Spain cheapest option for expat living, study finds

The overall cost of living in Spain is lower than any other expat destination

Despite the cost of living in many countries around the world edging closer to that of the UK’s in recent years, Spain remains the most affordable destination for Brits hoping to retire, move or buy property overseas, a new study has found.

Predicated on the perception that the pound is weaker than ever (it is in fact at an 18-month high against the euro right now) and living costs in places such as Italy, France, Canada and the USA are now almost on a par with the UK, the report from the Overseas Living Price Index has branded the dream of moving abroad to retire a ‘luxury’ for most Brits…But look again. With the Index anchoring the UK on a score of 100, Spain actually tops the charts as the cheapest sensible option for would-be expats, scoring just 65.8. In a nutshell, not only is life in Spain more affordable than all other serious expat destinations, it is pretty much a third cheaper than life in the UK…

After Spain comes Italy, with 77.3; the USA with 77.9, and then Turkey, which scored surprisingly high with 78.6. More expensive to live in Turkey than the USA? That’s what the study – which assessed the costs of basics in each country such as groceries, eating out, alcohol, public transport, fuel and utility bills – concludes.

For example, alcohol and eating out is cheaper in France than most other nations – which is likely to appeal to Brits seeking a nice easy life overseas – but the French pay far more for their utilities than the Brits, making life in France only marginally cheaper than life in the UK, with a score of 89.5.

Spain’s neighbour Portugal can claim the best price on beer and dining out, but is an expensive country if you want to run a car or use public transport (Italy, too, suffers from high fuel and public transport costs). Flip these two metrics and you have the USA and Canada – cheap petrol but expensive alcohol and, in Canada’s case, high bills at the supermarket too. Canada is actually the most expensive nation overall, scoring 126.2 on the Index, with New Zealand the only other country to be deemed more expensive than the UK, coming in at 113.6.

Overall, Cyprus is the closest to the UK in terms of complete living costs, scoring 95.7 on the Index. Spain, however, has low prices almost across the board, and also boasts one of the most mature and robust infrastructures for expats – English-language services and schools, good healthcare, regular inexpensive flights to most destinations in the UK, and one of the most varied and affordable property markets.

Spain is easy on the pocket as well as on the eye

It is no coincidence that Spain is also the most popular holiday and property investment destination for Brits, too. Estimations of the number of Brits living in Spain vary wildly, but experts agree that the figure is somewhere between 700,000 to one million.

Even so, living abroad is evidently no longer the cheap and easy option for Brits looking to escape to the sun that it once was. According to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Brits seeking consular assistance after falling on financial hard times, so much so that the FCO has recently launched a new campaign designed to warn Brits about the hidden financial issues expats may encounter when living overseas.

“The appeal of warmer climates and experiencing different countries and cultures is strong for many British citizens,” said FCO Minister Mark Simmonds. “We want to pave the way for our expatriates to have the best experience possible when they move abroad.

“Our consular staff across the world have dealt with a high number of British expats requiring assistance for financial issues – whether as a result of a house purchase gone wrong, having inadequate funds to pay for medical bills or experiencing some other misfortune that has resulted in financial hardship.”