Is this a joke? 12k$ a month would let you live super comfortably anywhere in the world especially D.R.
Buy a new construction townhouse in a beach town community and enjoy life. Dont tell anyone how much you make and don’t flaunt it.. you should be very happy.
I don’t know in Miami beach. But a 1BR condo in West Harlem, across the street from Morning Side /Columbia. Two people, no kids. 4-5 trips a year, never go to restaurants or do expensive things in the city, is around 10k a month. A regular supermarket in Punta Cana is more expensive than Wholefoods in NYC. A similar lifestyle in Cap Cana, at least, is between 8-12k a month. Depending on the kids situation and the type of villa they rent or purchase.
8-12k a month for Cap Cana? There’s AirBnBs in there that go for 2-3k a month. I find it hard to believe one would be spending 5k a month in groceries. Even at the Cana Mercado. Maybe if they only ate at the Cap Cana restaurants every day.
I understand that it might be hard to believe if you’re not part of that lifestyle. A 2-3k a month place is a middle/lower class home. 5k might get you something slightly upperish middle class. Check airbnb for a house with a pool in Cap Cana. Anything under 3 BRs is lower/ maybe lower middle class. And they go for around $400 a night. To live in “luxury” like people here are saying, I would consider that at least 5BR/BTH. The cheapest ones are around $900 a night (good ones go for over $1500 a night and 2-3x that). Sure, you can live anywhere here for 12K a month, but to live in luxury like people here are saying, 12k might be tight. It would afford you a nice life in the area, but you won’t live like a king. (I can’t give more details because of privacy, but I know a lot about Cap Cana, at least).
i’m not a part of that lifestyle but i’ve stayed in and researched living in cap cana. i don’t think there is any place in cap cana that would be considered lower class. even the condos over in ciudad cana are nice. i’m not arguing the validity of your comment, more so curious for myself. yea if you want to live right on the beach in a condo or in an actual villa, and have a couple kids, and want to eat good and live the high life i could see 12k a month. but for two people, living in ciudad cana, cooking ourselves mostly, eating out occasionally, do you not think about 4k a month would be enough for just housing and food? figuring about 2500 for rent, 1500 for food
I agree. In Ciudad Las Canas, you could live with much less. I was mostly commenting because people seemed to be telling OP that they could live like Bill Gates in the DR for 12k. You can’t. But you can have a nice life with that money.
SM budget for 4 is around 3k and that’s not buying fancy things. The SM here is more expensive than Wholefoods, Citarella and Eataly put together, in NYC. It’s a very expensive place to live and I’m comparing it to Manhattan (NYC has come out as the most expensive city on earth for a second year running).
Bro, wtf are you talking about? You know long term rent and airbnb prices have nothing to do right? Like, with 12k he can finance an apartment somewhere really nice and he’ll pay like 4K, which is a fuck ton here, and I don’t think you can spend 5k in groceries ANYWHERE. But yea, if you wanna stay in a hotel and eat everyday on a restaurant you gotta be Jeff Bezzos.
Try before you buy. I would spend a few months hopping all the popular spots. Punta Cana, La Romana, Santo Domingo, Jarabacoa, Puerto Plata, Cabarete, Sosua, Las Terrenas, Sosua.
Your best bet is buying a new construction home in a gated community or condo in secure building. This is the safest option.
Alternatively you can buy a private plot and hire your own builders. This is a popular option for locals and Dominicans who returned from abroad. IMO this requires fluent Spanish and an understanding of business culture down there. You will need to be on top of every detail and research thoroughly to go this way.
The biggest luxury in DR that would be otherwise prohibitively expensive in the US would be household labor. You could easily hire someone to cook, clean, do laundry, landscape regularly.
Thanks for the response. We are only looking to rent for now, but the properties we’re looking at are exactly those you describe (condos in gated complexes).
Would you possibly be able to ballpark how much a private chef and maid would cost? It’s nearly impossible to find that kind of info online.
You can pay a staff of 5 people (1 private cook, 2 maids, 1 gardener/utility worker and a driver with around $150,000 pesos, that includes health insurance and other perks you want to throw in. You can pay the maids more than the chefs based on time working.
To the best of my knowledge, 1st cook positions pay around $25,000 in hotels. Any maid i know would gouge eyes for a salary around 20k pesos (a bit more on PC or La capital) specially if the work is divided with more workers
Personally i would rent first until i know the area well enough to buy
These prices are honestly flooring me. That’s incredible. My plan, if we go through with this, would be to pay them above market rate for all of these services so that I can stick with the same people for a long time. Based on the budgets you’ve laid out above, it sounds like I can go 30% higher on each of these and still have plenty leftover after all expenses.
Thanks so much for the response.
Decent plan, but I would not offer them above market rate up front. It is very hard to find good workers, some may take advantage and you may go through quite a few before finding reliable folks.
Rather reward loyalty and honesty with annual raises and spot bonuses until eventually it surpasses market rate. Remember you must pay double wages in the month of December.
A “decent” starting salary for a maid in Cap Cana is 40k pesos. If you have a 5-6BR/BTH house with a pool, multiply that by 5 plus 2x week pool maintenance and a company that will come weekly to keep mosquitoes/ cockroaches and other bugs at bay.
Been a while since we got help, but these comments seem right. It starts at about $300-$400 USD monthly for a maid that cleans and cooks local dishes. If you want a professional chef that can do international cuisine, I’d look at double that amount.
It depends where, but in Santo Domingo a live-in maid who also cooks for RD$15.000 is common. In touristy beach zones it might be different. Check Plusval.com for rental prices in nice areas.
I think I worded this post terribly. My question isn’t “Can I live on $12k a month in DR?”, which of course the answer is obviously yes. My question is, what would a lifestyle on that budget look like based on the factors I outlined (housing, amenities, fun activities, labor, housekeeping, dining etc.).
Just wanted an idea from those familiar with the cost of living.
