steviedeluxe

Looking at transport/accommodation costs in London compared to Madrid, and even if the pound fell to parity with the Euro, they're still far more expensive in London. A week's travel card will cost £36 in London, over £140 for the month - in Madrid a monthly equivalent would be around 50 Euros. Fairly easy to rent a room in Madrid for 100-120 a week, in London it's still 175+. I have the chance of a job in London but accommodation is the problem as it's so expensive there. Could end up spending 6 hours a day commuting (and that's not a joke unfortunately)

I know you can compare the coasts with say Devon or Dorset and the differences may not be so great. And yes, if you want to look at luxury items (I include imported tins of brand foods) the prices will change. But the essential things (whether it be rice, diesel, rent or council tax) are surely either a similar price or still cheaper in Spain?

Mitzyboy

Oh dear, you wanting to start an argument!

In the CB North compared to the Midlands UK, its still a lot cheaper than the UK.
Fuel is cheaper, approx £113.8 in the UK for diesel
My council tax is £1000 pa cheaper
My Car tax is €100 a year as opposed to over £200 I believe in the UK
Yes theres all these supermarket two for one deals in the UK but they are only useful if you want what the offer is. Other than that we spend less on our shop here than we do when we are in the UK for roughly similar stuff.
I eat out three courses and drinks for €9
Of course wine is a lot less here

But of course that could be different in the CDS .... It must be because there are people on here that say that its the same or more expensive in Spain now

poolboy

There were 2 London properties in the auctions last week under 100k GBP. One, albeit a studio but q suitable to sleep & eat in, went for 77k GBP.

The above were not ex council, those were c 50-60k GBP.

I just looked in an agents window in Spain & central town flats here started at 90k E.

I spend time in London & Spain & the costs are pretty much the same. The last few years I have only bought in Spain what I couldn't ship - food, fuel, utilities, taxes. Everything else has come from the UK. Its a shame really as I would like to support the local businesses in Spain.

jackytoo

If you read the spanish comments below the article I posted many are posting about price rises. I'm not joining in anyway. Can't be arsed as I have a comparable house in both places so I know which is cheapest for me.

Mitzyboy

And in a town below us, advertised at €76k

Where are you?

scampicat

I too have a house in the UK (West Midlands) as well as a comparable one in Spain.

We have no rent or mortagage on either of them, so can't comment on that.
The Council Tax is cheaper in Spain.
The Gas/Electric is about the same.
Internet/Telephone, MUCH cheaper and better in the UK.
If either of them need maintenance - MUCH cheaper and stuff more available in the UK.

Groceries - imho, much cheaper in the UK.

Car - Tax cheaper, insurance more expensive, in Spain. Fuel cheaper in Spain.

Eating out - unless you have a Menu del Dia, I think is extortionate in Spain. Drinking, cheaper than UK.

Furniture, white goods etc - more expensive by far than in the UK.

My take.

jojojojojojojojojojojojo

I'm in a similar postion and I agree with everything accept for Groceries. A year ago it was cheaper in the UK, but its gone up again there recently - its gone up a bit in Spain too and I would say that Spain is still slightly cheaper! Petrol is cheaper in spain, altho The distances I drive here are much greater so I use more!!

Gas is cheaper in Spain too!!!

Jo xxx

Mitzyboy

Thats what Ive said before though, the people who in general say its the same or more expensive in Spain tend to come from further South.

elspeth sinclair

Of course Spain is cheaper than the Uk. I have a big village house in the church square and my combined rates, rubbish and water is about 150 euros a year and we have our rubbish collected 6 days a week. In Scotland even in a far distant island my rates were 1000 pounds a year with my own septic tank and no rubbish collection and a bottle of gas is 23 pounds against about 9 pounds here. With only those savings I could feed us for 4 months. I live in the middle of orange groves 40 minutes walk from Xativa which is a beautiful city and was home to the notorious Borgias. Our village pool open for three months of the year is magnificent with its palm trees ,loungers and umbrellas and last season cost 40 euros for a season ticket for two people. It is open from11am to 12pm daily and you can take your own lunch and supper to the bar and only buy a drink. At the moment fruit and vegetables are sold by the kilo starting at 65cents to 120cents and twenty kilos of potatoes cost 4 euros. Xativa market for everything has to be one of the cheapest markets in Spain. I rest my case. Elspeth

jackytoo

You may well be correct but not everyone wants to live an hour or more from the sea or in the campo. Cheaper in Bradford than London but sometimes you get what you pay for.

scampicat

I don't know how much bottled gas is in the UK, I was comparing my bottled gas in Spain with my mains gas in the UK.

The vegetable markets in Spain are cheap, I agree - I was talking more about general groceries. (Markets are crap for anything other than food imho, at least they are here in the back of beyond -utter junk sold by gypsies and Moroccans).

Chiclanagir

I think vegetables are expensive here. I went to the local veg shop today bought some carrots, a lettuce and three tomatoes and 4 small sweet potatoes and half a dozen eggs and it was nearly 7 euros. Food has definitely gone up a lot. Furniture is an appalling price except for Ikea and so are electrical goods. A lot of other stuff is cheaper but did we come here anyway for all of that. No we came here for the weather. Now don´t get me talking about that!

elspeth sinclair

40 minutes to sea. pretty village 79 on padron of which 7 are Brits. More people in summer when Spanish come to their summer places for three months great Spanish neighbours. I lived in Oliva for eleven years but left when the Brits invaded. Oliva is also very cheap but now when I visit friends there find it very noisy and dirty. I'm probably getting old and grumpy. Our village bar does a great menu del dia for 6.50. Elspeth

Veleta

What I don't get is why so many Brits seem to think that the sea is the centre of the universe! Do people really visit it day in day out? I don't know.

I live about 15 minutes from the sea (not by design, by coincidence) and this will be my 4th year without paying it a visit.

What is it that makes the sea such a MUST with Brits?? Why do you have to live there?

Chiclanagir

What a shame. I love the sea and live 20 mins away. It is just so, so beautiful but then I used to live by the sea in the UK and cannot imagine ever living inland.