Different situations, different approach the sum may be doable for someone who is retired lets say, or maybe single. I am sure that when one works they also tend to save that is the main goal we are not trying to live as we did in College when we had our part time jobs from pay check to pay check, or from hand to mouth as some societies like to put it. I live on and of in Los Angeles, Ca but i find Santo Domingo a bit expensive and i will give you a couple of reasons why in my case lack of entertainment it gets boring so one seeks excitement which costs money. Then we have the blackouts, power goes out for more than 8 hours a day the Inversor cant manage more than that. The next factor is the climate the humidity, i prefer to leave the premises and head out. Once you have lived in the city for more than a year there is not much to do, and the places you want to go seem limited, or you have been to all the restaurant more than 5 times from Malecon to Zona Colonial, to all the Malls in the city. It all comes down to company back home you can have kick backs, BBQ's friends or neighbors pitch in bring their own drinks watch a game on the set next weekend its at someone else place, here you are in a new country being cautious because you want to be careful on who you invite to your home so not much entertainment going on there. Schools i had some family friends who's kids went to the French School all i can say it is expensive so is Caroll Morgan, plus they were always complaining how hard it is to make friends in the D.R. I went to a lot of Private Schools in my time, i can't imagine what it will be like when i have kids if the price range are what they are now. Bottom line is if it seems as such a stretch think twice.
- Thread starter nostradamnit
- Start date
moving to Santo Domingo with family of 5
I Am!
But make that 8, not 7!
I don't know what kind of "Looser Expats" you are socializing with "Dog", but the ones in my circle all have $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
They live well, own homes, or condos, send their children to good schools,and have never borrowed money.
All the DR1ers I know personally are in that catagory.
In "Poca Palabras", to the "OP",
Don't Come!
You will not have nearly enough money!
You usually need a 3 month security deposit to rent anything here.
Believe it!
Cris Colon
aka,CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
But make that 8, not 7!
I don't know what kind of "Looser Expats" you are socializing with "Dog", but the ones in my circle all have $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
They live well, own homes, or condos, send their children to good schools,and have never borrowed money.
All the DR1ers I know personally are in that catagory.
In "Poca Palabras", to the "OP",
Don't Come!
You will not have nearly enough money!
You usually need a 3 month security deposit to rent anything here.
Believe it!
Cris Colon
aka,CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
in our household of 2 we spend about 100 dollars on food and basics every week. round it down and in a year it comes to 5000 dollars. every month we also spend money on the side: fish, meat, german bakery and butcher in sosua, seasonal veggies and fruits, pricesmart in santiago, goodies form SD, depending where we travel and what we do. easily, every year we pay 6k dollars in total. for two people (plus two cats and two dogs, that would not even make for the cost of raising one child). larger family? my in laws (3 adults, 3 service people) spend minimum 1.000 dollars a month on groceries.
Yeh, but the comment DRob made was at Maurico, not you, I was pointing out the point his family is 4, not 7 or even 8 for that costing.
Step back and re read what you have just read to put the idea I hang out with loser Expats, try harder.
i don't hang out with loser Expats, like I have stated if you read properly I mentioned there are wealthy people here, but there are also people who are not, wishing they were, I know you know of these types because you've been around too long not to know they are about, and plentiful. I associate myself with good people, with steady lives, like I do anywhere, none of us tend to discuss our finances much as we don't find the cost of each others Internet that much of a conversational piece, we do what we do, or we don't, like people do anywhere.
Yes there are a number of wealthy DR1ers, and there are also not so wealthy ones as is evident on these threads. DR1ers I know? A couple are wealthy, a couple are just living an average life. No big deal, same as anywhere else in the world, there is nothing elitist about Expats in DR. RD80,000 up in the hills can be ample for a family of 5, no problem, but if you need to pay a mass for education then it is nothing. Different strokes for different folks.
So back to this, I've listed how they would need to live if they were to live on that money, they would have to trim all the essentials off and runa basic lifestyle with no cover etc etc even then it's gunna be low quality of life with teenagers. As I've said in 'this thread', I'd be needing to stick a 1 in front of the 75-80 to make it work comfortably. But a couple of grand a month is enough for some people who don't know wealth. Because some of us couldn't be happy doesn't mean some of us wouldn't be, some people who are down on luck, lost a job, nowhere to turn, this could be a god send. Not much of one, but if you've got nothing then something can be a lot, that's all I'm saying.
But so is life, we are all capable of different things. I don't think I could use RD17000 in electricity if I tried, you seem to manage it with ease and no concern, I would have to be picked up from the floor if I opened a bill like yours.
Dog
gre:The comments here sound way to negative or strict NOT leaving any room for someones imagination to grow and for this guy to come with his family and start a new life from the ground on up.
The 2k a month he is going to get as soon as he walks off the plane and maybe in addition he has some saving, sounds a whole lot better than coming to the dr with savings and no job. I think that maybe this might be god sent to him depending on his personal situation and circumstance.
I came to the dr with my family and started with nothing just with the shirt on my back but I was determined to succeed and I rented a home and little by little I completely furnished my home and in less than 4 years became almost fully dominicanized and lived with all the bells and whistle you can ask for in the dr. Including a brand new jeepeta that I bought brand new from from santo domingo motors and new mortocycle and a huge diesel generator that I could give electricity to my entire block. I do not live in the dr anymore but when I left I sold everthing I owned and returned to the US with a lot of money thanks to my beloved dr.
