Continued...
My Personal Observations
I live in Cabarete, on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. It is a tourist town, almost exclusively. I have previously lived in Paraguay and Ecuador. In general terms, I think I can safely say that it is less expensive to live in Paraguay or Ecuador. However, it is sometimes difficult to compare ?apples and apples.?
In particular it is difficult to put a dollar value on the view of the Caribbean I have from the balcony of my apartment, the climate, the Latin / Caribbean Culture and way of life, the ease of access to the United States when I need to return there, and the lack of difficulty with Visa Requirements. These were the most important considerations for me. The topic at hand, The Cost of Living, was an important, but secondary concern. I would add that, no matter where a person chooses to live, it is possible to spend a lot of money, or to spend less, depending on your budget and the way you want to live.
I?m going to share my personal experience of the five major areas I consider ?necessities?: Food, Clothing, Shelter, Transportation, and Health Care.
Food
In general, food costs are relatively low in Cabarete. Janet?s is the major supermarket and here?s a sample of items I recently purchased there. The prices are including sales tax, in US Dollars, based on 39 pecos per dollar. If you want to shop around, and buy things like fruit and vegetables at local markets, you can probably economize, and Janet?s is probably more expensive than some other supermarkets in other cities.
Food
Carton of Marlboro Light Cigarettes $ 22.33
Precooked Rotisserie Chicken 2 lbs $ 5.96
a dozen extra large eggs $ 2.36
2 liter coca cola $ 1.28
half gallon of orange juice $ 1.50
six ears of sweet corn $ 1.54
a pound of butter $ 3.41
pound of Dominican coffee $ 3.72
bar of good, antiseptic soap $ 0.82
2 pounds of good salami $ 5.64
small bag of white potatoes - 5 pounds $ 2.05
2 pounds of tomatoes $ 1.48
2 pounds of Dominican style cheddar cheese $ 6.37
a liter of milk $ 1.21
half a pound of ground beef $ 1.22
1.3 pounds of chicken breast fillet $ 4.27
1.5 pounds of beef filet $ 7.62
bag of limes $ 2.48
small head of lettuce $ 0.28
1.3 pounds of beef steak $ 3.17
1 mango $ 0.51
As far as eating at restaurants is concerned, the costs, quality, and service run the gamut. However, first a brief word about service in the Dominican Republic in restaurants and in general. If your expectations are to have the highest quality service you are accustomed to in the US at all times in the Dominican Republic, you will be disappointed. However, I find service here in the Dominican Republic, in general terms, far superior to service in the US.
I have not yet developed a taste for the typical, daily Dominican food that is served at restaurants where primarily Dominicans eat. However, if you like the typical Dominican, inexpensive food, you can eat a hearty meal of chicken, rice, and beans, with a soft drink or beer for around $5. A small restaurant here, Gordito?s, owned and run by Americans, offers a variety of inexpensive tacos, including an excellent fish taco for which they are well known, and modified Dominican food for a more American taste, for about the same price.
Yesterday, two of us ate at a restaurant on the beach. One of us had a plate of steak, at least 16 ounces, and excellent, a huge portion of mashed potatoes, a small salad and a beer. The other had a very large chef salad and a coke. The chef salad was fully consumed, but the steak meal had enough left over for another meal for one person. The total cost, including a 20% tip, was $33.
My favorite upscale restaurant in Cabarete is Bliss, an Italian restaurant. The atmosphere, food, and service are, to my standards, as good as you?ll find anywhere. Recently two of us ate, with appetizers, entre, two glasses of red wine, two cocktails, coffee and dessert, including a 20% tip, for $90. A comparable meal, at a comparable restaurant, in a comparable beach location in the US would be what? A minimum of $200?
Clothing
I haven?t bought any clothing in the Dominican Republic. I?ve picked up a few things in the US at Old Navy. I?m not much of a clothes person, and for crying out loud, I?m living at beach, and who cares? Ok, various members of the opposite sex have suggested that I need to upgrade my wardrobe, but so far I?ve resisted that temptation. From what I gather, clothes are probably a little less expensive here than in the US.
