Living in Northern Spain on €8700/month - Lifestyles in Spain
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2024
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In this video, I spend the day with Toby and Lindsay, who moved two years ago to Getxo, near Bilbao, in Spain's Basque Country. They share with me their budget, line by line, so you can see how much their lifestyle costs. Plus, they give me a tour of their beautiful penthouse apartment with sea views!
If you’re new to this channel, my name is James Blick. I'm the founder of Spain Revealed (www.spainrevea...), and I help people discover the real Spain, whether you're here for a visit or a lifetime. 🔥
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You can live everywhere with 8700 €/month. Moreover, you can easily live in the northern regions of Spain (and almost everywhere else in Europe) with 2000 - 2500 €/month.
It would be difficult to live in many areas of California on that amount. And a lower budget is definitely possible in Spain. We mentioned it several times.
@@AlessandroBottoni You would have a hard time living on that amount in the Washington, DC area. We are a family of four and spend more than that, and we do not live lavishly.
@@AlessandroBottoni Greenville SC would be tough on $8700 for a family of 4
Hmm, not almost everywhere in Europe, but yes, lots of places, especially if you’re willing to be outside of the “expat” bubble.
Hmm, not almost everywhere in Europe, but yes, lots of places, especially if you’re willing to be outside of the “expat” bubble.
What a lovely couple. I love how they’ve integrated into their local culture, from supporting local teams to learning how to make local liquors, wow! ¡Muchas gracias por compartir, chicos!
What a lovely family! I loved the part in which they explain their musical hobbies and the part in which Toby explains his love for crochet, I found it very touching. I like people who have an open mind and are not afraid to try and enjoy what they like or catch their attention. Congratulations to the channel and to the couple interviewed!
I love to crochet and knit.
LOL, holy crap! I survive on about 8700 euro a year! 8700 a month??? I can't even imagine that kind of fiscal safety and stability! 8700 a month!?! Adopt me please! Please!!!
yes , if i earned 8700 Euros a month i'd be saving 6000 of it for my pension
Indeed, my brother has lived many years in Bilbao, like Madrid or Barcelona property is more expensive than other regions,. . But these figures for cost of living!! . .this is beyond a joke.
It’s not a cost of living video. It’s a video about our own budget.
@@TVanderbeek Dude, it wasn't an attack! Just the truth! I hope this means you're considering that adoption!?! I am not adverse to begging and groveling? In truth I'm used to it! I'm not kidding about what I live on a year, it's actually closer to 8200 Euro a year.
So again, I was not attacking you. Just expressing my truth!
Want to know how you can tell how poor I am??? I'm going to mention that adoption thing again.😉
It was so kind of them to open their house and share their experiences with everyone. Much appreciated and wish them the best during their time in Spain.
I am gobsmacked. I don't think I know any Spanish household that burns through that much money every month. And they're not even renting - they bought the flat outright! I'm sure the local community is happy to have people burning so much cash, but, wow, I'm still rather floored.
We live in a fairly expensive area for housing. In our neighborhood the flats cost €400k to €1.5 million. And in the next neighborhood they go up to €5 million. And in the end, this is quite a bit cheaper than living in California. Where we moved from the average home price is maybe $2.5 million.
@@TVanderbeek But this isn't about the house prices, it's about the living expenses. Surely food (supermarkets), clothes, public transport, electricity, etc cost the same in the rest of Spain?
It seems to be a bit more expensive in the north but as we explained our expenses in the video, it is higher than most. We are working on trimming it to be more sustainable but it will never be €2000/month. Just the HOA and utilities is about €1000/month and there’s nothing we can do about that. We have to fly to the US twice a year to see family but we didn’t want to exclude that because that’s part of our cost of living in Spain.
Also, as we explained in the video, this is our budget, not a cost of living video. James didn’t want to do a cost of living video because these are pretty easy to find already.
They are a lovely family. Sure they are privileged, but they’ve done many things the right way! I love how fearless they are immersing themselves into the community, the Spanish language, the food, everything. They are in the minority from my observations among English speakers and are setting such an outstanding example. Thank you for sharing the stories of all kinds of people moving to Spain! ❤❤❤
Totally agree 👏👏
I appreciate that they were part of your Masterclass James and they seem like a nice family but $8,700 euros a month does not represent the reality of living in northern Spain for the vast majority. $2,000 a month on food? Seriously? They obviously earn quite a lot of money and are able to enjoy their lifestyle and that's fine. However, most people aren't spending like that. Bilbao is not cheap and Getxo is very exclusive. It's like a different country to the south of Spain.
Agreed. The couple interviewed there spent 2000,- a month.
We wanted to share our actual costs/budget over the past two years. Dining out also included the kids’ chuches and snacks, coffees and pintxos with friends, eating in restaurants around home as well as while traveling in Europe. It’s pretty much everything that wasn’t groceries. And with two hungry, growing boys, the grocery bills can be high. I also like to cook a bit gourmet so I buy specialty ingredients as needed.
@@TVanderbeekVery kind of you to be so transparent and explanatory.
@@TVanderbeek Absolutely no criticism of you or your spending implied. Apologies if I gave that impression. You're free to spend your money any way you like. James' 'Cost of Living Spain' is somewhat misleading though as it implies, to some extent, that you need a certain amount of money to get by. Clearly, individual lifestyle choices are part of the equation.
I hope you're enjoying life in Bilbao. My wife and I were married in Bilbao many moons ago and my father and sister in law still live there. It's a great city these days and completely transformed from the dirty and industrial city my wife grew up in during the 70's and 80's. The cost of living has certainly gone up. Twenty years ago you could enjoy a quality menu del dia, including a whole bottle of wine, for as little as $8 or $10 euros. Have you dined at Andra Mari? That's one of my favourite restaurants in Spain.
@@UnusSedLeo-w5lThat video was about a couple. This is a family with teens.
It’s great to see the expenses for different lifestyles. Their lifestyle might not be for everyone but it’s interesting to hear about it and I am sure is valuable to some.
The comments are interesting. This family willingly opened their lives to us. They are telling you how *they* live, not how anyone else lives. I think the value of what they get for the expenditure is phenomenal. Trips back home and schooling are included. Most wouldn’t have that expense. They were honest. I can think of at least one private school here in Vancouver charging over $30k per annum and it’s close to double if you aren’t a citizen! I don’t mean the independent Catholics schools, which charge a lot less. Shoes, I relate to! When I was a little girl, we lived in Toronto for a year. My Mum had to reheel our shoes once a week because we walked so much! In any case, thanks to this family for talking about their lives in beautiful Spain!
Fantástica entrevista, muy real … los que la critican no se dan cuenta de que esta buena vida no es barata pero no es para todos…. El que puede puede …. Y ellos han sido muy generosos y honestos contándonos su realidad.
Gracias a Lindsay, Toby y James por mencionarme, ha sido y sigue siendo un placer trabajar para esta familia que más que clientes son ya amigos. ❤
While it’s nice that they’re honest about their costs it feels dream killing for so many people who just wish to live a life less oppressively expensive. The hope is that we can occasionally get tapas, work enough to put a little away and share with our families. This makes humble hopes feel lifetimes away.
