Why have you decided to live in the Dominican Republic?

Climate & its' diversity, culture, the people, the cost of living.  Also, a government that is not constantly looking over my shoulder, peering into my life.  The coming of major economic changes.  The opportunity to learn & experience new people & the challenges afforded by  daily life.  Learning a new crusine, language, music & dances.   Equally important is being accepted for who you are, not just because of what you are or what you have.  Give respect & receive respect unlike much of the US where the criteria is based on non-important factors.  The DR gives me what I want & need in my life in order to finish out my remaining years with  laughter, love & contentment.  What else can you ask for?  Life is a one way ticket, there is no return trip!  Make the most of it while you can.  This is why the I consider the DR to be my home.  This sentiment is a very rare thing for a Gypsy.  Normally we consider the world as our home, so indeed, it is a rare thing for one of our people to feel.  I hope that this brief explication gives you an idea of why I choose the DR as my home..

How can you live in a place you don't like? Might as well choose another location.

carlvelas I feel sorry for you in that you chose to live in a place you do not like

We left the rat race of the US 9+ years ago and it was the best decision we have ever made.  We currently have no plans or desire to live back in the US at this time.

Bob K

because what i don't like about this place doesn't matter as much as what i get out of being here.  i get one thing that i need that i cannot get in the united states, or probably most other "civilized" countries and that's why i am here.
for a while i was hanging around ft myers in the wintertime and i used to ask transplanters why they were living in ft myers and i remember one guy answering:  "let me put it this way:  you get seven months of gorgeous weather here". well that leaves 5 months of insufferable heat which is not so great and a heavy price to pay for those seven months.  so he's there because of those seven months and has learned to live with the remaining five.  i don't hate santo domingo just because i say that overall i don't like it.  i am able to tolerate those elements of life here that are not so pleasurable. besides, a little discomfort is not all that unpleasant as the united states culture seeks to remove from everyone's life.

the problem i have with what you are saying is that you talk about the united states as if it is a homogenous country.  everybody in the united states is not living in a rat race situation.  i used to hang out in fr myers during the winters.  it's very laid back there.  rents in modern condo communities are surprisingly low.  my neighbor rented his unit to three teenagers who worked at local stores and they made enough money to live well in a crime free community with a pool and a gym and just minutes and a bus ride to a lovely beach.  ft. myers is no longer exclusively retirees like in the past.  more and more young people are chosing to live there to escape the rat race and competition of the big cities.

For me the primary reason is cost of living for my lifestyle.  I own my own company doing remote computer work.  I had in my mind since I was very young that I wanted to leave the States for somewhere cheaper when I retired.  In my mid-20s I travelled to 12 places over a year's time.  A few years later, I thought to myself why not move now.  I can work from anywhere that has internet.  9 years ago I moved here.  No, DR was not my first choice at that time but it was the best option at that point in time for a few reasons.  I figured I'd move here until I retired and then I'd relocate somewhere else.

Fast forward to now, I am 38 and retiring at the end of this year.  It would have taken me 10 years longer to retire living in the States.  I live here on less than 1/2 of what I would need in the States, maintaining this life.  But now I am not going to leave for Panama or somewhere else.  6 years ago I met my wife here and we got married three years ago so I'm staying.  I have full citizenship here and I am settled. 

I enjoy it here.  There are some things I miss, but not that much.  I have also gotten healthy here.  I was 260 lbs at one time, benchpressing only 205, running a mile in about 9:30 and a 44 inch waist.  Now I am 185 lbs., benchpress 285, run a mile in 6:20 and have a 32 inch waist.  Sure I could do the same in the States, but it wouldn't be as easy and it wouldn't be as easy to maintain it.  Here there is a gym on every corner that I can walk to.  In the States there is a Mcdonalds on every corner.  Never been a huge fan of McDonalds but the point is still the same.  In the states it is easy for me to get my hands on the type of junk foods I want.  Here it is not so easy.  Here I don't like most of the cakes, pies, donuts and crap, I think because of the sugar they use but the reason is not important.   So I just skip it and even if I do see it from time to time it is easier for me to not want it since I usually don't have it.  In the States you might be able to live close to a gym depending on where you choose to live, but here I can live anywhere and it will be close to a gym.

I have thought about returning to the capital sometimes.  It was my first stop here and there were things that were good about it.  There are more things to do, more options.  But I also like living here where it is quieter and easier to get around by foot. 

I know what you say about Ft. Myers, but believe me I visited the area and plenty of places in the U.S. too.  It was not a shotgun decision for me to move and leave the country.  I did my research.  Ft. Myers would be more expensive for me to do what I do where I am doing it now.  I am not a bus ride from the beach, I live on the beach.  OK, its not a public beach, but I am oceanfront and have a small private beach right behind my apartment.  I have a two-bedroom, all-included (except electric), well-maintained, very nice apartment with nice (not the normal junk you see here) furniture that is oceanfront with a great pool and beach access.  And I like to party and I spend much less at most restaurants/bars here. 

