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Cost of living 2018 in Spain

Last activity 29 January 2018 by claxnes

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Priscilla

Hello everyone,

As per our annual tradition, we invite you to share your experiences and tell us more about the average prices of products and services in your town/city/area, so that we have updated information regarding cost of living and inflation in Spain.

Thanks to your contribution, future expats in Spain will be more informed and will be able to refine their budget and better prepare for their big move.

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Spain?

How much does it cost to buy an apartment or a house in Spain?

How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?

What is your monthly budget for groceries?

How much does it cost to see a doctor/dentist/physician/specialist in Spain?

How much do you pay for health insurance per month?

How much does childcare cost on average per month?

What is your child's schooling budget per month?

How much does it cost to fill up your car’s fuel tank?

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?

How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?

How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?

How much does a gym membership cost in Spain?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

Culebronchris

I can't answer most of the questions but this is what I know for inland Alicante

We looked at a repossessed four bed, three storey town house "sold as seen" for 69,000€. We looked at a scruffy, three bed second floor 1950s flat in a building without lift for 30,000€. My wife, who knows these things tells me that a modern three bed, two bath, villa with a pool on a one hectare plot is 200,000€.
The tram in Murcia charges 1.70€ for the outer zone (most expensive) single journey ticket. Passes etc. make it much cheaper
A bread stick costs 75c from a baker and about 45c from a supermarket
A packet of supermarket brand spaghetti (probably 500g) costs 50c
Doctors are free if you're in the Social Security system (Working and paying SS or an EU citizen of pensionable age). Someone told me today that as a 56 year old his health insurance was 75€ a month but the last time I looked it was cheaper than that.
A check-up at the dentist with an x-ray costs about 40€. A filling is about 40€. A crown is around 190€
Fuel prices vary all the time but full price diesel in this rural area is about 1.20 per litre at the moment and about 12c per litre less at the cut price places.
With the various taxes, standing charges, meter rental etc. we're paying about 21c per kilowatt hour.
A 12/13kg bottle of butane is just under 17€ - that runs a gas heater for about 60 hours
The all in mobile, phone, internet packages come in at about 65€ per month though there are all sorts of discounts, package offers etc.
A set meal with three courses, a drink and a coffee is around 9€. There are cheaper and more expensive deals. Expect to pay 11€ in the cities
An espresso is a solo here or an Americano. Usually 1€ up to 1.20€
Cinema ticket - no discount, no card, not on the cheap day around 7.50€ but dead easy to go for under 5€.
Why would I want to join a gym?

terrylee

I cannot answer all of the questions as we go back and forth to Spain, living part of the year in the UK and part of the year in Spain.   I have never been sick there so I do not know about doctors, but am aware with my EHIC card that if I was sick it would be free.   

Food in general is slightly cheaper in Spain than the UK and wine and spirits are remarkably cheaper which may be why so many expats drink so much there.    I have never used a dentist there but a friend of mine who goes back and forth like we do gets all his crowns and dental work done in Spain as it is half price, so if you need teeth repairing, Spain is the place to get it done.

Electrical goods, computers etc.  are much more expensive in Spain than in the UK,  so bring these out with you as well as the adapters to plug them in with.   One thing that is remarkably more expensive are over the counter cold remedies, and medicines that you buy from the Pharmacist.   Unfortunately we were in Spain over the Xmas period and we both had terrible colds.   All the cold medication we bought e.g. sore throat lozenges, cough syrup etc. was at least twice the price of Boots/Superdrug.   We were quite surprised -- for example  the Strefen 8.75 mg sore throat lozenges (pastillas para chupar) were 8.70 euros at our local pharmacist and I bought the same exact pack at Boots when I returned for £4.00.   This also applies to things like eye washes/baths for sore eyes,  they are £3-4 at Boots and the small bottle I bought at the Pharmacy was 9 euros.   

Next time we go we are going to bring out basic cold/headache medications from the UK and keep them there.   

We have run our house there now for 4 years and find that the cost of living, except for food and booze is about the same as the southeast in the UK.   We have also noticed that each time we visit things have been going up in price, usually by .50 to 1 euro.

Hope this helps.   Terrylee

Chui2

We have found that there is a huge gap in cost of living.  You can live cheaply in a small property, with one fireplace, no AC, buy at the markets, eat out at the very many restaurants that do Menu del Dias for E9 - E12.  But if you want full central heating (which we need, it does get cold, we had heavy snow last year!) A/C, eat and drink at the better restaurants and bars, prices go up to fairly typical northern European levels. Eg like UK.  Electricity costs are horrendous here, and gas and water are pricey too. 

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Spain? Our 4 bed (170sqm) house with pool is E1500 inc pool maintenance and gardening.  There is no heating in the kitchen, hall and only small fans in the bathroom and shower room. We couldn't find anything cheaper, even smaller without  a pool, that didn't have loads of signs of damp and mould.

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta? Not sure but wine is dirt cheap! The really basic stuff is cheaper than expensive bottled water. We drink neither of the latter.

What is your monthly budget for groceries? Not sure but I think a trolley including wine is around E300 a week, so about E1500 pcm

How much does it cost to see a doctor/dentist/physician/specialist in Spain?   I have had private appointments for E40 with a GP and E60 with a dermatologist.   A minor procedure to remove a cyst on my back was over E300.

How much do you pay for health insurance per month? We are on the Autonomo and pay around E400 a month for two of us.

How much does it cost to fill up your car’s fuel tank? For a Ford Fiesta around E40, petrol.

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?  In winter our electricity last month was E300, it will be about the same in summer with the AC.  A small tank of gas for hot water and cooking costs E17.  So about E15 a month. I cant remember how much water is.

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?  In our last house internet and 2 phones cost us E76 pcm.

How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?  About E1.50 for a cortado.

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?  E9

Clothes and shoes here are reasonably priced, but other things that are imported are pricey, so that sort of thing balances out. 

Basically we are finding that overall, to maintain the standard of living we want (middle class, southern England level) it costs about the same but with more sunshine and cheap wine!

Johncar

Just on the cost of filling a petrol tank

I bought my first car, an Austin 10, 1932, in 1958.  The cost was £7 10

Filling the tank of my 1,2 car now is about 65 euros, so about eight times the cost of my first car !!!!!

claxnes

I'm in Alicante and these costs are pretty accurate. We have a wood stove for heating but also use a heat pump for individual rooms. Last year we spent about 30 euros on wood but didnt use it all. Not sureon electric cost with heat pump but not much. Our house is very well insulated, though.

claxnes

I should say culebronchris' pricing is accurate. Rental price varies according to quality and age of the flat, but 2-3 bedroom flats can be found for 300 euros on up.

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