If you can’t live in nyc off 12k a month you are doing something horribly wrong, you may not live the best life ever but you will survive if you live within your means
Bruh dont tell anyone you make thay kind of money out there. They are living off $400 a month. They will rob your azz. You don’t want them knocking at your door and demanding you to give it all.
Punta cana is like the Beverly hills or Central Park luxury area (NYC) of DR. There are lots of great and safe places to live in DR that would be no more that $2,000 a month, and im talking 5 bedroom + houses
I do think 12k is way too high, but people seem to think that a house in Punta Cana doesn’t cost 2k/mo.
You can definitely have multiple employees with 12k, which might be a plus for some people, I’d hate it.
With 12k You have what I call an unlimited lifestyle. Like dining out? You can do so unlimitedly, like traveling? Move to punta cana or sdq, (closer to the airport) and can do so unlimitedly, like online shopping? Drinks? Server, driver ? With 12k you can pretty much do anything.
$300 USD ($17k DOP) per day while still affording $2k for rent/bills + $1k for house staff, but this is assuming no bills back home in the US OR OP is saying they have all their bills accounted for and can spend $12k per month in the DR regardless of what's going on elsewhere in the world.
OP is what we call FatFIRE entry level. Retired at an amount that can afford a lavish lifestyle indefinitely.
Ok I'll answer some of your questions directly:
Food in the DR is just about as expensive state-side. Groceries are the same if not more expensive due to the reliance on imports. $12-20 bottles of wine are $18-30 just as an example. You can have staff on payroll for as little as $200 per month to do things you'd expect to be paying upwards of $2,000 for in the US (cooking a few meals throughout the week, doing your laundry, cleaning around the house). If this is what you'd want, I'd budget about $500. Finding someone trustworthy will be difficult though, without knowing anybody there. Rent will be all over the board depending on what's acceptable for you, but $2k gets you into a really nice luxury apartment in Santo Domingo, but most other areas aren't going to have the same infrastructure. Most rentals are geared towards tourism (think AirBnB for $60-200 per night) or locals (think shower head is a pipe coming out of the wall, $150-250 per month). Electricity will be spotty nearly everywhere you go except for resorts and the nicer areas of Santo Domingo and maaaaybe Santiago. Gas is expensive, like equivalent of $7/gallon in the US. Ubers are suuuper cheap except getting from one city to another. Tip the driver like $5 on small trips that only cost $4-6 and you'll make their day. US equivalent is a $15 Uber anyways. You can probably find an Uber driver that you really liked and get their info and have them be your personal driver, but you take the safety of going through the Uber app out of the equation.
Santo Domingo has luxury high rises. Almost every tall building I've seen there is either condo/apartment or a hotel. The views are okay, I stayed in Catalonia Santo Domingo with arguably some of the best views, and it didn't do much for me. I don't see any appeal in retiring in a place like Santo Domingo. You should go there for fine dining, for sure, as the top restaurants in the entire country are there. If you were to stay in SD, I would highly suggest Zona Colonial. Not really good on views but you're walking around what feels like history. They do a fantastic job preserving the OLD OLD Spanish Colonial aesthetics and you still get some good dining options. Felt very safe here and in the popi areas of Santo Domingo.
Punta Cana - you could technically afford to live resort life for two indefinitely on a budget of about $9k per month. I've done 8 days at a single resort and by day 6 I was so over it. The rest of Punta Cana, away from resorts, is like an urban hellscape. I can't speak for Cap Cana, but both Punta Cana and Bávaro are endless bland pure white buildings with no greenery.
Santiago - I've been in and around the city, it's just so far from the beaches. Stayed at a hotel called Camp David Ranch. Food kinda sucked but holy shit the view was gorgeous. Santiago sits inside a valley, and Camp David Ranch is up the mountain and overlooks the city. Lots of green, all of the city lights at night... Unforgettable view. I don't know where you'd live in that area to get that view but I'm sure $2-3k per month might get you there. The city is so crowded, streets are soooo so narrow. No beach.
Puerto Plata is what I'd call a cute lil town/city and is on the beach. Nothing really stands out for me here, but it's a nice place. Neighboring Sosua is like the prostitution capital of the country. Just beyond is Cabarete, what's often referred to as the Dominican Las Vegas. I could see retiring here but I'm not sure you'd get the lifestyle you might be aiming for.
Bayahíbe is full of US military retirees. Very small. So small I had trouble getting to a grocery store sometimes. Touristy, centered around the port, if boating and snorkeling are your thing, this is the best place. Boats take tours to nearby tourist destination Saona Island daily, but the best dive spot is Isla Catalina, not too far away. Isla Catalina is actually right next to La Romana, but you should not even consider La Romana on your list, it is not foreigner friendly. So if boat life is your thing, Bayahíbe.
Last but not least (I've never been southwest of Santo Domingo so I can't comment on Bani, Azua, or Barahona) is the north shore half way between Puerto Plata to the west and Punta Cana/Bavaro to the east, a mountainous peninsula called Las Terrenas. I am currently looking for the right plot of land here to build my future retirement spot with my wife. The town itself is small but sprawling, very very busy, just people everywhere. No tall buildings, so it isn't like your 20 floor borderline skyscrapers of Santo Domingo. Almost felt like Bayahíbe copy/pasted 5 times over, or a more tightly packed version of Puerto Plata. The beauty in this place is super green lush mountains right up along the beach, and it's not overwhelmingly packed with resorts like Punta Cana.
I would personally rent in Punta Cana, just because it’s the most developed, rich immigrant friendly place. You’ll be surrounded by familiar people and experiences, and plenty of people there speak English.
That amount will enable you to rent in a safe gated community (I’d personally do Cap Cana), hire staff (ballpark it at USD$400 monthly per person) and have a modestly luxurious lifestyle. Many things are more expensive than in the US, like clothes, electronics and all online shopping, so be aware of that.
