Cost of Living in Alicante: What Should You Expect

This is perhaps the main aspect that every buyer has in mind when purchasing a property, particularly when it’s about moving into a new country: the cost of living. We are going to deepen the most attractive aspect of moving to Spain, but focusing entirely on Alicante. It is important for you to understand that Spain is world-famous for its life quality, as it is one of Europe’s top countries with the best affordable lifestyle. However, considering the main cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, you can expect a decrease in the cost of living in the remaining cities and Alicante is one of them. 

Already with taxes applied, the average salary in Alicante is around 1.230€. Minding all the expenses attached to anyone living in Alicante, it is really accessible to live in this city, especially for young couples. Renting a house, for instance, has as its average price around 595€. This value is mainly associated with more modest housing, like studios in the centre of the city, and for more accommodative apartments with more square feet the price can go up to 850€. 

Starting from the basics: groceries. Every day we need to get something from the market, either just some fruits like apples or oranges or even just a bottle of milk for your breakfast the next day. Little purchases just as these are pretty affordable. When you acquire more items, the prices are very accessible. Considering acquiring ingredients such as eggs, chicken filets, tomatoes, potatoes, rice bread, anything you need for at least a week you should spend around 38€. Sure, this value may vary depending on the items you wish to buy but the difference will not be that significant. 

Minding the public transport, infrastructures such as bus lines and trams are really exquisite. Not only do you have good transportation in Alicante but it’s also cheap. A single train ticket can be purchased from 1,35€, depending on how many zones you wish to travel. Equally accessible is the bus, with a single ticket from 1,45€ and if you wish to add more trips you can get, for instance, 10 trips for only 8,70€. 

There is also room to enjoy life; in fact, the Spanish insist on that. Spain’s best social feature is the time between work and rest (or socializing, if you prefer). There is no hurry on their daily routine, as Spanish people usually dine starting from 9 pm. Regarding dinner, it’s very common for couples and friends to enjoy themselves in a restaurant having good food and drinks. For 35€ you can invite someone for dinner in a mid-range restaurant with a great selection of plates and, most importantly, with great quality. Not just dining out, Spanish also enjoy their time in cafés and pubs. The imported beers are particularly cheap, costing around 3€ and coffee cups near 1,50€. 

We are not going to lie to you: not everything is cheap in Spain. Alongside its neighbour Portugal, Spain is one of the countries where utilities are more expensive. Depending on the kind of property you possess, the prices including gas, electricity, heating, Internet and communications can go from 71€ to 94€.