Legion

Hi,

Ive been offered a job in Alcobendas paying 24,000Euros. I saw a lot of posts saying that people will struggle on that kind of money, although some were families moving out to Madrid.
Has the recession had much effect on the rental/property market?

Thanks.

iant

As always, it depends on the lifestyle you want to follow. For example, if you are not looking for a large flat in a posh area, your rent could be in the region of 500 to 700 euros pm for a one, possibly two bedroom place in Alcobendas. (Put "alquileres en alcobendas" into Google for plenty of info.) On 24000 euros pa you would be earning a lot more than many of your neighbours in Alcobendas, and should be able to survive reasonably well as a single person.
Hope this helps.
iant

steviedeluxe

I think the thread you were replying to was this one:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=624799

You state you're single. If you're happy with flatsharing (say 350 a month - 450 to include la luz and bills) then you should have a fairly good time on 24k - more so imo than £30k would get you in London. A monthly travel pass is in the region of 50 Euros, so you wouldn't necessarily need to live in Alcobendas, which is connected via train, metro and bus lines to Madrid. Of course like all big cities, there will always be temptations to spend. If you insist on eating a menu every day for lunch, run an expensive car, take the AVE to the coast each weekend, eat out every night, then obviously finances will be a lot tighter. A friend of mine lives in Madrid on an average declared salary of around 18k (although giving private classes probably enhance this figure by 2k or so) and manages a decent life, often has 2 or 3 holidays a year outside of Spain. He even affords to drink regularly in the Irish pubs!

digdug

dude, 24k is not going to be a problem, even in madrid! go for it
DD

jojojojojojojojojojojojo

Altho its only a rough guide, my advise would be to ask yourself if you could live on that money in say... London?? Or any high profile city in the UK that you know

Jo xxx

steviedeluxe

I know we've had this conversation many times before on this board, but Madrid is cheaper than London (even at parity 1 Euro = 1 pound). A single journey on the Tube is now £4, in Madrid a metro ticket is still 1 Euro. The difference isn't so marked with season tickets, but an equivalent monthly Abono for zones A-B1 is £53.70 in Madrid - I suspect you're looking at close to £100 in London. Rentals are cheaper, unless you head far out of central London. A glass of wine with a free tapa can be had at 1 Euro 30 - 1.60 in Madrid. Taxis you can hire on the street, although not cheap, are nowhere near as expensive as London. Council tax far cheaper in Madrid than London. Of course if you insist on drinking a pint of Guinness in an Irish pub or paying for newspapers then prices can be more expensive. It'll be interesting to see if house prices hold up in Madrid - you'd be surprised at how high they went. I'm struggling to think of any essentials that would be more expensive in Madrid than London. Possibly internet connections (if that's an essential). Power bills are approaching parity I believe (and you will definitely need the heating on in winter).

If you're comparing with other UK cities, that's a different matter. Somewhere like Nottingham or Sheffield probably would be cheaper.

jojojojojojojojojojojojo

As a rough guide thats all, but it gives you a comparison and if it turns out significantly cheaper then great!! I would however question the price of drinks in Madrid. In anything other than the small local bars in the town where I live (Alhaurin de la Torre) where a diet coke can be as little as 1€ altho usually 1.40€, we can pay anything up to 2.50€! I'm not talking tourist areas either!

Jo xxx

steviedeluxe

The price of drinks can vary enormously I agree. You can still find local bars where a glass of wine is just 1 Euro and a tercio of beer 1.50 or 1.70 with quite a decent free tapa of food. Coke is normally a rip-off wherever you go - a lot of sugary water can go for 3 Euros in a trendy bar - same here in the UK where you can pay £2. And if you choose to drink in Irish pubs, the prices are even higher in terms of alcoholic drinks - but we're veering away from essential costs. I'm sure you can pay 500 for a pair of shoes in either city, but that's your choice, and not really related to normal daily costs. My point is that it's the essential stuff (public transport, accommodation, council tax) that is far higher in London than elsewhere (including Madrid). Even the likes of Wetherspoons have special (ie higher) price lists for London.

Rotor

If I was single and young 24k euro would last me exactly 1 year and I`d have a great time

agoreira

It would need to be, how many work in London for just over £21K, most wouldn't get out of bed for that.

Jaques2go

........i would - its what you want out of life, l0 yrs ago i was working all hours godsend earning 100k a yr, had enough, decided to take early retirement and earn a fraction of that, on which i keep two of us and help out my young married kids - im a damn sight happier - as i said depends wot you want outa life.............being young and single should be no problem on 21k in madrid or london