I am a retired Swiss citizen. I am married to a Filipina woman and currently we are living in the Philippines, where cost of living is very low. But of course there are also other criteria for choosing one residence as only cost of living….. So I want move back to Spain where I already did live for 8 years during the 90this. I know that cost of living has gone up dramatically since then. When I first moved to Spain cost of living was about the same as it is in the Philippine now. We are a family of 3 persons with one child still in school age. My income from my pension is about 5000.- Euros per month.  The people I did already ask about this, told me that this is still sufficient to have a comfortable lifestyle in Spain. What do you think???
Thanks
Iwan

Lets put it this way - thats about 3 x the average income in Spain per month.

That’s a very good income. It depends on you living expectations. But for that money you can easily live very comfortable in any of the cities of Spain. However if you don’t have a need to be located in either Madrid or Barcelona I would look at the cities close by as you can purchase or rent incredible apartments for a decent amount of money. We rent a flat in Barcelona close to the Sagrada Familia for about 850 eur a month but I think we are lucky to find it. More likely in Barca it will be around 1100 - 1500 depending on the quality.

Outside of Barca you have Tarragona which is a lot cheaper.

It’‘s plenty for Madrid! You must be living like a Kind on 5k per month in The Philippines!

christkv - 21 May 2008 02:18 PM

That’s a very good income. It depends on you living expectations. But for that money you can easily live very comfortable in any of the cities of Spain. However if you don’t have a need to be located in either Madrid or Barcelona I would look at the cities close by as you can purchase or rent incredible apartments for a decent amount of money. We rent a flat in Barcelona close to the Sagrada Familia for about 850 euro a month but I think we are lucky to find it. More likely in Barca it will be around 1100 - 1500 depending on the quality.

Outside of Barca you have Tarragona which is a lot cheaper.

Thank you for the positive comments to my question.

There seem to some magic in this, because I actually do plan to go to Tarragona….... I did already live in Tarragona for 3 Years before and I have some friends there. We will travel to Tarragona in September and stay for about 5 weeks in order to see if my wife can get accustomed to the way of living.

What about asian people being accepted in Catalonia? I did observe that south American and African people are discriminated in Catalonia. I would not like to expose my wife to this kind of problems.

Iwan

RG - 21 May 2008 02:44 PM

It’‘s plenty for Madrid! You must be living like a Kind on 5k per month in The Philippines!

Yes, as you say, big house, swimming pool, driver, maid, but also heavy armed guards, killings and robberies every day, 7,000000 people who live with less as 1 USD a day. Sometimes no electricity, no water, no telephone - mail which never does arrive - real bad pollution - hot but never really nice weather - eating out very cheap, but you may end up in hospital…..corruption about everywhere etc. etc. Maybe the price for cheap living is a little high…...
Iwan

My Experience is that it’s not as big of a problem for Asians as for Latin Americans or North Africans. Mostly because there are less Asians in Spain. Also problems are usually more centered around big towns as they attract more tourists and therefore more petty crime. That said my girlfriend is American and has been getting along splendidly getting Catalan friends and all.

If you plan to stay longterm I would suggest to try to sign up for local activities and take advantage of free Catalan language courses. I find that talking a little bit of Catalan opens a lot of doors :D.

Christian

RG - 21 May 2008 02:44 PM

It’‘s plenty for Madrid! You must be living like a Kind on 5k per month in The Philippines!

Rg i know my Spelling and sayying can be a be twisted at time but KIND think you ment KING

well what about living out side the big citys that would be manly Spanish
You should rent some think frist and the look around and then buy if you happy

One it help you with your spanish , make freind to Spanards And get to know where to shop

I fine shopping in the big supermarkets

The most expensive and cheapest supermarkets in Spain
Choosing where to do your weekly supermarket shop could be a key factor in reducing the household budget according to a study carried out by a consumer?s organisation (la Organizaci?n de Consumidores y Usuarios - OCU). It found that S?nchez Romero was the most expensive supermarket while Dani was the cheapest with a 46% difference in prices.

The study by OCU demonstrated that a typical weekly shop which included 132 products by well known brands was once again cheapest at Dani, a supermarket chain in Andalucia. Using the same criteria Cemar, Herbu’s, Simply Market and Alcampo came next on the list.

