Cost of living in DR dichotomyt again

MikeKO

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I'm a little confused about the apparent dichotomy of responses on this board about the cost of living in the DR. On one hand you have the constant refrain that "the DR is a more expensive place to live than the US", but on the other, a post will pop up saying (for example) my wife and I are considering moving to the DR. I have $30,000 a year income', and the response is "thats plenty".

Could someone please cast some illumination on this? My feeble little mind is inquiring.

Mike
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Does housing have to come out of the $30,000?

You can live on the $30,000 but you will need to consider each decision carefully if it includes everything.

If you are thinking about Sosua, then think about Condos Dominicanos, at least as a place to start. It is good value, well managed, and within walking distance of everything in town, including the supermarkets.

Don't plan on having a car. No big deal. My wife and I have lived in the DR for 17 years without one. Public transportation will get you anyplace for a very low price. We are on a tight income ourselves and will be glad to share whatever knowledge we have.
 
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goatfarmnga

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Jun 24, 2003
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Cost of living..

Read on a thread of Timex's yesterday that said he paid about $111 US$ for his cable, electricity, phone etc a month....Surely on $30,000 a year you could live EXTREMELY well but maybe not at the Sea horse ranch..:) The thread was about the Orange Phone cards/cell phones I think Check with Timex..He lives near Santo Domingo I think it said..:) PAM
 

Ken

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Re: Cost of living..

goatfarmnga said:
Read on a thread of Timex's yesterday that said he paid about $111 US$ for his cable, electricity, phone etc a month....Surely on $30,000 a year you could live EXTREMELY well but maybe not at the Sea horse ranch...

Edited by Tim H.:cool:

MikeKo, as I said in my earlier post, you and your wife can live on $30,000/year. But it will be essential that you feel your way during the early months while you are gaining knowledge about the true cost of living here. I would suggest starting off in a place like Condos Dominicanos, when you eat in restaurants go to places like La Roca, where they have a special menu for residents, and Rocky's Bar, use public transportation to get to neighboring towns, Santiago and Santo Domingo. Slowly but surely you will get a good idea of what you can do and not do on your income. But you are going to have to make choices.

Don't be put off by the thought you must be a rich man to live here, but don't come here thinking $30,000 is a fortune. To many Dominicans it would be, but you and your wife are undoubtedly accustomed to a different style of living.
 
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goatfarmnga

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Jun 24, 2003
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Hey Ken...

I told the guy to look at Timex's POST DID I SAY I LIVED THERE????

Edited by Tim H.:cool:

I found Timex's info about the cost of his utilities VERY interesting and thought this guy would too..


Read Timex's info yourself..

~*~*~*NOTE:SIMPLY INFO I FOUND AND AM PASSING IT ON..*~*~*~

Timex posted FACTS about what it costs him..Not generalizations..If most of the country can live there for FAR less than $30,000 a year..According to Timex's utilities..$30,000 would be a great deal to live on... :) PAM
 
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Timex

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May 9, 2002
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Hola, MikeKO!!!!

You should check this out!

Click on the link below.:cool:
Popular Post's / Past Sticky's. Required reading for Newbies!!! NEW! NEW! NEW!

If you want a the full scoop. Scroll down to ....
Moving to the DR.
On that page.

There are some linked stories of people who made the move.

Click below to see what my monthly costs are.

Monthly Costings.

That is now down to about $ 27,000. pesos @ month.

If you divide it by 33 Pesos to 1 U.S. dollar, that would be about $ 818. U.S.

Thanks
Tim H.:cool:
 

goatfarmnga

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Jun 24, 2003
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Thank you Tim!

I appreciate the break down of your expenses more than you know..I however am not that organized! Interesting to see how the dentist etc charge..Thank you! :) PAM
 

Ken

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MikeKO, my wife and I have an income of about US$30,000, so we have some experience that might be of help to you. We are living better here than we would be in the US. That in itself is a good reason to consider living here.

As I indicated in my first post, you first need to identify those expenses that will come off the top. For example, are you continuing the health insurance you had in the US or planning to buy it here? If you are retiring here, keep in mind that health insurance sold in this country is not available for people 70 or older and all pre existing problems are excluded.

What about housing? Do you have funds to buy a house or an apartment over and above the $30,000? Or will your rent come out of that amount? What sort of housing do you want?

Where you choose to live will make some difference in living costs. Food, for example, where Tim lives in Santo Domingo is cheaper than it is in Sosua. (but we are happier here than we would be there for lots of reasons)

How frequently do you want to go back to the US to visit family? That can put a good hole in your budget; one of the reasons that I haven't been there since 1995.

What is your situation before you make the move to the DR? Will you be leaving an environment where your family income was high and you had just about any luxuries that you desired? If that is the case, it will be harder for you to adjust to your income than it was for us. We dropped out early, moved onto a sailboat, and learned to live on a very limited income. So when we finally started receiving retirement benefits it seemed like a lot more than would have been the case otherwise.

