Lots of us may dream of packing our things and jetting off abroad to live.
It’s a fantasy a lot of people have as the thought of basking in sunshine and spending spare time by the pool sounds pretty lovely. But one woman was left stunned after she decided to make the move.
Cecille, who documents her life on TikTok under the name cecille_spain_ishlife decided to move from the Philippines to Spain to make a new life for herself. It sounded like a big adventure at the time, but one thing has taken her by surprise.
She recently revealed just how expensive it is for her to live in the country, and people can’t get over it. According to her, she’s basically “working to survive”.
In a candid video, she detailed exactly how much she earns and what she spends each month. The cost of living has taken many by surprise.
According to Cecille, this is how things work out:
- She earns €1,350 on a good month. This works out at around £1,132.75.
- She pays €900 on rent. This works out at £755.17.
- She pays €200 on electricity bills. This works out at £167.82.
- She pays €20 to €30 on water. This works out at £25.17 at most.
- She spends €121 on car parking. This works out at £101.53.
- She spends €116 on car insurance. This works out at £97.33.
- She spends €300 to €400 on food. This works out at £335.66 at most.
Since the video was shared, thousands of people have viewed it, and hundreds were quick to share their thoughts too. People had all sorts of different ideas.
One said: “€900 a month on rent! I live in a four-bed house, three baths with a pool in Spain and pay €600 a month.” Another added: “€200 for electric – what the hell are you doing?”
A third also replied: “Just like the UK – but at least you have sun and warmth.” Meanwhile, a fourth also commented: “No idea how you use €200 electric in Spain. It’s very affordable – mine is maximum €50.”
Cecille replied admitting they “don’t know how to use it properly”, and are working at lowering their consumption of electricity. Some people agreed that the cost of living in Spain has been rising though, as someone else chimed in with: “I completely agree, and some people are not so lucky with the salary.”
Cecille also noted that she loves Spain, but she just wanted to share her experiences. It certainly got a lot of people talking.