Dominican Republic # 91 cheapest place to retire

[william webster]

Imagine, Charlise says the electricity in PQ is the same....

PQ generates a ton of hydro electric power and sells it to NYC....
what a crime to have such high costs.

The dam that generates that power holds back a lake 1/3 the size of France..... my friend built that dam.

14,000 sq miles

 

[bob saunders]

They obviously didn't see my electric bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My kids could go to a great public school for free in Ma.
Gasoline is $2 a gallon in some US cities.

Worthless info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

"Apples & 'Naranjas"

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

5 years ago, before my move to DR, I was living in an appartment with 2bedrooms, 1 bathroom, for a rent of 625$ /month, no utilities. Add 100$ for electricity, 80$ for cable/internet, 60$ for phone/cell.
Car/house insurances, gaz and car maintenance, winter tires and clothes, and food... Then you add the Vet bills, at least 150$ per cat for just a friking visit and vaccine. I had 4 cats.

On a monthly average, before going out or buying anything for myself, it was like 1,800$ per month flying out the window.

Now here I live in a 6 bedrooms/6 bathrooms house with pool, gardener, cleaning lady, for about 1000$ a month, utilities included. Ok, I share the house with my sister, but even so, my quality of life does not compare to before.

And Quebec has the cheapest electricity in Canada , followed by British Columbia and Ontario being the most expensive. My electricity bill in Canada averages around 70 dollars a month except in the summer months were it climbs due to AC to 150 plus,. Utilities around 200 every three months, but that includes water, sewer, garbage and recycling ( very good service with garbage container provided by the city) and very drinkable water. Great fiber-optic internet phone cable
140 per month ( includes package to phone unlimited long distance to China for my son), Gas for the car - lots of gas taxes, food - very expensive, but lots of specials that make a big difference. House insurance 700 per year. Booze, more expensive but infinite variety. My oldest son lives in Vancouver area (Whiterock)and he says he accepts the higher price for living in paradise. Me, if I never have to shovel snow or put on winter clothing for the rest of my life I be happier.

 

[Derfish]

76.352% of statistics are false.
The others are fabrications which align with random possibility.....

Wrong, that is 83.245% false!

 

[Derfish]

One cannot find an efficiency apartment in the Miami area that could be rented for my entire Social Security check. I know I tried, but here that same check covers everything even the costs of a live in lady.
Der Fish

 

[drstock]

When I went back to the UK last year I was shocked by the cost of everything and delighted that I now live in the DR. A night out at a country pub including a few beers and a meal would cost at least double what you would pay in a tourist town like Cabarete. For smokers, a pack of 20 cigarettes is nearly 700 pesos. Anything involving labour, like car or home maintenance well over double the price. To rent a place equivalent to where I live now - at least double. And as this article is about places to retire, what about nursing care? I could get about 10 Dominican ladies to look after me in my old age for the price of one in the UK!

Ridiculous article.

 

[ziny]

whats your costs on both please

 

[drstock]

whats your costs on both please

Both what?

 

[RobFenton]

just shows how silly these list To live in England I would have to pay mu housekeeper, my cook and my gardener more than $60,000 with oncosts,probaly more. My wine bill would triple,my petrol bill triple. my income tax double and try eating out at a decent restaurant..more than 150 dollars per person ..The cost is what drives the english to the Dordogne

The cost of living in the UK is ridiculous and far, far higher than DR. One of the many reasons why I am making the move to DR.

 

[william webster]

Agreed Rob.....
how some of these posters find RD expensive, I don't know how that works.

I live mostly (8 mos) in RD and split my time elsewhere between the Philadelphia area and a sleepy community on the Great Lakes.

Hands down, RD is the cheapest port of call for me.

As others have said, the monthly costs of housing and staff there are less than the fixed costs of either of my other options.

My annual taxes on Lake Huron would be enough to run the RD house, staffed , for a year.
OK, waterfront property carries a high rate, so does power in recreational areas BTW.

 

[dv8]

well, the first criteria is:
Local purchasing power index: Measures the relative purchasing power of a typical salary in that country, compared to New York City. A lower purchasing power buys fewer goods, while a higher purchasing power buys more.
the average salary in DR does not really go that far hence the low position on the list.

i'm surprised, thou, that poland fared so well. why was it considered as retirement destination at all? i wanna retire to poland, said no one ever.

 

[Ecoman1949]

My decision to stay on a resort for the winter months at $1200 a month for everything certainly makes living here cheaper than living in Canada. However, when I buy property and a vehicle here, I expect the scales to tip the other way. I have no mortgage and annual taxes on my lake property are $240 a year, vehicle and house insurance amount to $750 a year, add in groceries, gas, electricity, and social activities and my monthly living costs in Canada are about $2000 a month. I suspect living full time in the DR will cost a lot more plus I have to carry extra health insurance, pay more for gas, electricity, citizenship fees and taxes, etc. I currently drive a fully equipped all wheel drive vehicle. A similar vehicle in the DR will cost 30% more and insurance is more expensive. Factor in the US-Canada exchange and I will be taking a 30% hit on my spending power.

 

[william webster]

ECOMan

When you get residency, you can bring a vehicle (> 5 yrs old, owned for a year). Use that advantage.
If you need another in Canada, buy one there at your normal rate.

Those taxes are low.... Nfld, right ?? or somewhere else in the hinterland (no offense)
Taxes in RD aren't too bad.
Insurance will be more - I do not insure my house, just cars...... mine are about $900 each a year.

That Can/USA exchange rate will haunt you for a long time.....
Watch it, when it gets better - convert a bunch......maybe all, why not ?

Sometimes the better choice is to rent housing.
You need to weigh all factors.

Don't be daunted - you are going, or have gone, international.
That in itself raises spectres.....

