thinking of mving to javea
 

hello all

Please could you tell me how much does it cost to live now in spain as we are thinking of retiring there soon

would a £1000.00 a month be enough


many thanks
deepaul

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

We have only been here for some four or so months but are now leaving for other climes! There are on this site very experienced campaigners as to Javea and they are better placed than I to give you a reply.

However if you were to pm me I would willingly give you our impressions on Javea.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Hi its the cost of living out there that has us thinking twice

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

It is very difficult to gain a straightforward answer to this question because it very much depends on what sort of lifestyle you want or expect. Depends on things such as rent, mortgage or housing paid for, smoking, drinking, types of food eaten, car, interests, holidays, trips back to the UK etc etc.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

will really depend on what sort of lifestyle you want, eating out every night, visiting bars every night, staying in watching TV, occasional meals out, running a car, what sort of property you are looking for. Your question in the way you have put it is totally unanswerable.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

many thanks rosemary i was just after a ball park figure (we dont smoke only drink wine lol and lead a normal life ) we thought things were cheaper out in spain plus its better life style

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

many thanks Mikelincs the thing is i want spain the boss wants ferndown lol

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Does your £1000, have to cover rent? If YES then the answer is probably NO. £1000 will be not be enough unless you are extremely frugal.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Cost of living in Spain is very similar to the UK, but it will depend on where in Spain, and what sort of place you want to rent, one bedroom, two bedrooms, pool. detached, on an unbanisation, in a town, by the beach, in an expat area or away from other brits. The summers on the costas can be almost unbearably hot, and, despite what you read, it does get cold in winter, and does rain, and when I say rain you do get real downpours. Have lived in both the places you mentioned, and, for us, Ferndown would win. You do have to remember that in Spain, the health service is no longer free for pensioners, you do have to pay a percentage of costs of drugs etc. No free public transport, and in many areas very poor public transport in any case. No housing benefits, or in fact any other sort of benefits.
Beaurocracy is much worse than the UK, and, of course, in Spanish.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Hi Stuboy no the £1000, would just be for living on

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Hi mikelincs

if your thinking of coming back here then sorry you nust be mad
i would say the cost of living is cheaher in spain on items then here like petrol £138 car tax well i pay £300.00 a year on a 2litre car my heating bill for the last qutar was £500.00 and ok we get a free bus pass when your 60 but now if you go into care you have to pay for it its not free anymore
if you dont turn up for your appointment with the doc the can chage you up to £15.00 new thing just coming in

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

and ok you have to pay 8euros for your pills but i can see that coming in over here as the NSH cant cope any more

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

as you have said ferndown would win we were there last week saw a nice house the rates were £1.600.00 a year now do you pay that over in spain?

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Not Ferndown but West Bay at Bridport its better

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

hi porth but are the rates dear many older person cant pay that sort of money on a pension

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Already back in the UK and living close to Ferndown, don't have a car, so no worries on that score, saves sooo much money. just use the bus, free. Totally free NHS, charges for not turning up to see the doc are 'in discussion' not just coming in, but that wouldnt worry me. We live in a retirement apartment, heating bills less than £250 a quarter, even in winter. Came back to the UK because everything was getting that much more expensive in Spain. One more thing much more expensive in Spain is electricity, also phone and ADSL, and ADSL speeds are poor compared with the UK unless you are in the centre of a city like Madrid.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

No you wouldn't, but you do pay extra for rubbish collection etc. and there is no such thing as housing or council tax benefit, which people on a low pension can get, neither is there such a thing as housing associations or council houses, if you need to go into hospital in Spain, then you really need someone to stay with you to do all the things nurses do not do, which is quite a lot, and why most hospitals are single rooms which have either a small room, or a pull out bed for a carer to stay with the patient.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Hi mikelincs
so did you come back just for the free nhs etc or did you just get fed up in spain your heating bills are small i must say but for house owners they are not it sounds like you went to spain when it was cheap to live there and now there cost of living has driven you out