You started this thread by asking whether you and your wife can live here on $30,000. My wife and I do and we believe we are comfortable. We don't have a car and really feel no need since we are very experienced in using public transportation. We don't do the sort of traveling to the US we would like to either. But we are happy and enjoy living in the DR, certainly more so than we would in the US.

If I can be of help to you with specific questions, etc., don't hesitate to send me an email or PM. Good luck.
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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I know a single guy that told me he lives on 3k US a month with full time maid, gardener and night watchman. Home already paid for and small Jeepeta already paid for.

I pegged living like the pig that I am at 5k a month US to also include a lot of travel both inside and outside the country.

Ken says he does well at 2.5k a month but without a car. Personally I own a car in the DR because I like to be free of transportation worries and will go to Cabarete for a drink at midnight if I feel like it. I will go to Santiago to visit AZB and have dinner with him and then just head back. I go often to Puerto Plata to take care of business or have dinner with Alberto at the drop of a hat. I stop and see different people on the way to different places. I go to Santiago to shop for building materials. I have gone to Boca Chica for a few days and went into S.D. to have dinner with Pib or Pib and Chiri and the then go back. A car is a necessity for "me" while it may not be for someone else.

A lot depends how you want to live. When I lived in Manhattan I had a car, motorcycle and a boat at the 79th St Boat Basin. You need to talk about the style of living you want to live. One mans basic is anothers LUX!

Escott
 

MikeKO

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Wasn't really intending QUITE this reposnse, and, I picked $30K pretty much off the top of my head. My question has been somewhat answered, and it seems to match my perception fairly well. The actual figure I'm working on is about $34K-$36K / year, and its just me (prob). I'm also very comfortable living off the local economy (been there done that). If I wanted to live like I'm in America, I'd stay here. But the dichotomy I refered to is one that has struck me since I started lurking, let alone posting a year or two ago.

Thanks
Mike
 

bobnoxious

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Jan 2, 2002
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I agree, MikeKO...

You ask a simple question, and a bunch of "helpful" folks give replys that make them sound like dicks. Well, they are. But in a good way (I think).

What they're saying is that $30K is adequate to achieve a reasonable lifestyle. You choose the lifestyle and, thus, determine the cost.

Keep your expectations low and the rest will follow. Ask any Dominican if they can live on DR$900,000 pesos per year and they will respond (after laughing): Si.

Face it, you're freaking rich if you make the jump to a third-world country with that cash flowing. Go for it. And if it doesn't work, you can afford to bail out.

Buena suerte.
 

jaymo517

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Oct 4, 2003
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Hello Escott

I'm new to DR1, please describe to me what your daily routine there, I live NYC (queens) and just wanted to here it from a person there living my dream.
 

Escott

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What I do?

That depends... I usually go to breakfast at Rockys in Sosua. Have a leisurely breakfast starting at about 7:30 am when they first open, check email on the internet and drink about 5 cups of coffee. Sit at a table at about 8-8:30am and have one out of 50 breakfasts on the menu (All under $3USincluding coffee. Usually many different people will join me or I join someone else. You never eat alone in Rockys even when you want to. Good way to pick up information on everything from new restaurants to women. I go to my massage place to schedual a massage that lasts one hour at between 3-5pm if I have an idea what the plans are for the day. I get a massage 1-3 times a week. It costs about 10$US. Go back to my condo at about 9:30 or 10am and hang out in my pool reading a book till 12-1pm laying on my raft. I don't answer phone calls.

Go into my Condo and prepare a plate of sliced cheeses, meats and maybe a hardboiled egg or two. Bring it out to my terrace and continue reading while noshing and check voice mail, return phone calls and accept phone calls.

By the time I finish eating and talking I will have made plans for dinner with friends either inviting or being invited. I may go to Cabarete to dine and hang out on the beach or go to on of several restaurants in Sosua that I enjoy.

Sometimes I go to Puerto Plata to have lunch with someone I invest money with. Maybe once a week and sometimes twice a week.

I try to schedual appointments with RE Brokers and sometimes attorneys to look at properties since I decided to enter slowly into that market starting in March. I will spend maybe an hour or two looking at stuff that they think I may be interested in buying. I tell them I am interested in what I consider "steals and deals". I have made offers on about 20 properties and have purchased 3 so far with 4 offers still on the table. I am still looking to accumulate more.

If I purchase a property I organize people to do labor in renovating the property. I also travel all over purchasing building materials, appliances, furniture etc and arrange for delivery to the job site. I am going to be looking into GAS refrigerators this trip instead of electric. The house I bought doesn't have back up electric yet and it is better to be prepared.

Sometimes all this is not what happens and I do something else:) Hard to say when I am not only NOT on a schedual but most times I don't even know what day of the week it is.

Hope my boring life helps you in some way.

I am back in NY now waiting on 2 real estate closings and one person paying off a mortgage I hold. I return to the DR on the 5th of November.
I am cold.

Escott
 

Criss Colon

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Listen to Ken,and listen to "Escott"!

