Hello everyone,

We're new to this website and wanted to say how useful it is, thank you!

We are seriously thinking about moving to the Canary Islands (probably Lanzarote) and were wondering if anyone could give us an idea of the cost of living there? Things like electricity, water, other utilities, rates, taxes, weekly food shopping (we are a family of 4) .... any help would be much appreciated.

Any handy tips / advice? We are British and have lived in Australia, Italy and Belgium, but since having our kids (aged 6 and 4) we have been based in the UK. Finally sick and tired of the weather, the ever-increasing cost of living, and the feeling that we just don't want to be here any more ...

Thanks in advance

I would say that taking everything all together, your living costs would be the same as they are in the UK, Spain is no longer a cheaper place to live in my opinion.

Everything getting more expensive. I can´t believe the price of fresh salmon 12 euros a kilo!

Freh scottish salmon is only £9.99 per kilo at Waitrose

I've had free salmon canapes on more than one occasion with a drink costing around 1.50 in Madrid...

But I do wonder if people look at England with rose-colour tints when they claim Spain "is as expensive". On a recent contract here I was paying £50 a week for my London travelcard. I'd expect to get a month's worth in Madrid (including towns like Alcobendas, Las Rozas) for that amount. On another thread (edit - just checked thread) the price of renewing a passport in Spain was quoted as 20 Euros whereas it's the equivalent of 160 euros in the UK. Same goes for other official documents - prepare for heavy fees in the UK. Council tax? Well there is one poster who always claims Spain is expensive, but most posters will tell you their council tax is far cheaper. Parking - I looked at the street just where I live, and parking is available at £6 a hour. Now ok I live in London, but I've found parking in UK cities far more expensive for some reason than continental equivalents. Same with hotels (on average - if you look around and ask at tourist offices etc you can sometimes find a bargain). Food prices - I don't have the link here, but another poster (may have been CM) posted a link giving the official cost of living costs in different countries, and yes the UK was more expensive. Same with petrol and (especially diesel) - it's not cheap now in Spain, but is still yet more expensive in the UK. And so on, and so on. Things that are more expensive in Spain are probably UK imports (Heinz baked beans etc) clothes and printed materials (books etc). But I can't think of anything essential that isn't cheaper in Spain, with the possible exception of electricity. Edit: the cost of high-speed broadband seems to differ, so that may be a serious factor as to where you want to live

Tenerife is the cheapest of the Canaries, also much better for things to do and see as well as climate, compared to Lanzarote, which has its limitations regarding a base for a permanent home, although there are some nice properties there.
Most things in the Canaries should benefit from the lower tax rate than on the mainland, however Tenerife is the only place where I've seen any noticable difference.

Hi, although I'm sure a lot of things like council tax, transport etc will cost less (see my previous post), you have to take into account a possible reduction in earnings. Or even a complete loss of earnings How do you currently earn your living, and how do you propose to earn a living in Spain?

Hi Stevie,

Thanks for the info, very helpful. I'm afraid I'm not prepared to share our financial information / work plans on a public website! But we are financially savvy and we know exactly how much we would be earning should we come to the Canaries.

Our impression, formed during several visits to all the different Canary Islands, is that supermarket shopping etc IS substantially cheaper than in the UK, if you are prepared to live like a local and forego the British brands - which we are certainly prepared to do.

Oh - and I certainly wouldn't be buying Scottish Salmon if I were living on an island off the coast of Africa I'd be tempted by all the local fish though

Have you visited Spain or the Canaries fairly recently ?
I only ask because you might be in for a nasty shock when comparing the prices today with those of just a few years ago.

[QUOTE=Dick Dasterdly;9231099]Tenerife is the cheapest of the Canaries, also much better for things to do and see as well as climate, compared to Lanzarote, which has its limitations regarding a base for a permanent home, although there are some nice properties there.
Most things in the Canaries should benefit from the lower tax rate than on the mainland, however Tenerife is the only place where I've seen any noticable difference.

You are correct my mate has just come back from a 2 weeks holiday in Los Cristianos, and says 70c a pint of beer full meal steak etc 6.50euros

We don't live in a tourist area, so its probably more expensive than Tenerife were the tourist go, we don't buy UK products as they are not available in our area, but I still think that Spain is no cheaper overall than the UK.
Over the past 35 years, we have seen many changes,the cost of living being the main change, spending 6 months in both places is a eye opener, its amazing how competitive the UK has become for everyday items.

Bring back the peseta I say.
Those were the days when everything was as cheap as chips.

May not be as far fetched as it sounds, the way things are heading in Spain and much of the Eurozone.

Hi Adra, I really dont understand why people say that living in Spain is as expensive as living in the UK...they must spend more on shopping as the cost of local rates, water, basura, electricity, road tax, TV licence!, Fino, fruit and vegatables is much less than the UK. Maybe I should write an article on how to live cheap in Spain...it is more expensive than when the peseta was here but its still cheap.......

Please do !
DSB.

Yes I can't wait for it....we have only discussed prices comparison in about 100 threads