Cost of living in the DR - how much will we need?

[Bellamona]

Thank you all for making me feel welcome. Hope it's ok to address a few of you personally. Bellamona I'm impressed; the Capital is brutally expensive for me. You are doing really well. When I go, any problem is always big and needs to be resolved in dollars. I have become really tired of being pulled over by AMET (whether or not I did something wrong) and told to pay $5000; this does not happen in small towns. In the beginning, I was afraid; now I tell them to f themselves and give them 2 or 3 hundred pesos. This in my view is still plenty as Dominicans tell me they pay 50 or 100 pesos. The problem in the country seems to be that uneducated natives believe the streets in the US are paved with gold and that we come to their country with suitcases full of money.
Mike, you made me laugh because you said you saved that wine for yourself. Wherever I go in DR, "saving the wine for myself" means I put it in the top shelf of the closet behind my clothes so that no one else will see it. I will check but I think the stuff I buy is from Chile, about 200 pesos.
You must be right that posters on this site all come from different socio-economic backgrounds. I just became nervous because I heard people talking about millions of US dollars. When I am able to retire in the distant future, I will not have that much. I am hoping that before that I am able to find a way to develop some sort of reasonable income in DR. The problem that I see is that even when you earn money, it is very hard to collect. Why do Dominicans not feel bad or worry about the consequences of not paying. Here, in the US there are consequences, are there any in DR?
I work construction, actually air conditioning and electrical but have experience in all phases of construction. I have worked a bit in small towns in DR though mostly for free to help out my friends. The wage, if paid, seems to be $500 to $1200 daily when there is work. Perhaps you and AK are right, I need to investigate the tourist areas or big cities where the real money is generated.

I forgot I posted here and just came back to read this thread - that's what happens when it's 2 AM and you can't sleep...

Havingfun99- keep in mind that i don't drive so that cuts out a lot of expense for me and i don't go out a lot - when I do my roommate drives or we split a taxi or grab a concho, all cheap and no AMET to deal with - on occasion i rent a car and we head to Puerto Plata or somewhere. That's why I listed only my rent/electric/etc which are pretty much fixed. Groceries? I probably spend $4000RD/month on food and cleaning supplies; a little wine now and then with the ex-pat ladies I've met through DR1, some taxi fare, $500/month dry-cleaning... but those are variables I have not accounted for in my tally. Was just giving you my fixed monthly costs.

 

[track]

i agree, what a scam!!!!!!!!!!!11

I've notice that having kids make a big difference in DR.

I found this on the Internet, Carol Morgan School and Santiago Cristian School.

Admission Fees $52,700.00 ( Only once )
Registration Fees 35,600.00
Annual Tuition Fees 136,900.00
Support Fees 20,500.00
------------------------------
$245,700.00 DR
$7,226.00 / 9 Month = $802.94

https://www.edline.net/files/2297e71c610688ef3745a49013852ec4/Tuition_Fee_Brochure_2008-2009.pdf

Carol Morgan School, Santo Domingo

The Electric bill in DR for $30.00 US, keep dreaming! It's more like $300.00 US.

 

[Chirimoya]

We - family of 3 - did pay about US$30 a month mainly because we don't use a/c or clothes dryer, we also use low-energy lightbulbs as much as possible and try to use electricity as rationally as possible. Our bills always hovered round the RD$1,000 mark.

Prices of schools vary. We paid just US$1,500 per year at one of the Montessoris, a solid, good school, but not bilingual. The good bilingual schools are closer to the US$5,000 mark. Carol Morgan and one or two others are considerably more expensive.

 

[MikeFisher]

my monthly actual electricity bill in Punta Cana runs on 3000-3300 pesos now, went up a lot this year. we are a household of 3, no A/C, vents 24/7, i work nearly every night til 1 or 2 or 3, so the lights are on.
you can not an exclusive Carol Morgan school and it's rates as usual private schools fees on the island, that's completely out of facts. it would be the same to mention the fees of the most expensive swiss internat as usual for all european children in case of school fees.
spanish and bilingual private schools range all the way from $800.- - $5.000.- per kid per year plus inscription fees, plus books, plus transportation. within that range are very good schools but not every school is better because more expensive, so check with parents who have their kiddies at a specific school before you send your's there, too.
right Bellamona,
to have a own car makes a huge difference in monthly costspeople should not just see the price to purchase such.
Mike