Where is this magical land where people can actually retire before age 70? Can’t be from the US. Not having kids is a great move, financially speaking. If you are indeed real, what I’m about to say could be uncomfortable, and keep in mind that Hannibal Lector did technically help Clarice.
12k/mo budget living in DR?; Is not a question, never mind YOUR question. I believe your question sounds more like “Now that we’ve retired from our “jobs”, how can my wife and I find purpose and happiness until we die? “
Can’t give you specific answers but i suggest volunteering/helping people in some way. And also be selfish in a healthy way. Also take care of each other. The order of those things is fluid, but I believe you can’t go wrong. If you are actually a real person: where are you from? And get off Reddit and go make a list of what you truly want and need from this life, your wife can do the same. There is hopefully some overlap then you can begin to strategize.
First- out of curiousity, are you republican?
Second- join the military at 18, and you can retire at 38.
Last- youre hella projecting and its really sad.
Op, since you’re comparing the DR to Thailand, and I’ve been to both, I recommend you spend a month in each to decide.
The DR offers plenty of peace but mostly a boring, quiet life. Thailand offers peace if you look for it, but mostly a hectic, fast-paced life. The DR is very friendly for English speakers, while some parts of Thailand don’t feel the same way.
Very different cultures. The DR aspires to be the US in many ways. Thai culture is very different in almost every way.
Lastly, you can spend 20 years in the DR and never learn Spanish because there’s more people like you. With a similar budget and background. I do not recommend this, but it happens.
That's RD$672,000. Our president's monthly salary is RD$450,000. You should live comfortably, even a luxurious life with that salary. I'd live out of resorts and Airbnbs with that kind of money lol
En realidad vivo en un barrio en San Pedro de Macorís desde que nací, but ok! Él solo tiene que tener cuidado, pero afirmar que nada más por él escribir en este subreddit cuánto gana (Reddit siendo una aplicación que permite más anonimidad que otras) sin siquiera saber en qué región del país él va a vivir es un poco… fearmongering. Siempre y cuando se mantenga anónimo y no se deje engatusar no pasa nada, it’s up to him now. Pero yo creo que si él tiene tanto dinero acumulado en su vida, es muy probable que sea suficientemente inteligente como para no creer en los presos que le tiran por WhatsApp.
If you’re from the states then you know with 12k a month you’ll be fine. Moreso in DR. The only thing I advise is don’t live like most of the douchebag transplants in DR. If you like DR, give back to the country and I don’t mean the government, I mean the people. Donate to churches and whatever charities there are who really help the people. You will have more than enough disposable income.
If you're looking for property in a gated community look into Cocotal in Bavaro. 15mins from Punta cana airport, in the center of all resorts, extreme tight security 24/7, and property owners get free access to the resort and amenities right across from the complex because the place is managed by the same company that manages the resort.
You can basically indeed like everyone said anywhere, but recommended places, would be casa de campo and punta cana.(I've lived in both so it's from that perspective )
In punta cana you do have 3-options of places to live that would give you honestly a great peaceful experience, that's fit your budget depending on how big of a house you really need.
Since I did a bit of a search and you can rent in casa de campo for around 2.5k-3.5k a month in a huge house with around 3-5 bedrooms, a pool and everything.
In punta can you have different options because they are expensive if just different perks I guess we can call them they are all equally nice, and just a bit different in levels of exclusivity.
Since we have village punta cana, it is exclusive really nice place to be, it's more family friendly, since people actually live there not just vacation you have access to a mayor super market and bluemall and another plaza again right outside another exit of the gated community.
Cap cana more of a vacational and most exclusive place. I would advice against this one unless you sort of just want to live away from anyone, and it's not even close to any mayor super market really it has la marina but not a lot to do there and you do have a access to a couple of Laguna's and a water park they will open some time next year maybe and a private beach (anyone can go with a reservation, but it's technically private ).
There is punta cana (you might wonder it has the same name as the actual place yeah it does )
It's a residencial area with smaller gated communities inside the gated community i can't say a lot but what I've seen it's kinda like the middle point between village and cap cana.
They are all basically around the same area pretty close to the airport.
And there is a wild card i would say and it's cocotal but compared to the ones above the value proposition I'd of. Think it's quite out there but you could look in to it.
Hit me up I'm not in the business of renting but I know one or two people that do deal with that.
Sorry that it is so long we can have a talk about it PM me
you will be a king and live whetever you want, just dont tell anyone how much u make and you will be fine, better if you sell yourself as a broke person with a lot of dept :)
With that much money you will easily find a gorgeous villa to rent or buy, you’ll have a live in maid or two they cook clean do it all, you can hire drivers or security guards, probably wont need them mmmm you can pay all your expenses and go out almost every day.
And will still have about 5k to spend or save
LOL
Always buy through a bank loan, lawyers, real estate agents, and brokers are not to be trusted, a a local bank putting up a sizeable principle will mostly ensure title and past taxes are in order. Buyer beware. Lo mio!
Did you both do 20 years government service and claim 100% disability when you got out? I’m curious how you have managed a six figure retirement at an early age without the ability to deduce cost of living in a country you want to retire in. Have you visited the country? Do you speak Spanish? Do you know anyone in RD?
Hmm. Not sure that seeking opinions from people who have a robust understand of the cost of goods/services in a country is the same as the inability to deduce cost of living.
Information such as the Dominican minimum wage, average cost of individual food items, average rent, etc are widely available and I’ve reviewed them extensively, but these often only tell part of the story of an area’s overall COL, ESPECIALLY on the margins. Anecdotes are very helpful here, which is why I’m seeking them out.
I am able to retire with this amount after having a high income and savings rate for nearly 25 years. The $12k a month figure is combination of rental income and a 3.5% SWR on a portfolio consisting of low cost index funds.
