up-to-date info

Jennie McEwen

New member
Sep 3, 2003
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Hi

My husband and I are looking at places to retire to and having discovered DR, we naturally have some question that we hope you could help with.

We appreciate that most of these questions have been asked before, but we would really like to get some up-to-date information.

Our questions are:

1) Healthcare - What is the healtcare currently like in DR, and how much does insurance cost and what does it cover?

2) We have been quoted US$7000 for obtaining residency and a DR company, is this excessive?

3) Is it true that one could be thrown in jail in the event of having a traffic accident, whilst the case was being dealt with, or is this just applicable to tourists?

4) Present prices of Gasoline & Utilities would be helpful also.

Thanks for your help

Regards

Jennie
 

XanaduRanch

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Sep 15, 2002
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Hi Jennie, check the archives if you haven't already they are a storehouse of info unrivaled on the internet on the Dominican Republic.

Can't answer the health insurance question other than to say it's very inexpensive by US standards. But I've never had to use it so I can't speak to quality, coverages, etc.

US$7K? That's a lot. You can pay a lawyer to do everything for your cedula, even get the driver's license for around US$800. All you need is the photos, and a quick trip to STDGO to pick it all up.

The traffic accident, yes, if it involves death or injury to anyone else. There have been some recent threads on the topic do a search.

Also do a search on cost of living prices. There have been two threads listing those kinds of things within the last two months.

Tom (aka XR)
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
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dr1.com
Quick answers:

1) Yes available.
2) Your being ripped off. Think US$1-1,500 per person.
3) Not true, depends on the exact circumstances.


Long answers:
Please use the "search" function of this message board.
We have thousands of messages/posts covering your questions.
Also "sticky" posts that highlight important posts in the living forum.

e.g. http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23103

When you have spent 5-6 hrs and have an idea of what is really like to live here. Come back and ask specific questions.

We are here to help.
 

Peter & Alex

Bronze
May 3, 2003
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www.rainbowsenddr.com
Hi Jennie,
Lots of threads on health care and insurance. I've had heart stuff and dentistry here - reasonably good quality. Levels depend on where you decide to live.
Cedula - 1st year, US$1200-1500 through a lawyer (Sosua), 2 trips to SD, one for medical and second for ID and card collection. Takes up to 8 weeks. Recommend first year that you uase a reputable lawyer.
Cedula - 2nd year, ditto above but you can by that time do it all by yourself!! still needs 2 trips to SD though.
Cedula - renewals. Do it all by yourself, use the VIP service & collect the cards the same day in SD.
Cost of living? It fluctuates quite a bit depending on current finances and affairs but we (2 people) can live comfortably on RD$25,000 per month.
As usual we would recommend a visit here before committing - you need to meet people who live here and pick their brains face to face - it's easier than via the forum, although I would add that XR's advice to do the searches for info is the best.
PM us if you've got specific queries.
Peter & Alex
 

Jennie McEwen

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Sep 3, 2003
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dr

Hi
Having read as much as possible about the DR. we are extremely worried.
It would seem from many of the posts that moving to the DR would be akin to committing suicide!
Most posts contain horror stories and have quite put us off the idea of moving to the DR.
This is most disappointing as in many ways the DR would have suited us down to the ground.
Could anyone tell us if the stories of rape, knivings , shootings and muggings are as serious as people have portraited them?
We are not naive about street crimes as we have lived and travelled all over the world but it would seem that going to the DR on holiday and staying in an all inclusive hotel is fine but living there is a very different kettle of fish.
Could someone also enlighten us about the cost of living; we have read that electricity is outrageously expensive. What does that mean exactly? How much is it per month? How much is petrol (gasoline)? Are cars as costly as a home? We appreciate that imported food stuffs will be more expensive that's understandable. Is it true that water must be bought even for showering?
These are just a few of the things that we have read and find hard to believe.
We also read that you should never buy a house because it is almost impossible to make it secure.
Sometimes I feel that many of the posts are so out of date that they offer no real answers to many questions.
Thanks for any help.
Jennie
 

XanaduRanch

*** Sin Bin ***
Sep 15, 2002
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If you've really read all the posts ...

... then it's hard to see how you have come to that conclusion. I've lived here for three years and feel as safer or safer as I did back home in Iowa. You need to spend some time living here, renting at first, to judge for yourself I guess.
 

Jennie McEwen

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Sep 3, 2003
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Re: If you've really read all the posts ...

