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-   -   How long is a piece of string... (https://britishexpats.com/forum/spain-75/how-long-piece-string-867307/)

bobd22 Oct 31st 2015 11:00 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by lyric050203 (Post 11783620)
What, pray tell, is wrong with Manchester ?

It was Lancashire!

bobd22 Oct 31st 2015 11:09 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by aw73 (Post 11783164)
hi all, I realise that this is an open question with no real definitive answer. We are looking to purchase a Static park home down south. We will be early retirees, as previously mentioned, and will have a monthly income of around 1800 euros. Would this be classed as a livable income ?

Al and Lin

Hi it would for me be liveable but I suppose you may get a more accurate answer if you outline the type of lifestyle you would like. I would ignor3 comments re statics your choice and as Fred says Horses for Courses. You say you will buy the static so no rent but as has been said factor in health costs if not state pension age also site fees which I believe vary quite a bit and can certainly higher than what I pay for IBI etc. Have you considered maybe a longish rental in the area you fancy to help assess how you would manage within your lifestyle?

Keith1963 Nov 1st 2015 4:08 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by Dondurma (Post 11783603)
Exactly Amideislas

There are many money saving tips you can use-

Rubber bands soaked in toothpaste make an ideal long lasting and cheap alternative to chewing gum.

As cat food can be expensive, save money by simply not owning a cat- and scratching your furniture yourself using a large nail or Stanley knife

Drop a couple of teabags into your hot water tank- hey presto!, cuppas on tap

Another handy shopping tip is bring your wheeley bin with you to the supermarket- it's then easy and handy to check the exact items you have run out of.

And a good tip for saving time is - when counting to 10 start at 4, or if you are in a real hurry commence your count at 8.

Well I found it funny :thumbsup:

Dondurma Nov 1st 2015 4:33 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 
Thanks Keith- maybe it's cos we were both born in same year

Keith1963 Nov 1st 2015 4:54 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 
Age is humorous in itself ;-)

bfg69bug Nov 1st 2015 8:55 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 
1800 euros a month would be considered a fortune to almost anyone i know. the average wage is 800-1000 a month.

you could live like kings on that money.

amideislas Nov 1st 2015 8:18 pm

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 
Very true.

Yet I know a few who have much more than that and struggle to make ends meet. Of course, it's a lifestyle choice. You can choose to live well on little, or be incessantly unhappy for a lot more... Damn, it's so expensive here... In Britain in the sun... Whilst others look on from a distance, with a smile...

cricketman Nov 1st 2015 8:32 pm

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by bfg69bug (Post 11784187)
1800 euros a month would be considered a fortune to almost anyone i know. the average wage is 800-1000 a month.

Again, I repeat. 800-1000 euros per month is not the average wage in Spain

The average wage is around 2,100 euros per month

If a family earns just 1,000 euros per month then they are very poor indeed, among the bottom 25% of the country

aw73 Nov 1st 2015 9:16 pm

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 
Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies and comments.
I will explain my question . As mentioned, we will be early retirees. I have around 9 years till state pension. Our income , from a fire service pension and an NHS pension gives us around the 1800 euros per month figure. We will be paying around 300 euros per month ground rent. we also have to add in insurances etc. Whilst I like a beer or two of an evening, we are not really into eating out /golf etc. The biggest bill that I can see to start with is the first years medical which we will take from our savings so really doesn`t impact on the monthly figure. We run a diesel car (new). Does this make it a bit clearer....hope so.

Al

bfg69bug Nov 1st 2015 11:20 pm

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by cricketman (Post 11784444)
Again, I repeat. 800-1000 euros per month is not the average wage in Spain



well i dont know where your figures come from, but i dont earn anything like 2100 a month, thats 525 a week ... i wish. even our manager doesnt earn that.


im talking individually .. not per household?


i dont know anyone (normal / non specialised) at the airport that earns more than 1400 a month. im talking parking / car hire / cleaners / maintainance men etc etc.

If you know where i can get 500 a week, please let me know :thumbsup::thumbsup:

rachelk Nov 1st 2015 11:41 pm

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by amideislas (Post 11783598)

And kiss goodbye the HP sauce and embrace a new cuisine. You'll only find British kitchen in British expat areas, and it will cost as much or more than it does in the UK. A jar of Pataks curry sauce is just under €5 here. At Morrison's, 95p. But that's because it's an "import". There are plenty of lovely foods that are fresher and a fraction of the cost of typical British foods. You just have to get used to the local cuisine..

Much as I loved Spain and much as I adapted to the cuisine (as far as it's possible for a vegetarian to do so) I loved being able to buy HP sauce for the occasional eggy bread breakfast.

rachelk Nov 1st 2015 11:45 pm

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by cricketman (Post 11784444)
Again, I repeat. 800-1000 euros per month is not the average wage in Spain

The average wage is around 2,100 euros per month

If a family earns just 1,000 euros per month then they are very poor indeed, among the bottom 25% of the country


As a maths teacher I could point out that the 'average' salary depends on whether you're talking mean, median or mode.

Instead I'll just post this link which claims the average salary in spain in 2014 was 1.634€ and express my surprise that the recovery has added around another 500€ to that this year.

amideislas Nov 2nd 2015 12:26 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by rachelk (Post 11784575)
Much as I loved Spain and much as I adapted to the cuisine (as far as it's possible for a vegetarian to do so) I loved being able to buy HP sauce for the occasional eggy bread breakfast.

Nothing wrong with that. I'm not a fan, but if you like it, have it.

I do find it amusing that so many around here spend a fortune on fighting Spain's "third world" inaccessibility to "British stuff". One couple we know refuses to shop at mercadona or eroski, because they can't stand the "poor quality of Spanish goods", preferring of course, to pay a hefty premium to only buy their goods from the British import shop, and amusingly, order household appliances from the UK (usually via Amazon, because they dont speak a word of Spanish). Of course, you can buy any of that stuff here, for a lot less money, but OK, I guess I can accept the comfort level - and the premium that goes with it.

These of course, are the very same ilk that refuse to live in "isolation" in some "third world" village full of "foreigners", paying a fortune for a tiny 2 bed flat in a distinctly British expat community with noisy neighbours on both sides, yet whinge endlessly about how expensive it is here.

Moses2013 Nov 2nd 2015 12:39 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by aw73 (Post 11784483)
Hi all, Thanks for all the replies and comments.I will explain my question . As mentioned, we will be early retirees. I have around 9 years till state pension. Our income , from a fire service pension and an NHS pension gives us around the 1800 euros per month figure. We will be paying around 300 euros per month ground rent. we also have to add in insurances etc. Whilst I like a beer or two of an evening, we are not really into eating out /golf etc. The biggest bill that I can see to start with is the first years medical which we will take from our savings so really doesn`t impact on the monthly figure. We run a diesel car (new). Does this make it a bit clearer....hope so. Al

Let's face it, €1800 is not a lot for two people in a 1st World country, but salaries in Spain are more like 2nd World and people manage. Overall Spain is not a cheap place to live and if you could manage in the UK, you will manage in Spain.

Pulaski Nov 2nd 2015 12:41 am

Re: How long is a piece of string...
 

Originally Posted by rachelk (Post 11784577)
..... Instead I'll just post this link which claims the average salary in spain in 2014 was 1.634€ .....

Was that the mean, the median, or the mode? :sneaky:


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