Been here eight years and do not agree that costs are on par with UK, for instance our IBI here is 477euros a year, our place in UK when we left was 2k.

we dont use electric for heating as we have mild winters, a wood burner for maybe 2 to 3 months in the evening, and we get our wood from a local at rather cheap rate.

Gas, 14euro for a large bottle that is more than double in UK.

Shop only in spanish supermarkets, anyone visiting us say much cheaper than UK, yes if you want British goods, then definately more expensive, road tax cheaper by far 121 euros for our discovery and 21 for our little smart car.

downside, electric is expensive, for us in summer with the air con, otherwise not too bad. Internet is dear, about to change to another.

Oh and a coffee here one euro and tapas with it. we never had coffee out in UK far too dear.

yep, certain luxury goods can be dearer, but haggle , we do and get discount.

It really does seem to change from area to area, but here we live on residue from house sale in UK and live quite nicely without being "well off"

Do remember car tax is from your local area, not main government.

well thats my two pennorth, dont think you have a hope in hell getting work, sorry as others have said no spanish, huge unemployment here, and most Brits wont accept spanish price, will only try to get work at British prices.

Good luck think you will need it, we have seen many return to UK, including pensioners who have paid over the odds for their houses and then sterling/euro problems, we know personally four couples, of differing ages close to going back, and here not so many expats.

lovely place to live , if you have enough money and dont need to work.

Never get everyone agreeing about anything, specially not prices but with this not many would argue.

Touting for business is the same the world over. surely.
The way you get customers in the UK is no different to here, there are no new ideas.

Your out of touch, my flitting to and fro lets me see prices. Canned and frozen food, milk, eggs, bread and most meat is more expensive certainly on the CDS and Gran Canaria where I have been this year. Fresh coffee for a quid is no longer uncommon, broadband is cheaper, cars are cheaper, mobile phone deals are cheaper in the UK too. I'm talking in general terms here. I do use bottled gas but thats only in an old camper van I have.

Makes no odds to me what the prices are because basically I can afford them but lets not kid new folk that Spain is cheap, its most definitely not.

I'm shortly off back to GC for a couple of months I need some sunshine.

Yes I think many are out of touch, doesn't stop them arguing the point though It is useful for new folk to see that thing are not cheap like years ago.

a friend of mine has lifelong friends living in Murcia who are always complaining about the price of everything in Spain.

a work colleague of my BH keeps saying how nice it is to go home, where it is so much cheaper than Andalucia.

And yet I have carried out a survey of a string of product prices in my local Sainsburys and the prices are higher. Yes, perhaps there may be fewer BOGOFF's and other specials - but Tesco has announced they are reducing prices and also their clubcard points scheme because of rising prices.

Perhaps some things in SP have been cheaper, and when I am there and see some really good prices (and quality) for local produce I find they still are.
But Food, like Water and Fuel is a strategic product where producers\wholesalers\retailers all have control over the prices. All are under pressure by the stock exchanges and other blood suckers to make more and more profits, which can only come from increased prices.
Such strategic products will become more and more controlled and unless we get a grasp on production and distribution on a more local basis will become the causes for the next series of wars.

gloom over, I still believe you can move to SP and live, it will be different, but it must be as it is a "foreign" country. But it will be sunny nearly every day and so long as you can afford to live it is surely better to live in the sun.
rgds

I loved the line "we never had coffee out in UK far too dear."

but its true........

Well yes, but you can find cheap coffee in the greasy spoon cafes in the UK (normally just instant though). It's only really when you go to Starbucks or Cafe Nerro that the price approaches £3. A middle approach is possibly taking a coffee in Marks and spencers cafe, or in Pret a Manger sandwich shops.

I have had plenty of coffee's around the £1 to £1.50 mark in the UK and I don't do "greasy spoon". Mostly paid 1.50 to 2 euro in Spain. Not really part of prices anyway in the scheme of things for comparison. Someone mentioned the big things like broadband, car insurance etc. they are the ones that count. As for quality of produce, I think it's better in the UK. The large supermarkets dictate a very high standard for producers and they don't leave fruit and veg on the shelves until it's ready to walk out of the shop which happens in spanish supermarkets.

Nearly everyone on the drinks thread said they could get a coffee for 1 euro (or 1.20). You must have been in another "Spain" to most of us. When I head to Madrid in November (which is meant to be more expensive) I'm confident coffee will be in the 1.10- 1.40 range. You can't go around accusing other posters of being "out of touch" when you are the prime example! Of course you can choose the most extreme place to buy something - an afternoon tea at the Ritz may cost me £70 but it has no relevance to the average cost of a cuppa here in London.

Why am I out of touch? I have never had a coffee on the cds for years at 1 euro. Neither did we on the costa de la luz in July. When was you last in madrid Stevie...remind us

like I say I'm there in November. If your story of 2 euro coffees being standard really adds up (and all the other posters who live in Spain and state they get a coffee for 1 Euro are wrong) I'll gladly 'fess up. Very unlikely though -isn't it? I'm expecting to pay 1.20 - 1.40 for a coffee in the capital city.

I bought a coffee for 1€ this morning - well, 2 actually

2 coffees, 1 fizzy water, 1 egg on toast (my post lesson vice ) all for 5€

the egg on toast was 2€ so the water was 1€ too

& yes, this IS a tourist resort, although admittedly on the CB - but possibly the most expensive one except Valencia city itself

Some of you were saying that coffee was 1 euro 3 years (or more!) ago. I take it that no-one has put up their prices since then...poor sods they must be working for nothing