DR is one o the World,s top retirement haven!

[hammerdown]

I don't understand the hostility towards pi2...sure he can be a little "eccentric" but really people take a chill pill. If you don't like a certain comment ignore it and move along. It's his thread...you didn't have to come in and read it.

As Forest Gump used to say "Stupid is as Stupid does"
or in this case Stupid threads deserve Stupid responses....
"price of food going down"
"good government"
"Dominican beef is better than"

Well here's one for the masses:

The Metro is going to make sooo much money, the DR will be able to buy Venezuela and all their petroleum, that food prices will go down, there will be no more problems with electricity, the national debt will be eradicated, university's will be free, free health care for all, ....... geez I must be smokin that junk pi23 is

 

[Expat13]

I don't understand the hostility towards pi2...sure he can be a little "eccentric" but really people take a chill pill. If you don't like a certain comment ignore it and move along. It's his thread...you didn't have to come in and read it.

It might be something to do with the constant inaccurate dribble about a fantasy island in the caribe-NOT the DR!

 

[La Rubia]

Finally read the article, it only gives brief mention to the DR, and not anything specific. Overall, I'd say the article's best choice is Ecuador. Broad generalizations, really.

On the white-sand beaches of the Dominican Republic, $2,000 a month means living in a luxury apartment, having a maid, heath care -- everything. And, of course, it's easily done for less.

 

[pi2]

As Forest Gump used to say "Stupid is as Stupid does"
or in this case Stupid threads deserve Stupid responses....
"price of food going down"
"good government"
"Dominican beef is better than"

Well here's one for the masses:

The Metro is going to make sooo much money, the DR will be able to buy Venezuela and all their petroleum, that food prices will go down, there will be no more problems with electricity, the national debt will be eradicated, university's will be free, free health care for all, ....... geez I must be smokin that junk pi23 is

I have bought, on a day to day basis, food here for the last 6 years. In dollar terms definitely down; in peso terms also many items down.
I see many aspects of government working well:
clean streets
protection of woodlands
prohibition of unsightly buildings over 3 stories ; some cases of demolition
new hospitals staffed and open to all
new and improved roads
many students in universities
police improving
welfare payments increasing to dominican pensioners etc.
new sports facilites
establishment of pension scheme
farm aid
maintenance of rivers, irrigation channels
even pot holes are mainly getting filled something that does not happen in many towns in the US.
etc. etc. etc.
Of course Dominican beef with its low fat content, mainly grass fed is superior. This type of beef commands twice the price of the corn fed beef in many countries and produces way superior dishes.

 

[Castellamonte]

Eccentric must equate to delusional? I've lived here for 10 years and never experienced the utopian world on Plant PI2!

 

[pi2]

Eccentric must equate to delusional? I've lived here for 10 years and never experienced the utopian world on Plant PI2!

You want me to photograph the guy cleaning the streets at 4 in the morning: never used to be.
New roads : ditto.
New hospitals: ditto. Give your alternative statistics of numbers of beds, doctors etc.
Students in univestities: Give alternative statistics.
Welfare payments: they are not good but have been increasing.
Sports facilites: new - need to have photos?
Pension scheme: read the dr1 archieves.
Farm aid: DR is now self sufficient in rice and many other crops - exports beans to Venez.
rivers : since cholera much has been done.

pi2

 

[badpiece33]

Soon DR will rise up the rankings! Property prices are increasing but cost of living is very low.

Much lower than the US! Millions are reaching retiring age!

from:

World's top retirement havens - retiring overseas - MSN Money









Retire well overseas




In the U.S. today, the discussion about retirement orbits around
how much less of it we're all going to have. As the cost of everything
from health care to food swells, incomes, pensions and nest eggs erode, leaving
baby boomers fewer and fewer options for retirement in this country.

But if you look at the right places beyond our borders today,
you'll find you have more good choices than ever for a comfortable -- even
pampered ? retirement. In any one of our top 19 havens for 2012, a lifestyle
well beyond your reach in the United States could be yours for pennies on the
dollar.

