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Snowmane72

New member
Jan 4, 2017
13
0
0
I've been reading these forums ever since the wife and I decided to evaluate the DR as a possible retirement destination. I figured I may as well take the plunge and register. There's a lot of interesting information here and I hope that by participating I can get a better idea of what the "real" Dominican Republic is like.
 

Mu?ecote

New member
Aug 1, 2006
170
20
0
contact me if you need any investment advice while in the country. im averaging about (-11%) per year for the last 10 years on sure things
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
1,378
89
48
You ought to start a hedge fund. The way to invest in LRD and leave with a million is to start with two million and leave fast.
I only averaged minus 5 % myself so I guess I didn't do toooo bad!
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
I've been reading these forums ever since the wife and I decided to evaluate the DR as a possible retirement destination. I figured I may as well take the plunge and register. There's a lot of interesting information here and I hope that by participating I can get a better idea of what the "real" Dominican Republic is like.

Welcome. Have you ever been to the DR for vacation? Are you a beach person or do you like a different environment? Are you from the US or Canada? Do you speak a second language. Retiring in the DR is not cheap. You will also have to get your residency. There is a lot to consider and a long learning curve. You have to remember that the DR is a third world country with many of the problems that come along with it. Good luck and good travels.
 

Snowmane72

New member
Jan 4, 2017
13
0
0
Welcome. Have you ever been to the DR for vacation? Are you a beach person or do you like a different environment? Are you from the US or Canada? Do you speak a second language. Retiring in the DR is not cheap. You will also have to get your residency. There is a lot to consider and a long learning curve. You have to remember that the DR is a third world country with many of the problems that come along with it. Good luck and good travels.

Our retirement is still a ways off (10-15 years), so we are trying to make preparations now so when the time comes the transition is as smooth as can be expected.

I have not been to the DR yet, but I have been to other places in the Caribbean. I have heard a lot about the DR from my in-laws who have vacationed/worked there. They were around Punta Cana though, and I am actually more interested in the north east, leaning towards either Las Terrenas or maybe Cabrera since it seems to a bit cheaper. (The pirate history of Saman? before it became a peninsula intrigues me and I'd like to visit any sites that were pirate havens). We are currently making plans to take a few vacations over the next couple years to get a feel for those areas. When we retire, if we aren't on the beach, then we'll probably look in the hills for cooler temperatures and an ocean view.

I am from the US, currently living in Colorado. I'd put that in my profile, but for some reason I still can't edit my profile on the forums.

I speak spanish pretty well, having lived a few years in Venezuela in the early 90's. My wife understands more than she speaks, but I have explained to her that part of the deal will be committing to learning spanish. She said "est? jevi" (or at least she did after I showed her a youtube video on dominican slang! :lick: )

The DR seems like a good place for retirement as the $ US seems to go a bit farther from what I have read (maybe not in Las Terrenas, being a tourist destination). When you say it's not cheap to retire there, may I ask to which costs you are referring? I know residency will be a pretty big undertaking (we'll most likely have to use some kind of legal service for that) and I've looked at private health insurance costs and property taxes (should we decide to buy instead of renting), but is there something else we need to consider? It would be good to investigate those and add them in to our planning.

Anyway, Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
1,378
89
48
I'd just assumed that Saman? has been a peninsula since prehistoric times. It's good that you know Spanish.
 

Snowmane72

New member
Jan 4, 2017
13
0
0
I'd just assumed that Saman? has been a peninsula since prehistoric times. It's good that you know Spanish.

From Footprint Travel Guides. (I can't post the link, I suppose my low post count still has me on "probation")

The Saman? Peninsula is in the far northeast of the country, geologically the oldest part of the island, a finger of land which used to be a separate island. In the 19th century the bay started to silt up to such an extent that the two parts became stuck together and the resulting land is now used to grow rice.
 

sanpedrogringo

I love infractions!
Sep 2, 2011
2,911
0
0
Welcome. Have you ever been to the DR for vacation? Are you a beach person or do you like a different environment? Are you from the US or Canada? Do you speak a second language. Retiring in the DR is not cheap. You will also have to get your residency. There is a lot to consider and a long learning curve. You have to remember that the DR is a third world country with many of the problems that come along with it. Good luck and good travels.
Why does he need his residency if he follows current DR immigration law?
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Our retirement is still a ways off (10-15 years), so we are trying to make preparations now so when the time comes the transition is as smooth as can be expected.

I have not been to the DR yet, but I have been to other places in the Caribbean. I have heard a lot about the DR from my in-laws who have vacationed/worked there. They were around Punta Cana though, and I am actually more interested in the north east, leaning towards either Las Terrenas or maybe Cabrera since it seems to a bit cheaper. (The pirate history of Saman? before it became a peninsula intrigues me and I'd like to visit any sites that were pirate havens). We are currently making plans to take a few vacations over the next couple years to get a feel for those areas. When we retire, if we aren't on the beach, then we'll probably look in the hills for cooler temperatures and an ocean view.

I am from the US, currently living in Colorado. I'd put that in my profile, but for some reason I still can't edit my profile on the forums.

