Thinking about moving to the DR

Belmont007

Newbie
Nov 13, 2014
15
2
3
I was born in the DR, but I came to the U.S. as a child, and from my perspective, I'm more American than Dominican, and I've only visited only a few times.

My father moved back to Santo Domingo 5 years ago with his retirement, and he fully owns his apartment that has both a power generator, power inverter, and a gas heater for warm water. Air conditioning is in the bedroom, but he told me that power is so expensive that he only allows it to be used at night when sleeping or when the generator is on. I'm allergic to mosquitos, but I've heard that I would eventually build some immunities. In essence, the things I take for granted is mostly there, but I would have to make a few sacrifices.

I have my degree in Economics with more than 5 years of experience as an Analyst for a major corporation here in the U.S.

So in essence, if I take my father's offer to live with him, what are my job prospects? Is it better to start my own business? I'm thinking that I could transfer my 401k to an IRA, and as long as I set aside money to pay the American Income Tax and IRA while working in the DR, I could potentially still retire.

If I'm successful, I would eventually like to buy land and eventually build a house in a cheap land. I was told that I could buy land for around $30k USD if it's outside the capital.

I can speak, read, and write in Spanish; However, it's far from prefect. I mispronounce a lot of words and my accident is more formal sounding than Dominican Spanish.

My biggest reason to live there is to be close to family

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Belmont007

Newbie
Nov 13, 2014
15
2
3
I would like to be close to family, but I'm also afraid that I may not adapt to the Dominican way of life.

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bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,502
5,930
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dr1.com
I suggest visiting for extended periods of time, starting with shorter stays and working your way up to longer stays as finance and work allow. Make actual observations ( write them down) on expenses, lifestyle, things you like, things you don't, and do the same for where you currently live.
 
Mar 29, 2015
6
0
0
We migrated to Australia three years ago and my father is a Dominican. Now he's planning to take us to DR to start a new life there. I'm not sure how is it to live in DR. But I have that everything's going to be fine.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
I am going to send you the e-mail address of an expert on US taxes...that is step one.

Step 2, will be to take the advice of the earlier poster and try it for a vacation or two.
Step 3 will be to explore your options here as opposed to "at-home" work over the internet.
Included in this step will be visits to state institutions like BanReservas and Banco Central as well as
the major private corporations like Vicini and Banco Popular and Banco Leon/BHD. Then the universities,
who will require a Masters degree most probably.
Step 4 will be to clean off the tinted glasses and take a hard look at things. Really hard look. Transportation in
Santo Domingo is horrible. Vehicles are 2X as expensive, as is fuel. Many of the everyday things you are accustomed to
have at hand are simply not there or difficult to find, and if found, they cost 2X or 3X more...and you become a favorite
customer of Amazon Prime, EPS, BM, or CPS or one of the other couriers. HEalth care is another issue, so a good health plan
is necessary and the search for your best doctors and dentists will be trying.

Family is family. Reality is reality. Try it first on short term vacations...FOLLOW these steps...and good Luck to you.

HB

I have tried to send you a Private Message but it keeps bouncing back.
Please send me a PM or an e-mail regarding how to deal with US taxes overseas.
 
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Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
I live in Santo Domingo but before during my working life I have lived for extended periods in London, Calcutta, Melbourne, Sydney and Bogota . I also had to travel around the world extensively . All I can say is that Santo Domingo is a hybrid between a latin and african city , has just as much of Accra in it as it has Lima . I use Accra because a large number of black people originally came from that part of Africa and Lima because it was a Spanish headquarters. Electricity is not expensive and in my rather large home I have never paid more than $50 per month .
But I do know that Dominican Yorkers have great trouble in adjusting to SD life because they keep saying that such and such a thing would not happen in the USA. But it is not too difficult to find a decent GP and a good dentist in SD and is dead easy to find a good restaurant all at much lesser prices than in NY .
So I would give it a go and see if you can make the necessary adjustments here while keeping your options open in the USA
 

Belmont007

Newbie
Nov 13, 2014
15
2
3
I am going to send you the e-mail address of an expert on US taxes...that is step one.

Step 2, will be to take the advice of the earlier poster and try it for a vacation or two.
Step 3 will be to explore your options here as opposed to "at-home" work over the internet.
Included in this step will be visits to state institutions like BanReservas and Banco Central as well as
the major private corporations like Vicini and Banco Popular and Banco Leon/BHD. Then the universities,
who will require a Masters degree most probably.
Step 4 will be to clean off the tinted glasses and take a hard look at things. Really hard look. Transportation in
Santo Domingo is horrible. Vehicles are 2X as expensive, as is fuel. Many of the everyday things you are accustomed to
have at hand are simply not there or difficult to find, and if found, they cost 2X or 3X more...and you become a favorite
customer of Amazon Prime, EPS, BM, or CPS or one of the other couriers. HEalth care is another issue, so a good health plan
is necessary and the search for your best doctors and dentists will be trying.

