Cost of Living in Fuerteventura

[Pete Garyga]

Having contemplated life and things whilst in lockdown for several weeks, I'm considering the option of taking early retirement.
Juggling around the figures, pensions & other things, I think we could possibly afford to retire next April (I'll be 56) and have an income of around €18500 per year between the two of us.
Looking at outgoings I think we could afford to live in the house we are in the process of buying on that amount and whilst not a huge amount of Money live okay on it.
There's no mortgage on the house. 
I'd love to hear what other people think of the amount and any experiences of doing similar. 

[Cotillo_Tom]

Hi, I dont think that would be much of a problem as you tend to live according to your means (well, most people do), but the thing that might cost you more than you expect is the cost of health insurance. As you aren't pensioners, you cant transfer your NHS entitlements to the Spanish system via the S1 Form, so you will need to take out private insurance. 

Do check that out before you go much further as it could cost 4 figures!!

Tom.

[GMT]

My partner and I, being fed up of getting up at the crack of dawn and of working in a very polluted capital in toxic office environments, have already done it a year ago although at present we are stuck in mainland Spain but have a property waiting for us in Fuerteventura (long story). At present we have less annual income than you but we have always been sensible with Money: Careful budget for shopping (we used to shop at Aldi in the UK but now we use 80% Lidl and 20% Mercadona), no eating out (we don't enjoy it, we like to experiment in our kitchen), no Sky or Netflix, no expensive materialistic things, no more need for holidays now, no fancy smartphones, sober car, no kids. I don't see why you shouldn't do it. On the whole I found Spain quite cheaper than the UK. However, the Spanish and local governments seem to try to rip foreigners off anyway with silly taxes. Having said that our current council tax is one third of what we were paying in the UK. Petrol is cheaper. Workmen are cheaper. I heard that furniture in Fuerteventura is expensive owing to import taxes, if I'm not wrong. I don't know about cars but I wouldn't be surprised if they were more expensive in the Canary Islands.

These are my 2p thoughts. Good luck.

[Johnrgby]

Hi, I dont think that would be much of a problem as you tend to live according to your means (well, most people do), but the thing that might cost you more than you expect is the cost of health insurance. As you aren't pensioners, you cant transfer your NHS entitlements to the Spanish system via the S1 Form, so you will need to take out private insurance. 

Do check that out before you go much further as it could cost 4 figures!!

Tom.

Totally agree with Tom providing there is no Mortgage and you have health Insurance, you could live well on that, I have just done a quick calculation and we spend roughly 12/13,000€ annually and we eat out 2/3 times wekly and I go for a beer or two twice or three time a week, we own the property and bought a car as soon as we arrived so there is no big regular outlay, obviously house/ car maintenance is not included in this figure it is roughly our week to week living costs, and we are pensioners so have access to the Spanish health system.

[classic]

Re Health Insurance.
Initially I had health Insurance through my Spanish bank ....60 euros a month. After living on the Island for 12 months, you can apply for a 'Convenio especial' - (basically you pay to be in the health system, until you become a pensioner when it is free). That now costs me 60 euros a month instead.

[Pete Garyga]

Hi, I dont think that would be much of a problem as you tend to live according to your means (well, most people do), but the thing that might cost you more than you expect is the cost of health insurance. As you aren't pensioners, you cant transfer your NHS entitlements to the Spanish system via the S1 Form, so you will need to take out private insurance. 

Do check that out before you go much further as it could cost 4 figures!!

Tom.

I've factored in €120 a month on health insurance for the two of us, I got to that amount from online enquiries.
Pretty sure I've included all the outgoings which total around €1200 a month but there are some guestimates in there like €250 for shopping and €45 for house insurance.

Also, I need to convince Mrs. G 

[Ducks]

Our weekly shopping bill for two would be a lot more than €250— probably closer to €350, but we do prefer some "expensive" items (chicken breast, bagged salad, blueberries, etc.), and are big into cleaning supplies. We make up the savings by not eating or drinking out at all, apart from the occasional coffee or piece of cake. I'd say it works out about 60:40 Mercadona:Lidl for us. Some things are cheaper than at home; some are more expensive. Food-wise, it evens out on the balance of everything, in my experience.

We decided we did not want the stress and bother of a car, so we do not have one. That saves us an absolute fortune! I don't think I'd recommend that unless you live in Puerto/Caleta/Correlejo, though— they receive a reliable bus service, but many parts of the island do not. We get by all right without one these days, but it was a big hassle in the beginning when we were trying to furnish the house, and there are days still when it really would be great to have access to one. Depending on where you live, not having one is absolutely possible (if sometimes frustrating).

Water and electric charges are much lower than we are used to, and there is no heating to worry about. If you're staying over the summer, you will want to make sure your property has decent airflow— without aircon (which would be very expensive), it really can be awful at night. 

Cost of labour is much, much cheaper. Need a handyman or a gardener or pool cleaner? You can probably afford it. Parts and replacements are another story. Availability is limited, import fees can be expensive, and time to actually receiving them can be very long. New white goods are often similarly priced to at home: the same TV in Currys is £220/€244 and €239 in Electron. The same washing machine is £329/367 in England and €375 here. I am often surprised by how little difference there is. 

Decent internet service out here is damned expensive, so be aware of that. We pay €300 per six monthly period (Fuerte Wifi) for 20/5mbps. I would consider the service pretty reliable (outages aren't very frequent), and the advertised speeds are usually achievable. There are cheaper alternatives, but I wanted the best possible speed and reliability that didn't require a contract payment requiring a landline or cable tv connection or have a download limit.

You'll spend infinitely less on clothes because there are fewer places to buy them, and you will need fewer items! When I think of the wardrobes back home stuffed with coats, jackets, scarves, boots...   