It’s possible to live on a lot less here. While we spend a lot, we are still conscious about where we spend our money as we don’t have unlimited income and savings.
You can buy in cheaper areas of Spain.You can eat cheaply in Spain.The lifestyle doesn't cost a fortune it just depends on what you want to do to occupy your time.
I love visiting Spain have done so since 1985.I always look for bargain prices that way I can travel more to the Country.
Getxo is more expensive than other areas around. Our house is probably under the average price. Some pisos at the waterfront go for over €1.5M and some mansions in the next neighborhood go for €5M. But rentals are reasonable nearby for most people. And if you want to be a bit farther out I’m sure it’s a lot cheaper. As with anywhere in the world you pay to be close to things.
I don’t get all the negative comments, it’s their life and lifestyle. If you want to see “how to live cheaply in Spain “ , there’s plenty of those kinds of videos out there. Great video and great lifestyle 🎉😊
Wow! It seems like the people you are doing budgets with are those who could afford your online class, along with people to walk them through everything when they arrived in Spain. We did everything mostly on our own and we live on around 35,000 euros a year and we could live on less if we wanted. I hope more content like this is coming with more frugal-minded families.
I think for some it is about living in Spainfor a lot less than you would of been spending in your country of origin.
Thank you Toby and Lindsay for allowing us to experience a little glimpse into your life. Those were some great and really valuable lessons on integration into the community. Thanks to you as well James for all you do.
La razón de eliminar la Golden Visa o permiso de residencia por inversión inmobiliaria cuando la propiedad que se compre sea igual o superior a 500.000€ es debido al aumento del precio en la compra de vivienda o también el aumento del precio en los alquileres durante los últimos años.
Actualmente muchos jóvenes en España no puedan emanciparse y se vean obligados a seguir en la casa paterna y muchas familias y personas mayores no pueden pagar los alquileres en continua subida.
Además muchas de las viviendas compradas por extranjeros lo son para especular con ellas y tensionar el mercado provocando el aumento descontrolados de los precios. Muy pocos se pueden permitir gastar 700.000€ como Toby y Lindsay en comprar un piso o apartamento y muy pocos disponen de 8700€ de presupuesto de gasto mensual.
Son 14,500 Golden Visas y no todas por compra de una propiedad. No compite en nada con vivienda asequible ya que por el monto son propiedades de lujo. El problema es que los ingresos no crecen al mismo ritmo que el costo de la vivienda. Esto es un problema mundial. No hay que creerse la narrativa estatal, que con exceso de regulación e interferencia en el libre mercado ha encarecido el costo de obra nueva.
The elimination of the Golden will go absolutely nowhere towards solving the issue of affordable housing. The numbers of GVs approved for the investment in property are simply too low to have had any effect on property supply, demand or price in any way. You'd like the government to sort the problem? How about they build social/public housing? Or, how about they fix the inheritance laws that leave so many properties empty and in limbo? How about giving landlords surety against okupas and non paying tenants?
Or, let's be lazy and populist and go for the low hanging non problem fruit.
Por supuesto que la supresión de la Golden Visa no va a solucionar el problema de la vivienda en España pero es una medida que ayuda.
Aunque el número de permisos de residencia por este motivo es pequeño se concentran sobre todo en Madrid, Barcelona, Baleares y Málaga lugares donde mas problemas de falta de viviemda hay.
Se dice tambien que la compra de pisos de mas de 500.000€ por personas no residentes en España no influye en la subida de precio de otras viviendas mas baratas pero se pasa por alto que esos precios son tan altos porque hay personas extranjeras dispuestas a pagarlos y que valdrian menos, desplazando a los nacionales a la compra de de viviendas de menor precio pero que tambien son mas caras, es decir, se produce un corrimiento de la demanda.
Finalmente hay que tener en cuenta que la implantación de la Golden Visa fue una medida temporal que se implantó para reactivar el mercado cuando se produjo la crisis financiera y estallido de la burbuja inmobiliaria, circunstancias que son muy diferentes de las actuales, prueba de que no es una medida eficaz es que solo cuatro paises en la Unión Europea Malta, Grecia, Italia y España la mantienen pero con vistas a suprimirla.
We are in our second year, and this is very accurate, and they were very open. I'm grateful that they were open. Our first year was over $5k a month.....we keep up with every single dime. James, you did a great job. Some publications sell copies by spreading misinformation. With the info they provided, a person can analyze and adjust to the area they choose to live.
We worked hard to analyze our actual expenses to inform our budget. This is realty for us, not anyone else. It’s possible to live on more and less almost anywhere in Spain.
@@TVanderbeek we are on an NLV in Vigo. We use the ap TravelSpend. Good data is important to making good decisions
Thank you Toby & Lindsey. Appreciate your honesty and candidness. Everyone has their own needs and choice. The apartment is beautiful.
Love that they have prioritized new hobbies that are Spanish speaking, great way to spend free time!
The average income in Spain is significantly lower than many other first world countries. Their monthly expenses may seem high but is reasonable considering their lifestyle. Thank you for being open about it and continue to enjoy our beautiful country.
I live in GETXO and I can assure that people here live with less and still have a good quality of life! So do not panic
Yes, it’s our budget, not a cost of living. It depends on where you live in Getxo and your lifestyle. At least we can agree that Getxo is amazing, right?
Wow! My annual income is about €8,700, but I live in Tenerife where the cost is much less.
But in Getxo you are paying for an exclusive place, the average income per capita much higher in Bilbao, san Sebastián and Getxo than Tenerife. Kind of pozuelo or Boadilla or viso in Madrid
Spain is a large country which caters for a wide range of budgets. This video shows the higher end of that scale, which is absolutely fine. If you factor in the area you want to live and the lifestyle you want to have, there is no point talking about the "average" cost of living because there's no one amount that fits all. I'll be honest, on seeing "€8700/month" in the title I immediately thought this video did not represent the average person living in Spain, but I had to remind myself that that's not the point.
If this video isn't relevant to your budget, that's fine, it's way beyond my budget, too, but as long as you understand that different lifestyles cost different amounts of money, it's more realistic than claiming that "X" amount of money is what you need to live in Spain.
The video was about our budget, not cost of living here. James said it’s easy to find cost of living for anywhere in Spain so he didn’t want to do a video like that. And for our neighborhood and the one next door with the mansions, I’m am quite sure there are people living on way bigger budgets than ours. And no one is complaining about that because they don’t share their information. I’m sure people would complain about Amancio Ortega’s budget and he has more money than anyone here.
@@TVanderbeek yeah you guys are being unfairly punished for being transparent! Well done on making such an effort to integrate, by the way!
I think the thing to keep in mind is that we don't have to panic and think this budget is necessary. This is simply one budget for one lifestyle. We don't all have to do the same thing or have the same goals.
