Living On $1900 /Month (Spain)

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[@FriiInfo]

Hi all 👏 Sorry about the camera's inability to focus without shaking! I didn't realize how bad it was before the final edits. I hope it's not too distracting 🤗

[@Juan_Dystopian]

In my opinion the train from Fuengirola to Málaga (with a stop at the airport) is a huge advantage if you live close to one of the train stations).

[@FriiInfo]

Absolutely agree

[@MikeS29]

Great breakdown, thank you!

[@denniszenanywhere]

Greetings from the States. This is a great. Thanks for doing this. I love your videos. I wished you did more. Curious to know--I've watched all your videos but don't recall if you've talked about how you bought a house with a digital nomad visa. So can someone on a DNV buy a house for that much? I thought the minimum to spend was $500K. I did watch your video about buying your house for $96K sometime ago and again today. Any updates on your house you've done since then? Btw, did you check if the structure of the building is sound? I'm asking because it looks like the building is old, from looking at the shape of your house before you had it renovated. Also, from the old video, I saw you bundled up inside your house. Don't you have heater? Or do you even need to use one? What's the inside temperature like wintertime?Love the breakdown of the cost of living. You're like me. I don't spend as much, too on leisure. I would certainly like to do the co-working space. Is it 24 hours? I take advantage of the free stuff. Take care.

[@FriiInfo]

Heeey - and thank you for all the questions 🤗 So, because I'm an EU citizen I don't need a VISA to live in Spain. Buying my apartment had nothing to do with any residency aspect. I had a lawyer involved when buying my place. I don't think the building is of pristine quality - I think it's pretty standard. The building is from the 1960s. I'm cheap when it comes to electricity - which is why I almost never use the AC nor a heater. Tbh the heater is only really necessary on a cold January night 🌃

[@FriiInfo]

And yes, the co-working space is in theory 24/7 😃

[@denniszenanywhere]

​@@FriiInfo Thanks for answering my questions. I am planning to bring my work there once I get enough freelance remote work from the US, and be there on a DNV. Btw, I heard Barcelona, Madrid (Meta hiring there) and even Malaga (Google is opening an office) are going to be the tech hubs of Europe. I wonder how things are going to change when many tech companies move there. All the best!

[@MehmudButt]

very informative video,thanks

[@honduraswalks]

I definitely have more than 1900 so this helps to get a sense watching now

[@FriiInfo]

The cost of living (mostly rent) keeps going up, but 1900USD+ is still enough.

[@honduraswalks]

@@FriiInfo right I plan to rent for about a year, during that year look around Spain to buy because your monthly mortgage is like amazingly reasonable ( I was raised in California so mortgage is insane there )

[@loneaagren2806]

Very good and informative 👍

[@FriiInfo]

Thank you 🤗

[@annamayfair-diaznovelspoet8436]

Thank you so much for this video. I am now discerning my decision whether I could live in Spain on exactly that amount. And I was thinking also in the Malaga area or Alicante, my friend lives in Almería, so I wonder if that would be more affordable or if Malachi would be a little bit more exciting to live, but glad you spelled it out in all the categories because I did need to research more on this limited income, but it looks like it’s just right all the best and enjoy every minute. Happy holidays.

[@FriiInfo]

Thank you so much 🤗 I do think the Almería area is quite a bit cheaper. Alicante: depends. It can really make a big difference if you're lucky to find accommodation in the cheaper end - that goes for anywhere 😊

[@jorgeenmalaga]

Thanks for the reply, it's just that you have to come up with a down-payment. which in $ 100,000 would be at minimum, $20,000,in addition it would be good {in my opinion} to say the actual dp you made in order to keep your mtge pmt at $550 . I know here you also pay 10% taxes upfront.Very important to in my opinion. I come from the Mortgage Lending world so I may look at it in a different way.. 😄I personally rent and use what a do would be {maybe 50K to get 2% return mo. in the markets. Great video though,. Just my 2 cents 👍. I I'm in Benalmádena BTW. cheaper here lol.

[@FriiInfo]

Yea I absolutely see what you're saying...but since the down payment goes towards equity it's not really an expense, more like a brick shaped savings account. The closing costs and taxes, yes, that was a cost, but those have by far been absorbed by the increase in property prices around here.. The down payment comes from the exact opposite of spending, as in saving up, and that is not reflected in this budget 😉

[@jorgeenmalaga]

... In other words you have to take your down-payment and divide it by x VS renting.

[@FriiInfo]

Hey, I see what you're saying.. but I'm not sure that would really be relevant for this video. First of all I'm not talking about the effective cost of my housing situation. In that case I should also discount the portion of my mortgage that goes towards equity, I should also include the money I have spent on renovations. And since I'm Airbnb-ing my place from time to time, should I discount those earnings? See, it gets complicated 😉

[@mkoschara]

Good job on owning, as it usually saves money.

