Clueless as always. Where can I fill up for $3.00 in FL?
Need to know ASAP to take advantage of since I got travels that way in a few weeks.
Need to know ASAP to take advantage of since I got travels that way in a few weeks.
- Thread starter INsearchOF
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Visiting for a possible relocation this fall...
Here it is rum and Presidente. (way better than Corona, at least for me).
As other mentioned, you can do well here. Rent in various locations before your decide. North coast sounds like the best option unless you find you like Punta Cana or other suggested south areas. I would not.
Someplace near an airport. POP is one place to start and see Puerto Plata, Sosua, Cabarete, Cabrera and on to Las Terrenas.
But soon there will be a girl, soon the girl will have kids, soon he will has kids with the girl and he has to support her family.. thats a lot of money
DR has a lot of culture? If you want culture go to Europe!
Safety might also be an issue.. Read the news about expats being killed.. Doesnt happen much at other islands..
Tradesmen are one thing I find very good value here - once you find good ones. For example, the exhaust pipe was hanging broken off my Mitsubishi and I was expecting to pay a fortune for a new exhaust. The guy welded it back together for 500 pesos and it's still working fine 3 years later! That would never happen in the US or Europe! Here, the culture is not to throw things away if they can be repaired.
Good advice.. Some reason I have a better feeling with Panama and Colombia even when the DR is very beautiful..
Try using, "Cheapgas.com"!
$3.36 in Pensacola, $3.39 in Orlando, $3.46 in Clear Water!!!!!!
Not $3.00, but a Looooooooooooooooong way from the $6.00 in the DR!
"Senor Sabe Todo",....I guess if you can sell "Bananas" to a "Campesino" for 25 pesos, you can afford paying 6 bucks a gallon for gas!
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$3.36 in Pensacola, $3.39 in Orlando, $3.46 in Clear Water!!!!!!
Not $3.00, but a Looooooooooooooooong way from the $6.00 in the DR!
"Senor Sabe Todo",....I guess if you can sell "Bananas" to a "Campesino" for 25 pesos, you can afford paying 6 bucks a gallon for gas!
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Yes, the DR has a lot of culture. When I say culture, I probably do not mean it the way you took it. Since we are mainly comparing it to Caribbean type islands: my sister lived in Bermuda for about 2-3 years. She was a therapist and her husband an accountant. Great income but bored as hell. Everything is well organized, rules are followed, etc. When I visited, I felt it lacked a sense of culture...meaning character. It was like everything was designed for foreigners to enjoy. No sense of self if you will. DR may have it's problems but usually when you are there, you are reminded you are in a foreign country...some of those very 'problems' are what define it as well..some dont like it, others appreciate it. Bermuda for example: it's like every palm tree was planted strategically. The DR is more natural, a bit more spontaneous, a bit crazy...sometimes too crazy yes but still it has character and identity. It has it's music, customs, pride, sport teams, beliefs, etc. It's not to say you can't complain about certain things and just never understand it, but if you are a foreigner who is able to appreciate all that and not expect his/her country's way is the best way, if you are the type to appreciate the country for what it's worth given the good and bad, then the DR might just be a good place for you.
The killing of expats is not common in the DR...I don't think that's a good enough reason to discard it given how rare it is.
The DR is not for everyone but it's worth giving it a chance.
I like your explanation...
Bermuda is for the birds....... very inbred, in a 'real' sense.
They're all intermarried and over socialized....
Bermuda is for the birds....... very inbred, in a 'real' sense.
They're all intermarried and over socialized....
the OP lives in FL and is asking about relocating, right? So clearly FL ,.,, is what he is not loving, right? As in stip malls and traffic and flat and the US?
Sure, true, my sister just bought a condo in FL for under $30k .. really because she has to work and could not buy one outright here in SD for the price. But some people just want to live OUTSIDE America.. right?
I mean, you do, right?
"Dream" the "THINGS" that make the DR a fun, exciting, and "Different" place to VISIT, are not so "Fun","Exciting", and/or "Different" when you live here 24/7/365!!!!!!
Loud music at 2 am is "FUN" when you are dancing on your vacation, NOT when you need some sleep before going to work!
The "DR BULL$HIT" can get "OLD" really fast when there is no escaping from it!
EVEN the "Dominicanos" could use a little less "EXCITEMENT" once in a while!
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You don't miss living in a "Civilized Country" UNTIL you DON'T!!!!
Loud music at 2 am is "FUN" when you are dancing on your vacation, NOT when you need some sleep before going to work!
The "DR BULL$HIT" can get "OLD" really fast when there is no escaping from it!
EVEN the "Dominicanos" could use a little less "EXCITEMENT" once in a while!
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You don't miss living in a "Civilized Country" UNTIL you DON'T!!!!
When I first rented here, a German advised me that you have to check out a place three times, once in the daytime to see it and hear the traffic, once when it is raining to see the leaks in the roof, and once at 1 in the morning to hear the noise from the colmado and see the cockroaches.. good advice.
CCCC, nobody said it would be a permanent thing. Last I noticed, the airport offered departures as well as arrivals. Although your lifestyle of supporting a small village of folks is far different than what the OP has envisioned, your budgets are about the same. Suffice to say if you can feed, clothe, properly house and educate 10 folks on 5-6k/month, he should be just fine as a single person.
To the OP, I'd suggest you follow Mountainannie's advice, and take your time seeing the island. After identifying the ideal place to start, rent and stay there for a few months at a time to get acclimated. There's no rule that requires you to live anywhere 24/7/365.
