Cape Blue

bfg69bug -if you are having to cough up north of 1000 pcm for rent, pay bills including plenty of overseas phone, pay for school fees, feed & clothe a family, buy & run a car, eat out and see shows AND want to spend time travelling in Spain and Europe then 3100 should be fine, but certainly not a fortune. If one is hunkered down in the campo working locally and not doing a lot else (in terms of expensive dining such as in Madrid) then it would be indeed be plenty of money.

peterbainham

I'm guessing though that you're a single guy with no children, right? Also, do you live in Madrid? If not you might be surprised at how expensive it can be there.
I lived in Madrid with my wife on a combined income of about 4000 euros a month AFTER tax. We lived well but not like kings. Then again, we didn't have a child to support and send to private school (which I think the OP will have to do).

bfg69bug

no, i live on the CDS with my parents. i pay ALL the bills in my house, run TWO cars, AND i still have enough to live on. i own the house we live in. bought from the proceeds of selling the house in the uk. the house in spain has doubled in value in the last 18 months.

i never said i lived in madrid, if they want to go and live in a posh area and eat out in fancy resturants then so be it. if we go out and spend more than 50€ on a meal thats expensive to me.

based on my experience anything more than 1500 a month would be a bonus.

Cape Blue

yes bug, but as you have said in your post above - you own your property outright whereas the OP will be renting in Madrid - so that adds a further 1000 to your 1500 for decent living. If we add in a private school for the sprog we are getting up towards the 3000 pcm that the OP is asking whether it will be sufficient (i.e. a gross of 50,000pa).

Mercedes

The one good thing is you can drive to other parts of Europe and depending on the time of year you can get some cheap flights to other parts from Madrid, even if you wanted to escape just for a weekend. How young is your child? Is s/he school age as this will have some bearing. Again depending on where you live, you can eat out reasonably. Food is quite reasonable eating in and out, again if you pick your places. Like anywhere if you follow the route of the locals money often goes further as they know where to eat, etc. Depending on where you are working and will have to travel, maybe the company you are going to in Madrid may be able also to offer some suggestions on areas. The other thing is that someone at the company may be going overseas and may have a house/appartment they would be happier to rent to you or know of someone who has. Sometimes this can help keep costs down as they may be a little bit cheaper than going through agents etc.

I opened banks and rented without credit references, in fact no references in some instances. Often you will have to give 2 or 3 months of rent up front. It also can be common to only give you 6 months or 11 months rental agreement, but I know some Spanish prefer to rent to "Foreigners" than other Spanish people. Anyway, hope this was some help to you and wish you luck.