Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

If I were ever to decide that I did want to move back to the UK I am sure I would want to keep a foot in each camp, and renting would be a good option, either there or here.

Someone we became friendly with recently when he took a short term let nearby has just moved to a long term let - a lovely big 3 bed townhouse, totally modernised, with a large kitchen/diner and the whole of the first floor is a large lounge opening on to a big terrace with great views down to the coast plus a big patio outside for his dog (no garage but parking right outside the door, on a very quiet street with no neighbour issues) - 350€ per month, and of course the landlord pays the IBI. My views on owning v renting have changed since the crisis, I must admit, when we come to sell this place I'm sure we will rent in future.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

I suspect you are right.
All these "extras" should be ceased and the saving used to increase the basic pension. Isn't that the subject of another recent thread?

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

Apart from the most important quality of life, where we all expect different things, these are some basics I don't think have been mentioned so far. Maybe they're not basics for everyone, they are for us.

We go out regularly for drinks, meals and entertainment, at a decent level. Without going into detail, our pursuits back in the UK would cost at least three times as much.

Our Suma, electric and water bills pale into significance when comparing them to what we spend on pure entertainment, even if it's only our daily coffee and tostado, rubbed with garlic and fresh tomato. I've never found Spanish ambience like that anywhere in the UK.

Maybe I should miss out the word Spanish.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

HBG, you make a hugely valid point. Countless threads have appeared on this forum attempting to compare the cost of living between Spain and the UK. But here's a fact, if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day in the UK it will cost you 365 x £8.20 for a decent brand. Total £2993.00. In Spain it would cost you approx. 365 x £4.00. Total £1460.00 a saving of £1533 pa. An average pub meal in the UK for 3 courses will cost you £20.00, let's assume you eat out twice a week then in the UK it will cost you £2080. An average menu del dia at say £9.00 would cost you £936.00 a saving of £1144.00. Attempting to compare the cost of living as opposed to the cost of surviving is pointless. So if you smoke 20 a day and eat out twice a week you are better off in Spain by £2677.00. There are no doubt many computations if you include utilities, fuel, taxes and flights home (and let's not forget the flights we pay for the loved ones to visit us and then pay for everything once they have landed). My guess is that it works out much the same for a lot of people because at the end of the day you can only spend what you have. Spain has no more or less to offer than the UK, it is neither cheaper nor more expensive than the UK. The bureaucracy in the UK is as bewildering for an immigrant as it is frustrating in Spain for many ex-pats. There is very little difference. But at the end of the day however you look at it and whatever your motives are HOME is just that, HOME. Whether it be Spain or the UK.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

If you smoke and drink you save, apart from that I really do not think that there is that much in it.
You can get great value lunch deals in the uk. eg I was in the Seattle hotel (4*), Brighton yesterday for lunch. 2 courses for £10. The haddock was fresh and the hand cut chips were great. We sat on the terrace outside overlooking the Marina.
I am not trying to start a p***ing contest, just trying to give a balanced view.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

Pointless or not, you've just done it. :rofl: And of course you've cherry picked a few things, but I know if I was going to pay £20 for pub grub, hopefully it would be lot better than a MDD. A few weeks ago our friends suggested a MDD for €9, it was instantly forgettable, poor quality, poor quantities, served in a roadside like caff. Loads of pubs where two eat, one pays, children eat free, half price before 8.30pm etc. Yep,ciggies have always been cheaper, but even then you find them down south heading across to Gib for really cheap fags. Tell us about the dearer broadband, (mine's £13.90 for unlimited fast BB includes 500 mins of phone calls) private health insurance. I think the relevant fact is years ago when I first went to Spain, we wouldn't have been having this conversation, Spain was without doubt far, far cheaper. Today, all things considered, there's very little in it either way. Especially for expats that moved out years ago and were getting ~ €1.50-1.60 to the pound. The days when I regarded Spain as a cheap holiday destination are long gone unfortunately. My sympathies lie with the Spanish themselves, so many out of work, very, very few benefits available and even the typical mileurista wage is wishful thinking for many. They must be really struggling.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

Yup, we'll soon be back on the price of a tomato (fresher in Spain of course:rofl:)

It is cherry picking, you can find cheap and expensive in both countries depends where you want to eat and budget. Seen people complain they have paid £3 or more for a beer in the UK. Depends where you go, a lot of places charge €5 for a tubo in Banus, all meaningless!

