I need all the adivce and help I can get from you good people.

Veljko

New member
Aug 31, 2005
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Hello everyone,

My name is Veljko and I am from Serbia and Montenegro. recently I came uppon some articles from a man from my country who lived in DR for nine months. Lived and worked and the overall experience was great for him... Adventure and a lot of new experiences.

My life long dream is to live and work at least for some tim e in a tropical paradise and reading these articles only added oil to that fire of mine...
And now I am becoming increasingly interested in posibilities and ways for me to come to DR and stay there for at least for some time...
That is where I need your help adivce and experience.

First, for my country I don;t need a visa for DR and I can stay up to three months but I read that getting a residence permit is not a problem?

Second, would it be possible for me (and my girfriend) to find some kind of job, bar, restaurand, shop, something that will finance us while there. What money could I expect.

And let me add, I don;t have to live in a villa, drive a jaguar etc... for me it is enough to be in carribean and have enough money for basic living, food, bills etc...

Could I rent a small apartment and how much is it? What costs come along with it?

And of corse when planning something like this you have to think about possibly not finding any work, or not finding it for some time so I would like to know how much a month would I need to live in DR (rent, food... very basic life, low cost). So when you tell me how much money I would need to survive then I can say ok I am taking enough for four months and if I don;t find work and nothing works out, I have a return ticket and I can go back...

In adition to this you probably know what else is important to know.

Do any of you guys know any business owners who would hire me and my girlfriend. I speak English and a bit of German and she speaks also English and French. Is knowledge of Spanish an absolute necesity in order to find some work?

By the way, I am a graphic/web designer, lived and studied in California and New York... but now I'm back in Seriba ex Yugoslavia...


Thank you very much and I hope that I will be able to come and live in the paradise for a while. At least it will be good adventure.

Best regards
 
Last edited:

planner

.............. ?
Sep 23, 2002
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YOu have come to the right place for information. So, to answer your questions:

First go search these forums. Read everything you can find regarding your own questions and concerns.

Then, when you have read everything you can find, come back and ask us what you didn't find answers to.

We will be happy to help you out!
 

juanita

Bronze
Apr 22, 2004
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Welcome on board Veljko!

If neither of you speak Spanish than I would suggest going in the tourist area, like Sosua, where you could move around even with little Spanish knowledge.
 

Veljko

New member
Aug 31, 2005
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OK... I've searched board for two days, and saw many confronting replies and posts. It all comes down to what "basic life" is for someone... One says you need at least 5000 $ per month, other people say you need 15000 per month and so on... If I had 5000 $ per month I would sit here and live like a king, and probably after a couple of months with that sallary I would rent a space shuttle and go to the moon. That's how big 5000 $ is here...

Not all people think of comming to DR for same reasons, If I were a business with family of corse I would want to have a car, pool, two bathrooms, maid, eat out every other night etc etc... And probably wouldn' accept living with less luxury than I already have.
Also if I were retiring in DR, again I wouldn't come to enjoy the sun and palm trees because at trhat age that wouldn;t interest me as much as it does now... I would also expect certain comodities... nice house etc...

But in my case, where I am al;ready living day by day, what I am looking for is a little adventure and if it turnes out to be something more great. So drives me to DR is see, beach, palm trees, new people, new experiences and so on. And of course I don;t want that at a cost of starving to death or getting beat up by some locals in a bad neighbourhood or something.
You have to understand people from these parts of wurope rarely have a chance to see some exotic part of the world, and to me DR is exotic, so just being in DR would be a great adventure for me even if I don;t have a pool, 1000 channel cable tv, 4x4 jeep etc...

I would like to come for some time, rent an apartment as soon as possible and try to find work so I could finance that adventure from the money I earn there at least finance part of living there.

I don't want to die hungry over there but I don;t have to eat steak every day, I don;t eat it at home anyway...

So I want to come for adventure, and try living there, find work and try to finance life from that work. Both me and my girlfriend would work.

Apartmen can be very small, a studio in a decent neighbourhood.

And do you know for how long can I stay when I initially enter DR? I read on the board that illegal work and overstaying is pretty "normal" and common? Is that right and can I count on being able to let's say stay for up to six months without being deported or something like that?