Shelter
This is a major budget expense for me. One of the major reasons I moved here was because I love the ocean, and want to have a beautiful ocean view from my apartment. Others have a different viewpoint, but I am more comfortable in a condo complex with 24 hour security. I like to swim for exercise, and so a good pool is also important to me. I have allergies and sinus issues, so I use air conditioning to lower the humidity, a necessity for me.
I have found that for +/- $1000 a month I can rent a great apartment with an ocean view, pool, nicely furnished, including cable, truly high speed internet ($100 a month), utilities, and 24 hour security. If you don?t want to live in a condo complex, you can probably find a place similar for around half that.
Buying a condo here is certainly an option, and it?s a ?buyer?s market? now. For $100K to $200k you can get a nice condo and furnish it. However, buying a condo here is, in my opinion, not an especially good idea. Getting clear title is often a problem, and can take years. There always seem to be problems with the people who manage it. Most importantly for me, I like to know that I can leave and go somewhere else if I want to, and not worry about the property. I?m big on traveling light.
Transportation
Cabarete is small and it?s easy to find a place to live here where you can walk wherever you want to go. I live a little further from Cabarete, and I know how to drive a motorcycle or motor scooter. You can buy a nice, small motorcycle or a really excellent motor scooter for $2000 or less. For me, that?s the best option. However, at night, I?ll often use a moto concho or taxi.
Motorcycle taxis are the norm, and you?ll find a moto concho driver you like, and you?ll have his phone number. He?ll come at the drop of a hat, and take good care of you. It?s $1.25 from my apartment now, about 1.5 miles north of Cabarete. I generally pay $2.50, which my moto driver appreciates, and which helps to ensure that I get good service.
There are public taxis, which are only about $ .50 to Cabarete, but I don?t use them much. They?re crowded, but cheap.
Taxis are about $7.50 to and from Cabarete, and $12.50 to and from Sousua, the next town north of Cabarete.
Owning a car is an option, but I would suggest you seriously consider the potential downside of owning a car here. I don?t think you can be certain that insurance you buy will actually cover what you think it will cover if the time comes that you need it. Personally, I would use a reliable taxi all the time before I would buy a car.
Health Care
Health Care is, in my opinion, one of the biggest advantages of living here. Even if you?ve been denied health insurance in the US, or have to pay some outrageous premium, you can probably get health insurance here for $150 - $300 dollars a month that will pay almost all your health expenses.
I?ve been to the private clinic in Sousa twice for things relatively serious. The first time, I thought I just had a bad cold, but it just wouldn?t get better, and I was a lot sicker than I realized. A sinus infection had turned into pneumonia, and the clinic admitted me immediately. I was there for three days, and in my opinion, got better quality of care than I would have in the US. I was on a ton of medication, in a private room, with 24 hour nursing care, and of course, physician supervision. It was probably the equivalent of Intensive Care in the US for pneumonia. Total cost, for everything, was $1500. I also had an outpatient surgery, but it required two surgeons, anesthetist, and everything associated with that, and the total cost was again, $1500.
Drugs in the Dominican Republic are very different than in the US. You can buy anything here, except narcotics, without a prescription. If you can write it, you can buy it. The prices, again, are a fraction of what they are in the US.
I have found all the physicians I have dealt with here to be very interested in the quality of care they give, very interested in spending time with their patients to ensure they have covered everything necessary, and very attentive to detail. Some have been educated in the US, but have left the US approach to medical care behind them. I know with Americans it is a given that ?we have the best health care in the world.? It?s something you may want to rethink.
Closing Thoughts
The Dominican Republic, no matter how you look at it, is very inexpensive compared to living in the US. The Dominican Republic makes it easy for Americans to live here. The Dominicans who grow, cook and serve our food, clean our homes, treat us when we are ill, drive us here and there, run the small shops where we can buy clothes, and all the other things we need to live well in one of the most beautiful places on the planet, make very, very little money.
We are guests in their country, and I would hope that we would respect their culture, respect their contributions to the life we are able to live here, respect them as people, with the same dreams, the same feelings, the same sensibilities that we have, and not forget that it is because they work for so very little money that we are able to enjoy the quality of life that we have here.
They pay the cost for our living so well in the Dominican Republic.