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

i thought the care you got in there hospitals was better then the uk ones

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Exactly, when we moved to Spaain you got €1.50 to the £, when we left it was down to about €1.08, so a 40% decrease in income, with increasing cost of living, and VAT going up, and even on most foods, then it became too expensive, so we left before you money ran out, along with many thousands of other Brits around the same time. There are still at lot stuck there because the crash in house prices means that their house is worth less than they owe on the mortgage.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Think it's about on par, and I wasn't criticising the care, but that fact that relatives have to provide a lot of what, in a UK hospital, would be done by a nurse, which does mean having someone there most of the time.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Mikelincs returned to the UK some time ago.

Rosemary

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Medical care is excellent however personal care is left to the family. So if for example your partner is seriously ill and needs constant care either in the hospital or at home it is extremely tiring for that carer.

Rosemary

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

is it better to get insured then having there NHS rosemary

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

I do not know what happens in the private hospitals so I cannot say.

Rosemary

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

As the rubbish tax (in Spain) includes waste sewerage, it's really on a par with UK where you have water rates instead.

Take a look at VPO's in Spain - these are like social housing for the less wealthy.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

There are Viviendas de Protección Oficial, VPO's, which are a similar thing to council houses.
http://www.euroresidentes.com/vivien...on_Oficial.htm

Edit. Note to self, read all threads before answering, just seen snikpoh's post.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

To the OP, I think it is perfectly possible for a couple to live on £1,000 per month in Spain, although you won't be having any expensive holidays or lots of trips back to the UK on that much. My OH and I have been doing it for the last 7 years (well, we spend a couple of thousand more per year but that is because we do take a few trips each year).

If you plan to buy a property, my advice would be to avoid one on an urbanisation or a block of apartments or you will have to budget for paying community fees (some of which can be pretty high) on top of the IBI and utilities bills. Not all areas charge an additional amount for rubbish collection, mine doesn't. If you will be renting, then the landlord should pay the IBI and community fees so you wouldn't need to worry about that.

I have my doubts about how much longer some of the things that have been a boon to pensioners in the UK in recent years, eg free bus passes, will survive following the next General Election, and the introduction of the new Single Tier Pension.

BUT I would say that I fear that if both of you are not equally committed to making the move, the chances of it being successful are doubtful. During my time here I've seen several couples where one (always the wife, come to think of it) has been "talked into moving" by the husband, and has not settled leading to them going back after a couple of years.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

I believe those are for the young (under 35) only, although that may vary depending on location.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Hi Lynn r

many thanks for getting back to us we both want to come and live in spain we are looking to buy a villa in javea or around there we will not be going on holidays as we are in the sun full time:thumbsup: and yes you have hit the nail on the head all the free things you get over here they are talking about taking them away so what would all these ppl do then i thinks they would stay in spain

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Good luck to you. The advice most often given to people planning to make the move is to rent for at least a year first to make sure it really is for you, before committing yourself to buying. The costs associated with buying and selling property in Spain are much higher than they are in the UK so if you find you're not as happy as you thought you were going to be because of either something to do with the property, the area or the neighbours, being able to move on even if you can find a buyer for the property would cost you a lot of money. Having said all that, I didn't rent first and I like where I live, but on the whole if you can afford to I think it's sound advice, and property prices in Spain aren't likely to be shooting up any time soon so you don't need to worry about losing out.

Most villas, if that is the type of property you want, will be on urbanisations so make sure you check how much the community fees are to avoid any nasty shocks. Another point to look out for in the current housing market, as many sellers have reduced their asking prices, is that if you buy a place for a sum well below the official "catastral" value, then the Spanish Tax Office are highly likely to send you a bill for the additional transfer tax due on the difference between what you paid and what the "official" value is. It can be thousands. Some people take the view that they are buying the property "cheap" so they aren't too bothered, but you need to be aware of that upfront.