Now that I explained my situatiuon I hope you can give me some info on how much would I need a month for the lifestyle I described above.

Thanks

Best regards.
 

Tony Cabrera

New member
Sep 24, 2002
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Veljko said:
OK... I've searched board for two days, and saw many confronting replies and posts. It all comes down to what "basic life" is for someone... One says you need at least 5000 $ per month, other people say you need 15000 per month and so on... If I had 5000 $ per month I would sit here and live like a king, and probably after a couple of months with that sallary I would rent a space shuttle and go to the moon. That's how big 5000 $ is here...

Not all people think of comming to DR for same reasons, If I were a business with family of corse I would want to have a car, pool, two bathrooms, maid, eat out every other night etc etc... And probably wouldn' accept living with less luxury than I already have.
Also if I were retiring in DR, again I wouldn't come to enjoy the sun and palm trees because at trhat age that wouldn;t interest me as much as it does now... I would also expect certain comodities... nice house etc...

But in my case, where I am al;ready living day by day, what I am looking for is a little adventure and if it turnes out to be something more great. So drives me to DR is see, beach, palm trees, new people, new experiences and so on. And of course I don;t want that at a cost of starving to death or getting beat up by some locals in a bad neighbourhood or something.
You have to understand people from these parts of wurope rarely have a chance to see some exotic part of the world, and to me DR is exotic, so just being in DR would be a great adventure for me even if I don;t have a pool, 1000 channel cable tv, 4x4 jeep etc...

I would like to come for some time, rent an apartment as soon as possible and try to find work so I could finance that adventure from the money I earn there at least finance part of living there.

I don't want to die hungry over there but I don;t have to eat steak every day, I don;t eat it at home anyway...

So I want to come for adventure, and try living there, find work and try to finance life from that work. Both me and my girlfriend would work.

Apartmen can be very small, a studio in a decent neighbourhood.

And do you know for how long can I stay when I initially enter DR? I read on the board that illegal work and overstaying is pretty "normal" and common? Is that right and can I count on being able to let's say stay for up to six months without being deported or something like that?

Now that I explained my situatiuon I hope you can give me some info on how much would I need a month for the lifestyle I described above.

Thanks

Best regards.


Veljko, they are talking about, peso not US Dollar,(1500, 5,000)
 

Veljko

New member
Aug 31, 2005
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No, no... these particualr posts were in dollars... it doesn;t really matter what the currency is, the ammounts people are talking about differ a lot...
and I would like to know in my case approximately what would I need every month...

Thanks...
 

carina

Silver
Mar 13, 2005
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Costs of living are individual, depends on where you live, what you require to call a living. Having kids, wanting internet etc etc.

Basically:

North coast/Puerto Plata:
Small apartment 1 bedroom, furnished. Very basic. Around 6000-7000 per month. Sometimes electricity is included, sometimes not. If not add another 1000 appr.

Work.
Barwork/ restaurantwork. Possible. Pays about 4000-5000 pesos per month.
Tourism sales, vacation clubs etc. Possible. Only commissionbased salaries.
In other words anything from 0 - up.

Other costs:
Transportation: Public cars around 10 within the city, motoconchos (motorcycle taxi ) 15 pesos within the city, 20 longer. 35-50 pesos to Playa Dorada tourist complex.

Food.
Depends on what you?re eating.
Super market: a small beer 29 pesos, 1 libra cheese around 100-150 pesos,
1 packet of juice / to mix/ around 10 pesos, 4 apples 50 pesos, bread 20-50 pesos depending etc etc.
 

juanita

Bronze
Apr 22, 2004
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"And do you know for how long can I stay when I initially enter DR?" According to the tourist card you receive coming in, you can stay "legally" for 15 days, after that you will have to pay a small amount on your way out. If you are here for a short time (less than a year), than I would not worry about getting legal papers to work. Nobody will bother you about paper work! ;)
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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juanita said:
"And do you know for how long can I stay when I initially enter DR?" According to the tourist card you receive coming in, you can stay "legally" for 15 days, after that you will have to pay a small amount on your way out. If you are here for a short time (less than a year), than I would not worry about getting legal papers to work. Nobody will bother you about paper work! ;)
Domincan companies are permitted by Dominican Labor Law to employ foreign nationals up to 20% of their workforce.
 

juanita

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Apr 22, 2004
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HOWMAR said:
Domincan companies are permitted by Dominican Labor Law to employ foreign nationals up to 20% of their workforce.

