Cheaper cost of living myth??

The secret of cheaper living is to buy what is in surplus at the markets , and do not shop near the coast , go inland to the markets in the villages where prices are a lot cheaper , traders know the costal areas are mostly a captive audience and price accordingly.

Just get a grip! It is far cheaper overall living in Spain than the UK and far more pleasant in our opinion! And our area is one of the healthiest places in Europe it don't get much better than this! If you feel you can have the same standard of life in the UK go for it, why stay here moaning and being miserable? Trust me you will get a shock as many returning Brits have found out to their cost! Ok three points weather / prices / Healthcare So no Myth just fact, it is cheaper and far more enjoyable no matter what sort of true Brit you are!

I don't think anyone is moaning Scuby, as far as I understood it was a sensible question that started this topic and it's made for an interesting discussion.
When some of us ask a question we shouldn't read too much into it. I was interested to hear what people thought and for those who had only more recently come to Spain it was a logical question as historically Spain has been very cheap.
When some of us came to Spain to live or rent over 10 years ago it was much cheaper than it is now but the exchange rate has changed that in the last year or so. Therefore it isn't a moan but a normal observation. I'm sure most of us chose Spain for much more than cheap prices and rightly so. The advantages in Soain far outweigh the exchange rate!




Jan

Babu wrote:Having had a place out here for over a year now, I am at a loss to know where I am going wrong buying stuff . . . Apart from booze, fags, fuel and melons (I know, what else is there) every thing I buy in consum, lidl, Mercadona or markets (usually more expensive than supermarkets) seems to be equal or more expensive than uk!! Milk, coffee, cucumbers, beef, chicken,fizzy drinks,icecream,lettuce & tomatoes for goodness sake are all more expensive than say in Aldi back home . . Fruit juice,sugar, sweets, rice and potatoes are similar price . . . Don't even get me started on electricals!! Example: I bought a Dyson type cordless vacuum from Lidl in uk in May for £45 and brought it over with me when drove over in June . . Identical item Went on sale in Lidl here 2 weeks ago for €79!!
Is Quesada area a hotspot for high prices or does everyone eat out as I know restaurants are generally cheaper?

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A packet of 20 smokes a day in the UK is 10 pounds. Today that's over 11€ which isn't good as the euro is strong.
20 B&H here is let's say 5€ That's a saving of 6€ per day which is 2,200€ per year
Beer and wine as you admit is much cheaper so you sort of answered your own question.
Plus the sun shines and the sea is warm. Happy days.

Jan
Im glad we have someone like you envigilating? the Forum . .
I posed the question (which is what it was, with 2 ??'s)purely because in my limited time here I haven't noticed a significant price difference on commodities from uk which was hailed as a major difference in previous times . . I was triggered to post when I saw in lidl 3 multicoloured peppers in a pack (spain grown)for almost 2 euros where equivalent in uk aldi are 90p . . Plus now we are in tourist season, I have seen prices on lemontree market soar to higher than supermarkets . .
I love it here and lifestyle is great, eating out is much cheaper, fuel and getting hammered is no comparison . . . (Btw - I think Gamma will be doing a special on Bacardi from Thurs as they have a huge stack of bottles out ready )
I just think lifestyle is the selling point rather than cheap and cheerful . . Unless you are in Benidorm of course . . .

[quote="Babu"]Jan
Im glad we have someone like you envigilating? the Forum . .
I posed the question (which is what it was, with 2 ??'s)purely because in my limited time here I haven't noticed a significant price difference on commodities from uk which was hailed as a major difference in previous times . . I was triggered to post when I saw in lidl 3 multicoloured peppers in a pack (spain grown)for almost 2 euros where equivalent in uk aldi are 90p . . Plus now we are in tourist season, I have seen prices on lemontree market soar to higher than supermarkets . .
I love it here and lifestyle is great, eating out is much cheaper, fuel and getting hammered is no comparison . . . (Btw - I think Gamma will be doing a special on Bacardi from Thurs as they have a huge stack of bottles out ready )
I just think lifestyle is the selling point rather than cheap and cheerful . . Unless you are in Benidorm of course . . .[/quote

Yes but the point is it is still Far Far Far cheaper here no matter how you dress it up plus all the bennefits, get your peppers of the market in future! not cheap and cheerful just cheaper overall and a much better lifstyle than most people could imagine even if the the pound euro were at 1to1 Lovin IT!

[quote="Babu"]Jan
Im glad we have someone like you envigilating? the Forum . .
I posed the question (which is what it was, with 2 ??'s)purely because in my limited time here I haven't noticed a significant price difference on commodities from uk which was hailed as a major difference in previous times . . I was triggered to post when I saw in lidl 3 multicoloured peppers in a pack (spain grown)for almost 2 euros where equivalent in uk aldi are 90p . . Plus now we are in tourist season, I have seen prices on lemontree market soar to higher than supermarkets . .
I love it here and lifestyle is great, eating out is much cheaper, fuel and getting hammered is no comparison . . . (Btw - I think Gamma will be doing a special on Bacardi from Thurs as they have a huge stack of bottles out ready )
I just think lifestyle is the selling point rather than cheap and cheerful . . Unless you are in Benidorm of course . . .[/quote

Yes but the point is it is still Far Far Far cheaper here no matter how you dress it up plus all the bennefits, get your peppers of the market in future! not cheap and cheerful just cheaper overall and a much better lifstyle than most people could imagine even if the the pound euro were at one to one!

We could spend hours and hours debating why things like broccoli is cheaper in UK but green beans are half the price here. Why coffee in UK costs four quid a 250g pack but only 2 euro here whilst coffee pods are cheaper in UK. Why Serrano ham is £2.50 for 100g in UK but you can get it here for €1.50 or less.
However it would all be pointless as we pick different things. A loaf of bread in UK for 60p and €2 for UK bread here when I have just bought 3 large baguettes in Gama for €1.
But, my outgoings in UK were twice as much as they are here, council tax being the biggie. Even with the lowered pound they are still low. Even water charges (£34 a month in UK and €23 a month here) play a part.
I just know that my money goes much further here. €5.90 to the IMF cinema in Torrevieja and £9 in UK is another example.
But that €5.90 is £5.40 now whereas just a couple of years ago it was £4.20 if you converted it.
Enjoy.