If and when I move to the Caribbean, it'll likely be snowbirding over the winters, and a few weeks here and there otherwise. As much as I'd enjoy an overseas experience, I wouldn't want to feel detached from my starting with my family and friends and the things I love to do stateside.
In terms of figuring out your budget, here's a good place to start: http://dr1.com/forums/living/112283-living-costs-dominican-republic.html
I have told my friends, and EVERYONE else, THAT, until you actually LIVE in the DR, 24/7/365, you really can't KNOW what it's like to LIVE HERE!
I'm not insulting you, or putting you down, or ANYTHING negative, you just really can't know!
3,4, or even 6 months a year here, then going back to "Civilization is NOT the same as living here and dealing with the trials & tribulations of "LIFE" every day, & nights too!
I am not saying don't come, and I DIDN'T, just telling it as I see it!
"Forewarned Is Forearmed"!
Everyone can make their own choices.
I HAVE lived, worked, and am raising my family here in the DR, going on 28 years since my first visit, and 19 since my permanent move!!!!
"Visiting", is NOT "LIVING" here!
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I'm not insulting you, or putting you down, or ANYTHING negative, you just really can't know!
3,4, or even 6 months a year here, then going back to "Civilization is NOT the same as living here and dealing with the trials & tribulations of "LIFE" every day, & nights too!
I am not saying don't come, and I DIDN'T, just telling it as I see it!
"Forewarned Is Forearmed"!
Everyone can make their own choices.
I HAVE lived, worked, and am raising my family here in the DR, going on 28 years since my first visit, and 19 since my permanent move!!!!
"Visiting", is NOT "LIVING" here!
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Hey CCCCCologne,
don't misunderstand these questions, or overthink them.
I bet that when people ask about moving here they have no intention of the 24/7/365 game.
RD is my principal residence - I can stay for 6 months at a time or less..... I never contemplate 24/7/365 and i suspect most others don't either.
Now, when I get to your age, my sight is failing, I'm slightly unsteady on my feet and I have outlived my dick....
I may be need to readjust the compass.
What could be nicer than to have a bevy of enfermeras fluttering around me to make me comfortable in final days??
Until then, I'll slide in and out (to use your analogy) happily!!
don't misunderstand these questions, or overthink them.
I bet that when people ask about moving here they have no intention of the 24/7/365 game.
RD is my principal residence - I can stay for 6 months at a time or less..... I never contemplate 24/7/365 and i suspect most others don't either.
Now, when I get to your age, my sight is failing, I'm slightly unsteady on my feet and I have outlived my dick....
I may be need to readjust the compass.
What could be nicer than to have a bevy of enfermeras fluttering around me to make me comfortable in final days??
Until then, I'll slide in and out (to use your analogy) happily!!
I think we're in agreement (sort of).
First, despite all the issues, you've stayed for almost 30 years. You could've left, and transplanted your family to roughly the same QOL in Jacksonville or maybe Pensacola, but chose to stay. I know the DR is far from perfect, but honestly, what place is. You regularly say how bad the country is, but what a man does speaks volumes.
Second, I AGREE that visiting ain't the same as staying, which is why I'm a long-time advocate of snowbirding. All the fun, with comparatively little of the FUBAR. And it seems a bit illogical to get "unstuck" in one locale only to get "stuck" someplace else.
The OP admitted to having not been to DR before. He's a long way from DR naturalization. Give him some pointers on how to familiarize himself with the country and lifestyle, and then hope he has the good sense to take his time, wherever he goes.
Bermuda, Hilton Head?
Have been to Bermuda and to Hilton Head?
Bermuda is nice, with lovely beaches all around? but boring.
Hilton Head is golf courses and residential living? again boring.
In the DR you can have the drama of the landscape -- from deserts, to high mountains, beaches with waves or no waves, with lots of people or no people? The world is living here, so there are small hotels and restaurants with international flavour? There is the challenge of helping people, volunteering, and making things better. There is driving where you have to think and stay alert -- that is good for the brain!
My suggestion would be to make a plan to live six months to a year in different places of the country to get the feel for the place, and then decide. When you are in one place, you can always travel to another. Living in Santo Domingo puts you in the center of the country, easily accessible to visit any of the vacation destinations. It also gives you the best cultural life. You can have quiet in the city if you work around not going out on peak school, work or shopping times.
It all will depend what you want from a retirement? who is coming with you. How quiet do you want to live? US$5,000 a month is a good income, but it will all depend on how you manage yourself. Money here can go fast.
Have been to Bermuda and to Hilton Head?
Bermuda is nice, with lovely beaches all around? but boring.
Hilton Head is golf courses and residential living? again boring.
In the DR you can have the drama of the landscape -- from deserts, to high mountains, beaches with waves or no waves, with lots of people or no people? The world is living here, so there are small hotels and restaurants with international flavour? There is the challenge of helping people, volunteering, and making things better. There is driving where you have to think and stay alert -- that is good for the brain!
My suggestion would be to make a plan to live six months to a year in different places of the country to get the feel for the place, and then decide. When you are in one place, you can always travel to another. Living in Santo Domingo puts you in the center of the country, easily accessible to visit any of the vacation destinations. It also gives you the best cultural life. You can have quiet in the city if you work around not going out on peak school, work or shopping times.
It all will depend what you want from a retirement? who is coming with you. How quiet do you want to live? US$5,000 a month is a good income, but it will all depend on how you manage yourself. Money here can go fast.