I don't think that Dominican Labor Law officers will waist their time going to small businesses around the beach area to see the % of foreigners working there. The OP only wants to come down for a while and get a job that will feed him. We are not talking about a corporate job here! ;)
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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juanita said:
I don't think that Dominican Labor Law officers will waist their time going to small businesses around the beach area to see the % of foreigners working there. The OP only wants to come down for a while and get a job that will feed him. We are not talking about a corporate job here! ;)
I agree with you. I only was adding my comment so that he kenw that the Law did permit him to be hired. From your post telling him not to worry about gettting legal papers to work he may have thought he had to be employed off the books.
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
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Veljko: Don't pay attention to those figures of 5,000 USD a month. I've said it before that people who say that are completely exaggerating what they actually spend.

For someone wanting to live the way you mentioned I think if you could get together around 4,000 USD that would suffice for the first 4-6 months. This will not be living rich, but confortable enough. You may even need less than that, but you want to make sure to bring a little extra as you will probably over spend the first month or two until you get familiar with the country.

Personally I think you best bet is to come to Santo Domingo. If you know enough English (which seems to be the case) then you can probably teach English as a Second Language in a place like Instituto Cultural Dominico Americano. They are always hiring and if you get enough hours to teach you can make enough to support yourself and your wife until you get something better. Santo Domingo will be more expensive to live in than a smaller town, but you will have a lot more opportunities over there. For instance in my hometown of Cotui a two bedroom appartment in a nice neighborhood goes for about 3500 pesos a month (about 125 USD). The same appartment will cost you around 12,000 pesos a month in Santo Domingo, but you probably will not find work in a small town like mine.

So I say why not? If you're young and have nothing to lose other than your time, then get yourself as informed as possible and go for it. You may find that The DR is not what you expected (a lot of people do) or that it truly IS paradise (it for some people)...either way you'll not know until you try it.
 

Veljko

New member
Aug 31, 2005
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Greta answers, and more questions?

Great answers. Just what I was looking for... to have examples of costs...

Now these ammounts are more reasonable to me. It's no more 5000 $ a month but "a little" less :)

CARINA,
Somehow I am most interested in Puerto Plata,.

So 1 bedroom apartment might be arround 200 - 250 $ right? How do I go about finding apartment like that. Do I ask for help here when the time comes? Can I get contacts here and recomendations? Is it possible to find apartment quickly, I wouldn;t want to give too much money to hotels...
And is that price for apartment in the decent neighbourhood in Puerto Plata?
As for transportation, is it easy to get arround? And are those prices fixed, I mean it only matters if it's in or out of city not how far or long...

As for work I have experience in restaurants and bars from New York so I guess I could look for something like that to earn money. Do expats own some places, are they in general willing to hire someone like me? And how do I go about finding a job. Is it the usual from place to place asking if they need workers or are there maybe some agencies or something?

JUANITA,
So I can relax and not worry about papers, I can just come and stay for some time without worrying that I will be arrested or something? I guess employers then don't ask to see papers in order to give me job (restaurant, bar)? This is pretty important to me because I get goose bumpe when thinking and dealing with all the birocrasy and legal issues.

Now with these numbers my adventure looks very possible and realistic.

Everyone else, please feel free to drop in and give me any other data that can be usefull for me. Trust me for someone who is in the planing phase of something like this taht I plan even the most stupid things are valuable info.

For example if my girlfriend and I feel rich one night and decide to go out for a dinner to an average restaurant, how much would that cost (no alcohol)? :)

Another life long wish of mine is to learn scuba diving and get a license. Are there any schools down there and how much are courses?

Thanks very much and sorry for all these questions but I like to know thing in advance.

Best regards good people.
 

