Posted by Its not just the warm long sunny days that has such a pull to the British dreaming of Living In Spain.
Its Quality of life and the overall cost of living here that is a significant draw, ok and the great weather and all those tapas and sangria.
Below i will show what things cost here and what we have paid for basic services to give you an idea what you may have to pay.
Some places can be more expensive than others as are most big cities like San Sebastian : with a cost of living an
eye-watering 27.% above the national average, incomes are also a reassuring
25.% higher than Spain’s average salary. It’s a similar story for Barcelona and Madrid. Personally last year when i was in Barcelona i thought it was very expensive after living here for 16 years now.
Notice the price of the food below it’s all free here in Almeria
The bill above was for 4 people. not bad i bet that would cost double in the UK and you couldn’t sit outside at 10 pm at night in shorts..
My wife and i normally go out for a drink and tapas about 3 times a week here. we normally only have 2 drinks and tapas in the week but at the week end we may have a few more. If we have 4 drinks each and 4 small plates of food each that costs us around 18 euros total.
At the moment we are staying in my wifes village in the mountains of Finana and a beer or wine is just 1.30 and the tapa free . plus here you can order what you like from a menu.
Its just as cheap to go out for tapas as to stay in and cook.
Cost Of Living In Spain
A few essential average running costs, to know:
• Your morning cappuccino: €1.20
• Post-work beer (0.5l): €1.20 And The TAPAS FREE here in Almeria
• Litre of petrol: €1.20
• Taxi fare per km: €1 (plus €3 setup charge)
• Cinema ticket €8
the bus into town €0.60
• City centre, one-bedroom apartment rent per month: €480, in a smaller towns from €300.
• My Gym membership €30 a month.
• Utility bills per month (gas, electric, water, Wi-Fi, waste collection) for 3 bed apartment: €120
We now have fibre optic wifi and that is 58 euros a month including land line phone and 2 mobiles 2 iphones.
I have just sold my 3 bed apartment here and the community fees there were 70 euros a month including pool and garden maintenance.
I also rented an extra garage space in the building for 50 euros A MONTH.
Council tax <for rubish and street cleaning> we pay here in Almeria around €280. a year and for that they clean our street every 2 days and take away the rubbish every night at midnight. Yes every night.
TV licience 0 yes its free in Spain.
ITV or MOT for the car. around €45 annual.
Road tax for the year on a 1600cc car around 58, a year.
Car insurance i pay 220 for one car a 1800 and 285 for the other car and my motor bike insurance is 85 a year. 3rd party.
For my motor bike *BELOW* i just paid the road tax of €7.50 for the year.
Thats cheap no?
I recently had a new will drawn up and it cost €58.
Our weekly food shopping for 2 adults in our local supermarket is around €90.including all toiletries and alcohol.
you can live really cheaply here if needed. but remember that the wages are normally lower too.
On your Next Trip Try THIS
Use Booking com and the link below and we both get money back…
After your stay, you get € 15 on your credit card. And i get € 15 back too!
https://www.booking.com/s/34_6/davidi50
Cost Of Living In Spain
Property is also cheaper here at the moment but things are going up as more Brits move here but in my town of Almeria you can buy a 1 bed apartment from €45.000 a 2 bed normally runs around €85.000 nearer the
beach you will pay more but still way cheaper than UK prices.
A check up at the dentist last week cost me €35. but thats at a private dentist.
Medicines here are also way cheaper than in the Uk.
Buying and selling property.
Buying a property in Spain you need to allow about 12 to 15 % on top or purchase price for all the fees. this is a lot higher than the uk. also selling cost about 6,000 euros on a 3 bed apartment thats estate agents fees only.
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Whats the costs like where you live?
Living and Working In Spain 
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