I do not think anything is imposible even in the dr you never know if this guy moves with his family and once here finds a better job or discovers a business opportunity in the dr and the most important are contacts and connection he establishes in the dr that could make his life way much better and open a world of opportunity for him like it did for me one time and I am positive it can also for him and his family.
The 2k a month he is going to get as soon as he walks off the plane and maybe in addition he has some saving, sounds a whole lot better than coming to the dr with savings and no job. I think that maybe this might be god sent to him depending on his personal situation and circumstance.
I came to the dr with my family and started with nothing just with the shirt on my back but I was determined to succeed and I rented a home and little by little I completely furnished my home and in less than 4 years became almost fully dominicanized and lived with all the bells and whistle you can ask for in the dr. Including a brand new jeepeta that I bought brand new from from santo domingo motors and new mortocycle and a huge diesel generator that I could give electricity to my entire block. I do not live in the dr anymore but when I left I sold everthing I owned and returned to the US with a lot of money thanks to my beloved dr.
I do not think anything is imposible even in the dr you never know if this guy moves with his family and once here finds a better job or discovers a business opportunity in the dr and the most important are contacts and connection he establishes in the dr that could make his life way much better and open a world of opportunity for him like it did for me one time and I am positive it can also for him and his family.
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My family was 4 when I came back here almost three years ago but is 5 now.
My wife used to do the whole cleaning, laundry, cooking, everything in Holland, but here it's another deal. She s working half days, when she comes she wants to give attention to the kids and our house is just a little too big and besides in DR you have to mob and clean all bath rooms everyday. In the city you do need two vehicles, especially while my work makes me visit clients during the whole day on an irregular schedule, and, again, in the morning she works (and takes the two oldest to school. We have two ladies while the youngest is too tremendous to be watched after and cook / clean, so we have one that takes care of him in the morning and does laundry in the afternoon. Could we do without one of them? Probably, but that's one of the few advantages of this country.
It seems we spend 11000 dollars on supermarket yes. In holland that used to be 6000 euros (8000 dollars), with one child more and the higher prices here (buying less here) 11,000 sounds about right.
I agree that we could live cheaper but also crappier. Going to public hospitals and doctors (cheap but taking turns the whole day, unhygienic, no nebulizer to give an example. So I prefer to pay a good insurance and bring my children to a private doctor or clinic. Why would I compromise those things that are secure in my own country.
I would never be proud of a consumption level. I would prefer to earn well and have the discipline or be inventive enough to live cheap, but I don't want to sacrifice basic stuff, and myself, maybe I am lazy: in holland i would get up at 5.30, get in the car at 6.15, arrive at work at 8.00, work till 4.30 and be back home at 6. In the evening I would still have energy to do lots of things, and go to bed at 12 to get up at 5.30 again. Here I can't. I get up at 6.15, start working at about 8. Have a much easier job, but I am exhausted at 9pm. It's either the climate or I'm getting old (only 37 though). That's another reason to have a (2) maids, no need to feel guilty letting do my wife everything.
My wife used to do the whole cleaning, laundry, cooking, everything in Holland, but here it's another deal. She s working half days, when she comes she wants to give attention to the kids and our house is just a little too big and besides in DR you have to mob and clean all bath rooms everyday. In the city you do need two vehicles, especially while my work makes me visit clients during the whole day on an irregular schedule, and, again, in the morning she works (and takes the two oldest to school. We have two ladies while the youngest is too tremendous to be watched after and cook / clean, so we have one that takes care of him in the morning and does laundry in the afternoon. Could we do without one of them? Probably, but that's one of the few advantages of this country.
It seems we spend 11000 dollars on supermarket yes. In holland that used to be 6000 euros (8000 dollars), with one child more and the higher prices here (buying less here) 11,000 sounds about right.
I agree that we could live cheaper but also crappier. Going to public hospitals and doctors (cheap but taking turns the whole day, unhygienic, no nebulizer to give an example. So I prefer to pay a good insurance and bring my children to a private doctor or clinic. Why would I compromise those things that are secure in my own country.
I would never be proud of a consumption level. I would prefer to earn well and have the discipline or be inventive enough to live cheap, but I don't want to sacrifice basic stuff, and myself, maybe I am lazy: in holland i would get up at 5.30, get in the car at 6.15, arrive at work at 8.00, work till 4.30 and be back home at 6. In the evening I would still have energy to do lots of things, and go to bed at 12 to get up at 5.30 again. Here I can't. I get up at 6.15, start working at about 8. Have a much easier job, but I am exhausted at 9pm. It's either the climate or I'm getting old (only 37 though). That's another reason to have a (2) maids, no need to feel guilty letting do my wife everything.
I live here in El Million and rent alone can eat almost half that budget for something decent. When you factor in all the other expenses it can reach your monthly budget. I have read alot of these threads about how cheap you or can't live here. If your not looking to live with just the very basics then yes it will cost you to live here in DR. Santo Domingo is not cheap by no means. No offense but like CC I do not live here to starve or die from the heat so to speak. Now with that said there are ways to cut back of course but one has to be honest about how one wants to live. What you think you can live without today maybe a different story once you live here. Base your budget on your lifestyle.
Once again, thanks to you all for sharing your stories and experience. I am still considering the position and we are discussing ways to make it mutually benificial.