chipper hi…
Firstly welcome to the forum.
This subject has been covered several times in the past and of course all answers are subjective.
Clearly there is a world of a difference between buying and renting especially if you buy outright.
Typically long term rentals will cost between 400-650 euros a month. You may find somewhere cheaper depending on location.
Electricity is expensive, on a par with or ashade more expensive than the UK and your location will reflect greatly on this bill. We are at 900 meters altitude about 3000 feet ASL. We live in a sheltered valley in the foothills of the Sierras. So we get very hot summers requiring aircon and very cold winters requiring heating. Our house is a typical village house and has little in the way of insulation. Average Summer Leccy bils during July / August are around 175 Euros per month and Winter bills can be as high as 250 Euros per month.
Rates bills depend on the value of the property as determined by the state (This valuation may bear no resemblance to the price you pay for the property). For a small property say one or two bedrooms in a village you can expect to pay around maybe 100 Euros three times a year. This includes sewage, water provision and garbage collection. One also pays for water via a water meter.
Internet can be difficult depending on your location; again where we are we pay Telefonica 40 euros p/m for a 3mbps service and 14 Euros p/m line rental. Availabilty depends on your location; it may be necessary to consider satellite internet if you are in a remote area or in an area where Internet via landline or WiFi is not available. Beware of satellite Internet however; installation costs are coming down dramatically but the service is capped and some stringent rules apply under the so called Fair Usage Policies.
Supermarket prices generally on a par with the UK say Sainsbury / Waitrose. Wine and beer much cheaper than the UK.
Cars… second hand cars are expensive but there are bargains to be had by shopping around. Fuel is around 1.30 Euros per litre for diesel. Road Tax depends on the emissions standard of the vehicle, I pay 75 Euros per year for a 10 year old 1.9litre Dci Renault Scenic. Car insurance can be expensive… shop around but beware that unless you ask for fully comp most Spanish Insurers will just sell Basic 3rd party. However, all Spanish Insurers include ‘Assistencia para Viaje’
which is roadside recovery.
Public Transport by bus in generally good, and inexpensive. Jaen Province is not particularly well served by train however. Granada / Jaen Airport has no services originating in the UK. Malaga is the nearest major airport.
Depending on location, about 1500 per month plus rental should give a fairly relaxed lifestyle; BUT be aware that if you are dependent on UK pensions they will be subject to exchange rate variations. When we first moved here ?1000 would get you 1450 Euros; those days are long gone, at today’s rate that same 1000 will get you just 1145 Euros.
Hope some of this helps…
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