I don't understand why everybody is complaining so much. That's just an example of a wealthy family that lives in Las Arenas, one of the wealthyes areas in all of northern Spain. I don't think this videos have to show whats the bare minimum you need to live in a place. As more diverse get this videos they will help more people.
Thank you. This is just our perspective. There’s room in Spain for any budget.
$8700/month is not a positive selling point. That's super expensive.
And we explained that it’s our budget and that everyone has their own budget, and it’s possible to live in Spain and Basque Country on almost any budget.
Nice family. Eventually they will be able to live in Spain with much less money.
8700euros a month?! Who are you making these videos for? This is not an accurate 'cost of living in Spain' piece. Sure the wealthy can live almost wherever they want, but you might as well call it something else like 'how the other half live' lol. I was drawn to this channel for providing answers to how people spend locally that don't have over-inflated bank accounts, but rather manage with the basic costs of actual living without spending needlessly. This title is a joke.
I think the video is great, and the family is great - there is nothing wrong with what they do or how they do it. But the title could indeed have been more along the lines "Monthly Budget of the American Upper Middle Class Family". But kudos to them - they worked hard, and they got the amenities they want, and I'm not seeing multiple Mercedes's or lavish 5-star family vacations to Dubai.
@@yuriyzenda5857 That's true yet I live in Spain in quite a well off area and if you put me on that kind of budget I could easily divert enough for the fancy cars and 5star vacations (not that I'd want to). 😉😅 So yes, I guess it's just the title and intro that rubs the wrong way (feels very misleading if people don't know better).
Maybe a future video on budget living.I visit Spain throughout the year and I shop like here in the UK looking for the best food prices, Bars,Tapas and anything where else that cost nothing to admire a view like local parks etc.I've visited Spain since 1985,ran my own Spanish Travel Business for 28 years.
If I lived in Spain I'd be looking for the best prices for everything.
This channel is NOT only for retired ppl. 😅 Expats could be all different finance levels. Well , ppl from the states DO have higher average incomes than Europeans. 😂 . The house in California alone is a few times more expensive than Bilbao.
@@orangelily935 Not sure what any of that has to do with anything. I'm not retired. Of course people have differing incomes/finances. The point is simply the title and intro are misleading. One persons ability to spend has nothing to do with the actual 'cost of living' in a given area.
€8700 is €4350 each. The average Spanish wage is about €2555 a month.
This is unrealistic. Heck, I live in Ireland with higher costs of living and we are on less than this couple. The cost of living in Spain is 106% cheaper than in Ireland yet this couple have almost a thousand euros each more than the average in Ireland.
Sorry but this is not indicative of a normal family of four.
i haven't gotten through the whole video but where is it suggested that they're a 'normal' family?
@@3zObafouzrThe original title of the video has been changed. It is now saying lifestyles and before it was cost of living.
Cost of living would imply an average. The backlash in the comments seems to have provoked a title change.
€2555 gross - out of which most people pay tax, mortgage / rent, pension / savings. Their *expenditure* is €8700 a month. That's like a gross monthly income for a normal Spanish couple paying income tax, national insurance, some savings and pension, etc of €17000 or a gross salary of about two hundred and fifty thousand euros a year. Again, I'm speechless.
Unfortunately most of us can't relate. I lived there as a language aux. I'm planning to retire there but no way on 8 k a month. That couple is why the Spaniards think we are all rich. And as usual they are always from California....
The family profiled seems to be lovely and their efforts to integrate are laudable. I must agree however with some other commenters that the large influx of migrants with this kind of purchasing power has seriously distorted local housing markets in some cities (although I’m unfamiliar with the situation in Bilbao). I think in general it would behoove would-be migrants to Spain to be sensitive to this dynamic when choosing a place to live.
Here in Valencia there is a severe housing shortage, with accompanying crazy cost increases. While there are multiple causes, foreign buyers and speculators (and uncontrolled tourism) have been assigned most of the blame. Most homes in the center are now purchased by foreigners and/or outside investors, and locals are being pushed out of the city entirely to the surrounding towns. Yesterday there was a massive demonstration here (with at least one ‘guiris go home’ flag), yet most guiris seem to be oblivious of their own contribution to the problem.
James, I like your videos and have followed you for some years; it would be great to see you profiling people who have chosen to move to areas less inundated with wealthy expats :)
The price we paid for the house is perhaps average around here. It had been on the market for a while. And the seller was so happy we wanted to purchase her house because she wanted to move to a care home. How does this distort prices? The prices in the neighborhood range from €400k to maybe €1.5M. And homes nearby can be up to €5M.
There are so few expats here. In all of Getxo’s population of 80k I think there might be a dozen Americans families. The locals are wealthy here.
The negativity is ridiculous, this is how this family of four lives, it does not mean everyone does. Not everyone needs to live to " your ideals". I appreciate the openness and also how they have integrated into the culture and lifestyle.
Is it above my means, yes...can you live in the region for less, yes but I recognize folks have a life outside of my bubble. I'm sure somewhere my expenses are outside of someone else's means.
Thanks to the family for sharing.
I find it so interesting that everyone is commenting what this family spends and judging them, they were so open and gracious about their lifestyle and their move which I greatly appreciated. Dividing that monthly total by 4 and converting it to Canadian dollars brought a whole new perspective. As a single person living in Toronto my cost of living is higher. It's all about perspective and less judgement. I absolutely love how they demonstrate integrating into the local culture and learning the language. I've seen videos recently about people moving back to their home country as they were very unhappy in Spain but they didn't integrate so they were miserable. This family has Spanish friends and participates fully, which is what every county wants from immigrants. As someone mentioned in another comment though, I would love to see James' next video focus on a single individual and learn their experience. Thanks for the great content James!
What an incredible example of integration! I am a Spaniard living in Rancho Santa Margarita Orange County, California for many years. With 600,000 Euros you can't even buy a two bedroom one bathroom condo anywhere in Southern California at least you move close to the Mohave desert. Their expenses are very low expenses comparing to California which is a State that it is becoming unsustainable due to the increase cost of living. I only have respect and admiration for this family taking the plunge and I don't understand some of the non sense criticism. I only wish that you find in the Basque Country the happiness and good life that you deserve and thank you so much for allowing me, as a viewer, enter your home and finances. Best of Luck!!!! Thanks James for such a great interview!
I've lived in Northern Spain for years and I watch your videos with interest but this is giving a strange perspective. . I've never had any Spanish friends who get 9k euros a month... and 1000 euros a month eating out??? A normal middle class/well paid working class couple would be on around 4000k a month.
And thats before tax....
And is that both people working?
As we explained we have our lifestyle and it’s not the same for anyone. Many would spend less than us but some could also spend more. We live in a place with mansions on the cliff that cost millions, but those people probably wouldn’t share their budget.
its not correct unless you live keepg up with the joneses lifesthle am from the basque country you need about 1500- 2000 euros to live monthly my city is vitoria gasteiz
@@jimmyjohnny3779 mate u dont need that much 2000 euros is roughly
Thank you from one New Zealander to another for this information. We are living in the Canary Islands & we live within an urbanisation with the majority our neighbours are Canarian. The Golden Visas have brought nothing but property to Spain in this instance. The average Spanish citizen couldn't afford the property in question let alone pay for renovations - the seller must have thought they had hit the jackpot with the sale.
