# im a 24yr old newly wed - get me out of here



## maquee8 (May 17, 2008)

Hi all,
newbie here - im just married, and want to start a better life. UK living is already grinding on me, bad weather, bad leaders, working to pay the tax man on EVERYTHING - i need to get out of this country - gone to the dogs.


can anyone recommend the best path for me to get info, jobs,accom,etc etc.

many thanks in advance

Mark


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## Byo (Nov 28, 2007)

maquee8 said:


> Hi all,
> newbie here - im just married, and want to start a better life. UK living is already grinding on me, bad weather, bad leaders, working to pay the tax man on EVERYTHING - i need to get out of this country - gone to the dogs.
> 
> 
> ...


Unfortunately that is life, you have to pay the tax man. At least you know where the money is going too.


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

You think Spanish leaders are any better!?

And before you do too much attacking the tax man - take at look at who has more disposable income. UK or SPAIN.

The weather is generally better though - mind you, not this week it isn't.

The work situation here is not great either Mark. You're better off thinking you'll be self-employed or basically on min wage. I hope you get lucky - but the dole has grown already by over 1/4 million this year. Many of these being fluent Spanish speakers and accustomed to being treated as second grade citizens - who'll take short term poor paid contracts - long hours. 

I've a mate in the UK currently setting up his move - He's fully aware that for a year he probably wont get much work and has capital to cover this. Seems very sensible idea to me at the mo'.


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## myqute (Nov 27, 2007)

Er....what happened to your spouse? Have you both discussed where you can both relocate to? 

Everywhere living expenses are high unless you live in an atap house somewhere in Kuwait or Vietnam. 

Why not try working on both your finances...like may be getting a job with higher pay. Impress at interviews without lying - it may land you a better job.

As for the weather I am afraid there's nothing much you can do about it except to adapt or move to a warmer country. I wish you much luck and feel free to pop me a private question if you feel I can give you anymore suggestions.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Multiple minds better than one!
LEND ME YOUR BRAIN!
Comment in my blog!  10Q! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Although I love it here in Spain, its certainly no pic-nic! The cost of petrol is about the same as the UK and rising daily, the cost of food is rocketing and I would say its about the same as the UK, wages here are poorer, jobs are scarce unless you speak spanish well enough to compete with the locals. Infact although I know what you're saying about the UK, its really not much different here, apart from the fact that people dont seem to take so much notice (and Gordon Brown isnt here LOL). The world wide ecconimic crisis is happening here too! 

On the plus side: The weather here is better, although this week is cloudy, the views are better, the sense of space, freedom and openess is better, cigarettes and booze are cheaper and there's no issue about smoking in most bars. Gas, electiricity and amenity bills seem to be cheaper too, but not sure for how much longer.

So think carefully, perhaps come over for a research holiday, before you take the plunge!?!

Jo


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

jojo said:


> Although I love it here in Spain, its certainly no pic-nic! The cost of petrol is about the same as the UK and rising daily, the cost of food is rocketing and I would say its about the same as the UK,


I've heard people further south say this before, but I never understand it. The cost of fuel in the UK is about £1.29 I think from what I saw on TV the other day, whereas here in Spain I'm paying about €1.28, so cheaper. Cost of food seems to be down to where you shop, but we have always found it cmuch cheaper in the UK. I am horrified on how much we pay back in the UK.

The main thing that hurts is the current r/ex as we "earn" in £ and spend in €


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> I've heard people further south say this before, but I never understand it. The cost of fuel in the UK is about £1.29 I think from what I saw on TV the other day, whereas here in Spain I'm paying about €1.28, so cheaper. Cost of food seems to be down to where you shop, but we have always found it cmuch cheaper in the UK. I am horrified on how much we pay back in the UK.
> 
> The main thing that hurts is the current r/ex as we "earn" in £ and spend in €


About two weeks ago I paid about 1.25pounds a litre for diesel in the UK. And here - yup about 1,25 €/L . But petrol is cheaper than diesel in the UK and more expensive here. 

Food depends WHERE you shop 100% ime. But where it's cheap there is GENERALLY less choice. If you're happy to eat SPANISH style meals then Spain is still very cheap to eat in. If you want "international" offer and a range like (say) Sainsburys - then expect to pay Corte Ingles prices.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

chris(madrid) said:


> About two weeks ago I paid about 1.25pounds a litre for diesel in the UK. And here - yup about 1,25 €/L . But petrol is cheaper than diesel in the UK and more expensive here.
> 
> Food depends WHERE you shop 100% ime. But where it's cheap there is GENERALLY less choice. If you're happy to eat SPANISH style meals then Spain is still very cheap to eat in. If you want "international" offer and a range like (say) Sainsburys - then expect to pay Corte Ingles prices.


