My mom would like to spend her retirement in the DR, doable?

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Erydan Ouragan

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Jul 1, 2013
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Hi, my mom is retired and told me she would like to spend the last of her years on this planet in the Dominican Republic.

She met a dominican man and got married, had two kids (adults now) some 20 years ago. She took a 1 year break of her job and moved to Puerto Plata for 4 months. She is basically fluent in spanish.

She has a fixed income of about 2200 CAN$ per month and before leaving she would sell her car, that would net her about 12 000 CAN$.

She told me she would like to move in the surroundings of Cabarete/Sosua/Puerto Plata, would live alone, probably in an appartment.

What kind of life she could expect, finance-wise? Would that be enough to live comfortably well?

I will show this thread to my mom so she can see your responses, thanks :)
 
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Expat13

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Jun 7, 2008
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If she rents smart and doesn't waste a ton of money going out for nice meals or buying all the Foreign products from the grocery stores, she should live just fine. Me, I spend twice as much here on groceries than I did living in Canada. Must be very very careful about all the new "Frens" she will meet, they can be the most expensive learning curves here.
 
Luperon

Luperon

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Jun 28, 2004
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I think your mom has done her homework and knows why and how she wants to live in the DR. How old is she? Has she vacationed in the DR lately? Do you see any Western Union receipts laying around?
 
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Erydan Ouragan

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Jul 1, 2013
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Luperon said:
I think your mom has done her homework and knows why and how she wants to live in the DR. How old is she? Has she vacationed in the DR lately? Do you see any Western Union receipts laying around?
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Yes she did, she is 52 but has not been to the DR since about 20 years, no Western Union receipts lol.

When she was there she was living with her then ex-husband and she was working as a secretary for a ridiculous pay, if i recall correctly. She is smart with her money and not a big spender, she likes to stay at home mostly.

Thanks for your reply :)
 
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Erydan Ouragan

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Jul 1, 2013
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Expat13 said:
If she rents smart and doesn't waste a ton of money going out for nice meals or buying all the Foreign products from the grocery stores, she should live just fine. Me, I spend twice as much here on groceries than I did living in Canada. Must be very very careful about all the new "Frens" she will meet, they can be the most expensive learning curves here.
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Yeah she knows the drill about this. Thanks for your comment :)
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i am sure she is smart enough to be able to weigh pros and cons of that move. 2200 canadian bucks a month is a decent money. rent smart and small, cook at home, enjoy occasional night out... she'll be fine.
 
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Castle

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Sep 1, 2012
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My mother lives alone in Santo Domingo, on a DOP 45k/mo budget. She has all services, cable TV, internet, cell phone line, health insurance, she pays a DOP 16k/mo rent, she can afford to put gas in her car (I still help her with repairs), and she pretty much lives a quiet life on her own.
So I'm pretty sure her CAN$ 2,200/mo can provide her with a very decent life and some spare change.
 
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pauleast

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Jan 29, 2012
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That's going to be cutting it close. No a/c no churrasco, limited entertainment, little travel ,limited neighborhood options.
 
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dv8

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2200 canadian is 2000 us dollars, more than adequate money for a single person. this is not yabadabadu (RIP) kind of budget, this is normal money.
 
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La Rubia

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Jan 1, 2010
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52 seems kind of young to decide something "for the rest of your life". How about trying it for a few years, then deciding about "the rest of her life". That way, she can leave if it becomes too difficult without feeling like she "failed". Certainly she wouldn't be burning any bridges by trying it for a few years.

Also (I guess Canadians know this) would want to keep active in the health care system just in case.

Her past experience would make it much more doable than a total newbie who had never been to the country before.
 
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Major448

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Sep 8, 2010
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La Rubia said:
52 seems kind of young to decide something "for the rest of your life". How about trying it for a few years, then deciding about "the rest of her life". That way, she can leave if it becomes too difficult without feeling like she "failed". Certainly she wouldn't be burning any bridges by trying it for a few years.

Also (I guess Canadians know this) would want to keep active in the health care system just in case.

Her past experience would make it much more doable than a total newbie who had never been to the country before.
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Yep ... she could do it as a "snowbird" for a couple of cycles ... and time it so that she keeps her healthcare coverage in Canada until she finds comfortable alternatives.
 
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JohnnyBoy

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Jun 17, 2012
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If that were my mother I would ask what other countries she has looked into. Columbia has some expat places that are rated the top place in the world to retire.
Problem with the DR is that it is no longer cheap. The energy costs are going to go way up soon also.
 
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NV_

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Aug 4, 2003
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Money wise she should be fine with that income unless she wants to live like a millionaire. The problem is not whether the money is enough to live on but the quality of life she is going to have here compared to canada. As long as she is prepared to take a large hit on her quality of life, she will be fine.

She really should understand the deficiency of medical treatment here. At that age, visits to the doctor become more frequent and lets face it, doctors here arent the best or most knowledgable. In an emergency, she would have to take herself to the clinic and make sure she has cash or insurance or she wont be treated.

If I may ask, where did she live with her dominican husband?

In my honest opinion, this is not a country to retire to unless you want to go through hell during your retirement. Or at least want to make life harder on yourself.
 
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Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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52 is very young to be thinking such a finale on lifes path. $2000 is ample money as long as she isnt an alcoholic. Those considering $2000 is even close to tight are not familiar with living in the DR, they are obviously living in the sun and still buy the same marks as back home.
 
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Seamonkey

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Oct 6, 2009
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Many american retired people that I know are living on their pension of USD$1200/month in Sosua. Cheap rent, no car and eat out maybe 3-4 times...with not much at the end of the month if anything. So $2200 is very doable, but like NV said, the question is health care. As far as quality of life, it's much better here on a fixed income than back in the USA or Canada.
 
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wayne

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Dec 25, 2003
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Erydan Ouragan said:
Hi, my mom is retired and told me she would like to spend the last of her years on this planet in the Dominican Republic.

She met a dominican man and got married, had two kids (adults now) some 20 years ago. She took a 1 year break of her job and moved to Puerto Plata for 4 months. She is basically fluent in spanish.

She has a fixed income of about 2200 CAN$ per month and before leaving she would sell her car, that would net her about 12 000 CAN$.

She told me she would like to move in the surroundings of Cabarete/Sosua/Puerto Plata, would live alone, probably in an appartment.

What kind of life she could expect, finance-wise? Would that be enough to live comfortably well?

I will show this thread to my mom so she can see your responses, thanks :)
Click to expand...

She will live well on $2200 unless she decides to have herself a young play toy. I am single and live on the north coast full time. Here are my expenses not including entertainment or clothing:

Food 8000
rent 20000
health insurance 1400
car insurance 550
fuel 4000
cell phone 500
--------
total 34,450RD or US$ 825

I live in a nice apartment in a gated community with internet and tv included. As you can see, basic living is very inexpensive. As long as she doesn't befriend people who have no income, she will be fine.
 
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