They were extremely happy with our offer but I also talked at length with them about how happy we were to make their home our home. They must have had so many memories here. I think they were the original owners and lived here almost 50 years. I explained we would also make some great memories here for our family. The seller teared up and gave me a big hug. We paid 100x what they paid for the piso in 1973.
290 euros per day in Spain???? James, James, James... You sold yourself! Doing these sponsored videos is honestly ruining your hard work all these years. So sad. So sad.
Im sorry, im lost. Sponsored content? I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I only mentioned my business in this video. :)
I think it's helpful to show these kinds of videos with all different budget levels. It shows what kind of life you can have with a certain budget. You can definitely live in Spain at lower budget levels. I live in Sevilla and I probably live off 3000 euros a month as a single person, not including my travel budget. I think Andalucia region is cheaper than Bilbao, San Sebastian, Madrid, or Barcelona.
We can’t say that for four people the budget would be 4x yours since housing is a single cost, etc. Although a family would require larger housing at higher cost. But I think you understand where we are coming from. And we included our travel in the budget as it’s an expense we occur on a regular basis. We could have cut many items out of the budget for the video but then there has to be a * next to every line to explain it.
Me and wife will be moving to asturias in a village in the hills. We want to live off £1500 a month. Also want to do trips all over spain..wish us luck🤞
Good luck guys!
Sounds great. Cider and greenery.
@@spainrevealed we will need it but looking forward to the adventure. Nice quick train from oviedo to madrid for a treat😁
Nice. Asturias is great. Good luck.
¡Suerte! Y no os olvidéis de llevar el paraguas.
Thank you James a very positive interview. I moved to Lanzarote 27 years ago from the UK and have never regretted it.
THIS IS PERFECT CONTENT. Thank you so much James.
There are so many comments about the total amount and/or certain pieces of it being too high. This lovely family IS trying it all (and by opening up their books) enable us the viewers get an idea what would the max cost be if we too add some of what they do to our own lives.
We should be thankful for the sharing instead of canceling James or the family.
Just to add, it is all about preferences. For example we spend €1500 a month for education per kid (British School) while this couple spends only €600 (to concerdato). And they reallocate the €900 to hobies. Good for them. I myself have to give that a thought as well.
I agree. This is a family of four with two teenage boys who are physically active. Their quality of life is higher and yet affordable. One crucial point that isn't missed is that their healthcare is ONE TENTH of what it was in the US. Americans run the risk of going into bankruptcy if they have a single catastrophic health event. That danger doesn't exist in Spain.
@@sarpsarikaya1675, good point. It's also important to remember that the Pais Vasco is a fairly expensive part of Spain. Similar quality of life could be had much cheaper in Cantabria, for example. This couple is from California, Mountain View, a Silicon Valley area that is extremely expensive so they are accustomed to a much higher cost of living. Spain must seem very affordable in comparison. Not cheap, but reasonable. I'm from South Florida and I have found that living in Asturias is infinitely more affordable and travel to other parts of Europe are as easy as travel to other states was back home. I adore Spain.
Thank you for understanding. Our mortgage in California is about $4000/month. We don’t have that expense in Spain but it’s important to understand that costs can be high anywhere depending on lifestyle. Just our HOA in Spain is €533/month. I know some people done spend that much on rent. In the past two years we were spending €12k/year/kid on private school but that has now gone down to about €4K each at the concertado. Private schools in California can cost $50k/kid/year.
As a follower since more than 5 years ago, this kind of videos showing wealthy people are making me closer to stop following this channel. I miss the old times with Madrid tips and food places all around Spain
Hi there! Thank you for being a long time viewer. The channel will have content aimed at helping people explore Spain as tourists authentically and also move to Spain. The previous video was tips for ordering in tapas bars and the next one is a pintxo crawl in Bilbao. Hope you’ll hang about the videos the interest you :)
Very interesting! Great info. Thanks for opening up your home and giving us an idea of costs. Enjoyed!
This is all well and good but these folks are obviously quite wealthy given the cost of their home and the renovations, plus the photos that show they've done some world traveling. How about a feature on the other end of the spectrum: a single person with a more modest budget?
Great idea!
Love the variety on your channel.
I don’t get all the negativity. This video series isn’t about living as cheaply as possible-it’s about showcasing different people’s lifestyles. It’s great that some are open to sharing their budgets! Some might pay less because they don’t pay a mortgage or rent, while others might spend 2000€ a month on housing because they live in a more expensive area. For example, sending two kids to private school can easily add another 2000€, so that’s already 4000€ without even counting food, insurance, and other things.
In the end, he even says they’re fortunate and not everyone lives like that. People have different lifestyles-some have certain hobbies, some share rent with others, and some like driving nice cars or eating in nice restaurants. There’s no need to judge or compare. It’s just interesting content. Greetings from Marbella!
Welcome to Spain, from a Spaniard and Basque. I hope your experience becomes even better. I see you are open-minded and really embraced the local culture and stuff , you integrated quite well. Impressive and not common to see many as you, I have to say.
This reminds me of the digital nomad visas Portugal is handing out ...They wanted to boost the economy with foreigners' cash so anyone earning 36,000 Euros a year or more can get one ....This backfired as property prices in Lisbon have risen to levels approaching those in London or Paris yet many of the locals earn only 600 Euros a month
Spain Speaks channel mentioned this in the Summer.The Portugese not happy with the Nomad Visas.
I'm sorry, but this isn't even close to realistic, $480 a month for clothing/ shoes? Please tell me this is a joke.
If you watch the video they do tell where and why they spend so much.
@@sarpsarikaya1675 I saw the ridiculous expense list, no need to waste my time watching further.
LMAO Don’t people get to live and spend as they please???? I bet they spent twice that in California!
Two growing boys, tons of walking, new sports, school uniforms - at least every month someone in the family needs shoes. And nice sneakers are over €100 easily.
Maybe feeling a little jelly, m'kay?
Dear James, these last Videos are nothing but ads. For your company " how i take care of you, you wealthy north americans" kind of.
Nostalgia of your old videos about Spain..., perhaps they were, financially not attractive enough for you...
C'est dommage!...
Hi Youssef, thanks for your comment. I appreciate your perspective. I read many comments people make about the videos, and take on feedback as I develop content for the channel.
If you're open, I'd like to share my perspective. I try and make a range of different videos. For example, the last video was tips about ordering in tapas bars, and two videos before that was a 40-minute video about the food and culture of Vejer de la Frontera. Next video will be a pintxo crawl in Bilbao.
Yes, I also make videos about living in Spain. This is because I love revealing what it takes to live here, and also part of my business is to provide education products (courses) for people who want to relocate here. The last cost of living video (the only other one I've made so far) was a couple spending 2000EUR/month.
