I moved to Spain for half a year. A few things really surprised me
Coffee, beer or wine can be had in Spain at prices no longer seen in Polish cities. However, when renting an apartment, prepare for a journey through torment, fraud and additional expenses. What surprised me the most after moving to Spain?
At the end of August I left for Spain for half a year. I wanted to work here for a while, improve my language skills, and at the same time escape the Polish autumn and a large part of the winter. A good excuse to leave appeared, it would be stupid not to take advantage of it. That’s how I ended up in Malaga. This is my second attempt at living in this country. Five years ago I spent a few months on Erasmus in Madrid.
Back then, in 2019, I was paying 1,100 euros a month to rent a three-room apartment in the capital (of course, I didn’t live there myself, I paid part of that amount). It was located far from the center, in a neighborhood with a rather poor reputation. It could probably be better and cheaper, but I wouldn’t go below a thousand.
Now I pay 800 euros a month. The area itself is not impressive, but it is the very center of Malaga. Three minutes walk from Plaza de la Merced, where Pablo Picasso was born and raised.
Crazy real estate market
Of course, it is not true that housing prices in Spain have fallen since 2019. Malaga, like the entire country except Barcelona, is a much cheaper place than Madrid. In the capital, you pay more than before the pandemic, and in Malaga too. Out of curiosity, I looked through the current rental offers near my Madrid location. It is much more expensive. I managed to find an active rental advertisement for the apartment I lived in. It no longer costs 1,100, but almost 1,800 euros per month. It is true that this price includes more fees than then, but the amount itself, compared to other apartments in the area, is very high. On a monthly basis, you definitely have to pay several hundred zlotys more than in 2019.
The prices for renting a room in shared flats have skyrocketed even more. El Pais recently reported that in Madrid, with a budget of less than 500 euros per month, the best you can expect is a windowless cubicle in a moderate location. And even that is not easy, because up to 50 people respond to one offer. “In my day,” 500 euros was a really nice room in the city centre.
