# Cost of living - 10,000 Euros



## Cindy_L (May 13, 2011)

I'm planning to move to Spain in a few months with my soon to be hubby. We plan to live somewhere between Barcelona and Girona. He has a job however, it doesn't pay too well. Let's just say, he pays his own way and I pay mine, can anyone tell me how long I can survive without working on 10,000 Euros. We are planning to rent an apartment costing around 500 Euros a month.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cindy_L said:


> I'm planning to move to Spain in a few months with my soon to be hubby. We plan to live somewhere between Barcelona and Girona. He has a job however, it doesn't pay too well. Let's just say, he pays his own way and I pay mine, can anyone tell me how long I can survive without working on 10,000 Euros. We are planning to rent an apartment costing around 500 Euros a month.


hhmmm

well if you're paying half the rent that leaves you with 7000€ - if you can actually find an apartment that cheap in that area - Baracelona is very expensive I understand!

if you took as a basic living rate about 630€ a month, which is the Spanish pension rate, then I guess you could *survive* about 11 months


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## pladecalvo (Aug 11, 2010)

Cindy_L said:


> ....can anyone tell me how long I can survive without working on 10,000 Euros.


 About 6-8 months.




> We are planning to rent an apartment costing around 500 Euros a month.


€500 a month for an apartment near Barcelona/Girona??? Good luck with that!!! If you find more than one at that price please let me know and I'll take it...then rent it out for three times that much.


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## Cindy_L (May 13, 2011)

pladecalvo said:


> About 6-8 months.
> 
> 
> €500 a month for a flat near Barcelona/Girona??? Good luck with that!!!




I meant a flat somewhere between the cities of Barcelona and Girona. Not actually in Barcelona or Girona. I am aware of how expensive those cities are. I have seen on Idealista that there are 1 or 2 bedders from 450 Euros upwards.


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## pladecalvo (Aug 11, 2010)

Cindy_L said:


> I meant a flat somewhere between the cities of Barcelona and Girona. Not actually in Barcelona or Girona. I am aware of how expensive those cities are. I have seen on Idealista that there are 1 or 2 bedders from 450 Euros upwards.


Right! Well my partner and I used to live on a budget of €11,000 a year...well it was more 'surviving' than living really. Cost of living has gone up quite a bit since then.

When you say you have €10,000, is that solely for you? Is it per year? Is it your total capital?


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## Cindy_L (May 13, 2011)

pladecalvo said:


> Right! Well my partner and I used to live on a budget of €11,000 a year...well it was more 'surviving' than living really. Cost of living has gone up quite a bit since then.
> 
> When you say you have €10,000, is that solely for you? Is it per year? Is it your total capital?



€10,000 is for only for me. I'm trying to work out how many months I can stretch €10,000, that way I can work out how long I can afford to go without work.


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## pladecalvo (Aug 11, 2010)

Cindy_L said:


> €10,000 is for only for me. I'm trying to work out how many months I can stretch €10,000, that way I can work out how long I can afford to go without work.


Not long I'd say. There are lot of expenses involved when you move to another country. Are you entitled to Health Care? If not, that is going to take a big chunk of your money each month. Spain is no longer a cheap place to live and in most things, it's not very much cheaper than living in the UK. Only you know your lifestyle.....how long would you last in the UK on €10,000?


....and what makes you think you are going to find a job?


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## Cindy_L (May 13, 2011)

Firstly, I have no idea how far €10,000 would get me in the UK. I live in Sydney, Australia. I guess I would be entitled to the health card if I'm married to a spaniard and have the necessary visa to live there. 

I'm not under any illusion that jobs are easy to come by in Spain however, I do have my own plans. I just want to know how long I could go without having to work.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pladecalvo said:


> Not long I'd say. There are lot of expenses involved when you move to another country. Are you entitled to Health Care? If not, that is going to take a big chunk of your money each month. Spain is no longer a cheap place to live and in most things, it's not very much cheaper than living in the UK. Only you know your lifestyle.....how long would you last in the UK on €10,000?
> 
> 
> ....and what makes you think you are going to find a job?


or how far would 13,000 AUD go in Aus??

well if her husband has a proper contracted job, then they'll get the state healthcare -so that's one less thing to pay out for

getting a job will be the tough one though, for sure


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## pladecalvo (Aug 11, 2010)

Cindy_L said:


> Firstly, I have no idea how far €10,000 would get me in the UK. I live in Sydney, Australia. I guess I would be entitled to the health card if I'm married to a spaniard and have the necessary visa to live there.


Yes, I suppose you would. You didn't mention your husband was Spanish, that's why I asked about the health care.

It's not easy to estimate how long 10,000€ would last without having to work. We would have to know something about your lifestyle, what you would need to buy in order to get yourself set up with house and home. There are so many things to consider. As I mentioned earlier my partner and I managed on 11,000€ a year for 7 years but our house was paid for, as was our vehicles, we had health cover and, as you can imagine, there was not a lot of money there to pay for an active social life.

