“Like winning the lottery”: the pensioner lives in a sunny holiday paradise on 600 euros a month
Created: 09/27/2022, 08:27
By: Patricia Huber
Sun, beach and holiday feelings instead of freezing in cold Germany: This is what life is like for pensioner Ruth.
She fled from the high prices.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Around 13 million people were at risk of poverty in Germany last year.
This is shown by data from the Federal Statistical Office.
The so-called threshold for poverty risk is around 1251 euros net per month.
This should make it clear: numerous German pensioners fall below this threshold, including Ruth Doster.
But she didn't want to be a poor pensioner and decided to take a big step.
Pensioner receives only 600 euros a month - and emigrate
After 29 years of work as a secretary and postman, she only receives a monthly pension of 623.79 euros.
It is now hardly possible to live with it in Germany.
Especially after the prices have risen so much in the past few months.
Therefore, Ruth decided to emigrate to Tenerife, as reported by
RTL
.
She lives on the Canary Island as if she were on vacation every day.
She lives in a 40 square meter apartment including a pool, which she shares with four other tenants in the large villa.
She pays 400 euros in rent for this.
The increased heating costs don't worry her at all, she says.
"I have a heater, but I've never needed it." On the Spanish holiday island, it usually doesn't get colder than 15 degrees, even in winter.
Pension: a new start abroad needs to be well thought out
Her friends in Germany warned Ruth, she says.
She is "stupid to leave the social hammock" in Germany - but she is happy with her decision.
However, the pensioner also makes it clear that this step must be carefully considered.
You have to be aware that you need a financial cushion, that you may have to learn a new language and maybe even look for a job locally.
But none of that stopped Ruth.
The advantages of Tenerife have outweighed them.
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For example, the prices in the supermarket.
The pensioner pays significantly less for her weekly shopping than in Germany.
RTL
accompanies you to the local discounter.
She only pays 12.54 euros there for a little fruit, vegetables and bread.
In Germany that would be about 18 euros.
Another advantage of expatriate life: If you have Spanish health insurance, you only have to pay a fraction of the original price for medication.
"The Spaniards do something for their pensioners and I think that's good," says Ruth, impressed.
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"If I had stayed in Germany, I would have become a poor pensioner"
Social life is also not neglected.
Thanks to the lower prices, the pensioner can also afford to visit a restaurant or pub more often.
For a meal including a beer, she only pays 5.85 euros – a price that is hard to imagine in Germany.
For Ruth, a fresh start on the island was the jackpot.
"If I had stayed in Germany, I would have become a poor pensioner." Then she would have had to collect bottles, she says.
"It feels like winning the lottery.
I never want to leave here."
(ph)
