# pensioner moving to spain



## elgordo (Nov 28, 2008)

i am a pensioner of 65 with an income of £1200 a month could i rent and live in spain in valencia


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Yes .


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Depends on so many factors...what kind of property you decide to rent - apartment or house with pool - and of course location.
Will you be running a car? How many people are going to have to live on that £1200?
Remember that the £/euro exchange rate fluctuates. It's not too bad now, nothing like it was ten years ago of course but better than in late 2008 when it was almost at parity.
You aren't going to live like a Lord (or Lady) on that income and I'd say you need back-up capital for those emergencies but as you aren't looking for work you should be able to have a comfortable if not luxurious life in Spain.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

sounds good. Keep an eye on the exchange rate, but for two and living in smallish, comfortable area that sounds finds to me

Jo xxx


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

elgordo said:


> i am a pensioner of 65 with an income of £1200 a month could i rent and live in spain in valencia


Thats about what I budget to live on every month. I aim for €1500 a month and that seems to be about fine. Its the odd extras that you have to put aside for such as insurances, "council tax" etc.

If you are going to be looking in this area then it should be fine, although if you move further South to the CDS I have picked up that the cost of living is a lot more expensive

There are flats around here for rent at €250 - €300 a month.

I would say that we dont have rent to pay, so that does make a big difference


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Also depends whether you need to run a car, as petrol is getting ridiculously expensive. Having shops in walking distance will make a big difference to your cost of living.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Dunno about Valencia, but here you certainly could


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Santa Pola is 5 minutes from Alicante airport and has a huge expat community in the Gran Alicant development.. if you live near the GA centre it is on the flat and all shops are in easy walking distance. Living up the hill will mean you need transport down to the big supermarkets but there is plenty of public transport.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Have you considered what you will do for healthcare / medical insuraance ?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

djfwells said:


> Have you considered what you will do for healthcare / medical insuraance ?


As El Gordo is 65 and getting a UK state pension he will get free healthcare here.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> As El Gordo is 65 and getting a UK state pension he will get free healthcare here.


And I hope it continues Alcalaina - however, things are pretty grim up in Valencia at the moment. We are currently the most indebted regions and this has caused a number of protests by Health workers over the weekend, a 3-day strike by Pharamacists just before Xmas (called off at the 11th hour !) and around 400 schools threatened with closure due to unpaid bills (My daughter got a letter home on Friday saying her school would close in 15 days time due them being unable to pay utility, Staff, Food and Conusmable bills).
I know it is against EU law for them to discriminate against Non-spanish EU Citizens, but I am sure that in times of crisis like this it won't be too long until they find a way to squeeze more money from whoever they can and wherever they can. This is one of the reasons why Valencia has introduced the '"Convenio de Asistencia Sanitaria a Pacientes Privados"


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

djfwells said:


> And I hope it continues Alcalaina - however, things are pretty grim up in Valencia at the moment. We are currently the most indebted regions and this has caused a number of protests by Health workers over the weekend, a 3-day strike by Pharamacists just before Xmas (called off at the 11th hour !) and around 400 schools threatened with closure due to unpaid bills (My daughter got a letter home on Friday saying her school would close in 15 days time due them being unable to pay utility, Staff, Food and Conusmable bills).
> I know it is against EU law for them to discriminate against Non-spanish EU Citizens, but I am sure that in times of crisis like this it won't be too long until they find a way to squeeze more money from whoever they can and wherever they can. This is one of the reasons why Valencia has introduced the '"Convenio de Asistencia Sanitaria a Pacientes Privados"


With respect, the day that Spain renagues on such an important part of the eu treaty, bearing in mind that would include ex pats from all countries and walks of life, then it would cause them so much trouble it would be untrue.

Yes, there have been problems with getting free medicines in some cases, but there have been no interruptions in actual health care as far as I have heard in this area.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> With respect, the day that Spain renagues on such an important part of the eu treaty, bearing in mind that would include ex pats from all countries and walks of life, then it would cause them so much trouble it would be untrue.
> 
> Yes, there have been problems with getting free medicines in some cases, but there have been no interruptions in actual health care as far as I have heard in this area.


and apart from all that, the reciprocal agreement between the UK & Spain means that the UK pays a certain amount to Spain each year for each pensioner who gets healthcare here...............so they aren't giving it away for free, anyway, are they?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Sounds grim, but isn't the UK going the same way? I keep hearing on the news that NHS cuts are hitting the elderly hardest.

If you can afford private health insurance in either country then fine, it will give you faster., but not necessarily better, treatment.

We have joined a semi-private Centro Medico. Membership costs €9 a month for the two of us and we get 24-7 access to a GP, while consultations with specialists cost €20. But to get subsidised prescriptions we have to go to the state-run consultorio in the village. I have no qualms about relying on state care for emergency treatment as the hospitals round here are excellent.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

djfwells said:


> And I hope it continues Alcalaina - however, things are pretty grim up in Valencia at the moment. We are currently the most indebted regions and this has caused a number of protests by Health workers over the weekend, a 3-day strike by Pharamacists just before Xmas (called off at the 11th hour !) and around 400 schools threatened with closure due to unpaid bills (My daughter got a letter home on Friday saying her school would close in 15 days time due them being unable to pay utility, Staff, Food and Conusmable bills).
> I know it is against EU law for them to discriminate against Non-spanish EU Citizens, but I am sure that in times of crisis like this it won't be too long until they find a way to squeeze more money from whoever they can and wherever they can. This is one of the reasons why Valencia has introduced the '"Convenio de Asistencia Sanitaria a Pacientes Privados"


I have to agree. Contracts are followed until they are broken, and they (contracts, agreements, rules) are being broken, changed and ammended left right and centre.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I have to agree. Contracts are followed until they are broken, and they (contracts, agreements, rules) are being broken, changed and ammended left right and centre.