So yes, I will mention my course, or an upcoming webinar in relevant videos because I have a business, through which I make a living, feed my family and pay my mortgage. Many other RUclipsrs take on sponsors and put ads for their products in their videos. I don't want to do that - I'd rather promote my own products and services rather than some other random company.
I understand not all content will be of interest to everyone, but if you're here for the tapas videos, or the explorations of Spanish culture (as per the videos I mentioned above), I will still keep making those. I hope you'll still hang around to enjoy them. :)
James - Excellent content and thank you for creating these type of videos.
My pleasure! Thank you for watching :)
Lovely family and a nice tour - Bilbao his really pretty; it felt amazingly safe when we were there visiting last year.
I loved the video and the philosophy of this family. I grew up in Spain and may be making my way back from Australia one day. But wow, so much envy and jealousy in the comments! They say that envy is the national sin of Spain, but obviously it's not just Spain!
I thought fútbol was the national sport but someone told me it is complaining.
I really liked this family, although they might be wasting some money.
I’ve followed you for years, admiring the brand and trust you built, but this latest video is a complete misstep. Frankly, if you had asked for donations, you’d have likely made more than by releasing this paid content that completely undermines everything you’ve stood for. This video not only damages your credibility but shows that your integrity now has a price. I never expected you to compromise your standards like this. It’s a real disappointment. You didn’t just lose one subscriber today-you lost all the respect you once had.
Im sorry you feel that way. But I would like to clarify that nobody paid anything for this video. None of my videos are sponsored or paid for by anyone except for me. Maybe you mean the webinar? That’s a free webinar I’m running (like I do every month). :)
@@spainrevealed Thank you for clarifying, but the issue isn’t about whether the video was paid for or not. It’s about the content itself and how far it strays from the quality and authenticity that built your brand. As a long-time follower, it’s disappointing to see this shift, regardless of sponsorship. And honestly, how many people have the budget for what’s being shown? Rubbing the wealth of others in our faces shouldn’t make us feel better-if anything, it just leaves us angrier because it feels out of touch with the audience you’ve built.
This families’ budget and lifestyle is just as authentic as the couple in the previous video living on 2000 euros/month and just as authentic as the next video I make in this series which will be another person/couple/family on another budget. People move to Spain with all sorts of budgets and lifestyles. My goal with the series is to provide a variety of lifestyles and budgets and experiences. I’m sorry it makes you angry to see people with a high budget. But the Spain Revealed audience is broad and I’m happy to provide all parts of the audience with lots of different perspectives and experiences in Spain. Some videos will be more relevant to some people and less relevant to others, and that’s ok. Having said all of that, I do see the importance of showing different perspectives, lifestyles, locations and budgets within the series, and I’ll aim to do.
@@spainrevealed It seems like you're missing the point here, James. People are upset because the lifestyle and income you're presenting are completely out of touch with the reality for most Spaniards, as well as those considering Spain as their new home. This feels inauthentic-more like wealthy individuals from the richest parts of the world relocating to live in luxury. It's not new, it's not interesting, and it feels incredibly disconnected from the ongoing housing movement in Madrid, which I would have thought you'd support. After seeing this video, I’m not so sure anymore.
Even if this isn't "paid-for" content, it comes across as if you're catering to a wealthy audience to promote your courses and attract high-net-worth individuals to Spain. Sadly, I think you've lost me as a fan because of it.
I believe it's possible to call for better access to housing, and also feature this family. It just seems to me crazy to start to put limits on what kind of "budgets" can and can't come to Spain. This country needs immigrants of all backgrounds and budgets to support the struggling pension system. El Pais has stated that Spain needs 24 million immigrants to support the current social welfare state, due to the aging population. I am against Airbnb and the impact it has on housing and on vulture funds buying up properties, and I certainly wish this government would get their act together and build more homes for people. Those are policies that can have an impact. But I'm not against families moving to this country to set up a life, inject money into the local economy, and integrate. To do so would be unworkable and unhelpful. And I'm not arguing for arguing sake. I really do believe this. To solve the housing crisis, we need policies that will actually work. Not just anger. Personally, I do believe the Golden Visa should be removed, but not because it's distorting the housing market -- it's a drop in the ocean -- but because it goes against what I think is simple fairness. I don't think you should be able to buy a residency that provides more advantages than others.
The last couple I featured are living on 2000 euros/month. The complaints about that video were that it wasn't accurate and was too low, and they were no doubt spending more. I think a key issue here is that money is an understandably very emotional topic, so you damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
As Toby has stated in the comments here, I had no idea what his budget was when I asked him if he'd be interested in doing this video. I just knew that he was someone who had gotten involved in the community and was making a real go at integration. I'm sorry this content offends you, and I'm sorry to lose you as a fan, but I'm really not sure what else I can say or do. :)
Maybe I am very disconnected with house prices (I never had to buy one, I live in Valencia), but that one is quite steep! In any case, it is a lovely place and you made it look amazing. Well done.
I think the house was a good value. There didn’t seem to be a premium for the view. In this size there was nothing cheaper. There are pisos on the waterfront for over €1 million. And some mansions on the cliff for up to €5 million. But that’s Las Arenas and parts of Getxo. It is not difficult to find lower cost housing all around us. Many 2-3 bedroom apartments rent for around €1000/month. But this is all so much lower than housing costs in California. It would cost at least $6000/month to rent a house in the neighborhood we moved from in California. Many people can’t understand this if they have never been there.
@@TVanderbeek in US costs are so high! I have many friends there and just blows my mind. I am lucky that I live in a big old flat that is near the center. My grandpa bought it and it's been in the family since there. Saving in housing is something that I don't take for granted.
I will keep my comments about how they spend their money to myself. And I have to admit skipping parts of the video once I got a feel for it. But the most important information was missing! Where do they get their €8700 from per month?? That would be the really interesting and relevant thing.
Presume they rent their property(ies) in Mountain View, CA
We really enjoyed this episode James, like we did when you interviewed the Canadian couple a few weeks ago. It's always good to get a different perspective. Thanks to Tobey and Lindsay for sharing with us.
It would be great in the future to have interviews with other families or singles who live in Spain with much smaller/tighter budget. When we get setup, we'll be at the other end of the rainbow. 😂 We'll volunteer.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@spainrevealed 100%! Looking forward to the next one.
They came from the heart of the Silicon Valley, where an average home costs $1.5 to 2 million. When they sold they likely had over $1 million which would allow paying for the penthouse outright as well as the monthly costs. That being said, part of the fun of moving outside of the US is to NOT reproduce the lifestyle of the US. I moved out of the US to another European country and spent far less. I enjoy a simpler life now.
My Business has been Spain for 28 years.I love my visits and as a Spanish Friend once told me I was more "Spanish" than the "Spanish" when over in Spain!
If I lived in Spain I'd be doing as the Spanish do.I don't watch UK TV but watch the Spanish Channels buy the Spanish Food too.I don't visit British Bars etc either.I'm happy in a local Bar full of Spanish.