Booze is cheaper in Spain, unless you prefer to drink premium brands and eg. imported fine wines. However, if someone was contemplating returning to the UK is this the only thing to keep them in Spain and this is what the thread title is. If you can afford to live in one country you can afford to live in the other, bottom line.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

This is precisely WHY there are so many fruitless dicussions about "X is cheaper in Spain / England - Oh no it's not - Yebbut Y's more expensive".

You can't treat either the UK or Spain as a single gross entity. Is it cheaper to buy a house in the campo or in Mayfair? Is it cheaper to buy a bottle of vino-plonk or 40 y/o Scotch?.
Everyone changes their lifestyle when they come to Spain: some by choice and some by force of poverty. So comparing what they did & how they lived in one part of one country - and what it cost, with a different way of life in a different (urban / rural / seaside) location makes no sense.
Yet we all do it :p

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

We've just come back after having two coffees and two Fanta Limones for 5.10 Euros. Pointless? Of course it is.

I'll tell you what isn't. Ambience. It may mean different things to different people, but to me, a half-hour ago, it was there, all around.

We weren't on a beach or in the mountains, just an ordinary Spanish cafe with Spanish people to the left of us, German people to the right of us, fellow Brits on our table, the Chinese on bikes trying to sell us DVDs, and the merciless sun a few feet away from our precious shade.

We were happy and as soon as I've cooked the Sunday roast (my Sunday job), it's chicken, again, we'll be in the swimming pool.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

After seeing your earlier posts about breakfasting in cafes, I was noting the prices in our town centre bars whilst out to buy a paper this morning. Most are doing coffee, pitufo and 250ml fresh orange juice for €2.60, €1.60 without the juice. When I was in Valencia a few weeks ago, the going rate seemed to be €3.50, so not that much difference really between a provincial town and a large city with lots of tourists. Seems pretty cheap to me.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

Exactly!

We came to Spain prepared to pay more for heating, A/C, broadband etc. We used to buy our wine from the chain wine stores or the supermarkets in the UK but now we happily buy from the local bodegas and usually pay less than €1.50 per litre. To us it's equally as good as the stuff we bought in the UK and none of our guests have turned their noses up at it either. :D

Swings and roundabouts with costs between here and UK. There are better things to do here than worry about comparing the cost of everything you buy.:)

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

I quite agree, however the number of people who cite 'the lower cost of living' as one of the reasons for moving to Spain just keep coming.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

One reason why that's a relevant factor for us is that it's allowed us an extra 10 years of retirement because we could afford to live here (comfortably) for that time before our pensions become payable, which would not have been possible had we stayed in the UK. We lived in a small house in a relatively inexpensive area there, so downsizing or moving to a cheaper area wouldn't have been an option.

Many people may enjoy their work so much that they want to keep on doing it to retirement age or beyond - I didn't. I like the lack of stress and the freedom to do what I want, when I want.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

Its true though, for me, I will save 11.5k a year, I could go and live in rural Scotland or the N.E as Dick proposed and save the same but I wont be as motivated as I would be in Spain, I feel I will the fear of having to come back to the UK will inspire me to make it there

Cost of living has so many factors but numero uno is your rent/mortgage over your earnings.

There are some people who own outright, but they would be in a different situation to mine.

Re: Would you go back to the UK ?
 

The "lower cost of living" is getting higher by the day though, and I doubt it will stop rising anytime soon. Not surprisingly spending is dropping on many things, even on unthinkable things like women's clothing. ;)
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/07/28/...70_337313.html