In this, our annual Global Retirement Index, we bring you the
top choices available on the planet today. From beachfront hideaways to
arts-rich colonial cities, from cosmopolitan capitals to small highland
villages, there's an overseas haven to fit your fantasy -- and your
budget.

We measure only the very best havens against one another. So the
country last on our list is still the 19th best in the world.

The
top 19 (in order) are, for varying reasons, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Malaysia,
Colombia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Spain, Thailand, Honduras, Uruguay, Italy,
Brazil, Ireland, France, Costa Rica, Belize, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
Read on to find out what makes each of them special.

more at the link!

pi2

Thats my game plan within the next five years!!!!

 

[hammerdown]

I have bought, on a day to day basis, food here for the last 6 years. In dollar terms definitely down; in peso terms also many items down. 6yrs ago price of eggs 3 pesos each, today - 6, 6yrs ago price of coffee 55pesos/lb, today 160, 6 yrs ago chicken 20 pesos/lb, today 48, 6yrs ago rice 8 pesos /lb today18-20/lb, 6yrs ago plateno 2 for 1 peso, today 5-7 pesos each, 6yrs ago chuleta 55 pesos/lb, today 100/lb need I go on, or can you give me an example......
I see many aspects of government working well:
clean streets
protection of woodlands did you see what the plan at Playa Grande is???0r Villa Altagracia area??
new and improved roads been on the Moca - Sabeneta highway, or Puerto Plata - Naverette link, or the Montellano - Santiago highway, or the Autopista Santiago - Santo Domingo, or Naveretta - Monte Christi, or Barahona - Pedernales, I could go on.....
many students in universities
police improving WHERE?????
welfare payments increasing to dominican pensioners etc.
new sports facilites
establishment of pension scheme
farm aid LOL, come on LOL
maintenance of rivers, irrigation channels have you seen the river in La Vega or the river in Cangrejo, or the Yuna by Cotui or the Cabarete Lagoon???
even pot holes are mainly getting filled something that does not happen in many towns in the US.
etc. etc. etc. read above
Of course Dominican beef with its low fat content, mainly grass fed is superior. This type of beef commands twice the price of the corn fed beef in many countries and produces way superior dishes.

Yes, I live here and have for 8 yrs, and haven't seen the utopia, or dreamscape you have, and could comment on a lot more but whats the point YOU JUST DON'T GET IT.
Oh, by the way still waiting, for those photos of your solar system you brag about....

 

[Criss Colon]

The "problem" with "Pee-In-Your-Eye-Two", is not that he lives in a "Dream World" where only he can see,"The "Empire's New Clothes",that's his AGENDA,taking over his rational mind,assuming he ever had a "Rational Mind"!
The "problem",is that DR1 is an informational website,for people with an interest in the DR.
Those of us who live,work,raise families,and even those who have visited here,post our opinions about Life,Love,Happiness,UN-Happiness,personal experiences,prices,ie,"cost-of-living",crime,infrastructure,government,corruption,ETC.
Those who have never visited,or "AI" resort visited,can ask their questions,about,"All-The-Above.
They DESERVE a rational answer!
"PeeEye" gives them his "Arepa-In-The Sky" view,which is not only deceptional,it could be a negative life changing experience!
Think of the retired couple who "sells all" and takes "pis" advice to "Come-On-Down"!
They have his "One Thousand A Month","Or LESS",still ringing in their overly optomintic ears.
Where do we find that same "couple" 3 months later? Six months later? A YEAR later?
Answer,we DON"T!
They ran through the little money they had.Their Social security of $1,500 US,didn't begin to cover living expenses,"Papi" got sick,couldn't get the medical help needed,borrowed money for airfare from their kids in Calif.and are now living with those kids.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All that,and I haven't even drank my first cup of coffee,or smoked my first cigar.
Cris Colon

 

[Givadogahome]

I don't understand the hostility towards pi2...sure he can be a little "eccentric" but really people take a chill pill. If you don't like a certain comment ignore it and move along. It's his thread...you didn't have to come in and read it.