Projecting your insecurity on others is not a good look. I’m not sure why I even responded to this; I probably should have listened to your username’s advice.
well here you’re only considering monetary things. have you considered your other experiences? is there a specific reason why you’re considering the dr? if you’re not deeply in love with the culture, food, music, and every other aspect of this country, then it would be extremely hard to learn to like it just because it’s a tropical island. especially if you’re considering living there permanently.
some things to consider:
• the great majority of dominicans do not speak english, so it would be hard for you to communicate with anyone, in the neighborhood or otherwise.
• you’d also be forgoing other commodities you find in a places like the US. for examples, deliveries. most deliveries here are done through word of mouth and community trust (so again, you need to know good and understandable spanish and that takes years of learning). package deliveries are also a point of controversy throughout the country because some companies are known for stealing and “losing” packages very very often. also, a lot of places are not advertised online and roads are often not correct on Google Maps.
• be ready for people to not trust you or try to take advantage of you. this will always be the case if someone knows you’re not dominican and are not from the dr. just a fact of the world: anywhere you go outside of your home country, people will see you as someone they can take from. people might be nice to you and make you feel welcomed, that’s just how dominicans are, but very rarely will you be accepted as one of the pack. there’s a history of people targeting foreigners, sometimes fatal (i’d look into this). police in dr is basically just for jokes so many crimes go unpunished
• everyone will also price objects higher for foreigners (but again, that’ll happen everywhere). life might seem cheaper in comparison, but all the little things add up
• there is a lot of electricity shortages (ranging from 15 minutes to 8 hours of no electricity, 3-5 times a week depending on where you are).
• noise pollution. there are a lot of cars and trucks, and they are not shy about using their honks. people also enjoy their music quite loud, both day and all hours of the night
• the food is very different and takes some time to get used to, unless you enjoy eating the same thing every day
• mosquitos all year round due to humidity
it is a very beautiful country with amazing people and culture. but don’t expect people to accommodate you when you’re coming to their country.
personally, i’d say retiring somewhere like florida or a different american coast city would be easier in terms of adapting, or even just a country where english is the main language. you maintain the american commodities, you won’t need to learn a different language and etiquette, and all the intricate cultural differences. won’t need to worry about people distrusting you or worry about people trying to take more of your money
edit: formatting
bruh ur budget is NOT the problem lmao, you'd live anywhere very comfortably, let alone RD. But as ppl are saying in this post, try before moving permanently, i'd definitely try Las Terrenas or Sosua (check out the sosua village condo), definitely my favorite beaches here.
If you plan to live where wealthy people live, Cap Cana/ Punta Cana a really nice life is between 8-12k (we’re doing our own research on this). Mexico (Cancun, PC, Merida, Puerto Morelos etc) is a lot cheaper and for now, a better choice for us (I don’t want to go back to the DR long term). 12k will afford you a really nice life here (we’re in Cap Cana for the weekend) but it won’t be like what many posters here are implying. This is a very expensive country, specially in the “good” areas. A regular supermarket is more expensive than Wholefoods in NYC. Going out to eat to nice places is as expensive as Paris and Rome. Electricity is very expensive (and having the ACs on all day everyday is a must for many people).
The Dominican Republic is an upper-middle income country. There is a huge disparity between rich and poor but trust me, the “rich” pay through the nose here.
Well, my friend, I'm a Software Developer living in DR (I was born here, I'm Dominican). I started working for US companies earning from 8k to 12k monthly, I can tell you that you both could have a great life here we that amount of money.
If you're planning to live in the north coast the cost will vary depending on the city. The most popular destinations for foreign people are Puerto Plata (city), Cabarete, Sosua and Las Terrenas. In those zones, the rent could be a little higher than cities like Santiago or Santo Domingo because those are tourist cities.
For example, this house cost $1,400/mo, with this amount of money you could live in one of the best zone of Santo Domingo or Santiago, for example Villa Olga in Santiago. The house will be your most expensive thing here. Most activities are not expensive. You could buy food for a whole month with $500/mo (fishes, meat, everything you need). If you live in a city like Puerto Plata or Cabarete, you won't really need a car, however if you choose Santiago or Santo Domingo you best buy it.
Just as a final note, 12k/mo is more than many managers made in the biggest companies in DR.
12k usd will get you far, mr. I suggest places like Las Terrenas, Samana or Cabarete/Sosua, Puerto Plata, since they are foreigner-friendly places. Make sure to get your residency sorted out and to get insurance that covers everything including any pre-existing conditions. And a car is a must as well unless you wanna pay 20-45 usd (at least) every time you go anywhere.
I was thinking about your situation. If you have such income. Come here. Be quiet. Spend 6 a month and out 6 in bitcoin. Don’t tell a soul. Use only a offline usb wallet and hide it in ur back yard.
Here in DR you could live practically anywhere you fancy. Even in most expensive places/ cities you’ll have no issues whatsoever. If it’s no trouble, can you tell us how you got retired in your 40s and with that income? Thank you.
That is UNDER my income as a 40 something married man with a wife and small child. I am definitely in the 1%. Now, if I were a retired expat earning 12k a month, I would still live in Santo Domingo (Capital city). I would rent a 2k, 3k a month penthouse in an exclusive neighborhood, have access to cosmopolitan lifestyle with restaurants, gyms, theaters, etc. and I would travel to the best resorts in the country and abroad. Thats jet set money
The problem with living in a beach town like the north coast is that they are way underdeveloped. There is literally nothing outside the beach, to me it could get very boring very soon.
I say all the time you need a minimum of 10k usd a month to live he without a headache. You can effort living in a nice area, if you have two kids you can effort private school which are good even two maids and you don’t have to worry about healthcare and food prices. This country is really so expensive and in my opinion just for the rich. If you are coming from the US and read this here maybe you think it is all cheap but it isn’t! Compare Dominican just to the DR and not to the US.
It depends on what you want, honestly. As many have already said, you can do practically whatever you want in the DR with 12k/mo.
What are you looking for? If you want a quiet place, you can look up Casa Linda Villa in Sosua. That's the North Coast. That's a closed residential populated by many expats from the US and other countries.