S?nchez Romero was found to be the most expensive supermarket followed by Ercoreca (32% more expensive than Dani) and El Corte Ingl?s (27% more expensive).

On a national level Alcampo was the cheapest supermarket chain in 16 Spanish cities followed by Sabeco which was the most economic in 6 cities while Mercadona was found to have the most reasonable prices in 3 of the cities in the study.

Eroski and Carrefour were also found to be among the cheapest supermarkets. OCU highlighted the fact that local and regional supermarket chains are the most economic places to shop for food in more than half of the Spanish cities included in their study.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, San Sebastian, Pamplona and Bilbao were found to be the most expensive places to buy branded food products while Cuenca, Lugo, Orense, Zamora, Le?n, ?vila, Pontevedra, Soria and Vigo, were the cheapest.

According to OCU an average household spends 4,683 euros a year on food and that savings of up to euros could be achieved by selecting the right place to shop.
In Madrid, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Granada, Castell?n and Barcelona families could save over 1000 euros. In fact in Madrid an average household could save in the region of 1575 euros by selecting the cheapest supermarket.

On the other hand supermarkets in Teruel, Cuenca, Puertollano and Ciudad Real had the most uniform prices and families could only save 83 euros in Teruel and Cuenca, 137 euros in Puertollano and 201 euros in Ciudad Real.

The study by OCU looked at more than 87,000 prices in 762 establishments in 54 different cities and on-line supermarkets. It concluded that households should choose a supermarket that has economic prices in general rather than be seduced by special offers in more expensive chains. It also discovered that there is a growing trend to buy the cheapest product regardless of the brand.

it worth looking around
rent , Fuel , tvs and so on
jurdy

Jurdy

Thank you so much for this very detailed report. The amount of 4,683 euros a year for food per household seems very cheap to me. We spend more than this, for 3 persons, in the Philippine. But of course we eat about 80% imported food.

Iwan

any on got a shopping bill that could print up here please Nice to see it so people can look at prices
jurdy

A good mate off my was out shopping to day and here whats here cam up with
Cost of general groceries (prices in Euros) as of 22/05/08
A loaf of sliced bread   ?2.55
A litre of milk   ?0.95
A bag of sugar   ?0.99
1.5 litre bottle still water   ?0.55
Pack of butter   ?1.20
1 Dozen class A eggs   ?1.05
Medium jar Nescafe coffee ?2.65
.75cl Bottle red rioja wine   ?1.85
.75cl Bottle white rioja wine ?3.95

Cost of petrol (prices in Euros per litre) as of 01/05/07
95 Unleaded   ?1.12
97 Super   ?1.12
98 Super   ?1.32
Diesel   ?1.05

Cost of luxury items (prices in Euros) as of 06/10/07
A packet of 20 Benson & Hedges  
?3.60
A packet of 20 L&B;cigarettes  
?2.90
A small beer (local draught) in a bar   ?0.75 - ?1.25
A cup of coffee with milk in street cafe   ?0.75 - ?1.25

Cost of household services (prices in Euros) as of 25/12/07
Electricity; 2 months standing charge   ?15.44 + 16%IVA
Electricity; Price per KWh  
?0.079478 + 16%IVA
Water rates 2 months charge (approx.)    ?16.73 + 16%IVA
Telephone; 3 months line rental   ?29.75 + 16%IVA
Gas bottle replacement   ?10.90

Misc items (prices in Euros) To post a letter within Spain   ?0.25
To post a letter to the UK (normal weight)    ?0.50
any one what to add to this
jurdy

jurdyr - 21 May 2008 08:19 PM

RG - 21 May 2008 02:44 PM

It’‘s plenty for Madrid! You must be living like a Kind on 5k per month in The Philippines!

Rg i know my Spelling and sayying can be a be twisted at time but KIND think you ment KING

well what about living out side the big citys that would be manly Spanish
You should rent some think frist and the look around and then buy if you happy

One it help you with your spanish , make freind to Spanards And get to know where to shop

I fine shopping in the big supermarkets

The most expensive and cheapest supermarkets in Spain
Choosing where to do your weekly supermarket shop could be a key factor in reducing the household budget according to a study carried out by a consumer?s organisation (la Organizaci?n de Consumidores y Usuarios - OCU). It found that S?nchez Romero was the most expensive supermarket while Dani was the cheapest with a 46% difference in prices.