Listen, there is something about Pi2 and Chip failing and falling into a certain area of inability to understand something, just because they have experienced something once or twice, or carry out some obscure family ritual or have a friend with a donkey who's dead owner used to do something or believe something about something no one else on the land seems to have experienced, beacuse they have heard seen, read or dreamed up these scenarios then they are fact and real and everyone else who doesn't not conform is wasting life or doing things wrong. Chip considers anyone who is Atheist or disagrees with him as a Christian hater and that is why he sometimes annoys people with his do gooder BS godspill (which in my opinion is not that bad as I respect anyone who will stand by his beliefs as he does, no matter how deluded they are). Pi2 considers anyone who moves to the land and doesn't live under his skinflint 'contracting terms' (as absolutely no one believes he lives as he proclaims he does), he just wants some kind of eco warrior status where no one else really cares about that, so is it egoist? I don't know, but I know I have more respect for great grandad mongers than someone who simply spirts BS all day for the sakes of being controversial (which by all counts he isn't as he just comes across as a complete tit (obviously of the flying kind for the sakes of moderators), which is proven by 99.9% of other users posts about him. So that is why. He has his rights like everyone else, but like I say, sooner or later he will be chipping (no pun intended) away at that cage mirror wondering why he gets no reaction from anyone. Eventually people get bored of any kind of tit, and maybe they will of controversial wannabe egoists/ecoists, or which ever he wants to be also. HE will have to change his name again from pi2 (a catheter lubricant and disinfectant solution as it goes, which is ironic considering he gets on so many peoples dicks). I dunno, obviously it takes all to make a site have an energy, maybe he will come back as Ziro (herbal hemeroid cream) next time. Whatever, good luck, no offense intended.
BUT THAT IS WHY!!!

 

[Expat13]

Usually a "retirement haven" is selected also based on tax exposure, in this case Equador should not be number one as they have a world tax exposure for all residents plus a 35% income tax 10 higher than the DR. BUT, the DR isnt much better as well has a foreign-income tax exposure as well at 25% but at least has a 3 year grace period once becoming a resident.

Costa Rica is only taxed on income from in-country sources at 25%.

The other important factor where the DR is one of the highest is VAT tax which hits us on a daily basis. DR 16% Equador 12 and CR 13 Panama 5.

 

[DOC1727]

The dr a retirement destination?

When I moved to the DR I met other expats and they were usually two types.

1) The ones that came to the DR and stayed at a resort or a very nice hotel as a tourist, rented a car or took taxis and enjoyed a vacation with deep pockets and than left with a false sense of reality of what it is really like living in the DR which is very different being on a vacation than actually living here. (A big mistake)

2)The ones that jump-in head first and decided to move to the DR without ever coming here first or knowing very little about it.

At of the two types the ones that had a higher chance of staying and adapting was the type 2's. Mainly due to that they did not have much of a chance to look at the negative side of moving to the DR before coming and once here they suffered the same disappointments as type 1's, but they had no choice but to adapt or die. Because, they burned all there ships behind and there was little chance of a retreat they either win or they perish and there survival instincts kick in and won, because they made a quick decision and had to live by there mistakes and with time they endured and made it..

While the 1st types appeared to be more organized and instead more of a planner than dreamers of the type 2's class. They had a harder time adjusting because they had a higher false expectations of the place before coming and also The type 1's usually are the types that tend to over analyse a situation and either do not move or freeze when making decisions and continue to procrastinate about everything and forget the real main concept which is to adapt and survive which is the key too succeed as an expat in any country you decide to live. Because, things are harder at the beginning, but usually get better with time as you adapt and learn the culture and the system and you become more comfortable with your surroundings and make new friends and contacts. Once you leave your comfort zone and the culture and the system you are accustom too especially, if you are moving from a developed country with all the amenities and infrastructure that it affords and you will be going to a 3rd world country, there are things you are going to have to give up and leave behind face it and it is up to the expat to figure this out and take the pro with the cons and make a determination that the overall move is a better one for other more important reasons.