 

[track]

my monthly actual electricity bill in Punta Cana runs on 3000-3300 pesos now, went up a lot this year. we are a household of 3, no A/C, vents 24/7, i work nearly every night til 1 or 2 or 3, so the lights are on.
you can not an exclusive Carol Morgan school and it's rates as usual private schools fees on the island, that's completely out of facts. it would be the same to mention the fees of the most expensive swiss internat as usual for all european children in case of school fees.
spanish and bilingual private schools range all the way from $800.- - $5.000.- per kid per year plus inscription fees, plus books, plus transportation. within that range are very good schools but not every school is better because more expensive, so check with parents who have their kiddies at a specific school before you send your's there, too.
right Bellamona,
to have a own car makes a huge difference in monthly costspeople should not just see the price to purchase such.
Mike

I agree, but he has two kids going to mid school/high school. He needs a bilingual school, else I can't think the outcome.
I know that's very expensive.
What is the cheapest bilingual school in the island ( DR Side)?

 

[MikeFisher]

he need to look for specific schools at the area he wanna life at.
are we talking st dgo or pop or la romana or punta cana?
Mike

 

[havinfun99]

Again still surprised by money spent by other posters. Perhaps I have adapted fairly well here. I am just over an hour from the big city - is this the campo? I don't feel like it. El Naranjal outside of San Jose de Ocoa or Tamboril outside of Santiago is the country for me. Here any small city is a city with the usual drug and other crime problems.
Perhaps I should just be happy that I still have free water and just started paying a 400 peso electric bill on contract.
My opinion on living here is that your "new Dominican family" or friends that you live with is the biggest determination of how much you need to survive. No matter how tough and smart you are, their influence - or constant bitching will affect the amount you spend on entertainment and various durable goods that matter more to them than to you.
Unfortunately you will always hear "you are an americano; you have to buy a 50,000 peso living room or dining room set." Unfortunately, here in DR no one ever says buy some new tools for your business; they say let's buy some rum and get new clothes.

 

[MikeFisher]

ha ha,
hey, havinfun,
if me and the wifey buy a new set for the living room or tv or what ever, we never ever ask the family for that,
we just go around and buy what we like and what of course is within our budget, the family can see that on their next visit or may hear about that after it's been purchased on the phone.
exactly like back home.
nice for you to hear about the 400 pesos electricity bill/contract,
i sorrily pay close to $100.- per month, no AC or such high consuming machines attached, but that varies a lot between different areas of course.
and there are a lot of expenses not everybody has, for example a car.
some do not have such on their budget and do not need a car to go to work, others do. a car makes a big difference.
i drive a 1998 honda accord and need it road up and down all day long to run my business, so my monthly gasoline bill only for that car is always at least over $400.- a month, while others can live with that the whole month or do not even have more than that as their monthly salary.
so there's nothing surprising,
living costs depend everywhere on the planet on your living style, on what somebody can efford to pay for, on available resources, expectations aso aso aso.
to calculate the needed money for somebody who moves over here that person first should inform about available money/expected living style/stuff he or she names 'basic/needed, then we can answer with numbers to do so.
Mike

 

[Ceasar Garcia]

I agree you can live good and cheap here. I am single also. I have a beautiful 4 bedroom 3 bath APT. two blocks from the ocean in the capital.
10,000 pesos per month
1,500 tops for my elect.
2,000 cel. 500 min. per month
2,000 internet good speed
1,000 sky ( cable )
8,000 food
24,500 total that = 700 U.S.
Of course I have a car changed over to propane. It all depends on what kind of lifestyle you choose to live. I only go out to eat maybe twice per month. Not because of the cost because, I am a chef and, I am to pickey.

