Hi!
Ok, so you want to have a life here in the D.R..
This is a Tropical Island, one that has a beautiful atmosphere, from it's gorgeous beaches which go for hundreds of miles, the paradise like weather that is almost constant year round, to the native women.
I?m sure there are many stories, here?s ours.
I am from LI, NY, Ex- U.S. Navy, Nuclear Bubblehead. Was out and working back in Long Island, when I met my wife.
My wife, Mechi is from the Dominican Republic, Hiana. Moved to NY, when she was 13. After becoming a U.S. Citizen and living there for 15+ years, we met, married, and work sends me to the DR, Free trade Zone in Hiana. Yeah we still can?t get over it.
We are very fortunate that she has a lot of family here, I do not want to think about what it would of cost me, to get set up with-out their help. We own a house in the Capital, that the family was renting out for us, befor we knew, we were coming here to live. When we got here, we learned that the rental laws are VERY different from the States. So after living at the Embajador Hotel for are first 3 months, the company was anxious for us to find a place to live. Her family found us a real nice house in Hiana, Barrio China. Which took about 3 months to get it Americanized (Invertors, water pumps+ heater, cable, DSL internet). We been here a year now, I work, 3 miles from home, and a lot of her family is within that radius, so it has worked out real well for us.
This is our story.
You have to realize that their monetary system is in PESO'S, and that 1 peso is a dollar for them.
Then there is our US DOLLAR, which is what I get paid in, weekly.
Then comes the conversion part, on average our 1 US dollar is exchanged for 22 of their dollars.
So I get roughly $2200 pesos to every $ 100 US dollars.
When I first got here it was 16 pesos to 1 dollar. It varies weekly.
Now you need to know about the fact that an exceptionally good salary for a Dominican is about
$ 50,000. pesos @ month, or in US dollars $ 2272. US dollars @ month. A Senior Bank V.P. might earn that.
My Brother In-law, who runs a fully robotic, cement block production plant, 8 employees= 320,000 blocks @ day, in San Christobal, earns around that. He works VERY LONG hours, 6 days a week.
My other Brother In-law, a branch manager for Banco Popular, in San Christobal makes about $ 30,000. pesos @ Month and works the same kind of hours.
For most of the country, an average good salary is $ 20,000. pesos @ month, OR $ 909. US dollars @ month.
The rest, in between $ 5000. to $ 20,000. Pesos @ Month. That is for the people who work, not the ( I won the lottery ) jobs, handed out to government party people.
And that some of the country live in wooden shacks, with illegal electrical hook-ups ( because they cant afford to pay for electric), and that most of those house's do not have indoor plumbing. The rest in concrete block houses.
Now here comes Johnny Gringo, with money like water. The electric from the power companies goes out daily from 4 to 6 hours on average, not to bad during the day, but a bitch at night. People with money have very nice built house's equipped with automatic back-up generators, and indoor plumbing , I have Hot Water heater in my house because I installed it, and plumbed it through-out the house from the Kitchen to the Bathroom. My Neighbors call my place Little America, Because no-matter what I have electric 24/7.
We had traveled to the DR for work about 10 times befor this. 2 years prior, to coming for work, we bought a brand new house, 4200 sq ft, under construction in the El Million area of the Capital. We were still living in NY, after the house was finished, and we got a call from the family that *some one*, had broke into the house and stole all of the doors, and bathroom fixtures. Note-* I still think it was the contractor, he happened to have ANOTHER set of doors and fixtures, he was going to use on another house he was building*. After having the every thing reinstalled, the family made arrangements to have a, Dominican Watchman, at the house 24/7. After about 3 months and some discussions with the family, it was agreed that it would be better to rent the house out.
When we arrived here to live, we figured we would stay at the hotel, while after telling the family who was renting the house that we wanted to move in.
WELL after waiting about 2 months, we were told that the family who was in the house, was not going to move out. It seems our family used a lawyer that they trusted ( He rented the house a for a WHOPPING, $ 8,000. pesos @ month!!!). And if we wanted the house back befor the contract was up, I would have to pony up a serious cash offer, to buy them off. If I made too much trouble, that they could stop paying rent ( HA!) and probably stay there for about 2 to 3 years befor legally getting them out. I was informed if I took the legal way, that I would probably get my house back completely stripped and trashed, on top of the waiting game.
I will tell you, it was our own fault, that we were absolutely ignorant on this part.
Now you have to picture ( My AWAKINING) .
I am living at the El Embajador for 2 month?s now, and the company is asking how is my housing situation going.