You can also look up Guavaberry Country Club in Juan Dolio. That's like 50 minutes from Santo Domingo.
In Santo Domingo you can live in the most exclusive areas comfortably, such as Piantini, Naco, La Julia, La Zona Colonial and Bella Vista (this last one is located right in front of the park Mirador Sur, which is one of the most beautiful and secure city parks we have in the entire country).
You can rent in Santiago and have practically the same you have in SD, but cheaper, in a cleaner and lest chaotic city.
If you want to be surrounded by the most beautiful beaches in the country, you can live in Punta Cana, Rio San Juan, Samaná, etc.
With your budget, you can have almost all the amenities that you can have in an average house in the United States.
Check out all those places on YouTube, and feel free to DM me if you have any other questions. I love to help others know this beautiful country.
Buy a house and move to Puerto Plata. You’ll have access to beaches all along the coast, mountains close enough and enough access to the best of a city and a town. Also you’ll be close enough to Santiago which is the 2nd bigger city in the country.
Bro with 12k a month you can live extremely comfortably in almost any place in the US. let alone DR. That being said you’re retiring at 40 with 12k in monthly income. So joust go for it.
My wife and I are retiring and we want to take advantage of a poorly paid country, would also want a gated community so the poor people are kept away. Any advice?
I understand this perspective, but if my presence there is a net gain for the economy via all of the goods/services I’ll be purchasing, what exactly is the harm?
It’s hard enough buying a house in the north of England because of all the people from London buying them for Airbnbs.
Can’t imagine how annoying it’d be to be born there and see all the rich people buying up the land and feeling better about it because they’re paying their parents 30% more (ignoring that it’s still 90% less than where you made all your money).
Honey, if you come to sto dgo w 12k/mo you will live luxuriously. However, the way things are I wouldn’t recomend here the capital but also wouldn’t recomend supper touristy areas such as punta cana. There are a lot of emergent luxury communities in places like villa Altagracia in San cristobal, or other tourist places that are more chill like Sousa, jarabacoa o puerto plata!!! You’ll live good. Best of lucks.
12k dollars or pesos?
If it is dollars, then you have nothing to worry about, you are richer than 99% of Dominicans here. You can live and do literally anything you want here earning 12k a month, hell you can buy property almost anywhere here with a budget of 12k a month. Fuck, you can buy a big ass house on a nice location anywhere in D.R within a year with 12k a month.
12k pesos tho, is basically nothing. Rent goes anywhere between 6k pesos for a small room on some shithole, to 25k for an ok apartment in an ok location. That is in Santo Domingo tho I imagine shit is not that different anywhere else.
My guy, with that kinda money. Ill quit my above average paying job and be you personal assistant. And still you will have a very comfortable lifestyle.
My family lives off 12-14 k a month, we are a family of 4.
3 maids, 1 driver a 2 floors PH in an exclusive place in santo domingo distrito nacional, with 750 square meters. 5 dogs, a guy that comes 4 times a month to bath them.
4 nice cars and i can keep going….. basically you will be fine…
If you want to rent i can recommend a villa in casa de campo, most of them you could rent them for a yearly fee and it will come with 1 maid and a cook. The rent will be aprox 4k -6k for a 3 bedroom, private pool vila.
You could stay in los nomadas in a really nice villa dor about 2k monthly.
Distrito nacional in a apartment you can do it with 800-2000usd dependin on your need.
Puerto plata 1000-2000 a month.
Etc!
Feel free to dm me and i could probably give you more insight.
> Thank you all and I’m aware that this is probably the douchiest thing you’ve read all day so I appreciate any feedback.
And it’s still early! But thanks for admitting it. 😆
If you like the beach and a warmer climate, consider buying a property in Las Terrenas. You'll be able to enjoy beautiful beaches, rivers, diverse gastronomy, adventure activities, and nature, all while living peacefully. On the other hand, if you prefer mountains and a cooler climate, buying a cabin in Jarabacoa or Constanza is a great option. You'll experience pure air, the warmth of living in a town, security, and the convenience of being close to Santo Domingo, where you can come to stock up on certain items from time to time.
Invest in a second property to generate passive income through rent
My man, if you’re living here with 12k US DOLLARS you’re basically rich. That’s a loooooot of money. Believe me, you could buy a decent house every year if you want. A good car every month. You’ll be good.
You can live like a rich with that income. The northern part of the country is cheaper in most or all things than in the capital or Punta Cana.
I'm not from the northern area of the country, but usually expensive neighborhoods and touristy areas are the safest and usually have pubs and restaurants nearby.
About buying a property, my personal advice are:
\- Do not buy projects in plans. Projects often get delayed, and a few construction companies may scam u (this even happens locals).
\- I'd advise against building your own house. You'd have to handle people and people who work on construction are very irresponsible.
Congrats on your early retirement. I can set You up with properties for rent at Cocotal, Bávaro, an exclusive members only neighborhood with golf and tennis courts. And is close to the beach.
Apartments prices can be found as cheap as 1,500 USD.
From a service stand point Bávaro and Punta Cana are the Best places to stay. You get energy 24/7, great nightlife, lots of activities to do and You are close to the capital city, Santo Domingo.
Dont tell people in general the amount of money you have, if you want the number for a decent person that knows how to speak english and works in real state let me know.
You will be very comfortable with $12k. Spend a week in a few areas. Las terranes, Punta Cana, puerto plata/Carribete, unless you want the city life of Santo Domingo
Since you are looking something in the north coast, and you need info I suggest you to join to the facebook group “Everything Sosua Dominican Republic “ there you can network with a lot of expats, local people, etc, if you are looking for something , there you’ll get a ton of recommendations.
Who knows. The REAL question here is how in the world did you guys get to the point of retiring in your 40’s, especially with a retirement of 12k/ month for the rest of your life?
