I have no idea, but I will ask next time we talk to them. It's the son of the brother you met when we picked up the coffee a couple of years ago.
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Quit your job and live abroad. DR #3
I have no idea, but I will ask next time we talk to them. It's the son of the brother you met when we picked up the coffee a couple of years ago.
The noise is an issue, but part of living most places in Latin America. If you live on or near a public street, fuggedaboutit. You'll be bombarded with noise from motos, ATVs, mobile boomboxes masquerading as cars, and trucks with speakers blaring "Juan Doe por Presidente! Para la gente!"
part of the noise issue can be attributed to the failure of a lot of people here to recognize and respect the existence of others. the good thing is that people here do not take offense when you point out these things. last night, i fell asleep pretty early, and was awakened by a din being caused by a group of people who had assembled on the sidewalk outside my window, complete with chairs, tables, and bottles of booze. i opened my window, and asked them how they thought i would be able to sleep if they kept up the racket in front of my apartment. they left, without an argument. i just wondered how they could have done something like that in the first place, and how it was that not one of them thought it was a bad idea.
i know. i have been around this country for a very long time. i understand the social graces...or whatever..
I take it as a norm. But, you make adjustments. Generally, I choose condos or villas that are away from public roads. I like beaches where cars can't get too close (as in Cabarete).
And frankly, I think the noise is kinda part of the experience. As it's stupid to go to Santiago and yell at people for not understanding 'Murican, it's also silly to go around the island and not expect noise, everywhere. Besides, worst case, if you're out and it's just bad, a ten-cent pack of foam earplugs can easily fix it.
Las Terrenas is a beautiful, relatively peaceful area. The best part is it's a short drive to your choice of the North Coast, Santo Domingo, Santiago, and (if the oft-rumored Sabana del Mar-Samana City car ferry service ever appears) the East Coast.
And frankly, I think the noise is kinda part of the experience. As it's stupid to go to Santiago and yell at people for not understanding 'Murican, it's also silly to go around the island and not expect noise, everywhere. Besides, worst case, if you're out and it's just bad, a ten-cent pack of foam earplugs can easily fix it.
Las Terrenas is a beautiful, relatively peaceful area. The best part is it's a short drive to your choice of the North Coast, Santo Domingo, Santiago, and (if the oft-rumored Sabana del Mar-Samana City car ferry service ever appears) the East Coast.
I can't take that woman seriously.
One example: Transportation 1,375 For taxis and motos around town.
No one really take taxis around town but that s another subjet. Ok, a motoconcho is 50 during the day, so ida+vuelta would be 100 pesos. If you do that for 20 days, we are already at 2000 Pesos.
She estimate electricity at $60/month in LT
I lived in LT for 20 months in a two bed villa and a two bed apartment and my electricity bill was always about 3000rd monthly. With the sea breezes who needs ac other than to drop the temperature in the room before retiring for the night.
I found that the weekly shopping was less than what I spend in SD, because there are so many small shops to buy your daily needs from and the pricing is competitive. It is easy to shop beyond the supermarkets and if you don't rely on imported items you can maintain a good diet at a fair price.
When it comes to an end of day refreshment the laid back choice of places to take a cold one......and they are not bars as you see in other resorts.....offer beverages at very fair prices. When I did eat out the prices were fair in the various small outlets in and around town and along the beach and don't miss the small outlets behind the cemetery on the beach for your dose of cheap fish meals. Now if you compare to Cabarete it is dirt cheap.
There are so many small residences in the centre of town and it is no great hike from place to place so unless you are plain lazy you would only require your transport from time to time and your best bet would be to invest in a moto or pasola and your costs would be quite manageable.
I have written many times about the ambience of this resort and surrounding areas and it beats all the other resort areas hands down imo when it comes to a place to get away from the commerciality of western life, away from too many tourist trappings and enjoy a quiet full life under the tropical sun.......and super beaches to add. But it has become a major weekend retreat for the middle classes from Santo Domingo who do like to party so the peacefulness does get ruffled a wee bit for a few days.
I lived for less in Las Terrenas than in Santo Domingo, more than when in the campo, and less than my current living costs working on North Coast with trips back to the capital. She is not too far off the mark in my opinion.
Matilda summed the place up perfectly in her blog.
