Retiring to LA Marina

I can only contribute to some of what you're asking.

Electricity is dearer but, in my opinion, not a great deal more. The last two comparisons I did with UK friends showed about 10-15% more.

Fuel is a bit cheaper, but I'm out of date with UK prices. Last time I filled up with petrol, I did so at a self-service place, and the price was about €1.10 a litre.

If you want to buy British food, that's a lot dearer. If you can convert to Spanish, then I'd say that's markedly cheaper for most things. Alcohol is of course much cheaper.

Eating out is a lot cheaper, and you can get a good menu del día of three courses plus salad and drinks for €10.

Council tax is very much cheaper. Depending on where you're moving from and to, you can pay as little for a year here as you do for a month in the UK.

Cars are a lot more expensive for an initial purchase, for reasons explained in my car buying guide.

Income tax for many people is higher than in the UK; in some cases much higher. It's impossible to generalise, as it depends on age and what forms and amounts of income you have.

Looking at your photo, you'll also have to factor in the cost of private health insurance.

Good luck.

Thank you Jim that's really helpful. 

Sounds like it will be cheaper for us to live there than here as we already have life insurance, eat out a fair bit and drink 🙄. We want to eat Spanish food and won't be paying income tax. 

Life insurance? I said private health insurance, as you'll need that to qualify for residencia.

Sorry I meant PHI 👍

Hi Nic,

When you say "La Marina", do you mean the urbanisation, north of the N332 coast road, or the village, south of the N332?

I believe the nearest golf course is 'La Marquesa' in Rojales, probably a 15 minutes drive from La Marina.

Kind regards, 

Kim

If you will be living here (it is your main home) then why would you not be paying income tax here?

I was wondering this myself and am interested to see the answer.

Hi Kimmy

I meant the urbanisation but after reading some comments on here we have now swayed to Rojales. We have visited both areas and thought LA Marina may have been better for us. 

We will take a couple of trips out at different times of the year before making a final decision. 

Thanks

Nic

Hi

We won't be working, we will be retired. 

Thanks

Nic