[@jwoycke]

Nina I’ve been enjoying your videos about Malaga. I’d love to hear why you picked Torremolinos and what you think of other areas outside of central Malaga. Thoughts on Predregalejo, El Palo, Ciudad Jardín, Fuengirola, Torre Del Mar, Estepona, etc?

[@FriiInfo]

Heeey 😊 thanks for watching. I'd say you are describing three different areas overall. West of Malaga: Torremolinos, Fuengirola, (Estepona). These are the classic Costa Del Sol towns with busy tourism seasons but pretty quiet during the rest of the year. "Still Malaga": El Palo, Pedregalejo, Ciudad Jardin. This is still the city of Malaga, so if you want to be on the outskirts, but still close, that's where I'd look. East of Malaga: Torre Del Mar, etc. Similar to west of Malaga, but less busy. I ended up in Torremolinos because of a job. I like it here because it's still close to the center of Malaga (19 minutes by train) but it's quieter, the beach is better and I like the vibe here in Playamar (my neighborhood). Hope that helps 😊

[@jwoycke]

@@FriiInfothanks!

[@FriiInfo]

@@jwoycke and thank you so much for the support 🤗

[@Juan_Dystopian]

Pedregalejo and El Palo are very expensive. Buying or renting. You can check it out. Very expensive. Ciudad Jardín has two different areas, one good and the other one a bit dodgy. I like Benalmádena/Arroyo de la Miel more than other areas. Of course I like Marbella/Puerto Banús, but they're very expensive and they're further away from the airport or Málaga city

[@FriiInfo]

@@Juan_Dystopian what's the name of the dodgy part of Ciudad Jardin?

[@jorgeenmalaga]

Hi awesome, but since you own your place you forgot to mention the $$ of downyment closing costs etc..

[@martham1016]

Great info. Can you say how much you spend for your cat between vet bills, food and cat litter? If your cat gets sick, are vets in Spain expensive? Thank you / Tak.

[@FriiInfo]

Sure thing 😊 Yearly vaccines: 50€ Yearly food (vet prescribed): 350€ (ish) Yearly litter: 50€ (ish) Hope that helps! In general the vets down here are affordable. Mine is really nice and good with my cat. And thank you so much for the support 🤗

[@johnsmith-zf1fd]

I'm worried about taking my cat to spain because here in London he is an outdoor cat with many gardens to explore but in Malaga he would have to stay in the apartment and he will get lonely when I am out@@FriiInfo

[@ElCuervodeSanlo]

Nice video 👍

[@FriiInfo]

Thanks 🙃

[@meelauramee]

Well 💶 are as international as 💵

[@FriiInfo]

hmmm I'm afraid that the USD is still quite dominant worldwide :) It would be easier for me to do it in euros - maybe I'll do that next time :)

[@MehmudButt]

i reralise n feel that living cost is lower in outskirts of a city is not hard and fast rule,example..if u r in barcelona and outskirts of barcelona,there is no much difference in housing cost(rent etc),what do u think about it?

[@FriiInfo]

True, but in the case of Barcelona I think you to go really far from the center. In which case maybe the charm of living in Barcelona is litteraly far away.

[@MehmudButt]

@@FriiInfo agree,i even tried 40kms away from barcelona center,no much difference in housing:(

[@FriiInfo]

@@MehmudButt maybe consider other parts of Spain? Malaga for example is cheaper, same with Cadiz. Also the north coast should be affordable and this is quite underrated I'd say

[@MehmudButt]

@@FriiInfo but u know these areas have less opportunities of work compare to metropolitins like barcelona,valencia. I think its very hard to earn 1900US$ from the area like Cadiz ,Malaga etc. unless you are IT professional or some sort of technical background.

[@stephenGDL]

Hi Frii! Just came across your video :) May I ask what freelance work you do and any links? I want to move to Spain and have been doing my research but need a income source to supplement my rental income I receive as well. Thank you!

[@FriiInfo]

The freelance clients I have I have found through my network. So maybe start there!

[@mare4685]

What's your job? My rent is 700 euros. 😢

[@FriiInfo]

I'm a freelancer. 700€ is quite normal these days isn't it :/

[@manuelfg2902]

Hi nina, how many languages do u speak?

[@FriiInfo]

English and Danish. Ok Spanish. Ok French. Basic Indonesian 🏝️

[@manuelfg2902]

@@FriiInfo why indonesian?

[@FriiInfo]

@@manuelfg2902 I did a semester abroad there at uni 😊🇮🇩

[@manuelfg2902]

@@FriiInfo wow, you have travelled so much and know so much.........love your videos

[@SoulfulAde]

Nice enough video, but as for saying let’s keep it International, I’m using dollars. The World doesn’t revolve around the US dollar. You’re clearly aiming this at Americans. The video, is about you living in SPAIN, so it would be of more use to the vast majority, (who don’t live in the States) - to use the EURO and NOT the dollar.

[@walterwalters3069]

Super cheap these days compare to US....

[@FriiInfo]

Absolutely.