Well I rarely eat UK products here any more. Fruit and veg from the local market ...... we shop in mercadonna or Carrefour, or sometimes buy fresh fish off the boats at the fish market

Diesel at Carrefour today I noticed was €1.33 a litre, but you get a discount off that when you take your till receipt in

You're right, at Lidl and Aldi things can be a lot cheaper, but your choice is limited to what they have in at the time


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Byo said:


> Unfortunately that is life, you have to pay the tax man. At least you know where the money is going too.


Rubbish thats not life its a existence 
life was back in the good old days in the then Great Britain 

We dont live in the Uk we survive and that is a major difference ..


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

jojo said:


> Although I love it here in Spain, its certainly no pic-nic! The cost of petrol is about the same as the UK and rising daily, the cost of food is rocketing and I would say its about the same as the UK, wages here are poorer, jobs are scarce unless you speak spanish well enough to compete with the locals. Infact although I know what you're saying about the UK, its really not much different here, apart from the fact that people dont seem to take so much notice (and Gordon Brown isnt here LOL). The world wide ecconimic crisis is happening here too!
> 
> On the plus side: The weather here is better, although this week is cloudy, the views are better, the sense of space, freedom and openess is better, cigarettes and booze are cheaper and there's no issue about smoking in most bars. Gas, electiricity and amenity bills seem to be cheaper too, but not sure for how much longer.
> 
> ...


Sorry jojo your wrong on the fuel .. its the exchange rate thats wrong at the moment .. but fuels and most items are cheaper in Spain .. as Strav says i agree with him .


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Big Pete said:


> Rubbish thats not life its a existence
> life was back in the good old days in the then Great Britain
> 
> We dont live in the Uk we survive and that is a major difference ..



I really do hope that you have minutely checked out the Spanish Tax system BP, because for someone like you who has described that you are fairly well off in the past, you may well find yourself being worse off in Spain than you were in the UK with wealth tax & income tax combined


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Big Pete said:


> Sorry jojo your wrong on the fuel .. its the exchange rate thats wrong at the moment .. but fuels and most items are cheaper in Spain .. as Strav says i agree with him .



Yeah, well I am blonde and get my euros/pounds confused LOL!! HOWEVER, petrol/diesel IS rising here on a daily basis and really isnt that far behind the UK when you consider the exchange rate. 

As for the cost of food, maybe its cos I've got two rather british kids, although I'm really trying to force a more natural mediteranean diet on them, I do still succombe to occasional english goodies (baked beans, walls sausages, golden grahams!). Even so, its not just food, I find things like washing powder, cleaning products, bathroom stuff, dog food is more or less the same as the UK and meat I buy from Mercadonna is definately the same -eg. a pack of mince is 4 euros, the equivilant ammount in Sainsburys would have been around £3. I buy veggies and eggs from the market and yes, mostly thats cheaper.

Places like macdonalds are easily the same price, if not more than UK (no bad thing!!) and we had an indian takeaway here the other night and it came to 30 euros, the exact same order in the UK was £14 when I last had one there the night before we left for Spain

I would say my average shopping bill here for me, occasional husband, two kids and three dogs is around 140 euros a week, in the UK (before we left in Feb), it was around £120.

Its possible that I'm finding it financially challenging because my OH is paid in sterling, so the current exchange rate overshadows any reduction.

Anyway, it is what it is and comparisons cant really come into it once you live here and are settled. I think that before I came I (wrongly) assumed it would be MUCH cheaper here and the reality is that it isnt, (although that said, food prices are rising world wide at the mo, so how can you judge?). I'm just trying to convey my feelings on that


Jo


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## jakaka (Oct 21, 2007)

Mark, on the whole things are cheaper here in Spain but what you have to remember is the wages are a lot less, the average wage here is in the region of 13,000 - 15,000 euro, so after the tax man has taken his share what will you be left with? I'm not to genned up on tax matters but friends that I have who are self employed tell me that they pay 250 euros a month in tax whether or not they are earning that sort of money. By paying that they are legal in the system and qualify for benefits like free health care. As I say I'm not genned up on this but I am sure if I am wrong then someone will kindly give you the correct details.