Going under the premise that we should be able to find a house for a couple of hundred dollars, we start looking at apartments and houses. Our 1st Saturday out, ( Remember, I am working M-F) we went with a friend to go look at our 1st selection. We drove not too far from the hotel, pulled into a gated, guarded parking lot, for an 8 story apartment complex. We looked around with excitement as to even doing this, sort of like newlyweds on their 1st night. I WALK UP 4 FLIGHTS of steps. We walked into an empty apartment, which was 2 bedrooms, no balcony, no bars, no appliances, after discussing , for about 30 minutes, what life would be like, living with 4 flight of steps, between us and every thing we do, I asked the question that would ruin me for the next 3 months, HOW MUCH? $ 24,000. pesos @ month. At 1st I got really mad, ( Sure! That?s because I?m a Gringo!!!!!) This sinking feeling came over me, in my mind I was playing out what was about to happen next. Befor going, my wife tried to tell me that it would be better to not go with them, ? because instead of seeing a Gringo, they see $$ signs?. So while walking back down towards the car, I new by THAT look on my wife?s face, that I was going to get a Big, Big helping of, I TOLD YOU SO!
My wife was in right in the middle of proving that MEN DO HAVE ESP, walking towards the car, when our friend interrupted and said ? That is a very reasonable price, for an apartment in the Capital.? I don?t know who said it 1st, but me and my wife both said the exact same thing, WHAT! After getting a brief lesson in housing cost, we both asked to go back to the hotel, and forget about seeing the other places he had lined up for us, to look at.
Back at the hotel, we were changed and down at the Bohio, having our 1st Presidente, it?s about 11:30am, and we are discussing, what the F**K are we going to do now. We spent the next few hours, discussing over Presidente?s, what we had learned the HARD WAY.
We figured out, that reason we could not get the family who rented our house from the lawyer, to move, where the hell was he going to put his wife, 3 kids, 3 dogs, for $ 8,000. @ month!!
And I am still of the opinion that although the contract was for that amount, the lawyer was probably collecting a hell of a lot more, putting the cash in his pocket. Oh yea, we were only getting $ 7600., the lawyer gets 5% for handling the rent collection and managing the property, IN OUR BEST INTREST!
That based on our responsibilities back home, and what we were going to use out of my salary, we might seriously have to forget the whole deal, get on the plane, and go back to NY.
After 8 years in the NAVY, and so many other experiences in my life, for the 1st time, I felt completely beaten, my spirit totally broken.
Our friend came to the hotel that night and convinced us to go have a night out on the town with him, (God bless him for that). We woke up the next afternoon, went to Hiana, to see her family, and discuss our situation with them.
See next post
Ok, so you want to have a life here in the D.R..
This is a Tropical Island, one that has a beautiful atmosphere, from it's gorgeous beaches which go for hundreds of miles, the paradise like weather that is almost constant year round, to the native women.
I?m sure there are many stories, here?s ours.
I am from LI, NY, Ex- U.S. Navy, Nuclear Bubblehead. Was out and working back in Long Island, when I met my wife.
My wife, Mechi is from the Dominican Republic, Hiana. Moved to NY, when she was 13. After becoming a U.S. Citizen and living there for 15+ years, we met, married, and work sends me to the DR, Free trade Zone in Hiana. Yeah we still can?t get over it.
We are very fortunate that she has a lot of family here, I do not want to think about what it would of cost me, to get set up with-out their help. We own a house in the Capital, that the family was renting out for us, befor we knew, we were coming here to live. When we got here, we learned that the rental laws are VERY different from the States. So after living at the Embajador Hotel for are first 3 months, the company was anxious for us to find a place to live. Her family found us a real nice house in Hiana, Barrio China. Which took about 3 months to get it Americanized (Invertors, water pumps+ heater, cable, DSL internet). We been here a year now, I work, 3 miles from home, and a lot of her family is within that radius, so it has worked out real well for us.
This is our story.
You have to realize that their monetary system is in PESO'S, and that 1 peso is a dollar for them.
Then there is our US DOLLAR, which is what I get paid in, weekly.
Then comes the conversion part, on average our 1 US dollar is exchanged for 22 of their dollars.
So I get roughly $2200 pesos to every $ 100 US dollars.
When I first got here it was 16 pesos to 1 dollar. It varies weekly.
Now you need to know about the fact that an exceptionally good salary for a Dominican is about
$ 50,000. pesos @ month, or in US dollars $ 2272. US dollars @ month. A Senior Bank V.P. might earn that.
My Brother In-law, who runs a fully robotic, cement block production plant, 8 employees= 320,000 blocks @ day, in San Christobal, earns around that. He works VERY LONG hours, 6 days a week.
My other Brother In-law, a branch manager for Banco Popular, in San Christobal makes about $ 30,000. pesos @ Month and works the same kind of hours.
For most of the country, an average good salary is $ 20,000. pesos @ month, OR $ 909. US dollars @ month.
The rest, in between $ 5000. to $ 20,000. Pesos @ Month. That is for the people who work, not the ( I won the lottery ) jobs, handed out to government party people.