 

[pi2]

Yes, I live here and have for 8 yrs, and haven't seen the utopia, or dreamscape you have, and could comment on a lot more but whats the point YOU JUST DON'T GET IT.
Oh, by the way still waiting, for those photos of your solar system you brag about....

Peso has moved from 28 to the dollar to 38. Yams are cheaper and more readily available. I still pay 3 pesos for eggs. 1.5 dollars for beef mince, 20 pesos for 1 lb beans.
6 years ago I made quite a few journies:
e.g. from PP to Samana, SD to Samana etc. SD to Punta Cana etc. my impression is that many roads have improved.
i have know expats fined for removing a single tree: if you visit even built up areas such as Las Terrenas you still see plenty of green trees: its not turned into a Miami strip although major resorts have been build such as balcones del atlantico.

photos are coming.

I never said utopia but many good situations for expat retirees.

pi2

 

[pi2]

Caribbean Vacation Resort & Beach Hotel | Balcones Del Atlantico - Balcones Del Atl?ntico

pi2

 

[pi2]

The "problem" with "Pee-In-Your-Eye-Two", is not that he lives in a "Dream World" where only he can see,"The "Empire's New Clothes",that's his AGENDA,taking over his rational mind,assuming he ever had a "Rational Mind"!
The "problem",is that DR1 is an informational website,for people with an interest in the DR.
Those of us who live,work,raise families,and even those who have visited here,post our opinions about Life,Love,Happiness,UN-Happiness,personal experiences,prices,ie,"cost-of-living",crime,infrastructure,government,corruption,ETC.
Those who have never visited,or "AI" resort visited,can ask their questions,about,"All-The-Above.
They DESERVE a rational answer!
"PeeEye" gives them his "Arepa-In-The Sky" view,which is not only deceptional,it could be a negative life changing experience!
Think of the retired couple who "sells all" and takes "pis" advice to "Come-On-Down"!
They have his "One Thousand A Month","Or LESS",still ringing in their overly optomintic ears.
Where do we find that same "couple" 3 months later? Six months later? A YEAR later?
Answer,we DON"T!
They ran through the little money they had.Their Social security of $1,500 US,didn't begin to cover living expenses,"Papi" got sick,couldn't get the medical help needed,borrowed money for airfare from their kids in Calif.and are now living with those kids.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All that,and I haven't even drank my first cup of coffee,or smoked my first cigar.
Cris Colon

I never denied that careful planning and budget is necessary ; that it is desirable to purchase a property with a long term plan in mind; that if one desires to eat US style steaks every day this is going to cost $$$; that an emergency fund is very necessary in any foreign country; that a car if someone thinks it essential is going to cost $$$.
But also a very generous plato del dia at the local Russian restaurant is under 4 dollars.
However simpler medical treatments are often available for about the co-payments required under the US retirement medical plans - any standard medicines are cheap -$-$-$ in the DR.
I do not think it irrational: To plan a weeks meals and cost it. To spend a couple of thousand dollars on solar so elec bills are minimal; to subscribe to the cable service for tv at maybe 15 dollars a month. Buy a bike or small motorcycle/quad rather than a car to reduce . Decide if you can really aford rounds of golf twice a week or high class dining twice a week. Buy fans that use minimal power rather than run a/c. Buy a pair of binoculars if the hobby is birdwatching ; other low cost equipment for other hobbies, tropical hiking boots,clothing etc.
Decide if the budget needs to be $300, $500, $800, $1k or whatever armed with information given so generously here on the costs associated with living in the DR.

pi2

 

[deerfield]

I have been reading about DR. now for a while and read the article you commended on. My wife and I are looking at DR. for a place to retire, would you please give me the true facts as to the cost of living there. How much a nice 2 bedroom condo or house on or near the beach cost, as well as the everyday living situation you speak off. We are also concerned with the medical care available in the area. Any help would be truly appreciated. Thanks from deerfield. Have a great day.