If you are prepared to be flexible about what you want, it is very easy to live cheaply here. If, however, you are picky (specific foods/internet speeds/branded items), you will find costs adding up very quickly. Hope some of that was helpful to you! We love being here, and feel very blessed to have been on the island during this pandemic.

[Pete Garyga]

Our weekly shopping bill for two would be a lot more than €250— probably closer to €350, but we do prefer some "expensive" items (chicken breast, bagged salad, blueberries, etc.), and are big into cleaning supplies. We make up the savings by not eating or drinking out at all, apart from the occasional coffee or piece of cake. I'd say it works out about 60:40 Mercadona:Lidl for us. Some things are cheaper than at home; some are more expensive. Food-wise, it evens out on the balance of everything, in my experience.

We decided we did not want the stress and bother of a car, so we do not have one. That saves us an absolute fortune! I don't think I'd recommend that unless you live in Puerto/Caleta/Correlejo, though— they receive a reliable bus service, but many parts of the island do not. We get by all right without one these days, but it was a big hassle in the beginning when we were trying to furnish the house, and there are days still when it really would be great to have access to one. Depending on where you live, not having one is absolutely possible (if sometimes frustrating).

Water and electric charges are much lower than we are used to, and there is no heating to worry about. If you're staying over the summer, you will want to make sure your property has decent airflow— without aircon (which would be very expensive), it really can be awful at night. 

Cost of labour is much, much cheaper. Need a handyman or a gardener or pool cleaner? You can probably afford it. Parts and replacements are another story. Availability is limited, import fees can be expensive, and time to actually receiving them can be very long. New white goods are often similarly priced to at home: the same TV in Currys is £220/€244 and €239 in Electron. The same washing machine is £329/367 in England and €375 here. I am often surprised by how little difference there is. 

Decent internet service out here is damned expensive, so be aware of that. We pay €300 per six monthly period (Fuerte Wifi) for 20/5mbps. I would consider the service pretty reliable (outages aren't very frequent), and the advertised speeds are usually achievable. There are cheaper alternatives, but I wanted the best possible speed and reliability that didn't require a contract payment requiring a landline or cable tv connection or have a download limit.

You'll spend infinitely less on clothes because there are fewer places to buy them, and you will need fewer items! When I think of the wardrobes back home stuffed with coats, jackets, scarves, boots...   

If you are prepared to be flexible about what you want, it is very easy to live cheaply here. If, however, you are picky (specific foods/internet speeds/branded items), you will find costs adding up very quickly. Hope some of that was helpful to you! We love being here, and feel very blessed to have been on the island during this pandemic.

Thank you for taking the time for such a thorough reply, although I'm surprised by your food bill, that's well over €1000 a month, I'd estimated €250 to £300, no real clue though so thanks for the clarification.
The house we are buying is near Corralejo (Geofond area) so could probably manage without a car although I'd sooner have one I think?
I've made a list of furniture and white goods etc as the place is unfurnished but have a separate budget for that, beds & mattresses seem expensive on the island but electrical items similar to the UK as you say.
Movistar advertise a fibre internet connection which is available at the house for €38, about what we pay in the UK for ADSL2 broadband but significantly faster if their figures are accurate. Not sure if it stays at that price for long or increases rapidly though.

[Ducks]

Thank you for taking the time for such a thorough reply, although I'm surprised by your food bill, that's well over €1000 a month, I'd estimated €250 to £300, no real clue though so thanks for the clarification.
The house we are buying is near Corralejo (Geofond area) so could probably manage without a car although I'd sooner have one I think?
I've made a list of furniture and white goods etc as the place is unfurnished but have a separate budget for that, beds & mattresses seem expensive on the island but electrical items similar to the UK as you say.
Movistar advertise a fibre internet connection which is available at the house for €38, about what we pay in the UK for ADSL2 broadband but significantly faster if their figures are accurate. Not sure if it stays at that price for long or increases rapidly though.

Oh, good lord, that was quite the typo— MONTHLY, I meant MONTHLY shop. €350-400, definitely not 1000! 

Furniture can be quite expensive here, yes, and something to remember about beds is the sizes. Different shops will offer different sizes and you'll want to compare mattress and linen sizes in quite a few places before buying to make sure sheets are available in more than one place! Our beds came with the house and are some kind of mad sizes that aren't either Spanish or UK standard sizes, so getting fitted sheets/mattress protectors is a bit of a nightmare. 

If you don't mind second-hand furniture, there are a couple of groups on Facebook where you can trade and buy, as often people leaving the island don't want to bring anything with them and the new occupants might not want them either. I don't use FB personally, so I cannot direct you, but I'm sure someone here can help you find them.

We're only part-timers, so we didn't want a fixed connection for internet, but there is a guy here called McAdam who is very knowledgeable and lives in your part of the island who will definitely know more!

[windermeregolfer]

Thank you for taking the time for such a thorough reply, although I'm surprised by your food bill, that's well over €1000 a month, I'd estimated €250 to £300, no real clue though so thanks for the clarification.
The house we are buying is near Corralejo (Geofond area) so could probably manage without a car although I'd sooner have one I think?
I've made a list of furniture and white goods etc as the place is unfurnished but have a separate budget for that, beds & mattresses seem expensive on the island but electrical items similar to the UK as you say.
Movistar advertise a fibre internet connection which is available at the house for €38, about what we pay in the UK for ADSL2 broadband but significantly faster if their figures are accurate. Not sure if it stays at that price for long or increases rapidly though.

Oh, good lord, that was quite the typo— MONTHLY, I meant MONTHLY shop. €350-400, definitely not 1000! 

You did get me worried Ducks