Thx guys for the information so far! You know, it is funny....but almost every other thread I had found related to cost of living in the DR turned into a heated discussion...lol, with very differing opinions.
It is so hard to describe lifestyle, obviously, but, I will give it a shot. My wife and I (oh, I'm a male, BTW, Como
) like to cook and are very happy to make some chicken and have a salad and fresh veggies at home for dinner most of the time. That being said, we do love to eat out when money affords. As far as a house/apt goes, we are not looking to live in anything resort-ish or anything - just the opposite actually. A simple one or two bedroom with a living room and small kitchen, that allows our dog (the apt, not the kitchen), would be fine. We do need internet though. It seems that electricity can be a significant addition to housing cost in the DR...yeah?
As far as a vehicle goes, we don't necessarily NEED one (as a matter of fact we would probably prefer to NOT have one if we lived somewhere that would allow for that kind of lifestyle). We like to walk and bike ride and are happy to use public transportation, assuming it is safe. But we would, of course, like to get around to see the country as much as possible. We currently live in Colorado and love camping and rafting, etc. And we are not the type of people who go out to bars or clubs at night. We are in our 30's and would prefer to cook at home, watch a movie, or go for a walk.
I hope that helps with regard to how we are looking to live. It is so odd, because I feel like I keep seeing conflicting info regarding prices and the like. For example - here a couple of places that look decent, over the internet anyway, for under US$500:
Large 2 bed apartment in the Dominican Republic
Casa en Aros Carrau, Puerto Plata
Are they not as good as they look??
Please keep adding any information you have....it is ALL very helpful to read. And thank you sooo much!!
PS - Thank you Lindsey for the suggestion to ask Craig for emails for a couple of the teachers at ISS. We haven't contacted him just yet as we just happened upon this posting in the last couple of days and are getting the application info together. Meanwhile, I am doing a little independent research