 

[Driftwood]

I have been reading about DR. now for a while and read the article you commended on. My wife and I are looking at DR. for a place to retire, would you please give me the true facts as to the cost of living there. How much a nice 2 bedroom condo or house on or near the beach cost, as well as the everyday living situation you speak off. We are also concerned with the medical care available in the area. Any help would be truly appreciated. Thanks from deerfield. Have a great day.

If you live in a modern world with first world services and access to all you could every want, then compare living costs overall to be the same for a comfortable retirement. Come expecting to save, and be as comfortable as you can be in more attractive places then come prepared to be a temporary resident. Go for it, really work at it, stay around for 10 year, maybe even 15 years at a big push, but be prepared to one day say 'wow, I think I really need to retire now, this Dominican Retirement has worn me out'.
If you are very wealthy and have it to burn then you can do it easy, but your average jack and jill don't.
Good luck, but I've always said, expect to pay what you are now, plus 20% for the first 5 years!

 

[Criss Colon]

Yes,the "peso" has gone from 28 to 1,to 38 to 1,over the last few years.
What is that,about 35%?
Do you think that the price of "Goods & Sevices" have remained stable during that time?
Well,YES,I suppose YOU WOULD!
But for the sane 11,000,000 people trying to survive here,the "Prices" have gone up,faster,much faster,than the peso has gone down!
"Deerfield" Michigan?????
"Toledo" here.
So you can trust me.And,10 years "visiting" here,over 16 living/working/raising 4 children.
You will be "OK" living on $2,000 a month,"Better",on $2,500 a month,and "GREAT" with $3,000 a month!
Medical care is a concernI am 65,so I know.
I also worked in the arguably BEST hospital in the DR(located in Sto.Dom) again,"so I know"!
If you have a chronic problem,heart,lung,liver,kidneys,needing frequent treatment,Don't Come!
Emergency,hey,"$hit Happens" everywhere.
If you can get transported to a major hospital,they have a LOT of experience wuth "Trauma" here.
Heart Attack/Stroke find a place "close" to a good "ER",I did!
Been there about 7 times.
I say,depending on the above "Numbers","Come-On-Down"!
Just remember,you can buy a nice Condo,or even a house in Florida for much less than $200,000 US Dollars.
AND,since the average age in Florida,in "Near Death",you can get great medical care.
PS,don't expect "Burmuda" when you get off the plane.
If you haven't been here before,get an "All Inclusive resort" for two weeks,North Coast,or, Juan Dolio,on the South Coast,and then get out during the day(After breakfast,and before dinner,and "MidNight Buffet) and see what you will see!
Juan Dolio is only 30 to40 minutes to Santo Domingos,BEST HOSPITALS.
You can come visit me here in "SD".
We can watch Ohio State beat the BIG "M"!!!
Cris Colon
aka,CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Need elective surgery,leave.

 

[deerfield]

Thanks Driftwood, really appreciate your honesty here. I think I could probably deal with doing without easier than the wife but who knows I quess it all depends on how you look at things. We are not weathy by any means however we will have about 5,000 a month to live on but we would certainly like to live in a nice area that is safe and near the beach if possible. As far as eating out all the time, well that is not what we are looking for however having things to do during the day to keep ourselves busy and entertained is certainly a plus. Do you know of someone or a contact that could provide us with information on real estate for sale and things like the interest rate on mortgages? Hope to hear back soon, thanks.

 

[Driftwood]

You can live extremely comfortable anywhere you want on that money, so I'd suggest just 'come on down' and the isle really is a playground for you on those figures.
Firs things first, spend a month, and just do everything when in the country, things take no planning when there are deals in the distance and so you should be well taken care of.
You need a week up North, and week on the East, Central and South, then go away and have a think before you consider anything else!
Meet up with some of the longer standing DR1ers, somone's always trawling around looking to offload a wealth of good and bad advice, it is your judgement to sort the chaff! I'd make no plans or no thoughts until in the country and you have spent a week just hanging out, having a few drinks, seeing a few spots, admiring the beautiful people and even the expats ;-)
Come on down, then sort it out from the isle, is the only way, imo