Now Santo Domingo can be a bit different though.  I visit often.  Some things are cheaper, but some things will chip away at you there.  You have more options so you might choose higher-cost places and items more often too.  Getting around can be a pain and it all depends on your comfort level for doing certain things, your age and your health.  I am young and healthy and very comfortable in most situations.  I also speak Spanish fluently.  It also depends on your comfort for where you want to live.  If someone wants to live in a North American bubble down here (I think everyone knows the type of communities I'm talking about) then you won't save a peso and in fact you will end up probably paying more here than back in the States.  Those are the people that can't seem to live here on anything less than $60K a year. 

I am also comfortable being surrounded by Dominicans and non-English speaking people.  I believe that removes a lot of the anxieties, negativity and dislikes that some others would normally have.  Part of that is because when I was young my family was poor and I was the minority.  My neighborhood was about 75% African American, 25% Puerto Rican and I swear I felt like the only white boy.  So it doesn't bother me when I am not around the company of English-speaking folks for long periods of time.  To be honest a lot of the English-speaking folks in the town I'm currently in annoy the heck out of me.  I don't like or trust most of them. 

So for me the tradeoff is that things are a bit less convenient and less organized here but I am able to stop working about 10 years sooner.

CJP very nice and thoughtful post.

As I have said many times before the DR is not for everyone.  But and it is a big but if it "fits" for you it is a great place to call home.

Bob K

here is where i have a problem bob:  there is a saying that goes something like "all that is needed for evil to flourish is that good people do nothing".  you are the product of the united states.  you are not a bad person.  if everyone like you decides to leave the united states than all that will be left is the evil. now the question is: have you really left the united states?  what do you watch on your television?  do you watch dominican comedies or political shows?  do you play dominican music in your house all day.  do you sit around a domino table shooting the breeze with dominicans and complaining about the cost of plantains or how your wife is mistreating you?

if i were running the dominican republic and i put a ban on all american items in the country including a ban on the use of the english language, a ban on americans congregating together, a ban on internet transmissions from the united states...  i think you get the idea.  if you were stuck in a 100% dominican enviornment, then would you stay here?

Wow are you from mars or what.  Even in the US there is a blended culture.  My moving  here has nothing to do with "running away"  in fact if that was the case like many disenchanted Expats here I would find that you can't run away your baggage and crap follows you everywhere and in fact in a country like this it even gets heavier.

Yes the DR is blended.  Yes I do like my US TV along with BBC, and local Dominican stations.  Sorry the music I play is from my youth and what I grew up on plus both our cars only have Dominican radio.  NO CDs, NO tapes, NO MP3s just Dominican stations.

No I am not fluent in Spanish but can I communicate with my neighbors, shop keepers, waiters, vendors, repair folks, friends and such.   

Do I drive a new car like I would when we were in the states....NO.    One vehicle is 9 years old and one is 19 years old.  Neither is fancy and only one has AC.

Speaking of AC do we use AC....NO fans and windows are fine.  When we have visitors they tend to turn the AC on.

Do we buy local products in stores and markets...YES.  The only imported things we buy are Steak on the rare occasion we eat beef.  And I will admit I am addicted to Hellman's mayonnaise so we do buy that.  Other wise our pantry has only DR or local products.

So I guess if you were in the US you would ban all languages but English, only have US produced products on the store shelves, close all foreign restaurants, no imported liquor only Jim Beam, and Bud , only have US stations, Only allow US produced vehicles on the  road....and retreat into isolation

Maybe you need to take what ever or who ever is making you live in this country you do not like and find an island somewhere with lots of Coconuts and fish about.

Bob K

hey bob. i love it here.  i'm just bugging you because i like to read your replies.  i admire well organized minds and people who have the ability to lay out a comprehensive cohesive argument on paper- something that i find difficult to do myself.

the short of it is there is good and bad everywhere and the looker is either seeing the glass as half full or half empty.

I simply love my life here. Period.

i am glad to hear that there is at least one person in this world who is happy.

