- Thread starter nenad981
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Which is a nice place to live in Santo Domingo?
I would like to live in Santo Domingo, but I do not know what part of town is nice to live?I heard for the Colonial Zone but I do not know anything about this part of the city,please help...
Nenad,
First, welcome to DR1!
The reason you'll likely have fewer responses than you might like is that your question is difficult to answer without more information about you and your interests, as well as your requirements.
Santo Domingo is a pretty big city, with lots of options.
Why Santo Domingo?
Are you permanently relocating, or just looking to set up something for visits?
What's your budget?
What kinds of things interest you?
Are you looking to work, go to school, retire, check out for a while?
What kind of neighborhood are you looking for?
Do you have a partner/family, and what are their needs?
Do you need a room, apartment, condo, house?
Will you be driving?
How do you plan to spend your time off (assuming you aren't leisurely on a full time basis)?
Habla Espanol?
Basically, the same types of questions that you might expect from anyone considering a move. You'll find that providing more (and very frank) details about your plans will yield far superior responses.
Either way, good luck, :glasses:
DRob
Hello DRob,
I want a change in my life so I chose life for your country.Why Santo Domingo?Because is a big city and is more likely to find job.
I want to live in Santa Domingo and i coming with my brother. I want to live in neighborhood where young people can meet and that the urban areas where it is easier to find job and that is close to supermarkets for food.I need condo for me and my brother one room,kitchen and bathroom nothing more. I driving in my country but i don't have license to drive in your country. For start i want to learn about your culture and to see everything and better to learn to speak Spanish and to find a job.
Are you from Santo Domingo? I do not know anyone from Santo Domingo, and any help would be welcome...
I want a change in my life so I chose life for your country.Why Santo Domingo?Because is a big city and is more likely to find job.
I want to live in Santa Domingo and i coming with my brother. I want to live in neighborhood where young people can meet and that the urban areas where it is easier to find job and that is close to supermarkets for food.I need condo for me and my brother one room,kitchen and bathroom nothing more. I driving in my country but i don't have license to drive in your country. For start i want to learn about your culture and to see everything and better to learn to speak Spanish and to find a job.
Are you from Santo Domingo? I do not know anyone from Santo Domingo, and any help would be welcome...
Nena: The first thing you should know is that nobody goes to Santo Domingo expecting to find a job and live from that. Most foreigners living there already made their money somewhere else and can afford to live without a job, as it is very hard to find a job and on top of that if you don't even speak fluent Spanish it's even harder. Santo Domingo is not cheap. You'll need anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000+ USD a month depending on where you want to live and the things you want to do. By comparison the minimum wage in The DR is about 200 USD a month.
If you want to move there then make sure you have at least 30,000 USD to spend until you get used to the country and know whether you want to stay longer and maybe by then (6 months or so from now) you'll be able to find a job.
If you want to move there then make sure you have at least 30,000 USD to spend until you get used to the country and know whether you want to stay longer and maybe by then (6 months or so from now) you'll be able to find a job.
I do not understand you, that is so necessary for life2000-5000dollars when they pay on average $ 200?So how can people live with that the money?Foreigners need for living $ 2000 to me is just not understandable,why such a difference, I do not plan to live in an exclusive apartment, than in a normal flat?
I do not understand you, that is so necessary for life2000-5000dollars when they pay on average $ 200?So how can people live with that the money?Foreigners need for living $ 2000 to me is just not understandable,why such a difference, I do not plan to live in an exclusive apartment, than in a normal flat?
People here are not living with 200dlls a month. There are 3 or 4 in the family who work, so the family income is around 1,000dlls a month. Most people own their houses, poor people dont pay electricity, etc. and they dont have a normal life, they are just surviving.
No just foreigners need at least 2000 a month to SURVIVE.
No, they dont live in an "exclusive apartments" making 2,000. They are just surviving. An "exclusive apartment" in Santo Domingo will cost you aound 1,000, just for maintenance fee. and other 1,000 for electricity.
A "normal" unfurnished flat in a decent place starts at 600dlls.
you better move to Alabama, Santo Domingo is not the 3rd world city they told in the school.
I do not understand you, that is so necessary for life2000-5000dollars when they pay on average $ 200?So how can people live with that the money?Foreigners need for living $ 2000 to me is just not understandable,why such a difference, I do not plan to live in an exclusive apartment, than in a normal flat?
Nenad,
It appears you may be operating under some incorrect assumptions about the true cost of living out here. The bottom line is that there is no way an expat with little knowledge about the DR can survive in a town like Santo Domingo for anything remotely close to $200USD. For someone new, you're looking at anywhere from 10 to 20 times that amount. Or more. Every month.
Seriously.
Here's a long running thread intended to address your questions, which frequently pop up on this board. http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/112283-living-costs-dominican-republic.html
It's lengthy, but full of good information from folks with various perspectives. My advice is simple: TAKE YOUR TIME. I'd come out for a week, then a month, then three months or so, while you're trying to figure your way around. You may find that Santo Domingo isn't your best option (there are tons of great places to live out there).
Either way, save your money and rent from an extended-stay hotel (known as an apart-hotel) while you're trying to figure your way around. That'll save you money and give you maximum flexibility. Also, I'd look for work from your home country that you can do online. You'll make much more than as a clerical person in DR (unless you look like Selma Hayek about 10 years ago, lol).
I understand where you're coming from. If I were 30 y.o., I'd be chomping at the bit to live in DR as well. But if you don't do some sober planning, things can go really badly really fast. So be careful.
With no money, and you want to work in Santo Domingo the only places you can afford are hoods like Villa Duarte, Guachupita and Villa Francisca all are close to the Zone, but these are all you can afford in SD for 250 month. When you get to the DR have a taxi driver take to these hoods P.S. It won't be pretty. Good Luck!!
I would like to live in Santo Domingo, but I do not know what part of town is nice to live?I heard for the Colonial Zone but I do not know anything about this part of the city,please help...
You found a place??
Wow! what is disturbing to me is the fact that I live in the US and am finding that rentals here right now are about the same as in all but a very few countries. if what I am reading about the DR on this site is true, (and I assume that it is) then it is almost as expensive to live there as here. I pay $350 for a 1 bd apartment in an average part of town, though no parts are free of crime anymore. This is disconcerting on many levels. One thing that it means is that the US standard -and the dollar- have been devalued over the past few years. Las Vegas has completely crashed. They have thousands of homes they canot sell and 15,000 homeless people. Ten times that in LA county. I really think I can find much cheaper places to rent right here in the US, but not in climates that I like. Money does not look like the chief reason to move to central america anymore since the quality of life and the economy here have sunk to new lows. I am sure I could rent a decent flad in the midwest or Michigan for $150 today. Really makes you think about what is actually going on.