I concur with Chiang Mai and Sabah being on the list......super locations.
i have a problem with that too. for the two of us we spend solid 25,000 a month in PP plus occasional shopping trip to santiago that clocks at 25-40k pesos. and this is just food and other basics (washing powder, soap etc). granted, that also includes the pets. 9,000 does not stretch far.
There are a number of websites out there that purport to be "lifestyle" information sources for retirees and FIRE-types, but in reality most of them are fronts for real estate companies. Some have "seminars" which are little more than road shows for select developments.
During the presentations, the folks here lots of "YOU TOO can live in a Dominican mansion on the beach for only 50 bucks a month, why are you choosing to struggle back at home?"
Which is where DR1 comes in. People can get good information from folks who are or who have recently been on the ground.
During the presentations, the folks here lots of "YOU TOO can live in a Dominican mansion on the beach for only 50 bucks a month, why are you choosing to struggle back at home?"
Which is where DR1 comes in. People can get good information from folks who are or who have recently been on the ground.
occasionally i check a subreddit about dieting and healthy eating and i am utterly amazed when americans say they spend 100 dollars a month on groceries for two people and all this is "good stuff" (that is veggies/meat kind of thing). what the hell do they eat? grass? or the produce is way cheaper there than over here?
i bake a lot and recently i started calculating how much some of the cakes/breads cost me. if the baked goods contain stuff like mascarpone, apples/pears and chocolate the cost of one cake can go as high as 20 dollars. and that does not include time, electricity, gas and "mano de obra".
i bake a lot and recently i started calculating how much some of the cakes/breads cost me. if the baked goods contain stuff like mascarpone, apples/pears and chocolate the cost of one cake can go as high as 20 dollars. and that does not include time, electricity, gas and "mano de obra".
We honestly don't keep very good track of what we spend of food and laundry supplies....etc. However it's definitely not 50,000. Meat wise we only buy Chicken, usually local but once or twice a month we buy the big skinless, boneless brest packages from Pricesmart. We mainly live of fruit, vegetables, and red wine.
You're absolutely right, a lot of things made from scratch cost more than store bought, but at least you know exactly what's in them, and to me that's important. I'll also pay extra for quality spices and ingredients.
A lot of Americans rely heavily on prepackaged foods, expensive and unhealthy. There are people who don't know you can make a cake without a box mix, lol.
We're red meat eaters, it's just the way we are. In DR we eat a LOT of chicken, but that's mostly because most of the beef is terrible. I'm a sale shopper, when baby back ribs were on sale for $1.99 a pound I bought about 8 racks and stuck them in the freezer. Yesterday NY Strip Steaks were $4.77 a pound, guess what's overflowing in our freezer. Same in DR. When we went to La Feria Ganadera in Santo Domingo, they had large whole frozen chickens from the Cibao for 100 pesos each. We bought 20. We go to La Sirena on the 20% off all cuts of meat day, and fill the freezer. That's the day we buy a whole filet, roasts, scallopine, etc.
We're lucky to live in an area of DR with loads of farms, so lots of fresh picked, cheap, veggies and fruits.
PS. I'll estimate we spend about 25,000 pesos a month in DR supermarkets, colmado and farm stands, including cleaning supplies and paper goods, 3 full time adults during the week, and more on weekends. Two dogs. We also send a large bag of groceries and poultry/meats to an elderly neighbor each week.
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I have always favored the mountains and forest zones.... but did not do my due diligence when moving to DR.
I did not even know Jaracoaba or Constanza existed. However, it was my own fault and desire to invest far too quickly.
Now I am preparing my excellent home near Luperon for sale so I can relocate to Jaracoaba.
I lived by the ocean and sailed the seas far too long in my life cycle to want to ''die by the sea''. I would always retreat to the hills ; be it in Nova Scotia or British Columbia ... it was always my getaway.
Sometimes we are a folly to our own intellect and desires. No one else to blame.!! darn it!
I did not even know Jaracoaba or Constanza existed. However, it was my own fault and desire to invest far too quickly.
Now I am preparing my excellent home near Luperon for sale so I can relocate to Jaracoaba.
I lived by the ocean and sailed the seas far too long in my life cycle to want to ''die by the sea''. I would always retreat to the hills ; be it in Nova Scotia or British Columbia ... it was always my getaway.
Sometimes we are a folly to our own intellect and desires. No one else to blame.!! darn it!