I expect to get, on very short notice, an offer from my employer to work in Santo Domingo for a year. We are now quickly trying to decide if this will work from a financial point of view (we love the DR so there is no problem there).
I have a husband and 11-year-old daughter who would come with me. If we go we want to be able to live comfortably in a nice 3 br-apartment or house in a nice neighborhood. We start off with a total income of 5000 USD net. My husband can maybe pull in another 1000 USD a month but we could not count on it. We would want to send our daughter to a very good school (in English) but my employer pays 75 % of the fee so that does not add too much.
Does anyone have any thoughts/advice on this? I guess the cost of house/apartment is one of the main questions.
Depending on where you plan to rent in Santo Domingo, rent is as variable as any other country based on going market rates.
Rest assured that you can find a nice apartment in some of the best areas for less than US$1,200 a month! That goes for houses as well!
Cost of living in SD is in fact cheaper than living in coastal (tourist areas) or remote communities in the DR. Food and clothes can be found at bargain prices there.
When considering moving to SD you must understand that part of your home expenses will be paid for, yet most of the time missing most of the time!
That goes for water and electricity. Depending on your housing selection you can assure yourself of both 24/7/365...
Make sure that the apartment is set-up with an inversor (a battery backup power plant), which will make sure blackouts are not going to be a factor in your overall lifestyle/budget. Another important part is a water holding tank for the apt or Cisterna for a home (for all the water needs within the apt or house).
Most upscale apartments within the metro area are set with these important things. Now if they aren't you'll be looking to spend some cash every month on gasoline for the electrical power generator (that you'll have to purchase and have hooked-up to the existing electrical panel), as well as buying water tanks to place within premises when the local utilities are out (which is common).
The most noticeable difference between an upper class area and middle class/upper middle class one will be on noise/quietness, traffic, services (like electrical and water), overall looks.
As some long time expats residing in the DR have come to learn, living within some of the middle class/upper middle class areas saves you a good buck each month, that's without reducing in any major factor in your quality of living.
As posted above Carol Morgan is the overall best (and most expensive) school to send your child to. If your employer is going to be paying 75% of the cost, that's a huge yes-yes to opt for.
Since your plan of stay/work is for one (1) year only, you can go ahead and try living the upper class standard and see if eventually you could make the move to the DR in the future. If you want to live in the DR and stretch your buck as much as possible, going for the middle/upper middle class standard of living might be the best thing to do!
Living on wages of DOP$ 180,000.00 a month is not lower middle class at all...
Your job pay is at a rate most expats already living here in the DR would like to be at.