My 4 youngest children have Spanish Names and my youngest two were baptized in Spain.
Folks, there are wealthy people everywhere, including Spain. I appreciate them giving us a glimpse into their lifestyle. Some can obviously afford it. If you can’t, that’s perfectly fine, you can skip this video. James has content for everyone.
Thank you. James had no idea about our budget when he first asked us to do the video. I think any budget can work in Spain. It just depends on lifestyle.
I like the video. Nowhere do they pretend they are poor or anything, comment section seem to be suggesting they are? Maybe I’m missing something
I'm under the impression that a lot of the "8700€/month is too much" remarks are because people didn't watch the complete episode. Of course you don't need that amount to live in Northern Spain, but that is not the point. It is their lifestyle at this moment. I f I would live there it would be totally different. I don't drive a car, I don't need intercontinental tickets, I don't have kids that go to school, I don't watch footbalgames...
James asked me at the end of the video to explain that we know people can live here for much less. I guess we should have put that very first thing as maybe people didn’t watch all the way through. Some said they didn’t even want to watch the video after reading the title.
For sure you can live here for much less, but I guess that’s not the lifestyle we are used to. If we just wanted to match our lifestyle from California it would cost less. But we also have many opportunities around us to eat well, travel in Europe, send the kids to a special school, and try so many new things. So our quality of life is very high, and we are still spending less than we did in California.
In Eroski markets you can find peanut butter, and a much healthier peanut butter than Skippy.
8700€ per month is 4X-8X what the average Spanish person has to live on. Please folks be aware of the affect your geo-arbitrage can have on people’s lives around you. (Edited to add, in general terms this family seems like nice folks, but the kind of money being spent, especially on housing, helps to drive up the cost of living for locals. Which since they seem like nice folks, they probably wouldn’t want to do on purpose. Awareness is very important.)
Just as a note, I think this is really a matter of framing. If the question is, “How can a very well off family live in northern Spain?” then that’s a very different sort of question than, “How much does it cost for a family to live in northern Spain?” which on average is considerably lower.
Thank you for this video. The reality of Spain is that the cost of living - to live like its the 21st century - is equal to most other countries in Europe. This video is a very good illustration that Spain is NOT a cheap place to live well. It may be cheaper than Sweden or Norway BUT it is not cheap. My cost of living in rural Cordoba is actually higher than it was when I was living in the center of Amsterdam. In the end, living in Spain is a lifestyle choice NOT a way to save on living expenses.
Spain can be less expensive than other places but it depends so much on lifestyle. It’s less expensive than it was in California, especially for health care. But there we had a mortgage and in Spain we don’t. In Spain we have an HOA and in California we don’t. In Spain we have concertado school costs but in California we didn’t. So it’s not an easy direct comparison other than overall costs, and those are less in Spain. People are used to a certain lifestyle and they are likely to live the same anywhere. While some expenses are lower in Spain, we also spend a lot on new hobbies, sports, and music since we are exploring what Spain has to offer.
We recently used Devour Tours food and history tours and they were amazing in Barcelona, Madrid, and Athens!
I’m from London. My net worth is €8.5M. I plan to move to Spain or Portugal next month.
With that money come to Spain and enjoy life to the fullest. You´re going to have the best time. And also you have really cheap flights to London which it´s an amazing city. Good luck and be welcome.
Good for you. You’ll have a great time.
Beautifull family, beautifull apartments. It was very interesting to watch this video. Thanks for sharing the budget. Thank you!
We live MUCH cheaper in spain ! Only €30 per person per month for healthcare for example (co-pago, so each doctor visit costs extra €6 €). And no need to pay for schools, great spanish schools for free (yes partly in the local language, but it's similar to french so for normal developing kids shouldn't be an issue) . Also solar electricity means very low electric bills.
Strange choice of lifestyle at 8700 p.m. Why not go to an average, more realistic British ex pat couple in,say Andalusia, and see how they live. Bet its less than 2.5k p..m
James wants to show various lifestyles that people are living across Spain.
James has already done the interview you suggest. This is a different family and lifestyle, I thought it was very interesting.
because its more shcoiking thta a guy from claifornia woould randomly live in getx bilbao many brits came spain but amercians is mre unusual specially in basque country and youn do not need 8700pm in the basque country none ears that lol hes probaly just wealyhy and spendes people roughly spend 1600-2000 euros
If I lived in a Rural area in the North Of England my cost of living would be substantially cheaper than living in central London. Spain is no different. You can have a great standard of living in Northern Spain in a rural area. In addition if you pick an area of rural depopulation your presence really makes a difference to these communities. However, that is a lifestyle choice I understand many people prefer and can afford the Metro lifestyle.
This video gives me strange vibes, while i do understand that people move to other countries, the pure fact that they're socio-economic status is so out there (basically it would convert to about something a bit below 200k EUR yearly income to be able to spend 9k per month (taxes !) .. probably in the top 5% of what income is in Spain), feels off and wrong.. basically house prices and other types things go up due to the gentrification of this class of people. In Madrid people are fed up with this - all the influx from (mainly latin) people with large wallets creates lots of problems for the normal working class....
What's so special about living in northern Spain if you have 8,700 euros /month?? You can live almost anywhere in the world with that money!
You will not have the same standard of living in other places offering the same range of goods and services. Here, they are Californians and they wanted something similar to California. They could go to Alabama to spend less, but it was not what they wanted.
The Weather is different.
@@elizaphe58 I guess that Spanish Basque Country as pretty much the same climate than North California.
It’s really not about the money for us. That’s what many people are getting wrong. We moved to Spain so we could work on our castellano and show the kids what it’s like to live in another country, and to have some new adventures. We had no idea that we’d make such good friends, continue to learn Spanish but also euskera and enjoy the basque culture, go for morning swims before school, walk the Camino, play basque instruments on mountain tops, root for Athletic Club, learn new sports like pádel and balonmano, and so much more. We really feel at home here.
And we do love the weather. It’s cooler than Northern California and the weather changes often which keeps it interesting. We like rain and cooler temperatures.
@@TVanderbeekMy Eldest Daughter and her Hubby live in Vancouver they are now Canadian Citizens.They were in Australia first but moved to Canada in November 2011.They love the Lifestyle etc they have Fabulous Jobs.Just recently bought a small House there with a yard.They travel over the border to the USA just recently collected their Rescue Puppy from California just been on holiday to Palm Springs.They meet up with family in Vegas cheaper all round.
Live your best life I wish you all well for the future.
Getxo is beautiful one of the nicest places I visited when I went to Bilbao. The houses were incredible. The beach was great. I'd love to live there but the properties are expensive.
I missed that webinar in September just so happened was on my way to Spain on vacation
No worires! I run them regularly, all about topics on moving to Spain, and with top experts. And they're 100% free. You can sign up for the next one or future ones here: www.spainrevealed.com/webinar
what a lovely couple!