 

[MikeFisher]

ha ha ha
hey Garcia,
yeap, that is around what i would have assumed to be nec. for a single guy in st dgo, my guess would've been 1KUS per month, so we are not far apart.
but man, as a Chef i would assume you buy your needed fridge refill for a bit more than 8000 pesos per month,
'cause Chefs are picky, ha ha.
as a single guy in PC here on the east i would count on the same amount of money, 1KUS per month, but not in a 4 bedroom app on the beach, more a 1 or 2 bedroom app close to a beach.
of course costs for a car count extra and depend a lot on the kind of car somebody needs/want's to maintain.
Mike

 

[havinfun99]

Hey guys. Back with more opinions. I agree with Mike 8000 for food in the capital sounds light for a chef. In the country, I buy oranges for one or maybe 1.5 pesos each, bainita at 10 pesos per pound and quality center cut pork chops for 62. These are my prices (week of Nov1) because I buy some quantity from same people. Are these prices available in SD? When I am in DR, usually for a month or two at a time, I send soy sauce, worcestershire, mustard, hot chocolate, Tang, dish soap, and other necessities by box first. I hope all of you expats that no longer travel have somebody back in your country to ship you stuff. If not, find someone. Maybe I would even help sometimes. Some things are just too expensive on the island. Mike, I could no longer find the 200 peso wine I liked.
Cable here in small town is 500 pesos and soso. Need to ride pasola, gas for car too expensive. Phone service Viva 600 pesos with rollover minutes. Internet in your house too pricey for me; I prefer to pay 20 per hour. And the 5 gal bottle of water costs 30 with home delivery. ( I have visited the bottling plant and seen many filters and the uv light system.) Hey us gringos can learn!

 

[MikeFisher]

yeap,
i couldn?t find the 200 pesos wine myselg neither again, ha ha.
the same bottles are now on 295 pesos.
house delivered 5gls waterbottles are here 40 pesos each.
my internet is so expensive because claro-codetel does not have lines available where i live, so i rely on the wireless service of the only available company and i need the internet here at home 24/7
Mike

 

[rickboz]

Health Insurance

What types of private health insurance are available and at what cost ?

We have been researching international health insurance companies and have heard some general things about local insurance. We have also been told to choose our doctor and find out which insurance they accept.

What have your experiences been like with private health insurance ?

Has any used Hospiten or Clinic Assist, also associated with Hospiten ?

Does anyone know what health insurance they accept ?

Anyone have any current information about private health care in Samana and Las Terrenas ?

Be well....Thanks.

 

[MikeFisher]

i use ARS Humano, the Platinum Plan, they also include Hospiten.
around $70.- per month per person.
they have different plans for lower monthly rates also available.
Mike

 

[rickboz]

Thanks Mike. Who offers that ?

 

[MikeFisher]

the Lad which takes care about mine is named Aracelis Diechi,
her phone number is 809-850-9555
she always sends me my bills per Metro,
i pay the insurances by deposit on Banco Popular, easy and hassle free.
rates may vary a bit, there are discounts if you insure specific minimum numbers of persons.
i have on my name actually 7 persons.
Mike

 

[rickboz]

Thanks much !

 

[JoseAlfaya]

If you need realstate information

Agreed on the investing side...it appears that a common theme here is to rent, not buy. Thanks for the input.

Hello bltkmt,

I don't totally agree that renting is necessarily the best way to go right now, although is not a bad idea to get to know the country and to find out if the DR really is where you and your family want to leave. I believe that if you have cash to pay for a property there are currently lots of opportunities in DR, with a high potential of being a great investment. The advantage of having the cash to pay for the property is that all of the banks in the DR want at least a 30% down, and I believe the cheapest mortgage rate right now for Americans is about an 8 to 9 APR . Let me know if you need any help finding a house for rent, or buy in the Punta Cana/Bavaro area. I am a New Englander from Spain that have been leaving her for about 2 months now.
My email josealfaya21@gmail.com,

Cheers

 

[JoseAlfaya]

Hello bltkmt,

I don't totally agree that renting is necessarily the best way to go right now, although is not a bad idea to get to know the country and to find out if the DR really is where you and your family want to leave. I believe that if you have cash to pay for a property there are currently lots of opportunities in DR, with a high potential of being a great investment. The advantage of having the cash to pay for the property is that all of the banks in the DR want at least a 30% down, and I believe the cheapest mortgage rate right now for Americans is about an 8 to 9 APR . Let me know if you need any help finding a house for rent, or buy in the Punta Cana/Bavaro area. I am a New Englander from Spain that have been leaving her for about 2 months now.
My email josealfaya21@gmail.com,

Cheers

 

[pedrochemical]

On the original subject - I have always spent roughly 110% of what I make.
No matter what I make.
No matter where I have lived.

This is not a country in which to be broke, but some of those "best things in life" that are allegedly "free" are in abundance here.