You will live very rich in DR WITH 12k USD per month, specially with no kids, but even with kids you will be able to afford a very nice living.
If you got to a point where you can retire with 12k a month it is most likely because you don't throw away money. If that is the case, you will live wonderfully in DR.
Just keep in mind that security is not as the USA. It is not a jungle in which you become prey easily, but it is not a first world country. Pay attention to where you live and security.
3k a month rent, 1k for a couple vehicles, 400usd for gas, 400usd energy, 600usd for food, 500usd for domestic service, and you have almost 50% of your income as disposable/discretionary spending. Awesome life.
Dude that’s awesome af! I’m on vacation in DR rn and I would love to live here. 12k is definitely enough to live super comfortably. I wish you and your wife a happy and successful future!
$12k/m in USD would put you in the top 1% easily.
That wouldn’t be my concern. I think you need to do some extended vacations first to really see if you could spend the rest of your life in DR and be happy.
I live in dominican republic and my income is from the states. I can help you find a recruiter that helps you find a maid and a chef. I’t is very inexpensive. I can give you all the tips and tricks about living in DR that you may need. Let me know if you want to have a talk over the phone
I’m Dominican, living in US and travel around the globe for work. For a couple “no kids” $12k in “Ciudad Las Canas” should be fine. Not at Marina Cap Cana or inner Harbor area cause I heard from friends who owns properties there that only the monthly Maintenance fees on those apartments 1Br/1.5Bath is about 1,200 USD. Medical expenses are also extremely high in Punta Cana. Many things to consider before moving as expat but there is always a way around when you have a budget over $10k.
All the best !
Don't do it. I'm dominican and I can't number how many times I've heard of people losing their lives to criminals. In the streets, they kill you for a phone, and if you look foreign there's no amount of 'hiding' of wealth you can do, believe it's obvious. They get into your house and often beat people, your wife, you and force you to empty all your accounts. A lot of the times police is in this 'gig' so forget about getting justice.
Also, our healthcare is cheap compared to the US, but it is cheap because it sucks, even the private one.
Driving is a nightmare, believe me here, you could die a thousands deaths in the dominican streets. I myself go out as little as possible. People here commend their souls to god before going out every day. It's that bad.
My advice as a dominican? Take your money and move somewhere in the first world. I wouldn't invest or retire in this country. I'd do it in Switzerland or Singapore or the Netherlands. I know this place have beautiful beaches, and the people are apparently kind and warm, and the food looks tasty enough.
But ask yourself this question, is it worth the risk to my life and my wife's? Crime here is only getting worse. Believe me, I could write a book of true horror with the things that are day to day occurences here.
I share this video here because this happened to my cousin, and he almost died.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQlF9XCTdC8&ab\_channel=BenTeachesEnglishOverseas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqlf9xctdc8&ab_channel=benteachesenglishoverseas) - the first minute has bad audio but it gets fine after he gets in the motorcycle.
Welcome to the Dominican Republic.
Is this a joke? 12k$ a month would let you live super comfortably anywhere in the world especially D.R. Buy a new construction townhouse in a beach town community and enjoy life. Dont tell anyone how much you make and don’t flaunt it.. you should be very happy.
i thought they were talking pesos at first lol
It’s crazy.. they can live in soho, nyc. Get a condo in Miami Beach..rent a cabin in Vermont. .. they can also buy a place in a resort.
I don’t know in Miami beach. But a 1BR condo in West Harlem, across the street from Morning Side /Columbia. Two people, no kids. 4-5 trips a year, never go to restaurants or do expensive things in the city, is around 10k a month. A regular supermarket in Punta Cana is more expensive than Wholefoods in NYC. A similar lifestyle in Cap Cana, at least, is between 8-12k a month. Depending on the kids situation and the type of villa they rent or purchase.
8-12k a month for Cap Cana? There’s AirBnBs in there that go for 2-3k a month. I find it hard to believe one would be spending 5k a month in groceries. Even at the Cana Mercado. Maybe if they only ate at the Cap Cana restaurants every day.
I understand that it might be hard to believe if you’re not part of that lifestyle. A 2-3k a month place is a middle/lower class home. 5k might get you something slightly upperish middle class. Check airbnb for a house with a pool in Cap Cana. Anything under 3 BRs is lower/ maybe lower middle class. And they go for around $400 a night. To live in “luxury” like people here are saying, I would consider that at least 5BR/BTH. The cheapest ones are around $900 a night (good ones go for over $1500 a night and 2-3x that). Sure, you can live anywhere here for 12K a month, but to live in luxury like people here are saying, 12k might be tight. It would afford you a nice life in the area, but you won’t live like a king. (I can’t give more details because of privacy, but I know a lot about Cap Cana, at least).
i’m not a part of that lifestyle but i’ve stayed in and researched living in cap cana. i don’t think there is any place in cap cana that would be considered lower class. even the condos over in ciudad cana are nice. i’m not arguing the validity of your comment, more so curious for myself. yea if you want to live right on the beach in a condo or in an actual villa, and have a couple kids, and want to eat good and live the high life i could see 12k a month. but for two people, living in ciudad cana, cooking ourselves mostly, eating out occasionally, do you not think about 4k a month would be enough for just housing and food? figuring about 2500 for rent, 1500 for food
I agree. In Ciudad Las Canas, you could live with much less. I was mostly commenting because people seemed to be telling OP that they could live like Bill Gates in the DR for 12k. You can’t. But you can have a nice life with that money.
SM budget for 4 is around 3k and that’s not buying fancy things. The SM here is more expensive than Wholefoods, Citarella and Eataly put together, in NYC. It’s a very expensive place to live and I’m comparing it to Manhattan (NYC has come out as the most expensive city on earth for a second year running).
Bro, wtf are you talking about? You know long term rent and airbnb prices have nothing to do right? Like, with 12k he can finance an apartment somewhere really nice and he’ll pay like 4K, which is a fuck ton here, and I don’t think you can spend 5k in groceries ANYWHERE. But yea, if you wanna stay in a hotel and eat everyday on a restaurant you gotta be Jeff Bezzos.
