Cheap vs Pricey in Spain

Curious about what is expensive and what is cheap compared to the States?  Here you go.  I'll add more as I notice them!  Anything you are curious about?  Comment below and I will let you know.


Cheap here compared to San Francisco

• Medications - Prescription medications are just a fraction of what they cost in the states.  Even with insurance you can pay $3-$20 for prescriptions in the States.  No insurance can cost a lot more and sometimes over $100.  Here in Spain we have paid .60 cents to 1.75 euro for basic prescriptions.  I should also mention that simple things such as antibiotic eyedrops or eardrops  are easy you don't even need to see a doctor.  So far, I have not spent more than 2 euro for a prescription.  On the other hand the farmacia sure charges a heck of a lot for other necessities (see below)

• Groceries - Very inexpensive. I should have kept better notes on the cost per item but it's very common to get a bag of groceries here for about 6-12 euro.  This is a huge discount from my usual WholeFoods which cost about $30-$50 per bag. 

• Lunch - "Menu" lunches are quite popular here.  They usually come with a drink or coffee, main dish and dessert all for 6-9 euro at local cafe's. A delicious deal!

• Bar Drinks - 2 euro beers, 1.75 Irish coffee's.  Let me get back to you on mixed drinks.

• Rent - Rent is a bargain here.  You can easily rent a nice 2 bedroom for 800-1000 euro.  Rent in San Francisco is famously high in the city unless you want to live in the TL.

Expensive here compared to San Francisco

• General Farmacia products - Let's start with Hand Sanitizer.  The little mini ones you see at every Walgreens or grocery stores back home are just .99 cents and cost 4 euro here.  4 EURO!  A larger version which is more like a medium bottle is 20 euro.   Binkies cost 5-6 euro for 1 and 8 euro for two.  Quite pricey.

• Oragnic Products and Hoity Toity Meat - Damn, I miss buying free range hormone-free chicken breast for a reasonable cost.  Just one piece of free range hormone-free chicken breast that I saw yesterday was 11.80 euro which is $16.05 in dollars. So I pass on that and buy regular meat which I am sure is just fine.  There are plenty of organic marts here too but they are sparse inside and a bit pricier.

• Utilities - Crimony!  Water is crazy expensive!  Our first water bill was 275 euro for 2-3 months.  That equals $400!!  So then we monitored our water intake and the bill I received today was 175euro--still very expensive!  Electricity and gas is also very expensive.