But this isnt a "contract"
This is one of the basic agreements to the EU. 

Spain has pushed things with, for instance LRAU, but denying basic health care to what could well be millions of expats would cause melt down. At the end of the day the most damage would be to Spain because of the repercussions, and I think they must know that


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> But this isnt a "contract"
> This is one of the basic agreements to the EU.
> 
> Spain has pushed things with, for instance LRAU, but denying basic health care to what could well be millions of expats would cause melt down. At the end of the day the most damage would be to Spain because of the repercussions, and I think they must know that


I know that, you know that, they know that, but do they care??? What agreement was it that Germany broke the moment the EU started? It's like when multinationals are fined for environmental damage. They pay the fine and carry on. What about the Kyoto agreement? Countries agree to, and break, the Kyoto agreement every single year. The agreements mean little more than intentions, and depending on who's signing the agreement, not even that.

I'm not trying to spread panic, I'm just saying that in the real world a political agreement actually means very little.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I know that, you know that, they know that, but do they care??? What agreement was it that Germany broke the moment the EU started? It's like when multinationals are fined for environmental damage. They pay the fine and carry on. What about the Kyoto agreement? Countries agree to, and break, the Kyoto agreement every single year. The agreements mean little more than intentions, and depending on who's signing the agreement, not even that.
> 
> I'm not trying to spread panic, I'm just saying that in the real world an agreement actually means very little.


sadly, you have a point


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## elgordo (Nov 28, 2008)

thanks for all the advice with all bits added together I am getting about 1300 pounds seen houses in oliva for 350 euros so should be ok am 65 so meds are free


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

elgordo said:


> thanks for all the advice with all bits added together I am getting about 1300 pounds seen houses in oliva for 350 euros so should be ok am 65 so meds are free


general point... about meds... my mother in law (spanish) has a cream that she has had free on prescription for years... last week went to the doctor to be told its not available on prescription now and she can either change to one thats not so good or pay 14 euros a tube for it!

apparently there are more and more things like this with meds now... don't know if this is just in the Comuinidad Valenciana or everywhere!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> general point... about meds... my mother in law (spanish) has a cream that she has had free on prescription for years... last week went to the doctor to be told its not available on prescription now and she can either change to one thats not so good or pay 14 euros a tube for it!
> 
> apparently there are more and more things like this with meds now... don't know if this is just in the Comuinidad Valenciana or everywhere!


They are changing to generic rather than branded pharmaceuticals to save money. It doesn´t necessarily mean they are not as good. Like buying generic ibuprofen rather than Neurofen - the active ingredient is the same.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> They are changing to generic rather than branded pharmaceuticals to save money. It doesn´t necessarily mean they are not as good. Like buying generic ibuprofen rather than Neurofen - the active ingredient is the same.


Yes, a law was passed a while ago about this. However in Steve's MIL's case this doesn't seem to be what has happened if she now has to pay 14€


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> general point... about meds... my mother in law (spanish) has a cream that she has had free on prescription for years... last week went to the doctor to be told its not available on prescription now and she can either change to one thats not so good or pay 14 euros a tube for it!
> 
> apparently there are more and more things like this with meds now... don't know if this is just in the Comuinidad Valenciana or everywhere!


Could be something to do with the Comunidad de Valencias 20 billion euro debt ?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> Could be something to do with the Comunidad de Valencias 20 billion euro debt ?


Here's smth I posted on another thread about Valencia if anyone's interested. Valencia's official bodies are facing huge problems over debt. How that effects the people of Valencia will become more and more apparent over time, but the health system is, and will be effected.

_Interesting report on "La Sexta" last night about Valencia. It seems that all the opulance of Valencia is a charade and they are up to their necks in debt. Basically up that creek that we've all heard about without a paddle.

Resacón en Levante - laSextaOn | laSexta - laSextaOn | laSexta_ _

It is obviously a very biased report, but there is some hard to deny information here. Maybe not everything that is classified as debt in the programme is debt for the comunidad, maybe some figures are not what they seem, but 200.000 million euros of debt can't be explained away that easily. _ _
Apparently the formula 1 racing, Terra Mítica theme park, the Americas cup sailing competition, the Science Museum complex, the Pope's visit etc, etc all gave huge losses to the area.
Valecian Santiago Calatrava, the world famous architect who has designed many landmark buildings in Valencia, has cost them dearly. His budget doubled from the planning stage to execution
I still strongly follow the premise of "No smoke without fire". Oh, and Camps, as head of the Generalitat played his part in this sordid tale.

It's in Spanish, but you can make out the names Gürtel, Camps, Emarsa and many others clearly_


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