Shouldn't this thread be about WHY someone has decided to live in the DR? Theoretical questions that have no basis in reality doesn't seem to make sense in this thread. Maybe it's for another thread?

so why have you decided to live in the dominican republic?

i wouldn't call myself fluent in spanish but i can get through the day without uttering one word of english.  i live in the capital and when i shop in the supermarket i stay away from american "luxuries" like corn flakes because of the exotic "tax" added to the cost of these items.  mangos and zapotes are as good or better tasting than any fruit produced in the united states and less costly than the apples here (are they grown in d.r. or imported?).  there are no americans on my block (some dominicans around me have visited the united states and may have a relative or two living there but they are comfortable with their nationality and are not looking to get away). 

so most of the time i don't feel like a foreigner and when people ask me about my nationality i answer "dominican" and sometimes show my cedula.  i hate being thought of as an "extranjero".  when pressed i say i am greek- i never admit to being an american.

and then something happens that tumbles my world.  a few days ago i ran across an old skit on saturday night live while surfing through youtube. the skit is called "christopher walken family reunion".  it has to do with members of christopher walken's family visiting him at his house.  all the family members have the same peculiar manner of speaking and gesturing as christopher walken.  in fact some of the cast members do a better christopher walken than christopher walken himself.  at that moment i think to myself:  this is what i grew up with.  this is who i am.  saturday night live is part of my cultural life.  what sense would a dominican make out of that skit?  there is no way that a dominican will ever appreciate the brilliance behind that skit.  i will never be able to share that skit with a dominican.  i will never be able to call a dominican friend and say "you have to watch this episode on saturday night live where all these people are imitating christopher walken. it's so funny that it is almost beyond the scale of humor".

Same as us watching Dominican comedy skits honey.  We have no historical points of reference or cultural reference so we miss it entirely. 

I for one LOVE LOVE LOVE Saturday Night Live, old or new.......   

As expats we are blends of cultures.  We will never be Dominican but we  can adapt and blend.

It Is all about blending and adapting.  Otherwise like I said before you might as well live in isolation on some remote island somewhere and not worry about blending or adapting.

Bob K

yes, it does work both ways.  i was in the malecon yesterday listening to a karaoke performance.  the crowd would either cheer on or severely critique the performer.  i could not tell the difference between a good performance or a bad one because apparently it didn't have all to do with the quality of the singing but the ability to follow the rhythm of the song (none of which i was familiar with).  at times the crowd would get outright hostile and shout "matala, matala", which i thought was pretty funny even though i didn't get what was angering them so much.

This place is funny, D.R. and this forum  : ))))

Im dominicano hasta la tambora, and i used to love SNL back in '07 when a still was in school, now, not so much.. But i remember Will Ferrel, Darryl Hammond, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and my favorite Kenan Thompson who made the skit of Big Papi lol.

Im 24 now and i grew up with american tv series of the late '90 and beginnig of this century.

Maybe the younger generation of dominicans can appreciate those kind of things, I knwo i do, even tho i laugh the crap out watchin tuberculo gourmet.

It is interesting to watch the increase in American influence here. It's from tv, movies and Dominicans who live in USA then move back home etc.

Biggest changes over the years as far as US/Canada influence is the number of imported food products.  I still stick to the local brands and usually as good and cheaper.

Second is the availability of household products and furnishings.   When we built our villa 10 years ago if you wanted three of the same light fixture or ceiling fans  and such you were out of luck.  Also reliable appliances were non existent then.  We ended up shipping all our light fixture, ceiling fans, washer, dryer, kitchen stove and frig from the US as what was available here was crap.

Bob K

I see things like "Black Friday"  sales here,  clear  American influences... even if its not much of a sale.

probably originally. but now dominicans don't need travelers to bring back news.  america is here and it's inside everyone's cell phone.

Be careful big brother is watching you.

And how did you get something so big like the USA fit in to my small Samsung phone???

Bob K

i didn't. i arranged to have the cell phone enlarged.

i came here in 1993 first time and fell in love with the loco people then i married one

why did you marry a crazy woman?

Because he fell in love.   

good answer. my wife was a gift from Dios

You are one of the lucky ones Texas,  I am envious.

That texasdonkey is from texas, the most mexican state you can get.. Has been here since 93, and doesnt speak spanish... Damn smh lool

What business is that of yours what I speak?. As long as my family is good you can kiss my gringo ass

i don't understand why rde1000's remarks made you so upset.  could it be the "smh lool" part?  what the heck does that mean?

I am heavily armed and easily pissed off

i think you should give rde1000 some slack; we expatriots are in a strange land and need to stick together.  unless, of course "smh lool"  is really an offensive comment.

Us gringos should not "stick together" just because we are gringos.  Its not us vs anyone.....

RDE - you are being judgemental and out of line - its not up to you to disparage Mexicans or anyone else!

i still would like to know what "smh lool" means.

i didn't say it was us (i.e. gringos) against them (i.e. dominicans).  i said we "gringos" were in a strange place and we should make an extra effort to get along.  it's like when  in a war situation all american soldiers get along regardless of race, nationality, social class..  because there is a common problem of survival that they all share.