Family is family. Reality is reality. Try it first on short term vacations...FOLLOW these steps...and good Luck to you.

HB

I have tried to send you a Private Message but it keeps bouncing back.
Please send me a PM or an e-mail regarding how to deal with US taxes overseas.

I do not have access to do pms it appears.
 

WRM

New member
Aug 9, 2015
60
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0
50
I live in Santo Domingo but before during my working life I have lived for extended periods in London, Calcutta, Melbourne, Sydney and Bogota . I also had to travel around the world extensively . All I can say is that Santo Domingo is a hybrid between a latin and african city , has just as much of Accra in it as it has Lima . I use Accra because a large number of black people originally came from that part of Africa and Lima because it was a Spanish headquarters. Electricity is not expensive and in my rather large home I have never paid more than $50 per month .
But I do know that Dominican Yorkers have great trouble in adjusting to SD life because they keep saying that such and such a thing would not happen in the USA. But it is not too difficult to find a decent GP and a good dentist in SD and is dead easy to find a good restaurant all at much lesser prices than in NY .
So I would give it a go and see if you can make the necessary adjustments here while keeping your options open in the USA

$50/mo in electricity? How is that possible? I hear many people spending close to $300/mo.


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london777

Bronze
Dec 22, 2005
786
29
28
$50/mo in electricity? How is that possible? I hear many people spending close to $300/mo.
My monthly bill in Puerto Plata is less than 800 pesos (less than US$18) per month for a family of four in a three bedroom apartment. No aircon, but we have four fans going all day (and almost 24/7 in the summer), and no inversor.

With aircon and inversor it might reach US$50, but not more.
 

MikeFisher

The Fisherman/Weather Mod
Feb 28, 2006
13,766
2,195
113
Punta Cana/DR
www.mikefisher.fun
the electricity costs depend a lot on Where you live.
i pay 4K pesos/US$90.- per month,
A/C zero in use, 5 fans of which 3 of them run around the clock.
modern not high energy consuming fridge/freezer,
water heater is a electric biest but shut off most time,
only in use a few times per year, who would need a warm water shower when coming back from the beach and a day in the sun?, lol.

Mike
 

london777

Bronze
Dec 22, 2005
786
29
28
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WRM

New member
Aug 9, 2015
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So do any of you have central A/C in your house? If yes, then more or less how much is the bill?


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Meemselle

Just A Few Words
Oct 27, 2014
2,841
383
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I don't and I would never. I live on the North Coast (and I am an American from New England) and I never,ever use a/c and would never/ever (or as we say in Boston, NEVAH/EVAH) even consider having central air. By me, good ceiling fans and strategically placed box fans do the trick. So maybe it's sort of hot in the afternoon when one sleeps after lunch....but then you go in the pool and have sex and take a shower and have sex again and then go out to dinner and it's not an issue. What Edenorte does to one's finances is simply not worth it. In my apt. in Sosua, a/c would double the rent.
 

Meemselle

Just A Few Words
Oct 27, 2014
2,841
383
83
Up until just recently I managed a small hotel, and the more you use,the more you pay. We set up zones in the hotel, so certain blocks (the pool and the house where I lived) were one zone, the large bldg with the quads was another, and the 3 casitas that were the remaining 6 rooms, were all on separate zones. Reduced our bill by more than half. Unless I were as rich as my very rich Brit friends in Cabarete, I would never even think of having central air in the DR. Open the windows. Turn on the fans. Relax. Take a nap. Be Dominican.
 

london777

Bronze
Dec 22, 2005
786
29
28
So do any of you have central A/C in your house? If yes, then more or less how much is the bill?
My objection to aircon is not so much the cost but the risk to health. Unless A/C units are regularly and scrupulously serviced they can harbor bacteria and dust that can damage respiratory systems. Usually with a minor but incovenient result, like a sore throat or cold, but occasionally causing more serious and even fatal infections. And when is anything ever "regularly and scrupulously serviced" in the DR?

On many occasions I have heard from, or about, visitors to the DR who soon contract sore throats. They have all used aircon, and if the length of their stay allowed, when they switched it off their health soon improved.

Legionnaires' disease is one, sometimes serious, infection spread by air-conditioning systems. There are many others.

There was a thread recently in which posters questioned the value of window screens because they soon clogged up with dust. My reaction was that I would rather all that dust was trapped by my screens before it entered my living-areas and lungs. Urban areas in the DR are extraordinarily dust-infested. That. and the heat which encourages organisms to reproduce quickly, are good reasons not to use aircon.
 

WRM

New member
Aug 9, 2015
60
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0
50
Thats a great point of view. You got a 100%[emoji106]


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