And that some of the country live in wooden shacks, with illegal electrical hook-ups ( because they cant afford to pay for electric), and that most of those house's do not have indoor plumbing. The rest in concrete block houses.
Now here comes Johnny Gringo, with money like water. The electric from the power companies goes out daily from 4 to 6 hours on average, not to bad during the day, but a bitch at night. People with money have very nice built house's equipped with automatic back-up generators, and indoor plumbing , I have Hot Water heater in my house because I installed it, and plumbed it through-out the house from the Kitchen to the Bathroom. My Neighbors call my place Little America, Because no-matter what I have electric 24/7.
We had traveled to the DR for work about 10 times befor this. 2 years prior, to coming for work, we bought a brand new house, 4200 sq ft, under construction in the El Million area of the Capital. We were still living in NY, after the house was finished, and we got a call from the family that *some one*, had broke into the house and stole all of the doors, and bathroom fixtures. Note-* I still think it was the contractor, he happened to have ANOTHER set of doors and fixtures, he was going to use on another house he was building*. After having the every thing reinstalled, the family made arrangements to have a, Dominican Watchman, at the house 24/7. After about 3 months and some discussions with the family, it was agreed that it would be better to rent the house out.
When we arrived here to live, we figured we would stay at the hotel, while after telling the family who was renting the house that we wanted to move in.
WELL after waiting about 2 months, we were told that the family who was in the house, was not going to move out. It seems our family used a lawyer that they trusted ( He rented the house a for a WHOPPING, $ 8,000. pesos @ month!!!). And if we wanted the house back befor the contract was up, I would have to pony up a serious cash offer, to buy them off. If I made too much trouble, that they could stop paying rent ( HA!) and probably stay there for about 2 to 3 years befor legally getting them out. I was informed if I took the legal way, that I would probably get my house back completely stripped and trashed, on top of the waiting game.
I will tell you, it was our own fault, that we were absolutely ignorant on this part.
Now you have to picture ( My AWAKINING) .
I am living at the El Embajador for 2 month?s now, and the company is asking how is my housing situation going.
Going under the premise that we should be able to find a house for a couple of hundred dollars, we start looking at apartments and houses. Our 1st Saturday out, ( Remember, I am working M-F) we went with a friend to go look at our 1st selection. We drove not too far from the hotel, pulled into a gated, guarded parking lot, for an 8 story apartment complex. We looked around with excitement as to even doing this, sort of like newlyweds on their 1st night. I WALK UP 4 FLIGHTS of steps. We walked into an empty apartment, which was 2 bedrooms, no balcony, no bars, no appliances, after discussing , for about 30 minutes, what life would be like, living with 4 flight of steps, between us and every thing we do, I asked the question that would ruin me for the next 3 months, HOW MUCH? $ 24,000. pesos @ month. At 1st I got really mad, ( Sure! That?s because I?m a Gringo!!!!!) This sinking feeling came over me, in my mind I was playing out what was about to happen next. Befor going, my wife tried to tell me that it would be better to not go with them, ? because instead of seeing a Gringo, they see $$ signs?. So while walking back down towards the car, I new by THAT look on my wife?s face, that I was going to get a Big, Big helping of, I TOLD YOU SO!
My wife was in right in the middle of proving that MEN DO HAVE ESP, walking towards the car, when our friend interrupted and said ? That is a very reasonable price, for an apartment in the Capital.? I don?t know who said it 1st, but me and my wife both said the exact same thing, WHAT! After getting a brief lesson in housing cost, we both asked to go back to the hotel, and forget about seeing the other places he had lined up for us, to look at.
Back at the hotel, we were changed and down at the Bohio, having our 1st Presidente, it?s about 11:30am, and we are discussing, what the F**K are we going to do now. We spent the next few hours, discussing over Presidente?s, what we had learned the HARD WAY.
We figured out, that reason we could not get the family who rented our house from the lawyer, to move, where the hell was he going to put his wife, 3 kids, 3 dogs, for $ 8,000. @ month!!
And I am still of the opinion that although the contract was for that amount, the lawyer was probably collecting a hell of a lot more, putting the cash in his pocket. Oh yea, we were only getting $ 7600., the lawyer gets 5% for handling the rent collection and managing the property, IN OUR BEST INTREST!
That based on our responsibilities back home, and what we were going to use out of my salary, we might seriously have to forget the whole deal, get on the plane, and go back to NY.
After 8 years in the NAVY, and so many other experiences in my life, for the 1st time, I felt completely beaten, my spirit totally broken.
Our friend came to the hotel that night and convinced us to go have a night out on the town with him, (God bless him for that). We woke up the next afternoon, went to Hiana, to see her family, and discuss our situation with them.
See next post