Is $1800 a month enough?

Dominicanoc

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Oct 6, 2010
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I'm Dominican but born and raised in USA, I will love to move to Dr, It will be in Santiago, and living with me it's my Wife and my 6 year old, I will like to buy a home, do you guys think that $1800 USD month is good to live out there?
 
May 12, 2005
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You can do it. You won't have the most extravagant lifestyle however. Do a search of the forums, there are many discussions on this.
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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If you make good commonsense decisions in life, you will live well with this money.
AZB
 

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
Yes, but this probably won't be enough to buy a house with. You can rent a nice house or apartment in the RD10-15k.

Muy atentamente
 
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Dominicanoc

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So to find homes for sale or rent. In santiago is a google serach good or is there a good website for this
 

bachata

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I'm Dominican but born and raised in USA, I will love to move to Dr, It will be in Santiago, and living with me it's my Wife and my 6 year old, I will like to buy a home, do you guys think that $1800 USD month is good to live out there?

I don't know you but I can live like prince with that kind of money.
RD $ 65,000. is good money to have a decent and comfortable life style in DR.

JJ
 
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genistar

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Jul 29, 2009
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I don't know you but I can live like prince with that kind of money.
RD $ 65,000. is good money to have a decent and comfortable life style in DR.

JJ

I agree 100%. There have been threads before where this very issue has been debated... and it seems kinda funny how foreigners living in the DR seem to think it's not enough money, but Dominicans (even those now living outside of DR) seem to think it's more than enough! LOL

My personal experience has shown me that $1800 USD is enough to live well if you manage it correctly. I'm not sure if I agree with using a realtor to find a rental in the DR - you could easily end up overpaying. Finding a good home at a good price (whether purchase or rental) takes research (NOT internet), time, & patience. You have to be physically present to see the areas and homes for yourself. Talk to the people at the local colmados to get their take on the neighbourhood and to see if they know someone who's selling/renting for a good price. I find colmado owners are a wealth of information whenever in a new area. These guys are linked into their community like nobody else.
 

Bob K

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Aug 16, 2004
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Probably can be done if you are careful and don't eat out often.
With a family you also have to consider the following;
Transportation
Insurance (health for all)
private shcool for your child as public education here is basically a joke
Food also can be expensive if you don't switch to local brands and such.

Like I said if you are careful you could do it.

Bob K
 
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DRdaddy

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I agree with genistar for a dominican this is more than enough.You have to hit the pavement and do some networking.Take a few months of vacation and test the waters,see whats out there.Do you have any family left in DR?That would be a huge advantage.Stay away from Tourist areas you will find yourself paying more for stuff on average.I also have a six year old and his schooling would be the deciding factor on where to live.Throw the US lifestyle out the window and learn to do more with less.Dont eat out often.Learn to negotiate... everything here is negotiable.Consider Healthcare,mode of travel and utilities in your calculations.Make sure you get your residency for tax and insurance purposes.Check the legal forums on this process...:glasses:
 

woofsback

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Dec 20, 2009
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i'm not as up in the intellect as some
but i would suggest that you take a 3month rental first

just incase you realize that you aren't as comfortable as when you first took the place.

just a safer move i think
 

Dominicanoc

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Oct 6, 2010
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Thanks again everyone. DRdaddy, yes I have half my family in Santiago and the other Half in New York, when it come to transportation I'm thinking about sending my two car that I have here over there, I also like the idea about going for a while and just test it out. I almost did the same thing about 2 years ago, all my family in USA live in New York and New Jersey, but I always wanted to move to Orlando,FL and one day I just told my wife lets just do it, we came out here and we love it, everyone was telling me don't do it you are crazy, and now I'm so happy I did not listen to them. Thanks again for all your inputs :)
 
May 12, 2005
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Thanks again everyone. DRdaddy, yes I have half my family in Santiago and the other Half in New York, when it come to transportation I'm thinking about sending my two car that I have here over there, I also like the idea about going for a while and just test it out. I almost did the same thing about 2 years ago, all my family in USA live in New York and New Jersey, but I always wanted to move to Orlando,FL and one day I just told my wife lets just do it, we came out here and we love it, everyone was telling me don't do it you are crazy, and now I'm so happy I did not listen to them. Thanks again for all your inputs :)

As far as sending cars, they can't be older than 5 years.
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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Sell your cars there and buy one here (less headaches). get a nice house in a quiet area or an apartment in a nice residential area and make sure your neighbors are not party animals. You can live easily with this amount of cash in santiago. There are tricks to save money and if you use common sense, you can really stretch your dollar in santiago.
In a couple of weeks we will have a wimax telecommunication company coming into santiago. They will offer high speed 4G internet service with cheap telephone/cable TV package. So don't go around getting individual services, you can get the combo for really cheap and once you have internet installed, we will show you how to get free latest movies to see on your big LCD HDTV and how to get an american telephone line with unlimited minutes and no monthly fees (free). Some of us on dr1 are real experts on santiago and we are willing to help. Just do not take advice from anyone, some advices will cost you money and headaches. Just use common sense.
AZB
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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wouldnt your family be able to tell you better whether this sum is enough

I am sure the family has already told him/her that the sum is enough. The santiagueros know its enough to live there. One can live good if they don't go ape-crazy eating out 4 times / week or trying to live like gringos back home. Santiago can be a very cheap city to live in if you make the right decisions and use common sense. I am a foreigner here and I have found deals that many dominicans can't find. Lets say, I got lucky and met the right people to guide me through in the beginning. The problem is, many dominicans from usa come here, relying on personal guidance from their family members, primos etc and often make the wrong decisions. Example: they often are guided to invest in some stupid business like, restaurant, carwash or some investment scheme etc. They lose it all in 6 months and then have to go back to usa empty handed. So please come here with a tigre's mentality and try to find deals. The deals are here and people are flexible. Life is good in santiago, I spend my weekends there.
AZB