HOWMAR

Silver
Jan 28, 2004
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The two of you can live here comfortably for $1,000 a month. For the approximately 29,000 pesos you can spend 5-6000 pesos per month rent, food (including eating out 1-2 times a week) of 6000 per month, transportation (utilizing guaguas, public taxis and motochnochos) of 1,000 per month, health insurance 1,000 per month, utilities 1,000 per month. This leaves This leaves about 14,000 pesos per month for personal expenses and entertainment. You won't be living fancy, but clean and safe. The 15,000 for the fixed expenses can be earned here by most, especially if you are two wage earners.
 

Veljko

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Aug 31, 2005
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Suarezn

Suarezn,

Thanks a lot for your reply. It is very encouraging. I loved your idea about teaching english but do I need to be fluent in spanish in order to get the job?
Beofre I come, I would like to take some intensive spanish course so I would know the basics but far from fluent. Could I even learn spanish when I come, what are the options?

You said santo Domingo is easier to find work, what's the case with Puerto Plata (somohow I stick to this place, I don;t know why...)

You said that 4000 USD would be enough (for the life I described) for about 4-6 months. Is that just with those 4000, I mean withouth adidional money that I would earn at work?

Since I am a graphic designer, with a lot of experience in web designwould it be possible to find some gigs over there or even a job?
What is the situation with internet, it might be usefull for me because ti would allow me to do some freelance work from there.


Thanks, for the great reply.

P.S. Yes I am young as well as my girlfriend and I think this would be a great spice in our lives. I don't have a full time job, I'm freelancing so I'm not loosing on that front.
 

juanita

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Apr 22, 2004
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Veljko, you should take a look at Escott (in Sosua) and Carina?s (in Puerto Plata) blogs, to give you an idea about their life in both cities! ;)
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
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Veljko: I said 4000 could cover your expenses for 4-6 months, in Santo Domingo, without additional money. Again this is living without a lot of luxuries, but confortable enough.

You do need to be open minded to embark in something like this and understand that The DR is a developing country with many issues that you may not be accustomed to (i.e. power goes out almost every day, trash on the streets, hot weather, etc...). On ther other hand if you don't get stressed out by those things then you may have a great time.

You don't need to know spanish to teach English at places like ICDA...but if you do come down you should make an effort to lear it, as it would make your life so much more enjoyable.

As for being a graphic designer I couldn't tell you if you could make a living or even if you can find a gig. If you do find a job don't expect to make much money from this. For instance I checked ALDABA and there are a few jobs, but the pay ranges from about 8,000 to about 15,000 pesos/month.
 

carina

Silver
Mar 13, 2005
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As for apartments, work etc you need to be here.
In this culture mostly everything is done face-to-face and now.
If it is done ma?ana, it means it will probably never happen.
No one will guarantee you work if you are still in your country, even here people will say to you they have work, and in the end there is no work.

Apartments, same, you need to come here, deside where you want to live. Check in at a cheap hotel for a week or two while searching.
There are no signs up anywhere, there are no agencies ( talking about pop ).
You need to go around, ask, and one thing will lead to another.

Have an open mind, build step by step. Keep some savings for a rainy day.
Work might show up on your second day here, or after a month...
;)
 

Veljko

New member
Aug 31, 2005
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airline tickets from europe?

:) Yeah I read about "no problem" already somewhere on the board.

I came across couple of posts discussing airline tickets. Some say you must have return ticket some say you don;t need it? What is the situation regarding this? Do I need to have fixed return date and how long it should be from the time of arrival (since someone told me that uppon entry I get a visa for 15 days then It's logical that the return is in 15 days too)?
If I have a return ticket could I change it down there to a later date?

And is anyone from Europe and do you know any good deals from Europe? I called Air France and they said arround 1000 euros (1220 $) that sounds a lot to me... Do you know any better combinations?

And also if someone could say for a first timeer like me is it absolutely better to come and live in Santo Domingo or I could go to smaller places, Puerto Plata? One of the reasons I would come is to get away from the large city for a while, but if it's easier for job and apartments then I would probably come to capital. But I guess prices are higher there too?

Thanks