I repeat. Spain is no longer a cheap place to live.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cindy_L said:


> Firstly, I have no idea how far €10,000 would get me in the UK. I live in Sydney, Australia. I guess I would be entitled to the health card if I'm married to a spaniard and have the necessary visa to live there.
> 
> I'm not under any illusion that jobs are easy to come by in Spain however, I do have my own plans. I just want to know how long I could go without having to work.


if your husband is entitled to healthcare then so should you be, as his dependent - however, just being Spanish doesn't entitle him to healthcare as I'm sure he must know - he needs to be paying into the system to be taking out of it

you say he has a job - then if it's a proper contracted job, you'll get the healthcare

for you, him & for anyone - just living here legally doesn't entitle you to free healthcare (although in fact in cataluña it might well)



I don't know about spouse visas for aussies in Spain - have you checked that you will for sure be able to work legally??

your question about how long you could go on 10,000€ really is impossible to answer - as I said in my first reply - pensioners live on about 630€ a month - if you're happy to live like they do - then 11 months


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## Cindy_L (May 13, 2011)

Thanks guys. I am aware Spain is not a cheap country to live in but living in Sydney is much much more expensive. A return train ticket from the CBD to Macquarie Park, only 19km would set you back AUD9.45. Buses would be marginally cheaper. Sydney is the 17th most expensive city to live in the world compared to Barcelona which came in at 105. We do own an apartment some 50km outside of Barcelona which is currently rented out at a good rate and almost paid off. It's just not located where we need to be. 

Truth is I wouldn't want to take a job off a Spaniard just because we choose to live there, that is, if there's a job to be had in the first place. 

Again, thank you so much for all the useful insight and info.


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## fourgotospain (May 4, 2009)

> I am aware Spain is not a cheap country to live in but living in Sydney is much much more expensive


I'd agree with that. We lived in OZ (SW QLD) for 18 months in the late 90's and were there again for 2 months in 2008 and I couldn't believe how much more expensive it was!!! Even coastal East Coast Australia is fast approaching London prices, and Sydney was more like Tokyo. 'Spain' cost of living is hugely diverse - because Barcelona is more 'Sydney' than even Madrid but the coasts further south are cheaper than the aussie ones. Where we live is classed as a 'very affluent area' in estate agent blurb and I should think rentals here are not far off Barcelona outskirts prices. The cost of living depends on how you live - as your hubby is a spaniard presumably you'll shop ad eat locally rather than trying to source Timtams and VB!

If your total income will be about 20K€ for a couple then I would say it's tight, esp as things like cell phones and internet are so expensive (and cable TV if you want it) so that can easily add up to 100€ a month for two of you. Public transport up there is reasonable - if you don't need a car you'll save heaps. Food is food - live on fish head risotto and beans on toast for a couple of euros a day or better still a liquid diet - alcohol is almost always cheaper than food and soft drinks!!

Hope this helps with your decisions xx


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## Cindy_L (May 13, 2011)

*Thanks!*



fourgotospain said:


> I'd agree with that. We lived in OZ (SW QLD) for 18 months in the late 90's and were there again for 2 months in 2008 and I couldn't believe how much more expensive it was!!! Even coastal East Coast Australia is fast approaching London prices, and Sydney was more like Tokyo. 'Spain' cost of living is hugely diverse - because Barcelona is more 'Sydney' than even Madrid but the coasts further south are cheaper than the aussie ones. Where we live is classed as a 'very affluent area' in estate agent blurb and I should think rentals here are not far off Barcelona outskirts prices. The cost of living depends on how you live - as your hubby is a spaniard presumably you'll shop ad eat locally rather than trying to source Timtams and VB!
> 
> 
> If your total income will be about 20K€ for a couple then I would say it's tight, esp as things like cell phones and internet are so expensive (and cable TV if you want it) so that can easily add up to 100€ a month for two of you. Public transport up there is reasonable - if you don't need a car you'll save heaps. Food is food - live on fish head risotto and beans on toast for a couple of euros a day or better still a liquid diet - alcohol is almost always cheaper than food and soft drinks!!
> ...



Sydney is getting more expensive by the day. You'd be lucky to rent anything at all. Try going to an open inspection for a tiny, tiny studio around the city that's renting out for $450 and you'll find yourself there competing with at least 20 other people. There's a massive shortage of rental properties here. $50 will not get you a good night out, if you're planning on food and drinks. In that aspect, Spain is a lot cheaper. You're not paying $7 for a bottle of beer and around $15 for a main. We enjoy eating in a lot so that's another good way of saving money. In fact, I can't wait to get my hands on the local produce and trying it out.


I think transport is not a problem, we've got a car and a motorbike that's fully paid for. And again, I'm just trying to gauge how far I can stretch 10000€ (this is is only for myself), so I can work out with all my savings, how long I can go without having to work, and that does not necessarily mean getting a job with someone else. My husband has a full time job there. Being extremely independant all my life, I really do not expect anyone (including my own hubby) to pay my way. I want to pay my own way. Hence, knowing how long 10000€ would last means knowing that it will be a few years before I have to worry about having to work, by which time, hopefully, the economy there would've picked up.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cindy_L said:


> Sydney is getting more expensive by the day. You'd be lucky to rent anything at all. Try going to an open inspection for a tiny, tiny studio around the city that's renting out for $450 and you'll find yourself there competing with at least 20 other people. There's a massive shortage of rental properties here. $50 will not get you a good night out, if you're planning on food and drinks. In that aspect, Spain is a lot cheaper. You're not paying $7 for a bottle of beer and around $15 for a main. We enjoy eating in a lot so that's another good way of saving money. In fact, I can't wait to get my hands on the local produce and trying it out.
> 
> 
> I think transport is not a problem, we've got a car and a motorbike that's fully paid for. And again, I'm just trying to gauge how far I can stretch 10000€ (this is is only for myself), so I can work out with all my savings, how long I can go without having to work, and that does not necessarily mean getting a job with someone else. My husband has a full time job there. Being extremely independant all my life, I really do not expect anyone (including my own hubby) to pay my way. I want to pay my own way. Hence, knowing how long 10000€ would last means knowing that it will be a few years before I have to worry about having to work, by which time, hopefully, the economy there would've picked up.


well it will give you a bit of breathing space & a cushion, that's for sure - but not a few years worth


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