Monthly living expenses Costa Calida

RichT wrote on Sun Jan 22, 2023 3:14pm:

Obviously, everyone's idea of living comfortably will vary, but I hope the following will help, based on my experience...

House purchase - you need to allow an additional 12%-13% for costs on top of the purchase price. The main reason for this is 'property purchase tax' which is 8% on the purchase price (as opposed to 1-1.5% stamp duty in the UK). So, for example, buying a €200k property would cost you an addition...

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...al approx. €26,000 in costs.

However, council tax (IBI in Spain) is generally much lower - I pay approx. €470 per year, whereas I was paying £3,000 per year for a similar size house in the UK. So that's good for your monthly budget.

If you live on a golf resort or other urbanisation, you may also need to pay monthly community or maintenance charges, which can vary widely depending on the size of the property and the type of resort / urbanisation (literally could be €20 or €200 per month) - so worth checking before you buy.

I have found that car & house insurance costs are similar to the UK; electricity was slightly more expensive than the UK (but prices are very high both here & there at the moment!); not many properties have mains gas and, whilst you still need some form of heating (portable gas heaters, wood or pellet burners, etc.) in the winter, overall you won't need to use heating as much as you do in the UK.

Food shopping is similar to the UK, but alcohol is a lot cheaper :-). 

Eating out varies - many places have a 'menu del dia' - a fixed price, often lunchtime, 3 or 4 course menu for €12 - €20 per person which can be good value; otherwise prices are similar to the UK. Drinks in bars are cheaper than UK.

Assuming you are retired, you will need a Non Lucrative Visa (NLV) to move permanently to Spain. There are several posts on here relating to this, but it's worth mentioning two key cost elements:

Firstly, unless you are already taking your state pension in the UK, you will need private health insurance - and costs vary greatly depending on age and if you have pre-existing conditions. I pay €800 per year, but I have seen comments from others who are paying €2,000 + per year.

Secondly, you need to prove 'means of maintenance' of approx. €3,000 per month for a couple - this, obviously, doesn't mean you have to spend that amount, but you do have to prove that you could (pension, money in the bank, shares, etc.)

Tax - rates are similar to the UK, but the allowances are much lower, so you pay tax on more of your income. You should seek expert advice on this.

So, in general, think about what you would expect to spend in the UK for the lifestyle you want and then add or subtract where costs are higher or lower, based on the above!

Hope this helps!

KarenJ wrote on Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:18pm:

Thanks Rich for the information.  We are lucky enough to already being owners of a property in Spain and have Irish passports but if possible we would like to retire a little earlier and we are just trying to see what our budget needs to be to do this. 

Our savings and pension will go a lot further over there and the fab weather is a bonus....

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...

Thanks again, its really appreciated.

RichT wrote on Sun Jan 22, 2023 3:14pm:

Obviously, everyone's idea of living comfortably will vary, but I hope the following will help, based on my experience...

House purchase - you need to allow an additional 12%-13% for costs on top of the purchase price. The main reason for this is 'property purchase tax' which is 8% on the purchase price (as opposed to 1-1.5% stamp duty in the UK). So, for example, buying a €200k property would cost you an addition...

Read more...

...al approx. €26,000 in costs.

However, council tax (IBI in Spain) is generally much lower - I pay approx. €470 per year, whereas I was paying £3,000 per year for a similar size house in the UK. So that's good for your monthly budget.

If you live on a golf resort or other urbanisation, you may also need to pay monthly community or maintenance charges, which can vary widely depending on the size of the property and the type of resort / urbanisation (literally could be €20 or €200 per month) - so worth checking before you buy.

I have found that car & house insurance costs are similar to the UK; electricity was slightly more expensive than the UK (but prices are very high both here & there at the moment!); not many properties have mains gas and, whilst you still need some form of heating (portable gas heaters, wood or pellet burners, etc.) in the winter, overall you won't need to use heating as much as you do in the UK.

Food shopping is similar to the UK, but alcohol is a lot cheaper :-). 

Eating out varies - many places have a 'menu del dia' - a fixed price, often lunchtime, 3 or 4 course menu for €12 - €20 per person which can be good value; otherwise prices are similar to the UK. Drinks in bars are cheaper than UK.

Assuming you are retired, you will need a Non Lucrative Visa (NLV) to move permanently to Spain. There are several posts on here relating to this, but it's worth mentioning two key cost elements:

Firstly, unless you are already taking your state pension in the UK, you will need private health insurance - and costs vary greatly depending on age and if you have pre-existing conditions. I pay €800 per year, but I have seen comments from others who are paying €2,000 + per year.

Secondly, you need to prove 'means of maintenance' of approx. €3,000 per month for a couple - this, obviously, doesn't mean you have to spend that amount, but you do have to prove that you could (pension, money in the bank, shares, etc.)

Tax - rates are similar to the UK, but the allowances are much lower, so you pay tax on more of your income. You should seek expert advice on this.

So, in general, think about what you would expect to spend in the UK for the lifestyle you want and then add or subtract where costs are higher or lower, based on the above!

Hope this helps!