XanaduRanch said:
... then it's hard to see how you have come to that conclusion. I've lived here for three years and feel as safer or safer as I did back home in Iowa. You need to spend some time living here, renting at first, to judge for yourself I guess.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I don't think we could have been reading the same posts.
I have yet to read any post that did not, more or less, say that the DR. was not safe.
As you have lived there for the past three years perhaps you can answer my questions regarding the cost of petrol, electricity etc...
Where do you live in the DR?
Regards
Jennie
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
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Oh Boy!

Goodness Gracious Jennie, what have you been reading? I've lived here for a year now, and I have never been fearful for one moment - Xanadu Ranch, who posted in this thread, has lived here for three years, and I'm sure that he won't recognize the DR from your description. Peter & Alex who responded to this thread, told you about the cost of living. They've been living here for two years. Robert, who responded to this thread has been here for -- I really don't know how many -- years.

We live here, we work here, we do our business here. We don't live in resorts, we live in ordinary places. Our house does not have security and I seldom lock the doors. Xanadu is a little far from the crowds, and I think he locks his doors. Peter & Alex live in a community.

There are many styles of living here. Community Style, Condos, and in little towns, example just out of Cabarete, where I live.

I think what you are misreading in this forum, is that the lifestyle is not a North American lifestyle. You cannot pick up the phone and call 911. You are responsible for your own security, and frequently for your own electricity. We all have electrical generators and most of us have electrical invertors. Our electricity bill for a large property and a family of 4, is around RD8000, which if you average the exchange rate at 30 pesos to the dollar, works to around US$260.00 for one large house and one cottage. High, but not exorbitant if you think we run a number of waterpumps, a pool, fans, all household equipment and a mess of computer and satellite equipment.

I also think what you are misreading in this forum, is that people say you need to do your homework before you come and live here. This is true of any lifestyle change. This is not a caribbean vacation dream. You have to have enough money to survive, as you cannot really make more here and you have to be quite self-sufficient.

I cannot tell you about the "rape, knivings , shootings and muggings" and horror stories, as I have not experienced them.
 

KenoshaChris

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Jan 4, 2002
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What rapes, shootings, knivings, muggings, etc? Not in my neighborhood and certainly not in Sosua barring unusual exceptions. Most crime is Dominican on Dominican other than petty crime. I wouldn't be there if I didn't think it was safe and I truly believe that I'm generally safer there than where I'm sitting here right now in the States. Sure, if you're going to avail yourself to crime, it will certainly find you and find you very quickly but that statement goes for anywhere I've ever been. Take the same preventative measures you would take at home and live in a good area, preferably with good security. Your neighbors will also be looking out for you.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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My electric bill would be 200 US Dollars a month,.....

.if I didn't steal my electricity! I have an average American Life Style here."Conspicuous Consumption! We use lots of electricity! Most foreigners pay about 100 or so a month.Cars cost about 30 % more,Financing a car loan,about 30% and ^ per year! OUCH!!Insurance on a new Toyota Land Cruiser,2,500 or more $s per year! It is safe.Just stay away from the"Hot Zones"! I would not go to "East LA,or "The Projects" in any large US city either!Theft is the largest crime here.Take measures to prevent theft,not much else to worry about.This is not Bermuda,or Martinique,it is a struggle to live here IF you have money,and hell,if you don't! Cris
 

Camden Tom

Bronze
Dec 1, 2002
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There are few places.......

........in the world that I've been that I feel safer than the DR's north coast. My wife and I have been there many times. Many things on this forum are often overstated. Talk to the expats that live there for a calm and rational discription of day to day life. I've visited with many of them while in the DR. The concerns that you've expressed don't seem to come up in conversation all that much. Spend a week in Cabarete. Your concerns will melt away under the tropical sun.
 

Jennie McEwen

New member
Sep 3, 2003
22
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Re: Oh Boy!

Chris said:
Goodness Gracious Jennie, what have you been reading? I've lived here for a year now, and I have never been fearful for one moment - Xanadu Ranch, who posted in this thread, has lived here for three years, and I'm sure that he won't recognize the DR from your description. Peter & Alex who responded to this thread, told you about the cost of living. They've been living here for two years. Robert, who responded to this thread has been here for -- I really don't know how many -- years.

We live here, we work here, we do our business here. We don't live in resorts, we live in ordinary places. Our house does not have security and I seldom lock the doors. Xanadu is a little far from the crowds, and I think he locks his doors. Peter & Alex live in a community.

There are many styles of living here. Community Style, Condos, and in little towns, example just out of Cabarete, where I live.

