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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Mikelincs returned to the UK some time ago.

Rosemary

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

is it better to get insured then having there NHS rosemary

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

Rosemary

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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