Thanks for an interesting interview, Toby. Teenagers are expensive, and your family's life is wonderful. You dont have to defend or explain your choices. I get. There's only 2 of us, and our budget is a little less than 50% of yours because, similar to you, we have return flights to New Zealand to include at least once a year. The north of Spain is fantastic, we're super happy here too.
I tried to show our budget, all in. I could have left many things out but that wouldn’t have been realistic for us. Thank you for your support.
8700 per month is not the average families monthly budget. You are out of touch.
No joke!! That's over 110k a year!! Keep the Californese cash over there ... I wish we could keep them out of my region of the US -- we are so insular and cold here that eventually gets them to move.
@@dylanstevenson5737 Who says he only has to show the average? He has shown a range of what’s possible.
James never said this was an average family’s budget. It’s our budget. And it’s the money we are spending in Spain, supporting local businesses so they can support their families. We are very much enjoying what Spain has to offer. But what we didn’t share was things like we pick up all the trash at the beach and on the sidewalk while we are out, I purchased a broom for the skate park in front of our house so kids can sweep away the water and leaves, and I paint murals over graffiti in the neighborhood. We are more than integrated, and work hard to make our town a better place for all. It’s more than I see most doing here. And it’s not snobbish or artificial. We really enjoy living here and feel that people should contribute however they can to their community.
@@TVanderbeek They don’t make the association that the money you spend locally stays in the local economy. You spending $1k per month on restaurants helps those restaurant and its staff more than a family spending $200. People are funny, but you guys are doing great work. Thanks for sharing your story and your budget.
@@nidocinMore unfair CA bashing in a video about a CA family? 😮
Great video. So informative
One more little thought. It’s great that you guys caption your videos, but the captions that RUclips generates are very inaccurate especially when it comes to Spanish terms and place names. (Bilbao was called Bilbow and Basque was rendered variously as Bus, Bass, etc.) Just a quick pass editing the captions would take care of that. Thanks for all you do!
Love this video and all the information the family shared. Big thanks to them for opening up their lives and their fridge 😂 Its super helpful to show a variety of budgets. Well done!
I didn’t want to show in the fridge but James insisted!
Wow.. I thought you could live in Spain with $3000… ? This is crazy expensive. Even more than living in US..
Spain yes, but not compared to Mountain View, CA.
I live in Galicia and I certainly couldn't afford 3000 a month.
You can live in Spain on €3k/month. It depends on your lifestyle, if you have kids, and much more. We have friends here that live on less and some that live on more. But €8700/month is hardly sufficient in California.
8700 a month? And 2000 for the couple living at Costa Blanca? Wow...
Lots of lifestyles/budgets are possible in Spain. :)
People need to chill out. We also live in the bay area and are currently spending about 10k a month to live. When we move to Spain we want to live on about 4k a month, but if we wanted to we could live for 8700. Not everyone is poor, that’s just life. You want to make a ton of money? Move to the bay area and work for tech, then these numbers will be achievable to you also.
@hikikomori69 expect at least $6k the first year.
You know how expensive it is living there. Our quality of life in Spain is higher for less money. But we do miss family and friends, and In-N-Out Burger.
@@TVanderbeek I miss the SC BBQ!
@@TVanderbeek. in-N-out! Our son loved that when at Berkeley! I’ll take Spanish caracoles over that any day! 😂
My expenses are also similar in The Bay Area-nearly carbon copy, clustered around 10k. Mountain View, is, of course, one of the priciest parts of Silicon Valley, so their money will go extremely far in Spain. At least this family is respectful of the country. So many expats around the world treat a country as a trend. (Portugal 2022, Prague in the 1990s.) It is my lifelong dream to retire permanently in Spain in honor of my grandparents. I hope I will still be able to afford it a few years from now. Gentrification seems to have been affecting the Iberian peninsula. I have lived in Germany, Turkey, and Japan, so believe me when I suggest that this family is the kind of expat you WANT to encounter abroad. They respect their new land and life.
If they can efford it, they do well to spend that money.
WTF
Seriously, I understand if this is meant to show a wealthy American transplant family, but this is like showing how much it costs to run a Cadillac Escalade in Spain.
A tiny percentage of Spaniards/ Basques live like that... and not at all representative of how you can live in Spain.
I would guess that moving from an area in California in which you would have to spend double that for a domicile, might make it seem a lot less expensive, but that doesn't mean that it's reasonable.
This is depressing for somebody who is getting his citizenship and thinking of moving to Spain from somewhere not California (truth be told, we're originally from California, and it was clearly much more expensive than the high quality of life, college town in which we live)...
More power to them, but it's ridiculous ("Raves"?...)... maybe less relevant outside of a "singles" demographic
The video was meant to show our budget, which is what James asked us for. It wasn’t meant to be a cost of living video. We or anyone could live in Spain for less money. And many people live here on more money. As for the raves: Monegros. It’s in the budget. Nothing wrong with letting loose once in a while.
This is a fantastic video. I remember when I first moved to Japan, I was hungry often until I found food I liked. Anyway, thank you for your video. It was very interesting.
Is there any place on earth, maybe except Singapore, Hongkong and Monaco because of the rent, where you cannot live exceptionally well with this kind of money?
You cannot live this well on that in California.
How do the family go on with the children playing ball games in the apartment with neighbour's?
We are respectful of our neighbors. The ball is foam and doesn’t make any noise. But we do talk to our neighbors in our building since we see them every day. We don’t play loud music. Respect is required in buildings. Also I’m the president of our portal this year so neighbors come to me with problems.
@@TVanderbeek That's good to hear...I know when I used to go on holiday with my family.I instilled in my children it's not like Our Home upstairs and downstairs,you have to respect the neighbour's up and down.Many a time in a holiday apartment someone up above in heels clipping around.Then moving furniture!
I'm single and retired now - my monthly spend in Spain is €3.5-4k and I live quiet well, but thats what it costs quite simply.
Correct, Spain is definitely not what it was before. Nowadays it’s at the same price point as many other European countries. But the last years it also have an overpriced property market. And that it’s definitely not something the locals like with average salaries less than half of rest of Europe.
And you’re one person. We have our family of four with two fast growing boys who need new shoes and clothes often, eat a ton of food, etc.
@@NordicAdvRiderAs for increasing property/rental prices, it’s an economic problem of a housing shortage. It’s an easy fix with more housing but that pace is not going as fast as the demand. It’s unfair to blame tourists for higher prices such as in Barcelona and Madrid. It’s been proven that the increased housing cost for short term rentals is a very small number compared to the general shortage of housing due to under-building.
@@NordicAdvRider Spot on
@@TVanderbeek I didn’t blame anyone, I just told the facts. And in south Spain there is a lot of construction of new apartments/houses and there is a lot for sale. And the problem is, still the locals can’t afford to buy them. These expensive properties is mainly built for foreigners. So the math is quite simple, when more foreigners moving to Spain, the price will of course increase because of thicker wallets.