You'll figure it out........
Good luck

 

[dv8]

also, bear in mind that in case of maurico his offspring drags him down financially. decent schools in SD are costly while back home they are free. in many european countries the governments offer assistance to families with children regardless of their financial standing.

comparing to my pals in europe i do better on basics: large house, SUV, maid. but they can do lots of short holiday trips to different european countries when i cannot afford to visit nearby caribbean islands.

 

[DRob]

Interesting. A few things:

As others (most recently dv8) have observed, the results are calculated in a way that's a bit nonsensical. The author is comparing the costs (we don't know if it's the average or median, which are two different things) of life in one U.S. city vs. dozens of countries.
As with everywhere else in the world, certain cities cost more than others. With the exception of San Francisco (and increasingly, DC) NYC is the most expensive municipality to live in in the country. Hardly a place where a retiree on a budget would look.

Likewise, the author compares, say, the entire nation of Brazil to life in NYC. Suffice to say, it's more expensive in Rio than in some exurb outside of some small city in the interior. Similarly, Casa de Campo may be a bit pricey, but it's unfair to compare Manhattan to Moca in terms of cost of living.

Anyway, DR long has seemed a pretty good deal for those looking to live on an island without feeling isolated by distance (like with Hawaii) or constricted by small as with New Providence Island/Nassau in the Bahamas. For example, my cleaning lady in ATL hits me for $100 per cleaning, which is quite a deal. Meantime, stories abound of 5x a week cleaning for a monthly cost of $200. The lawn guy is $100 a month for two visits. And private school can easily hit $25k, not including transportation and extracurriculars.
And, Atlanta is one of the more inexpensive big cities in the U.S. I imagine having 2k a month for a rental (which is about what you'd pay on a $350k mortgage) would get you something fairly nice. Further, nobody backs a fruit and veggie truck up to my house. And, I'm hours from anything resembling a beach or mountain range.

There are upsides and downsides. Yes, the power and water are issues, but not insurmountable (i.e., everyone on here has given advice on inverters and/or generators. I stay in Atlanta because I enjoy the culture of very much, and I love being in my home country. So at most, I'd probably just be a snowbird. But, done right, living in DR is certainly more than affordable.

 

[william webster]

yup........$100 a visit her for housecleaning.....Canada.... USA about the same

450 a day in RD...... $10... and I pay upscale.... most/many pay less than I do.

 

[Ecoman1949]

ECOMan

When you get residency, you can bring a vehicle (> 5 yrs old, owned for a year). Use that advantage.
If you need another in Canada, buy one there at your normal rate.

Those taxes are low.... Nfld, right ?? or somewhere else in the hinterland (no offense)
Taxes in RD aren't too bad.
Insurance will be more - I do not insure my house, just cars...... mine are about $900 each a year.

That Can/USA exchange rate will haunt you for a long time.....
Watch it, when it gets better - convert a bunch......maybe all, why not ?

Sometimes the better choice is to rent housing.
You need to weigh all factors.

Don't be daunted - you are going, or have gone, international.
That in itself raises spectres.....

You'll figure it out........
Good luck

Thanks Bill. I appreciate your advice. Already put some of it in action. Have US money account in place. The reason my house taxes are so low is I lease my lakefront property from a residential association. $100 a year for a 9500 sq.ft. Lot and $140 a year for full time residents which covers road maintainence and snow clearance. Only place of its kind in NL. Anywhere else I would pay up to $5000 in annual taxes if I owned lakefront property. I have friends in the DR who rent and own and say citizenship is not really necessary. They stay six to eight months annually and just pay the overstay fees. I'll weigh the pros and cons of that prior to moving down permanently.

Btw. The best of Irish luck with your cancer fight. I've had three cancerous growths removed from my body over the past fifteen years. One from my lip and two from my back. All caught through early diagnosis. I wear long sleeve SPF 50 clothing, sun block, Tilly hat, etc. Most of my sun exposure came from years of environmental field work, a lot of it in coastal environments. If anything, your quick diagnosis and rapid follow up treatment in the DR has made me much more comfortable with moving there.

 

[ROLLOUT]

but seriously, syria? wtf.

I had to do a double take on that one too.

 

[RobFenton]

ECOMan

When you get residency, you can bring a vehicle (> 5 yrs old, owned for a year). Use that advantage.

Hi William,

That's interesting. I was not aware of this option.
I was going to sell my car here in UK before coming over, but this information is making me reconsider.

My car is a 2013 (63 plate - which only makes sense to a Brit) Mazda CX-5 which I've had since new (i.e. 2.5 years).
Would this meet the criteria you mentioned above? And if so, can you point me in the direction of where I can get all the specific information about this please?

Many thanks,

Rob

 

[william webster]

ECO
My diagnosis was in the US but the followup, excision of the margins and everything else going forward was in the DR.

THe care was speedy and good.


DR just doesn't do skin cancer well, according to my oncologist.
This is the first serious issue I have had... other pre basal cell removals, but nothing of real concern.

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[william webster]

Hi William,

That's interesting. I was not aware of this option.
I was going to sell my car here in UK before coming over, but this information is making me reconsider.

My car is a 2013 (63 plate - which only makes sense to a Brit) Mazda CX-5 which I've had since new (i.e. 2.5 years).
Would this meet the criteria you mentioned above? And if so, can you point me in the direction of where I can get all the specific information about this please?

Many thanks,

Rob

Yes it will work, your car.
Each residency applicant is entitled to a container of personal effects which can include a car.
I can't cite the exact piece of gov't info that says this, but someone will help out.

If I had it to do again, I would have separated my and my wife's application...
brought another container at a later date.

ECO, you may not need citizenship but residency is important -
driving, health care.... look at the threads.
Long term overstaying, especially chronic overstaying is on the radar many say.
I would say get the residency.