johnnyone

I should have added that it's still cheaper at 1.15 if you are an alcoholic chain smoker.

Horlics

I find Spain cheaper for everything than the UK. A couple of examples, and ones which aren't impacted by the big country, cheap region, cheap shop argument are:

I bought a new car in Spain last year. My brother-in-law bought the same car in the UK a couple of months earlier. On a circa 13,000 UKP purchase, I paid 1,000 less.

I buy clothes from Next. Next's prices are the same in all their UK stores and their website sells at the same prices as the stores no matter where you live. There is now a Next.es site and as an example, a polo shirt listed on the UK site for 35 UKP is on the .es site for 37 EUR, which is about 26/27 UKP.

Moving on, I spend quite a lot of my disposable income on eating out. Whether high-end or low-end, Spain is cheaper. Forget the local places, even comparing national outlets where prices are fixed, Spain is cheaper. Take McDonalds, for example, always cheaper than the UK price list.

rspltd

There is little merit in comparing prices of consumer goods without looking at the ability to pay. It would be pointless of a company setting it's prices so high that people weren't able to afford them.

Spain's ability to pay is considerably less than the UK or Germany. If you compare the official minimum wages in each country (2015 figures compared at 1st July exchange rates) they are as follows:
Spain 5.08 Euro
Germany 8.51 Euro
UK 9.09 Euro

Now you may consider that the minimum wage is a crude measure to use but by a number of other economic indicators the same conclusion is reached. Price points are decided by the ability to pay which is why a Mcdonalds in the UK is on average £5, in Spain 7 Euros and in Russia $5.

cricketman

I thought the minimum wage in Spain was 3.50 Euro per hour? About 630 EURO per month

But yes, things are cheaper in Spain because people earn less and rental of commercial property is way less

Most multinationals price their products lower for Spain

Moses2013

Due to the exchange rate Spain will obviously now seem a lot cheaper for Brits, but if you are earning Euros and spending Euros it's not cheap at all. Ireland is considered expensive because we have a minimum wage of €9.15, but after coming back from Spain I did not find Spain cheap at all. In reality you can find bargains in any EU country and as mentioned, one week one product might be cheaper elsewhere. I just found that my food bill was not much different here compared to Spain, especially if you go for special offers. The carrots might be 10 cents cheaper in Spain this week, but we have a special offer on Steak, so I save a Euro here. No doubt that alcohol is cheap in Spain, but I can just fill up my car when I'm there anyway if I fancy drinking. We recently bought furniture here in Ireland that was made in Germany, but it was half the price compared to Spanish & German websites. Even if it was pricier, I can still talk to the sales person and say I've seen it cheaper online. All I'm saying is that cost of living can be roughly the same anywhere in Europe if you're flexible and can negotiate.

amideislas

With respect to this discussion, it's not pointless, unless you are planning to live and work within the Spanish economy. Most expats don't.

The fact is, that Brits and Germans simply have more income, so it goes farther in Spain. Full stop.

And minimum wage doesn't have all that much to do with it. Until last year, Germany had none at all, and people still had higher incomes.

But it is true that "market prices" for goods are heavily dependent on what people are willing (and can) pay. But even when market prices are higher, profits are offset by generally higher costs of doing business in those regions, and of course, higher taxes.

Keith1963

Where else can you buy an octopus for 15 euros and a bag of cherries for 1 euro

Rosemary

Or be given huge bags of oranges, lemons, persimmons and all manner of vegetables that were picked that day.........free!!!

Rosemary

Keith1963

Affordability is a mindset Rosemary, gratis is bestest

For me a warm home and a warm heart ( and a cool pool ) are worth an extra euro or two

Moses2013

Well, we have cherry trees, apple trees, pear trees etc. in our garden. You can buy an octopus for less than €15 these days, but in a few years we might not even see them. Spain has been overfishing for years and we're destroying our oceans. Food prices are far to low in Europe and I wouldn't mind spending a bit more money if the quality is good and you know you're supporting the local economy.

Horlics

My current rate for 5 litres of wine is 1 Euro, delivered to my door by a local friend who has a mate in the campo.

Horlics

If food prices are too low for you and you care about the oceans, it is possible using this wonderful Internet thingy to source organic and ethical food at much higher prices than you can find on your local street. There are websites in Spain that sell this stuff. Fill yer boots, but let skint people have cheap food too, it's really important to them.

cricketman

Absolutely, Spain has tons of ethical and organic food providers online

And there is plenty of choice in the cities to eat good quality and sustainable fish and meat anyway. And lots of fruit and veg from people´s local huertas

There is no excuse for eating badly in Spain as long as you can afford to eat well. And even if you can´t, lots of people have friends and family like Rosemary´s

Moses2013

If people were willing to spend more for food, maybe we wouldn't have as many skint people. If you support the local guy who sells free range eggs, he will have more money to buy quality meat from the local butcher and the butcher will have money to buy his pint at the local pub.