- Thread starter Speedy Dolphin
- Start date
Would $1600 a month allow 1 person to live comfortably in the DR ?
depends on your definition of comfortably. I'm assuming you mean for one person. Do you expect to live in Punta Cana within walking distance of the beach, drive an SUV, go out to eat at decent restaurants and drink something other than local rum? Probably not. Do you expect to live in a small town in the middle of the country in a one bedroom apartment, drive a pasola, cook rice and beans at home, and drink local rum and beer? Then yes, you probably could.
NO WAY ON EARTH ! ... but "comfortable" is very relative. Let's just calculate; 94,400 is your Budget. 30,000 for Rent incl. electricity, water etc. (this is the very very low end).
You have 64,000 RD$ left, makes 2,100 RD$ (36$) a day. No car no dinning no Health Insurance, no nothing. Basic food and one Pizza a week. And if you ask your self ; how dominicans make it with even less ?. Well this we all would like to know. LOL
Depends on where in the country you want to live. Some places are a lot less expensive than others. Single, married, children.. ect, plays a role as well.
I don't know anyone who is single who is foolish enough to pay 30,000 pesos a month in rent/ water/ electric in a developing country.
It's pretty light. Yea you could do it if you lived like a Dominican in the barrio. Obviously I have no clue if you would like it.
Right now, I'm paying $540/month for a 3 bedroom house about 700 meters from the beach (which I rarely visit). We eat good. My grocery budget is about $500/month. Electricity is close to $20/month. Gas for the car is about $40. We eat out at least once a week. The amount varies each time.
I paid around $9000 for a used car that runs fine now, after some work. Insurance is not much.
I also like to go visit friends about once a quarter. That jacks the budget up.
You need to have some savings. There is always something unexpected, so expect it.
Right now, I'm paying $540/month for a 3 bedroom house about 700 meters from the beach (which I rarely visit). We eat good. My grocery budget is about $500/month. Electricity is close to $20/month. Gas for the car is about $40. We eat out at least once a week. The amount varies each time.
I paid around $9000 for a used car that runs fine now, after some work. Insurance is not much.
I also like to go visit friends about once a quarter. That jacks the budget up.
You need to have some savings. There is always something unexpected, so expect it.
Thanks for the replies. I was there for 2 weeks over 15 years ago. A couple by the name of Graham and Ginny and I became close friends. I was sadden to hear they have passed away. I'm 72 years old and recently widowed. Not looking for an extravagant life. No need of female company. I like Puerto Plata and the social area. We did travel to Santiago while we were there. Would like to stay close to the beach
I'll have enough to buy a car and rent a condo without the dipping into monthly retirement. I'd like to run something for 6 months make sure that I can pull this off
If you have somewhere to go back to in case you want make it here, give it a try. Otherwise better not.
I'm keeping my house in Tennessee. No plans to sell
As you mention Puerto Plata, where we (me, my wife, our two kids) lived there 5+ years would be something I could recommend, also based on my dad's feedback when he visited us (he's 73 now)... It was a closed residential area with a few expats here and there, but no tourists... Not many rentals, the same people living for decades... Rent would be in the area NanSanPedro mentioned above... There are a few apartment buildings also, where I'm sure you could get something for a few months to see how it is...
As you mentioned "Graham and Ginny", I believe I have read about them on this forum, and based on what I can recall, they lived rather close to where we lived...
EDIT: just to clarify, we would still be living there if we were in the DR, but currently in Europe...
You are two and have a three-bedroom house. He is one and requires a one-bedroom house. I think it is doable in the Puerto Plata area.
It most definitely is. I know inflation is strong but still...
What car can you drive for $40/month. That's only 8 gallons. Even if you get 30 miles to the gallon that's only 240 miles per month of driving
That's less than $20,000 / year which is 'possible' but it puts you on the barrio spectrum of life
Without kids and no major responsibilities, 1600 gives you enough room to live comfy in any major part of the DR (excluding high rent areas).
1,600 monthly is currently an low-tier salary for any manager in a bank or corporation here in the country.
If you don’t like the noise and bustle of Puerto Plata, there are many smaller quieter areas on the periphery of POP. Costambar is one of them. Lots of inexpensive apartments next to the beach, good mix of locals and expats, and decent security. Not too touristy. You should be able to negotiate a good rental rate for a six month stay. You don’t need a vehicle there. Everything you need is within walking distance. Gua guas run constantly between there and Puerto Plata, Sosua, etc. A cheap way to get around. Good luck in your new venture. Like you I like the DR but will never give up my home in Canada.
It is a maybe in my opinion in Puerto Plata and the surrounds. Give it a try and see what you can do.
Something I neglected to mention is wifi/phone. We use Imagen and pay $70/month for wifi at the house. We had Altice but it sucked real bad. My phone plan is about 3000 pesos/month ($52). I think that's too high based upon what others have said here. Nonetheless that´s what we have. I rarely have outages now.
I live in Puerto Plata in a mostly quiet area and agree that $1600 probably is sufficient. One thing to remember is that you'll probably rent a furnished place that first six months, so your rent will be higher. If you decide to continue on, renting unfurnished and buying furniture would be the way to go.