As others have said work is very hard to come by and unless you have a skill that other people are willing to pay for then you will find it hard to get work, that's not to say you may get lucky and things will take off for you. I know people that after 4 years of struggling with their bussiness are only just now making a healthy profit, it was achieved by long hours, hard, hard work, knowing the local market, finding the niche(spelling?) that both Spanish and Brits will use, give a perfect customer relations, resonabley priced product, a big must is leaning the language and above all patience.

Good luck in what you decide and research, research, research.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

jojo said:


> Yeah, well I am blonde and get my euros/pounds confused LOL!! HOWEVER, petrol/diesel IS rising here on a daily basis and really isnt that far behind the UK when you consider the exchange rate.
> 
> I would say my average shopping bill here for me, occasional husband, two kids and three dogs is around 140 euros a week, in the UK (before we left in Feb), it was around £120.
> 
> ...


What you have to remember jo jo, is as the price goes up here, it also goes up in the UK, so the difference will always be about the same.

Not taking into consideration the present rate of exchange crisis, cost of living here is about 30% cheaper than the UK in general. We tend to spend about €80 - €90 a week


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## Wils & Nance (Dec 31, 2007)

Hi Guys, how are you all doing ?
Haven't been about for a bit (family illness) but am back now.
Thought i would tell you this, on Saturday I decided to drive to Inverness and buy myself a mountain bike.....I needed fuel so off to Dingwall I went, Tesco fuel station filled up at £116.9 a litre, went off did what I was doing and drove home.
Now I had to go and get my weeks shopping (couldn't get both, shopping and bike in the car) so Tescos again, and in the space of 5 hours fuel had gone up to £118.9 a litre. !!!
Monday morning off to work, passed Tesco and fuel was now £121.9 a litre !!!
Deisel is £135.9 a litre !
Here in the Highlands you need a car for everything......it's all well and good saying get the bus, but we only have 1 bus an hour and it takes 45mins to get to Dingwall where I work, in the car it takes 14 mins ! And we don't have buses at night, at all, ever !
What are peeps supposed to do ?
And before anyone says ride my mountain bike to work........."don't be mad" !!!


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> I really do hope that you have minutely checked out the Spanish Tax system BP, because for someone like you who has described that you are fairly well off in the past, you may well find yourself being worse off in Spain than you were in the UK with wealth tax & income tax combined


A Guaranteed impossibility Strav ..

*UK Overheads per week - Spain (Mallorca ) per week *£ 50 Council Tax £ 8 Council Tax
£ 5.85 Cigs per pack x10 £ 58.85 £ 2.50 per pack Cigs x 10 £ 25
£ 50 Petrol 1 tank £ 35 Petrol 1 tank 
£ 100 Food bill weekly £ 80 Food bill weekly

*£ 258.85 per week UK --- £ 150.50 per week Spain *

UK ripped off to the tune off £ 108.35p  weekly

Yearly stuffed by UK Government to the sum off £ 5634.20p 
and thats just on a few key issues ..

So as long as i am not stuffed by more than 5k a year over and above rip off Britain i will be happy to swap lifestyles Strav 

And this doesnt allow for all the Governments little extras like TV licence , Rip off Car Park charges , Needing heating and lighting on 11 months of the year etc etc ..

Hence why i use the term often "you survive in UK NOT Live ".. And how the average working Joe survives in the UK is beyond me ,  And they wonder why the poor rob and burgle to feed there families


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## jakaka (Oct 21, 2007)

Pete I can't believe you only spend £100 a week on food, blimey where were you when I needed you, OH and I spent well over £160 per week every week when we lived in the UK. Now we are living in Spain we eat 90% fresh food, we go shopping three times a week and spend over 80 euros each time, we do however eat meat or fish everyday.....fish most days. bill for last weeks fruit came to 28 euros alone.


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

jakaka said:


> Pete I can't believe you only spend £100 a week on food, blimey where were you when I needed you, OH and I spent well over £160 per week every week when we lived in the UK. Now we are living in Spain we eat 90% fresh food, we go shopping three times a week and spend over 80 euros each time, we do however eat meat or fish everyday.....fish most days. bill for last weeks fruit came to 28 euros alone.


Ahhh but i do like me takeaways so that is extra to above , Friday night is Takeaway night , Saturday is Takeaway night and Thursday night is takeaway night  also there is only me and mrs BP oh and little Molly the cat but we got her trainned to eat the cheapo asda cat food 

You eat to much i reckon , be careful you dont pop 

And when you needed me i was here you only had to shout


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Wils & Nance said:


> Hi Guys, how are you all doing ?
> Haven't been about for a bit (family illness) but am back now.
> Thought i would tell you this, on Saturday I decided to drive to Inverness and buy myself a mountain bike.....I needed fuel so off to Dingwall I went, Tesco fuel station filled up at £116.9 a litre, went off did what I was doing and drove home.
> Now I had to go and get my weeks shopping (couldn't get both, shopping and bike in the car) so Tescos again, and in the space of 5 hours fuel had gone up to £118.9 a litre. !!!
> ...


welcome back 

i agree on the buses , its the same here , 2 buses a day 1 at 10.00am and 1 at 4 pm , so they dont work out the towns .