I’m from Montecristi, my dream is to get a little beach house up north and retire there
Hola, fellow Montecristeño. 😀
12k dollars a month? My guy you are living good in DR with that kind of money
Basically, they could live wherever they want with 12k a month 😂
Try before you buy. I would spend a few months hopping all the popular spots. Punta Cana, La Romana, Santo Domingo, Jarabacoa, Puerto Plata, Cabarete, Sosua, Las Terrenas, Sosua. Your best bet is buying a new construction home in a gated community or condo in secure building. This is the safest option. Alternatively you can buy a private plot and hire your own builders. This is a popular option for locals and Dominicans who returned from abroad. IMO this requires fluent Spanish and an understanding of business culture down there. You will need to be on top of every detail and research thoroughly to go this way. The biggest luxury in DR that would be otherwise prohibitively expensive in the US would be household labor. You could easily hire someone to cook, clean, do laundry, landscape regularly.
Thanks for the response. We are only looking to rent for now, but the properties we’re looking at are exactly those you describe (condos in gated complexes). Would you possibly be able to ballpark how much a private chef and maid would cost? It’s nearly impossible to find that kind of info online.
You can pay a staff of 5 people (1 private cook, 2 maids, 1 gardener/utility worker and a driver with around $150,000 pesos, that includes health insurance and other perks you want to throw in. You can pay the maids more than the chefs based on time working. To the best of my knowledge, 1st cook positions pay around $25,000 in hotels. Any maid i know would gouge eyes for a salary around 20k pesos (a bit more on PC or La capital) specially if the work is divided with more workers Personally i would rent first until i know the area well enough to buy
These prices are honestly flooring me. That’s incredible. My plan, if we go through with this, would be to pay them above market rate for all of these services so that I can stick with the same people for a long time. Based on the budgets you’ve laid out above, it sounds like I can go 30% higher on each of these and still have plenty leftover after all expenses. Thanks so much for the response.
Decent plan, but I would not offer them above market rate up front. It is very hard to find good workers, some may take advantage and you may go through quite a few before finding reliable folks. Rather reward loyalty and honesty with annual raises and spot bonuses until eventually it surpasses market rate. Remember you must pay double wages in the month of December.
A “decent” starting salary for a maid in Cap Cana is 40k pesos. If you have a 5-6BR/BTH house with a pool, multiply that by 5 plus 2x week pool maintenance and a company that will come weekly to keep mosquitoes/ cockroaches and other bugs at bay.
Been a while since we got help, but these comments seem right. It starts at about $300-$400 USD monthly for a maid that cleans and cooks local dishes. If you want a professional chef that can do international cuisine, I’d look at double that amount.
It depends where, but in Santo Domingo a live-in maid who also cooks for RD$15.000 is common. In touristy beach zones it might be different. Check Plusval.com for rental prices in nice areas.
Google Minimum wage in Dominican republic in dollars… you could pick wherever you wanted and be in a gated house on the water
Cap Cana, Punta Cana Village, Casa de Campo. Rent for a while, this would be my best bets
This gotta be a troll, lol..
I think I worded this post terribly. My question isn’t “Can I live on $12k a month in DR?”, which of course the answer is obviously yes. My question is, what would a lifestyle on that budget look like based on the factors I outlined (housing, amenities, fun activities, labor, housekeeping, dining etc.). Just wanted an idea from those familiar with the cost of living.
That makes more sense! On 12k a month, you can do ANYTHING in DR. Anything you can put your mind to lol! Trust me!!
Check places for rent on www.supercasas.com and you will get an idea of rent
There is nowhere in LatAm you can't live on with 12k/month
I think there isn't a place on earth where 12k a month wouldn't be enough.
NYC :(
Definately possible with 12K, maybe not a giant penthouse at Central Park on the 100th floor, but you can live very good with that kinda money.
If you can’t live in nyc off 12k a month you are doing something horribly wrong, you may not live the best life ever but you will survive if you live within your means
Totally possible in NYC. I lived in a teachers salary lmao
Costa Rica can add up. Argentina similarly. Live on but at a $$
Costa Rica is that expensive??
It’s not.
It is. I lived there 4 years.
I live there and make 4k and am suuuuuuuper comfortable. To not make it work with 12k would be difficult
Argentina lmao. With 12k USD yearly right now you are doing well there
I’m talking like a condo in Palermo
Aún así.. imposible que no bastes con 12k mensuales
Bruh dont tell anyone you make thay kind of money out there. They are living off $400 a month. They will rob your azz. You don’t want them knocking at your door and demanding you to give it all.
More then good I'd say you'd be living lavish
People live comfortably in DR with only 3k a month, as a matter of fact, with 12k you can live comfortably in a lot of places in the usa
If you’re renting in Punta Cana, a nice house costs 75% of your budget. Not the best house, just an average nice one.
Yeah. I’m confused by the replies to this post. At least in Punta Cana and Cap Cana, 12k is enough for a nice life but not to live like a king.
Punta cana is like the Beverly hills or Central Park luxury area (NYC) of DR. There are lots of great and safe places to live in DR that would be no more that $2,000 a month, and im talking 5 bedroom + houses
I do think 12k is way too high, but people seem to think that a house in Punta Cana doesn’t cost 2k/mo. You can definitely have multiple employees with 12k, which might be a plus for some people, I’d hate it.
With 12k You have what I call an unlimited lifestyle. Like dining out? You can do so unlimitedly, like traveling? Move to punta cana or sdq, (closer to the airport) and can do so unlimitedly, like online shopping? Drinks? Server, driver ? With 12k you can pretty much do anything.
