs available in Spain have become much more competitive. I suppose it also depends on the survey audience do they switch to the more competitive service or stick with their old service, which is what they quote as cost when asked. Most of the online comparisons I have seen certainly for general shopping show Spain as cheaper. Reality is though it depends really on our personal shopping habits.
#49
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Re: Cost of Living
I agree with you Barriej regarding comparing the prices when you live here full time. My way of dealing with prices is to decide whether an item is worth the price to me. So if something goes up an enormous amount I think about an alternative or whether the increase does not really matter in the scheme of things because I am not willing to live without it. I have been sat here trying to think about my food shopping to evaluate the extent that it contains UK products and the only thing that I can think of is my tea bags that I buy from Mercadona.
Rosemary
Rosemary
#50
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Re: Cost of Living
That's the way we tend to look at it Rosemary. Totally agree re tea one thing that I insist on is English tea bags PG Tips or Tetley, I'm afraid Spanish tea is simply too weak from my experience. It's OK for making lemon tea but not for a proper cuppa. My wife is happy with Spanish tea bags as she literally just likes the water coloured but myself I like my tea really strong and well brewed. At a Spanish class one time which was made up of myself, Germans Eastern Europeans Chinese and of course Spanish teacher, they asked if I put milk in tea I said of course but not too much. They all pulled a face of disgust at the thought of milk in tea.
#51
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Re: Cost of Living
That's the way we tend to look at it Rosemary. Totally agree re tea one thing that I insist on is English tea bags PG Tips or Tetley, I'm afraid Spanish tea is simply too weak from my experience. It's OK for making lemon tea but not for a proper cuppa. My wife is happy with Spanish tea bags as she literally just likes the water coloured but myself I like my tea really strong and well brewed. At a Spanish class one time which was made up of myself, Germans Eastern Europeans Chinese and of course Spanish teacher, they asked if I put milk in tea I said of course but not too much. They all pulled a face of disgust at the thought of milk in tea.
#53
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Re: Cost of Living
Luckily we have a subsidy of the british pound shop here in the Valencia region - Dealz with offers P&G tips and Yorkshire tea bags (500 pack @ €5) and tetley at €1,50.
Plus, every Consum, Carrefour or mercadonna have P&G tips normal sized box for €1,75...
English tea bags are not hard to find. No need to order online..
Plus, every Consum, Carrefour or mercadonna have P&G tips normal sized box for €1,75...
English tea bags are not hard to find. No need to order online..
#55
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Re: Cost of Living
A few months ago we ordered a huge bag of Yorkshire Tea bags from Russells in Torrox Costa, they were €35 for 1,040 which was expensive but cheaper than buying the same amount in small boxes. That's more than a year's supply for us as we don't often have more than 1 cup per day each, but should be one small hedge against inflation at least!
#56
Re: Cost of Living
Could not agree more, in the late '80s I was based in Madrid every year the UK HQ would send me a Cost of Living survey to complete - cost of hundreds of items. Always used to inflate the answers a bit as I reckoned my local salary was calculated using such data .
#57
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Re: Cost of Living
Those Germans were not from Ostfriesland then. They often drink black tea with cream and Kluntje and in general milk is accepted there too:-). You do find a lot of people in other parts of Germany who have never tried black tea and for them tea is often just herbal & fruit, so maybe that's why they pulled a face of disgust.
#58
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Joined: Jul 2012
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Re: Cost of Living
I commented once and there was cream with the tea next time.
Never bothered to ask again just got on with black tea. Same thing in Holland and Belgium...
When in Rome do as the Romans do.... sort of thing
And talking of Italy.
My last employer was an Italian firm, always asked me if I wanted milk with my tea when we visited to demo or PDI machines before shipping.
I only drank coffee there as it was so good, even out of a vending machine...
As to Uk tea bags, Dealz had a good offer last week on PG tips, Iceland (ok overseas shop) in Benidorm usually has the odd offer or two.
We find Mendoza's to be pretty good as well.
We don't get regular visitors so I don't ask them to bring stuff to be honest.
#59
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Re: Cost of Living
Regular English-brand tea bags are widely available at a price not very different from what you pay in UK, such as a bag of 80 tea bags for 2.50 euro. It's the price of decaffeinated tea that is expensive, often 4.50 euro, when in UK the two versions are sold at similar prices. And decaf is often out of stock.
#60
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Joined: Jun 2020
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Posts: 502
Re: Cost of Living
On the subject of tea bags, has anyone found Barry's tea bags in Spain? I have a regular supply from an Irish friend but I would like to get my own as he never lets me pay him.
If you've never tried them, give it a go. It's so strong you could probably make 3 cups with one bag.
If you've never tried them, give it a go. It's so strong you could probably make 3 cups with one bag.