They have no "Axe to Grind",and nothing to "sell" you!

House,furniture,car,and electricity are the big expenses here.Once you buy,or rent a place you will know how much that expense will be.Good furniture is expensive.Better to buy good quality,it will last a long time,and is cheap to re-apollster.Car is expensive,as Ken says,but necessary for "Escott" since he is out and about all day!Electricity is very very expensive,and intermittent.You will need a "UPS" system with batteries,a generator ,or better still, both!My electric bill has been as high as 300 US a month.Air conditioners, water heaters,and clothes irons are the "killers"!

Let me put my vote in for SOSUA! I have been there twice in the last few months,and am going to "ESCOTTS' Big Thanksgiving Dinner in November! There are a group of foreigners there who make you feel right at home! It is close to Puerto Plata and Cabarete,and only 45 minutes over the mountain to Santiago(I swear! Scott left my hotel at 0800 and we arrived in Santiago at 0845!)Robert's knuckles are still white!!I don't know what color his "knickers" were!

Due to the devaluation of the dominican peso over the last 8 years,I now make about 2000 US a month less than when I moved here,but I have 3 1/2 more children to provide for! I have a nice house that is paid for,and a 17 year old Ford Van for transportation.You can do just fine on 30,000 US a year! The 10 of us in my house do!

CC
 

Tony C

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Jan 1, 2002
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Re: I agree, MikeKO...

bobnoxious said:
Ask any Dominican if they can live on DR$900,000 pesos per year and they will respond (after laughing): Si.

Face it, you're freaking rich if you make the jump to a third-world country with that cash flowing. Go for it. And if it doesn't work, you can afford to bail out.

Buena suerte.

Sorry but I know of many Dominicans who would laugh and say you are crazy.
I am not Dominican and I wouldn't live on just $900K RD a year.
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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The issue about cost of living is that you choose your lifestyle. You can live very frugally, or you can live it up. It depends what you do, and what your lifestyle choices are.

We have a car, because we do business and need one. If I did not need a car, I could happily get along without one as 'public' transportation is easy and plentiful and cheap here. We live in a 'bigger' house because we choose to, and work a lot at home. If I did not need the space, I would be very happy in a modest place. We hang out on the beach and have meals out with friends - this is more costly than preparing meals at home. We try to balance socializing between home and out as these costs can mount up rapidly. Moral of the story is that you can live modestly and enjoy life, or live it up - all ranges of lifestyles are possible here.
 

Adrian Bye

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Sorry but I know of many Dominicans who would laugh and say you are crazy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know of "many Dominicans who would laugh at RD $900,000/year"?

Translated into a base US salary BEFORE taxes, thats US $48,000/year. Thats a salary a lot of Americans make. Over here it would put you in the top 2% of the country.

One of my friends has been living on RD$3000/month. She recently got a new job and is now excited to be making RD$6000/month.

RD $900,000/year is extremely good living for a Dominican.
 

Escott

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Adrian is Australian. Cut him some slack. LOL

I don't think I can ever live like a Dominican can. Dominicans earning 6k pesos a month make under 50- US a week. The one meal we had in Santiago with Nikko cost me more than that Adrian and I go to dinner EVERY night. No one is debating that people cant live on under 25 US dollars a week Adrian but it would be painful for someone other than a Dominican with a family to stay with and eat with in the DR and cant be put in the same style MOST expats live in.

I wonder if Ken could live on 6000 pesos a month even if he didn't have to pay maintenence on his condo which is more than that already. I certainly know I couldn't.

CC, I no longer drive like that since I now own the car I drive instead of rent it. Big difference in driving style. Even if I did drive it like the rental cars it wouldn't be different in a big Jeepeta anyway.

I would have guessed his knickers were brown but with Rob you can never tell since it is usually hard to rile him. I don't think I have seen him angry since the last time I owned up to logging on here as him. I have it down to a science now, I just don't own up to anything anymore. It keeps his blood pressure down:)
 

goatfarmnga

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Jun 24, 2003
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Real cost of living in the DR....

This is the living Forum..Yep I was trying to get info on living in the DR and found Timex's budget the most realistic info to date!

Edited by Tim H.:cool:

Timex does your housekeeper Live in? Also did you put the fence up for your dog? Just wondering if it is chain link or what? THanks for the info? Pam
 
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Timex

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May 9, 2002
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Maids and dogs

My wifes helper, starts at 7am, and leaves at 12pm, Mon-Sat.
She cleans outside the house first, then cleans inside the house.
She cleans all the window glass twice a week and does the laundry. She is not a Live-in, my wife does all the cooking, and helps her out on days there is alot of laundry, and with the windows.

Before anybody here wants to enlighten me, Yes I know that $ 2000. pesos @ month is alot, but that is my wife department, not mine.

My yard has a welded iron fence, on 2 sides, and an 8ft, concrete wall on the other 2, we have no problems with dogs getting in or out.

Any other ???'s
just ask.

Thanks
Tim H.