Average cost of living per month for a couple of retirees please. X

The average cost of living about the same as UK - Rates are cheap, private health, less than a third of UK, eating out and drink cheap and public transport. You cannot buy cheap meds in supermarkets. One bad thing is taxes in Spain, it has a low tax free allowance, about half of UK and no age cap on social security payments. Unless a retired civil servant all income & pensions taxable in Spain, 'so get good advice before you move'. (The Tax year starts 1st January) Good luck. 

We are not staying in Manilva full time, we will be going back to England about every 6 weeks until the 90 days are useful, so are still eligible for taxes? X

No you will be fine, 

Thanks 😊

Hi Patsy,

David is generally right, but it does depend on where you are going to stay (own an apartment or rent).

As you are doing short trips then there is car hire to take into account.

When we were tourists here we ate out a lot, but now we are residents we are more careful. Our food bill is around €500 a month plus some eating out. Our mortgage is €450 a month but renting can easily cost you €500 a week.

Thank you so much for the info, i will be visiting the areas around Estapona, Mijas, Manilva and any other near by resorts in the next few weeks, i am researching which will be the best for me. 

Well there is a good multicultural community in Manilva and you will probably find the properties cheaper as it is a growing town. We live in San Luis de Sabinillas and can walk everywhere (beach, shops, port) and buses to Gibraltar (€4).

When you are in Manilva area, pop in our shop and we can help you out. (www.AllAboutGIfts.eu).

Good hunting.

Thanks Trevor, I,m looking forward to my adventures .👍

Lots to consider you will have no personal tax in Spain as will be visiting as non-resident home owners but you will have to pay a non-residents tax once a year for the home you purchase the amount varies depending on the cadastral value of the property a good website to get lots of accurate infomation is Citizens Advice Bureau Spain, they have an excellent website.  You will also have to pay additional tax if you rent out your home whilst you are not there.  You need to consider if your property is on an urbanisation there may be community fees these must be paid for the year whether you are living there full time or not and vary depending on the facilities and where you choose to live. You will also have to pay the Spanish equivalent to council tax called IBI this is cheaper for us than in the UK for a larger property here.  You will also have water and rubbish fees to pay.  Some areas, monthly, some quarterly, some can be 6 monthly.  Costs vary for Agua/Basura depending on where you stay and how much water you use.  Make sure you find yourself a well recommended English speaking Lawyer to check the property you purchase is legal and has no debts outstanding as any debts can be requested by the Ayuntamiento (Local town halls) or tax office years later and the current owner is expected to pay I have read some terrible stories of people having to pay out thousands!  Electricity here is more expensive sadly but you may be lucky and find somewhere with solar panels.  I find food and cost of living lower than in the UK rather than on a par.  We are early retirees living here permanently.  Very difficult to give you a figure for a monthly cost when it would depend a lot on where you choose to purchase, you don't know yet if you would be  e.g. Manilva which would be cheaper than Estapona for propety.  Mijas is a lovely area also less costly than Estapona.  There is a great company that can help you with your non-resident propety tax based in he UK costs around £35 for them to do the annual return they will do the calculations and complete the Modelo 210 form for you if you give them your cadastral value, they also offer a further service to pay the fees for you to the Spanish Tax Authorities unsure how much that costs but not a lot if you are not in Spain at the right time to submit, they are called Spanish Tax Forms Ltd. you can google them and read about what they offer on their website.  Fees must be paid for the previous year by 31st December of the current year.  Public transport much cheaper than in the UK and if you are 60+ you can buy a Tarjeta Dorada card from Renfe that gives train fare discounts.  For pensioners 65+ there is another seniors card that gives discounts on many things including buses and underground, eye tests and vaious other things. Hope this helps.