Is Spain now much cheaper than UK?

Yes re the UK BlueBelle. In Buxton last week we had 4 lattes for under £5 altogether. In Manchester, I’d be lucky to get 2 for that price.

Surely it’s horses for courses judging by all the posts on here and really hard to judge some things cheaper, some things dearer… wages, housing cant be judged by a two week stay

It’s even harder to judge different areas in Uk city prices, some small but elite towns and then the more disadvantaged areas There are two small posh towns near me I cannot shop in them the prices are way way higher than my ‘disadvantaged’ town The North /South divide i m sure happens in other countries

Spain and every other country have tourist areas, tourist prices and local prices and local problems A lot of Portuguese have come to my town to work and seem to like it here although Brexit spoilt so much for so many and probably put paid to that
When I was young Spain was always the cheap place to visit
then it was more Eastern Europe maybe it’s changed again

I don't think marmalade is a problem Dr Watson. You can just pick the Seville oranges up from the pavement (the Spanish call them "funny" oranges). 😂😂😂
There are Iceland shops in several towns including Fuengirola, plus lots of supermarkets have British products. When we visited from France we always stocked up on all the stuff we can't get here.

For Cossy and her Costa del Sol experience, yes, I can believe it. We've stayed in Torremolinos, and Malaga (lovely), and apart from the vicious (to us) height of summer heat, I'm sure you can have a great quality of life. Oh, with El Corte Ingles too!

I'd guess the drawback to all that lovely sun and coffee would be issues getting UK things like marmalade, digestive biscuits and the like (I'm guessing!!), and the BIGGER question of healthcare, though my initial enquiries looked more hopeful than I expected in that regard?

I am married to my Spanish husband 32 years and we live in the Madrid Capital.

Spain has become more expensive over the years .. Especially the electricity ..

Benidorm is very cheap.
We have friends just returned from there.
On a daily basis they reported just about everything they ate and drank because we were interested to know.

We just couldn’t believe how much cheaper everything was compared to UK.

Definitely going there next year for a holiday.

They rented an air b&b apartment for a month but ate out a lot.

At our daily bar, a café is 1.50 € ..

Just back from Portugal where we stayed in apartments in Lisbon, Porto and Faro. Food and drink was cheaper than here. Not just coffees but also supermarket shops.

Have been going for years renting for up to 3 months. Yes prices have gone up but still cheaper than UK with the exception of utilities and Internet.

I found Spain "cheaper" (and friendlier) than France .... not my quote!

^ I found Spain "cheaper" (and friendlier) than France^ yes, you're paying more for the moody waiter attitude!

silverlining48

I thought Spain has always been cheaper than the uk. That’s why we went there in droves and still do.

Yes.

I thought Spain has always been cheaper than the uk. That’s why we went there in droves and still do.

The fuel is cheaper but food prices have gone up tremendously.
House prices in cities like Sydney, Brisbane, have gone right up in the last few years.

Of course, the first time we went the exchange rate was very favourable for us 🙂. It did go down a lot but has gone up again recently.

I thought Oz was quite a bit cheaper when I was there at start of year, Brisbane,including fuel.

Holidaying in Spain probably is cheaper, but living there would be a completely different matter. Especially if you were earning your salary there.

2 euros for a coffee is not remarkably cheap - I pay about the same if I have a coffee when I pop over the German border. It is cheap for me, as in Denmark drinking a coffee in a coffee bar would cost me six times that, so I gave up drinking coffee anywhere but at home years ago!

Comparing prices between countries does not really tell one anything, as prices have gone up everywhere and wages have not, nor have pensions, so everywhere people are complaining that their standard of living has deteriorated.

Certainly, reading Gransnet I get the feeling that you are very hard hit in the UK, but then again, we all tend to complain about rising prices - no-one starts a thread about things, if indeed there are any, that now are cheaper than they were before Russia invaded Ukraine.

sorry don’t agree. We visit Germany and Spain a lot - tourist area in Spain - but prices in both countries are quite a bit less. Trick is probably to buy what locals eat and alcohol definitely cheaper. Buying anything in Venice you are bound to pay through the nose.

I too have just returned from staying with a friend in the Costa Del Sol. I too founds things pretty cheap, but what actually blew me away was my friend’s cost of living budget - she’s lived there now for just over 4 years, has residency and her livings costs overall are a third of that in the UK, plus she looks better, she walks everywhere, the climate is so temperate she eats most meals on her balcony and only in Jan/Feb/Mar has to pop a cardigan on ! She took early retirement at 56, I was out there celebrating her 60th birthday and she looks and feels amazing.

We have a property in Spain and are considering applying for a Non-Lucrative Visa to enable us to stay there more than the allotted 90 days in a rolling 180 day period.

We find the cost of living there far less than here in UK. And much better weather too!

We found Portugal cheaper for many things, but their wages and taxes are different so that might not be true if I was living there. We also had to factor in the cost of actually getting to, and from Portugal to buy the cheaper goods.

Coffee last Saturday in Spain was €3.20 while a large red wine was €3.40 the night before. Electrical things are pricey here. I’ve just spent €116 on a light switch (with dimmers, so not a basic one) and €55 for a manual timer for the pool hose. The price of bottled gas has gone up big-time over the years, and water has never been cheap. On the whole I think it’s much cheaper to eat out over here but otherwise swings and roundabouts. (I say”over here” because I’m in Spain now, but will return to the UK fairly soon).

We have a home in Spain - visits now limited. This year, we had 2 three-month trips. Next year, we’ll take 4 trips of 6 to 7 weeks.
Alcohol definitely cheaper. Coffee in our rural village bar €1.20 for an espresso. Eating out during the day taking advantage of menus del dia is much not much different to Wetherspoons if you include your UK drink prices. In our area, Menu del dia fixed price average is now about €12.00 for 3 courses and a drink but bear in mind the portions are much smaller (and healthier) than in the UK.
I won’t say what our weekly general grocery shop comes to because everyone has different priorities but it’s not much different to our UK shop. You’ll pay more for British products such as tea bags.
But we save hugely on our heating bills! We live in a cave which has an ambient temperature of about 23c even when it’s 40 outside so no air-con bills either. And in the winter, it can drop to 16c indoors but doesn’t take long to warm up.
For any other Gransnetters who “commute” to and from Spain, we heard the Sierra Nevada had snow overnight. Not enough for the ski resort though.

I think context is everything - in this case, I'd agree that comparing costs (my own example - last week in the main shopping area of Barcelona, coffee and pastry for 3.50 Euros. Compare with France 10 Euros and UK probably 8 - 10 pounds) then yes Spain is "cheaper", however context of average wages and cost of living is really needed before drawing conclusions. I found Spain "cheaper" (and friendlier) than France, where I spend a lot of time

Don’t forget the value of the £ has gone down since the B word.

Coffee was 4 Euros in Vienna last year, it was almost cheaper to drink Glühwein instead!