With regard to the hospital question, we do have private medical insurance as we are below pensionable age. Luckily we haven't needed any hospital stays apart from a 1 night one for me, but if we were in the state system and one of us had to be in for a long stay needing what they call an "acompanante" I would pay someone to come in and share the load - there are always lots of local adverts from people willing to do this or look after elderly people at home (but not many would speak English, it has to be said). I know how much anyone who has savings in the bank has to pay for even a small amount of home care via Social Services these days (although the care is actually provided by private agencies) and the hourly rate local people charge over here is much, much less.

http://www.ukhca.co.uk/pdfs/domicili...oroverview.pdf

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Yes, Lynn, we had this out in another thread - it depends on whether the OP wants to do their own shopping/cooking or dine out every night.
with most produce half the price of the UK it is doable.
the BH and I have never been ones for being out and the life & soul of the party every night - more being together, especially as she works at the moment so has 11-12hr days with travel.

The rates are less than the UK, with bins emptied at least 6 days a week, but you have to take it to the bin.
Fone/ADSL is dearer, but the providers are having a small war cutting pennies compared with competition, of which there is more than the UK.

I am sure we all can come across with cost saving ideas, although a number here refuse to admit their glamorous lifestyle is all a pie in the sky.
:rofl:

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

HiLynn
we hope to buy in Benissa or Pedreguer dont like housing estates lol thanks for the info on the transfer tax and i see you have insurance could i please have the name of them as we will have to get some sorted out as we are young like yourselfs
all i wanted to no really was could you live on £1000 a month thats till i get me pension still got 7 years to wait blast lol

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

The company we have health insurance with, although excellent, wouldn't be of any use to you unfortunately, as they only cover Malaga province and part of Cordoba province. Maybe some forum members who live around the area you are interested in could suggest alternatives? The best known "international" companies like BUPA tend to be the most expensive (there's a surprise!).

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

nothing new there then BUPU LOL

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

deepaul
If you have health problems, are not wealthy, don't speak Spanish- don't even think about it!
As you have 7 years to go before your state pension, health cover will be a major expense.
If you still want to try it the following areas are ones you should research:
Tax, especially inheritance tax
Health-think ahead to when you may need help-Can you afford it?
Cost of living- other factors to consider-trips back to UK to see family. Very cheap flights not easily available, plus you always spend more than intended.
Funeral plan or insurance essential.
Accountants fees-tax is complex!
Electricity, water etc-no cheaper in fact electricity is dearer.
Shopping is about the same or more than UK. It's a myth that it's 40% cheaper.
Car tax, council tax cheaper, but there may be maintenance or community charges as well.
Maintenance of property and garden, fine when you're fit, but as time goes on, may become a burden;paid help is expensive.
Why not just have a holiday several times a year! Far less bother, less pain in Spain!

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

With respect you are looking at things through those rose coloured things. It is not sweetness and light here and indeed raining today.

Simply because life in the UK is difficult does not mean that it is perfection here it is not. Walking under the palm trees and along the Med yes but beyond that facade difficulties. At least that is our experience.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Please forgive me but I thought we were talking about Javier we have now moved some km's to Benissa et al.

Why not Austrias or Galicia?

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

Do you know these places or is your thought process based upon internet browsing? I repeat I thought you said in your opening email Javier? Now you have moved the goalpost somewhat.

Re: thinking of mving to javea
 

We pay €106 per month currently for the 2 of us (aged 63 and 57) - it was approx €80 when we took it out almost 5 years ago but goes up a bit each year (as most things do, everywhere). We manage to pay that within our £1,000 per month without difficulty.

If your financial affairs are simple and you are not trying to "get around" anything, tax need not be complex and there is no need to pay a gestor or accountant to sort it out. Many people complete their own tax returns by downloading the PADRE programme, or you can phone Hacienda at the appropriate time of year and they will give you an appointment to go into your nearest Hacienda office where they will complete your tax return online there and then, free of charge.

I don't find labour to do anything expensive in Spain, quite the opposite especially in the present economic climate - but I do speak Spanish and make a point of using Spanish people to do the work. My experience is that you are much less likely to be "ripped off" that way and it will most certainly be much cheaper.