On the fuel they are changing daily and i dont blame the producers i blame the Government


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Big Pete said:


> A Guaranteed impossibility Strav ..
> 
> *UK Overheads per week - Spain (Mallorca ) per week *£ 50 Council Tax £ 8 Council Tax
> £ 5.85 Cigs per pack x10 £ 58.85 £ 2.50 per pack Cigs x 10 £ 25
> ...


No I was talking about wealth tax and income tax Pete

Wealth tax varies between 0.2% and 2.5% of your *total world assets*, and income tax varies between 15% and 45% of your income.


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> No I was talking about wealth tax and income tax Pete
> 
> Wealth tax varies between 0.2% and 2.5% of your *total world assets*, and income tax varies between 15% and 45% of your income.


I see what you mean and i will aim to keep it nearer the 0.2% with the aid of clever accountants (fingers crossed ).. Like i say i have the 5k to play with in savings kicking in the moment i live there .. and on principle i would sooner pay the Spanish Government money than our UK as all the Uk do is fritter it away .

You must remember Strav it isnt all about money !! If i was money orientated i wouldnt go .. Its all about quality of life ie;
fresh sea air 
open spaces not clogged with a million traffic jams
good quality fresh foods
outside sunny days 
shops that open and shut sensible times ie; 10-2 siesta 4-8pm 10pm in summer 
Having a outdoor swimming pool you can actually use , ( I had outdoor in UK used maybe 4 days a year )
Lazy warm summer evenings having a meal or a beer overlooking the harbour ,
Where smokers arent treated like outcasts 
Where the streets are cleared of rubbish daily
etc etc.

What price would you put on that ?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Big Pete said:


> I see what you mean and i will aim to keep it nearer the 0.2% with the aid of clever accountants (fingers crossed ).. Like i say i have the 5k to play with in savings kicking in the moment i live there .. and on principle i would sooner pay the Spanish Government money than our UK as all the Uk do is fritter it away .
> 
> You must remember Strav it isnt all about money !! If i was money orientated i wouldnt go .. Its all about quality of life ie;
> fresh sea air
> ...



Oh I agree, I was just making the point as you are always going on about being taxed to death in the UK. Taxes are almost everywhere, but at least here you will be warmer when they take it from you


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## WEBSITEFORLIFE (Jun 4, 2008)

Andalucia is very civilised. I get a small plate of food (gratis)everytime i have a beer. Paying the tax man in this area is seen by the locals as a Cardinal sin. Petrol is cheaper (less tax) and so is accommodation. There is no tax on the 300 or so days of unadultarated sunshine, nor is there any on the beautiful scenery. I dont for one second miss sitting on the M25 for hours on end or having to pay fortunes for public transport. I dont miss being mugged at the cashpoint either.


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## cosmokramer (Jun 5, 2008)

*A lot of it is down to you*

I have to say, i agree with a lot of people in this thread. It all depends on you, where you shop, what brands you buy and how thrifty you are with your cash. Apart from the fuel thing, i mean you can save a few pence if you shop around, apart from that their isnt much you can do about the price of diesel and petrol.

It's the same here in Spain, if you shop at Carrefour or Intermarche (the big supermarkets in my area) it would be almost like shopping at Tesco or Sainsburys, but shopping at Aldi and Lidl will save you money.

I myself shop at a few different supermarkets to try and get the best deals.

Lee


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

cosmokramer said:


> It's the same here in Spain, if you shop at Carrefour or Intermarche (the big supermarkets in my area) it would be almost like shopping at Tesco or Sainsburys, but shopping at Aldi and Lidl will save you money.
> I myself shop at a few different supermarkets to try and get the best deals.
> Lee


And the open markets are good for fruit and veg
Aldi & Lidl are a bit restrictive in choice, but cheap

We shop at Carrefour quite a lot and found them OK actually


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## kaytee (Feb 24, 2008)

Glad that you said it int all about money Big Pete


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

kaytee said:


> Glad that you said it int all about money Big Pete


Well it isnt is it 

You cant take your money with you when you snuff it


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