Cost of living 2018 in Dominican Republic

Thanks😄

Thanks Bob... Just wondering do you get the news channels in DR like CNN and FOX? There is some real drama going on with politics here.....always keeps us entertained after a long day at work! Lol!!😵

We get all the channels here one way or another!   Yup such drama.

Not that we watch the  news very often but we do get local stations from Miami (ABC, CBS, NBC) as well as CNN and HLN.  Usually I am pretty nauseated by the first 5 min.

Bob K

























cb

HeyTinker! You can still type!

Yep we are hoping to forget the news too once were there!😎🌴

Robert and I are you, but backward. I am soon to be 60, and he is 50. I can stay on his insurance till Medicare at 65. That fits with our more RD than US timeline. Then we can decide about his insurance. Honestly, I had no idea till I read this forum that we could even access any RD based insurance. I did not think it existed.

Do we have to live there a certain amount of time, or have and RD credentials to get evac insurance?

No. I'd suggest getting it to cover your trips. Ours is good for a year. PM Planner - she's got some great info she can share with you!

Lots of luggage?  What is in the bags?  If it is mostly clothes, you are bringing too much.  Very seldom will you need "dressy" clothes. Life is pretty casual here. If you dress to impress. thou shalt be glanced askance.  I'm sure that you will receive other posts on this matter.  I understand the pets, you'll get info on that as well. Welcome.

Medical evacuation insurance is available by the day right up to  all year!  Premiums are single, couple or family!  IF you have pre existing conditions  you need to apply anyway. Often there is only a 90 day wait on those.

RD medical insurance is  available for expats.  Depending on your length of stay,  pre existing conditions and age it  can make a lot of sense to have!   APPLY well before age  65 so you have more options! After 65 its darn tough to get and there are only 2 plans available.

And thanks Jgolak,  anyone with questions feel free to contact me here!

Let me know your flight plans so I can avoid that plane

Tinker40, Planner, Bob K

I finally am back in the loop and receiving expat emails/posts I did not have to delete my acct, the customer support team dug deeper and noticed I blocked them in error months ago and even though I unblocked on my end and added them to my safe contact list they still had to do something on their end for me to be able to receive emails...I'm so excited and Bob K was my first email today! Your the winner Bob....sorry no cash prize lol!!😂

Hahahaha so good to hear!!!

Good to know that my voice is now heard in the light of day Kat11

Glad you got it sorted out
Bob K

Hi everyone,

I'm just wondering, why is it ridiculous to ask how much to buy a house in DR?

I would really like to have an idea?

Thank you

I think when you see a comment like that its because its impossible to tell without knowing someone's budget. You can get a beautiful condo or villa for $89,000 - $250,000 2 bed 2 bath and keep going up to 3 mIllion all depending what your looking for.

Why is it ridiculous?

Simple: a house in the worst barrio  in the country could be US $ 3,000.

A "house" in the absolute nicest location US $ 5,000,000.

That's why!

Hello Everyone
Finally just rented a apartment in Santiago. Good information to know about staying here. I will be here and US. I would like to have my water, electric and possibly internet turned on before I come back to DR. I am reaching out to my realtor, but if he is to busy, where should I contact to have this enable when I return at the end of next month.

Are there any stores like Whole Foods or new seasons in the states?

Thanx

Yes. Whole Foods are in the Washington DC metro area

Isaac - you will really need to handle all this yourself. You need to go with your rental contract in hand, your ID and you will likely pay deposits. The only way around this is to give someone a POA to handle it for you. For Internet get a package bundles with cable and land line if you need one.

I am in SD or I would help you honey!

Sailing - we have one  similar here in the capital on Tiradentes. Not sure anywhere else though, sorry.

Thanks Planner
Are you in Santo Domingo? If so, I will be there at the end of February before I go to Santiago. I would like to stay in my apartment when I return, but as you know, I need water and electric. If I can get the internet also. I am good.

Let me know when you are here. I can walk you thru the process. If you want claro internet we can get that done here but the other two have to be done in Santiago.  And someone needs to be at the apt when they actually install.

Ok. I will be in Santo Domingo February 25 - March 2, then I go to Santiago.

Issac, I am wondering why the water and electric won't already be on in your building and yours just transferred into your name, upon arrival. That is how ours is working. If you are in a complex, wouldn't it already have utilities? Maybe not cable, but the others? We are buying our apartment so maybe that is different?

Often that is not how it is done Christie. Normally it was in the previous tenants name. When you sign a lease it would include proof the previous utilities were paid to zero and accounts were closed. Now the new tenant makes their arrangements.

I guess we lucked out on that one! No previous tenant....

Hello Everyone

Thanks for the reply. I am in a new apartment, no past tenant. I am in a complex renting. I would think everything is ready, Just as the planner said, I need to give them my information and deposit to switch on. My utilities are not included.

Thank you Kat, I understand.

Thank you, I understand what you mean.

If I miss something from America really badly I make a Costco or Target run, on my trips back to the states. You can check 5 bags on American Airlines. I agree that the milk here is disgusting. My kids can't get past buying milk off of the shelf and not out of a refrigerator. The eggs here are delicious though. My costs are much lower than in the states. We live in Gazcue area, or National District of Santo Domingo. 800 a month for rent and utilities. About 500 a month to feed two adults and two children. My kid's schooling is free. They currently attend California Connection's Academy, which is online public school. When their Spanish becomes adequate, I will enroll them in a local elementary school. I don't have a car here, so I would say about 200 a month for Uber. We don't really go out to the movies. We have netflix, Hulu, directv, Amazon Prime videos, and KODI with the Krypton build. Internet with private vpn service costs 55 a month. In total I would say we live a comfortable upper middle class life here on  less than 2,000 a month. My biggest expenses is flying back to the united states every few months for work, and paying for my vehicle and storage in Miami.

You can actually get refrigerated whole milk in most markets .  I hear you about the Costco runs back in the states.  We just returned from the states and brought 4 bags with us and 3 loaded from our Costco run 

Bob K

Re: Milk
If I were to want milk practically out of a cow, say a farm, would it be difficult to find near small towns?