I think what you are misreading in this forum, is that the lifestyle is not a North American lifestyle. You cannot pick up the phone and call 911. You are responsible for your own security, and frequently for your own electricity. We all have electrical generators and most of us have electrical invertors. Our electricity bill for a large property and a family of 4, is around RD8000, which if you average the exchange rate at 30 pesos to the dollar, works to around US$260.00 for one large house and one cottage. High, but not exorbitant if you think we run a number of waterpumps, a pool, fans, all household equipment and a mess of computer and satellite equipment.

I also think what you are misreading in this forum, is that people say you need to do your homework before you come and live here. This is true of any lifestyle change. This is not a caribbean vacation dream. You have to have enough money to survive, as you cannot really make more here and you have to be quite self-sufficient.

I cannot tell you about the "rape, knivings , shootings and muggings" and horror stories, as I have not experienced them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Was that US$260 per month???????
I pay US$80 here in Spain for two months and we too have water pumps, heated pool, computers, TV etc...
I still have yet to receive an up to date price for petrol.
Comparisons with the USA are meaningless to me as I am English living in Spain.

Regards
Jennie
 

Escott

Gold
Jan 14, 2002
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This sounds typical of a person that's only experience here is at an ALL INCLUSIVE and never left the grounds because the people that are trying to sell them something told them it wasn't safe and they should stay in the "compound".

I have NEVER heard of a Rape on the North Coast. I have heard of stolen cars and thievery. I haven't heard about crime against a person except the last time I was there and someone told me a frightening story that came out ok in the end.

You can walk the streets late at night with money in your pockets dressed well without a care in the world on the North Coast. I can't say that for the Capitol because I don't live there and would wager that ANY major CITY in any COUNTRY is an accident waiting to happen if you go into a bad neighborhood.

I would NOT go to Harlem late at night with a pocket full of hundreds being a white man. Same thing anywhere else in the world.

Petrol is a pound and a half a gallon
Your comments about the things you have read are just plain silly and don't hold water.
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Premium Gasoline =$2 US a Gallon!

Electricity IS the Killer of the economy here! Yes 200 US dollars plus per month! Thanks to Union Fenosa,a Spanish Company,and the thieving dom gov!Last week 3 bus drivers were killed,and one burned to a CRISP in his bus.There were about 20 buses burned last week,more today!
Go to DR1 home page,read the "Daily News"see for yourself.My boys had to stay home from school today because their bus goes through "Christo Rey" and the "Natives" are restless there today!MOst "Violent" crime is of,by,and for Dominicans.Meaning,they don't hurt foreigners,just steal their stuff! CCCC:confused:
 
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Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Re: Re: Oh Boy!

Jennie McEwen said:
I still have yet to receive an up to date price for petrol.
Comparisons with the USA are meaningless to me as I am English living in Spain.

Jennie, do your homework. Exchange the dollars with an exchange rate that you are familiar with like British Pounds or Euros. You'll soon get it.

I am South-African living in the Dominican Republic and had to learn to find my own comparisons. Come-on, exchange London for New York or Madrid for London. It is not so hard.

Yes, electricity is expensive. What are we paying for petrol/gas these days y'all? I never really take note of the price per gallon. Please quote this in liters because gallons would probably be meaningless. :rolleyes:
 

Peter & Alex

Bronze
May 3, 2003
700
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www.rainbowsenddr.com
Jennie,
Perhaps you'd better stay in Spain? You seem to be scaring yourself a helluva lot????
Our electricity monthly costs are around 68 pounds at todays rate of exchange. Last month it was only 55 pounds, but the rate was silly then!
Petrol? About 1.46 pounds per gallon today!
Water? Abundant and straight out of the mains, no meter and costs about 4.80 pounds per month - and we've got a pool and 4 showers! AND we clean our teeth in it, and we don't wash veggies in bottled water, etc., etc.
Yes we've got bars on windows and doors just like many others - but crime(?) is no worse than in civilised countries!! Hasn't UK just let some farmer out of jail after having served a sentence for shooting a burglar in his house? Aren't there muggings in most towns in Uk every day?
Cabarete this year - no murders, no rapes, no stabbings although there was a recent mugging in the dark area of the beach about 1 kilometre from the sensible area to be in, but read the earlier thread - it was all sorted out DR fashion!!
Hey, this is paradise! (With bugs, agreed, but it's still paradise)!
We're more worried about the next storm than we are about crime!
Ah well, back to the beach
Peter & Alex
 

XanaduRanch

*** Sin Bin ***
Sep 15, 2002
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Re: DR

Jennie McEwen said:
I really don't think there is any need for sarcasm, I am only trying to gather information.
Ooooh! You're really not going to like it here then. Never mind, looks like this was a bad idea all around. Ooops. That was sarcastic too wasn't it? Sorry! Damn. O did it again! My bad.