The study by OCU demonstrated that a typical weekly shop which included 132 products by well known brands was once again cheapest at Dani, a supermarket chain in Andalucia. Using the same criteria Cemar, Herbu’s, Simply Market and Alcampo came next on the list.

S?nchez Romero was found to be the most expensive supermarket followed by Ercoreca (32% more expensive than Dani) and El Corte Ingl?s (27% more expensive).

On a national level Alcampo was the cheapest supermarket chain in 16 Spanish cities followed by Sabeco which was the most economic in 6 cities while Mercadona was found to have the most reasonable prices in 3 of the cities in the study.

Eroski and Carrefour were also found to be among the cheapest supermarkets. OCU highlighted the fact that local and regional supermarket chains are the most economic places to shop for food in more than half of the Spanish cities included in their study.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, San Sebastian, Pamplona and Bilbao were found to be the most expensive places to buy branded food products while Cuenca, Lugo, Orense, Zamora, Le?n, ?vila, Pontevedra, Soria and Vigo, were the cheapest.

According to OCU an average household spends 4,683 euros a year on food and that savings of up to euros could be achieved by selecting the right place to shop.
In Madrid, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Granada, Castell?n and Barcelona families could save over 1000 euros. In fact in Madrid an average household could save in the region of 1575 euros by selecting the cheapest supermarket.

On the other hand supermarkets in Teruel, Cuenca, Puertollano and Ciudad Real had the most uniform prices and families could only save 83 euros in Teruel and Cuenca, 137 euros in Puertollano and 201 euros in Ciudad Real.

The study by OCU looked at more than 87,000 prices in 762 establishments in 54 different cities and on-line supermarkets. It concluded that households should choose a supermarket that has economic prices in general rather than be seduced by special offers in more expensive chains. It also discovered that there is a growing trend to buy the cheapest product regardless of the brand.

it worth looking around
rent , Fuel , tvs and so on
jurdy

One of the best aspects of life in a Spanish city - and many smaller towns and villages too - is that you don’t have to put up with the scourge of the supermarket.  They might be the most convenient places for heavy stuff like cases of beer or sacks of dog biscuits, but for really good fresh meat, fish, bread and so on, Spain still has great specialist shops.  For fruit and veg, you can’t beat the old markets. The supermarkets sell tasteless, industrial international brands and encourage you to buy crap you don’t really want and throw half of it away. Shop local, support local businesses and enjoy some of the best quality produce in Europe!

MartCross - 23 May 2008 12:40 PM

One of the best aspects of life in a Spanish city - and many smaller towns and villages too - is that you don’t have to put up with the scourge of the supermarket.  They might be the most convenient places for heavy stuff like cases of beer or sacks of dog biscuits, but for really good fresh meat, fish, bread and so on, Spain still has great specialist shops.  For fruit and veg, you can’t beat the old markets. The supermarkets sell tasteless, industrial international brands and encourage you to buy crap you don’t really want and throw half of it away. Shop local, support local businesses and enjoy some of the best quality produce in Europe!

this is very ture small town and small citys are busy with small specialist shops , like live beside the sea where sea food is plemty
I.E. Santa Pola
jurdy

?5000 per month is a very good wage for living in Spain. Are you thinking country or town. We earn ?5000 + per month and have 2 properties and manage to cope very well. Only thing is, we are having a property dry spell at the moment, however, many of us who own properties made a good profit years ago so we haven’t lost really, we just don’t make as much profit 😉

Our property went up over 50% in 7 years (profit wise) so if I now cannot sell for what it was worth 2 years ago I only make 35% increase, either way I don’t lose out.

It should be a good time to buy a property though, unless you wanted to rent. I have seen many properties come down ?100,000 just to sell it. Could be good times all round for you 😊

Sales of new cars in May were down 24 percent compared to a year ago, and the high prices of diesel resulted in a ten per cent reduction in consumption.
More signs of the economic crisis in Spain today with the revelation that new car sales in the country in the month of May this year are down 24.3% compared to last.

It’s not just Spain, we may have a world wide recession.  I would rather be in Europe than the Phillipines, as a European.  People here manage on ?1200 a month, eating local, and not needing luxuries.

The heating bills are lower than in England, and the price per litre.

I have now idea how it is in the Phillipines.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.