Thanks James. If possible, can you find out what service they use to forward their mail from the US for their bank, credit cards, brokerage accounts, and general mail. Also, did their CPA successfully file their FTC for the taxes that they paid in Spain to reduce or eliminate their US taxes? Any help with this would be appreciated.
We use AnytimeMailbox with an address in the city we moved from. But I have also tried really hard to eliminate as much mail as possible, get off mailing lists, convert mail to email, etc. I wish we didn’t get any mail but it seems impossible. We just finished dealing with 2023 taxes in the US and are still working on Spanish taxes. It’s a complicated situation that I think will become more simple over time.
@@TVanderbeek Thank you. This is helpful. So, did you change your mailing address for your bank, credit cards, etc. to the AnytimeMailbox address where you moved from? I've researched some virtual mailboxes and I've found that if there isn't a physical address that is recognized banks, etc. may flag them. I did see that AnytimeMailbox does have a physical address option as well. Is that what you are using?
Yes, the address is actually a Postal Annex in the town we moved from. We got off every mailing list possible, changed as much to electronic as we could, and gave the rest our new address if you want you can put APT or STE for the box number. You don’t have to say box. Eventually I’d like to get rid of the mailbox but I don’t know if it’s possible given that many companies won’t switch to digital delivery.
@@TVanderbeek Thank you for taking the time to reply. I am planning to retire in Spain and this is one topic that I have gotten a lot of mixed messages on. One last question if you. Don't mind. Did your bank, credit card, and brokerage firm let you change your address to Spain? I've read that some banks and brokerages will close your account if then know you live overseas. Hence all the questions. Personally, I think that I would always need a US mail service for at least the IRS and potentially banking services. I want to keep using all my US credit cards while in Spain in order to maintain a US credit rating and to bridge the gap until I can get a decent credit card in Spain. Again, I appreciate your help with this. Regards.
We are trying to work out our finances to live in Spain in the future. The concern is that I eat well, good protein and vegetables, etc - cant rely on rice and pasta meals.
I try to keep costs as much as possible eating some liver and kidney. What is a realistic grocery food bill in Spain?
Two people, no eating out. Thanks in advance for any advice
Around 450€ if you include good fish and good meat
As Natalia said, 450 € per month for two people can be pretty accurate if you go to places with good prices and better quality.
@@antoniogarcialopezvazquez4806 last time shopping in Lidl we spent €400 in 2 weeks. That wasn't buying steaks or anything like that
It seems like every time I go to Costco it’s easy to spend €300. And even though we spend more than most people here think we should, we are still conscious of our expenses. Money is not unlimited. We could go out less and not buy as many treats and new things to try. Both of which could cut our food expenses by half I’m sure. Our eating out budget included absolutely everything that wasn’t groceries, such as chuches for the kids, coffees and pintxos with friends, pizza and movie night when the kids’ friends come over, eating while on vacation, etc. If you really really never eat out and have just two people then your food budget will be much lower. Remember, our video is not about cost of living here, it’s just our own budget.
@TVanderbeek thanks for sharing your details about this move from CA. (I used to live in Mtn View but now in Southern Ca). Was curious to get more info about the tax stuff you mentioned. I feel like it got kind of cut off in the video. Were you suggesting a better option would have been to move to another state before moving to Spain, as to not be a resident of CA under their tax laws while you are out of the country? Thanks again. We love the way your family is really immersed in the culture and country. I think thats the best way to go!
California is one of half a dozen sticky states that wants income tax even if you move overseas. There are ways to stop this so we are working with our tax advisor. But moving to another state first is one way. We didn’t do that so we are looking at other options.
@@TVanderbeek that's what I thought! good luck with everything
@@TVanderbeekhow long does one have to move to another state for before moving to Spain? Asking as a CA resident looking at Spain.
Wow that is expensive, I know how much teachers earn in Spain and even in the basque region it’s one of the most expensive regions around
I don’t think the cost of living here in the north has to be more expensive that other parts of Spain but as we have explained it really depends on lifestyle. I think it’s actually more expensive to rent in Madrid but maybe overall costs in Basque Country are similar.
Wow I'd want to live in Spain for a lot less! I suppose if you want to live your best life in a foreign country then go for it...But they still visit Costco just like people do wherever there is one and IKEA lol
I've been looking at Village Houses inland Andalucia. I love the Spanish way of life and the food although it's changed alot these past 10years.
In Denmark we also keep our eggs in the refrigerator🙂
I do here in the UK.
This must be a joke! Nearly 9000 a month!
No joke! Watch the video and you’ll understand where we spend our money and why.
Give u an example, in Texas , USA. Just two of us - husband & me , monthly cost is around 6-7k except house & car which we paid off. 😅 I believe if we (2 ppl ) move to Spain, monthly cost will be less than 7 k. This family of 4 , monthly is about 8.9 k , is reasonable and maintain their quality life in California. Good job . They would pay much more than 8k in California.
San Sebastian, Fuenterrabia, Zarauz, etc. are expensive. Galicia and Asturias are cheap. Santander is expensive only in the summer,. North Aragon is in the middle. There are many differences in "North Spain".
Insightful watch as always 🫡👊🏿
100k a year? James, cmon! This is just weird american imperialism now.
Why's it American imperialism? 😂 There's a ton more rich Brits in the entire Iberian peninsula.
We have not brought political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence with us to Spain. We spend a lot because we are enjoying all that Spain has to offer. We are involved with many Spanish and basque things here, and doing so much can cost money.
Strange comment. As if there weren’t wealthy Spaniards living in Spain.
I wonder if Amancio Ortega would share his budget.
@@lokimikko3516Agreed
The median salary in Spain in 2024 is EUR 2250 a month. Before taxes. This "generous view into their budget" is nothing more than a humblebrag.
James had no idea what our budget was when he asked us to do the video and we get nothing out of sharing it. We were quite nervous about sharing this information because we know it’s higher than many around us. But it’s also less expensive than living in California. If you watch the video, you’ll see we are not bragging about anything. We live comfortably but also contribute much to our community without expectation of recognition or reward.
Well done. Thanks for sharing.
I apologize if my comment brought you any discomfort. I have no issue with people doing well for themselves and I hope your caution has proven unjustified.
That said; I do find a video detailing how comfortably you can live in Spain if you budget 4x the average monthly salary, at a time when Spaniards are protesting being priced out by expats and tourism, to be in poor taste.
With 8700€ a month you live like a king in every part of Spain. This amount of money do not represent any area of the country.
You live like a king anywhere in Europe to be fair.
@@shanekearney8672 x_D True.
It wasn’t meant to represent any area of Spain. It was only meant to represent our own budget for living in Spain. That’s what James asked. We didn’t even give him our budget until the week before the video shoot and he already has his travel plans set. I think everyone can take something from the video such as concertado school costs or what it takes to fly to see family twice a year or what it might take to feed and clothe two growing kids. We understand most people in Spain live on a lower budget but for sure there are many who spend more than we do. And the channel is definitely geared toward people who are interested in Spain and who are interested to see what others are spending after they move.
@@TVanderbeek Nice, now I understand ;)