I speak spanish pretty well, having lived a few years in Venezuela in the early 90's. My wife understands more than she speaks, but I have explained to her that part of the deal will be committing to learning spanish. She said "est? jevi" (or at least she did after I showed her a youtube video on dominican slang! :lick: )

The DR seems like a good place for retirement as the $ US seems to go a bit farther from what I have read (maybe not in Las Terrenas, being a tourist destination). When you say it's not cheap to retire there, may I ask to which costs you are referring? I know residency will be a pretty big undertaking (we'll most likely have to use some kind of legal service for that) and I've looked at private health insurance costs and property taxes (should we decide to buy instead of renting), but is there something else we need to consider? It would be good to investigate those and add them in to our planning.

Anyway, Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

Thanks for the details on your retirement plan. Having a grasp of Spanish certainly will make it easier to transition to the DR. Prices in the DR for the most part are Americanized. What I mean is even with the current exchange rate of the peso prices for many goods and services are about what you would pay in the U.S. If you buy, for instance, fruits and veggies grown in the DR the prices will be very reasonable. If you are looking for imported items then the prices will be high. The cost of electricity is higher in the DR and so is the cost of gas for your car. Public transportation is very reasonable. The cost of housing varies on where in the country you are living. Yes Cabrera, may be cheaper than Las Terrenas. Obviously, where you live depends on your budget and lifestyle. My wife and I lived in LT for about 6 years, for 6 months of the year, and in the States for the other half of the year. The residency process starts in the U.S.. With your retirement time frame you have a lot of time to consider this. You can go on-line and check out the requirements. Yes, you will need to hire an attorney to submit your documents and complete the process. The one major thing to think about when considering where to buy a condo or home in the DR is security. You have to remember you are living in a third world country. Living up in the hills with ocean views sounds wonderful but it comes with a whole host of security issues. If you are seriously considering the DR for retirement than come here for vacation and see what life is like. Come to Las Terrenas for a couple of weeks and check out the area. That is really the only way to really see what it is like. Some of the positives for the DR are that it is relatively easy to get a flight into the country. The weather from December through April is very nice. If you plan on living there year round you will find the summers very hot and rainy during hurricane season. My wife and I had been coming to the DR for 25 years before we bought an apartment. If you decide to retire in the DR rent an apartment before you consider buying anything. Decide if you really enjoy living in the DR and then go to the next step. Good luck and good travels.
 

USA DOC

Bronze
Feb 20, 2016
3,162
757
113
Thanks for the details on your retirement plan. Having a grasp of Spanish certainly will make it easier to transition to the DR. Prices in the DR for the most part are Americanized. What I mean is even with the current exchange rate of the peso prices for many goods and services are about what you would pay in the U.S. If you buy, for instance, fruits and veggies grown in the DR the prices will be very reasonable. If you are looking for imported items then the prices will be high. The cost of electricity is higher in the DR and so is the cost of gas for your car. Public transportation is very reasonable. The cost of housing varies on where in the country you are living. Yes Cabrera, may be cheaper than Las Terrenas. Obviously, where you live depends on your budget and lifestyle. My wife and I lived in LT for about 6 years, for 6 months of the year, and in the States for the other half of the year. The residency process starts in the U.S.. With your retirement time frame you have a lot of time to consider this. You can go on-line and check out the requirements. Yes, you will need to hire an attorney to submit your documents and complete the process. The one major thing to think about when considering where to buy a condo or home in the DR is security. You have to remember you are living in a third world country. Living up in the hills with ocean views sounds wonderful but it comes with a whole host of security issues. If you are seriously considering the DR for retirement than come here for vacation and see what life is like. Come to Las Terrenas for a couple of weeks and check out the area. That is really the only way to really see what it is like. Some of the positives for the DR are that it is relatively easy to get a flight into the country. The weather from December through April is very nice. If you plan on living there year round you will find the summers very hot and rainy during hurricane season. My wife and I had been coming to the DR for 25 years before we bought an apartment. If you decide to retire in the DR rent an apartment before you consider buying anything. Decide if you really enjoy living in the DR and then go to the next step. Good luck and good travels.
Very good advise to follow
 

Snowmane72

New member
Jan 4, 2017
13
0
0
not for nothing you may be dead in 10 or 15 yrs... I think your a tad bit head of the curve...just saying .. it is a beautiful country

Now you've wandered from retirement planning into estate planning! I'm only in my early 40's so hopefully death won't interfere, but you never know ...

The lower limit on moving to the DR is set by my youngest son. I would like to get him through high school and hopefully into college before making the move, that way he has no residency issues. He turns 10 next year, so that's ~8-9 years to get him set up before we can seriously consider expatriating.

I am a software engineer, so if I can find a place with a decent internet connection and fairly stable power, then I could conceivably continue to work from the DR. From what I have read, it seems like the Dominican Republic is making great strides in infrastructure (despite the set backs from the recent flooding) and who knows, in 10 years maybe some of those issues will stabilize (one can hope).
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Why does he need his residency if he follows current DR immigration law?

They could just say ____it and not bother with residency, but I think most people who are planning retirement in the DR have applying for residency as part of the plan. Ignorance is bliss but not an excuse.