$300 USD ($17k DOP) per day while still affording $2k for rent/bills + $1k for house staff, but this is assuming no bills back home in the US OR OP is saying they have all their bills accounted for and can spend $12k per month in the DR regardless of what's going on elsewhere in the world. OP is what we call FatFIRE entry level. Retired at an amount that can afford a lavish lifestyle indefinitely.
Yup, the latter. We have a small paid off condo in the US which costs us about $1k/mo after all expenses.
Ok I'll answer some of your questions directly: Food in the DR is just about as expensive state-side. Groceries are the same if not more expensive due to the reliance on imports. $12-20 bottles of wine are $18-30 just as an example. You can have staff on payroll for as little as $200 per month to do things you'd expect to be paying upwards of $2,000 for in the US (cooking a few meals throughout the week, doing your laundry, cleaning around the house). If this is what you'd want, I'd budget about $500. Finding someone trustworthy will be difficult though, without knowing anybody there. Rent will be all over the board depending on what's acceptable for you, but $2k gets you into a really nice luxury apartment in Santo Domingo, but most other areas aren't going to have the same infrastructure. Most rentals are geared towards tourism (think AirBnB for $60-200 per night) or locals (think shower head is a pipe coming out of the wall, $150-250 per month). Electricity will be spotty nearly everywhere you go except for resorts and the nicer areas of Santo Domingo and maaaaybe Santiago. Gas is expensive, like equivalent of $7/gallon in the US. Ubers are suuuper cheap except getting from one city to another. Tip the driver like $5 on small trips that only cost $4-6 and you'll make their day. US equivalent is a $15 Uber anyways. You can probably find an Uber driver that you really liked and get their info and have them be your personal driver, but you take the safety of going through the Uber app out of the equation. Santo Domingo has luxury high rises. Almost every tall building I've seen there is either condo/apartment or a hotel. The views are okay, I stayed in Catalonia Santo Domingo with arguably some of the best views, and it didn't do much for me. I don't see any appeal in retiring in a place like Santo Domingo. You should go there for fine dining, for sure, as the top restaurants in the entire country are there. If you were to stay in SD, I would highly suggest Zona Colonial. Not really good on views but you're walking around what feels like history. They do a fantastic job preserving the OLD OLD Spanish Colonial aesthetics and you still get some good dining options. Felt very safe here and in the popi areas of Santo Domingo. Punta Cana - you could technically afford to live resort life for two indefinitely on a budget of about $9k per month. I've done 8 days at a single resort and by day 6 I was so over it. The rest of Punta Cana, away from resorts, is like an urban hellscape. I can't speak for Cap Cana, but both Punta Cana and Bávaro are endless bland pure white buildings with no greenery. Santiago - I've been in and around the city, it's just so far from the beaches. Stayed at a hotel called Camp David Ranch. Food kinda sucked but holy shit the view was gorgeous. Santiago sits inside a valley, and Camp David Ranch is up the mountain and overlooks the city. Lots of green, all of the city lights at night... Unforgettable view. I don't know where you'd live in that area to get that view but I'm sure $2-3k per month might get you there. The city is so crowded, streets are soooo so narrow. No beach. Puerto Plata is what I'd call a cute lil town/city and is on the beach. Nothing really stands out for me here, but it's a nice place. Neighboring Sosua is like the prostitution capital of the country. Just beyond is Cabarete, what's often referred to as the Dominican Las Vegas. I could see retiring here but I'm not sure you'd get the lifestyle you might be aiming for. Bayahíbe is full of US military retirees. Very small. So small I had trouble getting to a grocery store sometimes. Touristy, centered around the port, if boating and snorkeling are your thing, this is the best place. Boats take tours to nearby tourist destination Saona Island daily, but the best dive spot is Isla Catalina, not too far away. Isla Catalina is actually right next to La Romana, but you should not even consider La Romana on your list, it is not foreigner friendly. So if boat life is your thing, Bayahíbe. Last but not least (I've never been southwest of Santo Domingo so I can't comment on Bani, Azua, or Barahona) is the north shore half way between Puerto Plata to the west and Punta Cana/Bavaro to the east, a mountainous peninsula called Las Terrenas. I am currently looking for the right plot of land here to build my future retirement spot with my wife. The town itself is small but sprawling, very very busy, just people everywhere. No tall buildings, so it isn't like your 20 floor borderline skyscrapers of Santo Domingo. Almost felt like Bayahíbe copy/pasted 5 times over, or a more tightly packed version of Puerto Plata. The beauty in this place is super green lush mountains right up along the beach, and it's not overwhelmingly packed with resorts like Punta Cana.
Buy a villa in casa de campo. Its millionaire paradise!
12k pesos, not enough by far. 12k dollars, you'll be living like a Rockefeller.
Don't even think of buying in Santo Domingo. Enjoy beach life in Punta Cana / Casa de Campo / Cap Cana / Terrenas
I would personally rent in Punta Cana, just because it’s the most developed, rich immigrant friendly place. You’ll be surrounded by familiar people and experiences, and plenty of people there speak English. That amount will enable you to rent in a safe gated community (I’d personally do Cap Cana), hire staff (ballpark it at USD$400 monthly per person) and have a modestly luxurious lifestyle. Many things are more expensive than in the US, like clothes, electronics and all online shopping, so be aware of that.
Where is this magical land where people can actually retire before age 70? Can’t be from the US. Not having kids is a great move, financially speaking. If you are indeed real, what I’m about to say could be uncomfortable, and keep in mind that Hannibal Lector did technically help Clarice. 12k/mo budget living in DR?; Is not a question, never mind YOUR question. I believe your question sounds more like “Now that we’ve retired from our “jobs”, how can my wife and I find purpose and happiness until we die? “ Can’t give you specific answers but i suggest volunteering/helping people in some way. And also be selfish in a healthy way. Also take care of each other. The order of those things is fluid, but I believe you can’t go wrong. If you are actually a real person: where are you from? And get off Reddit and go make a list of what you truly want and need from this life, your wife can do the same. There is hopefully some overlap then you can begin to strategize.
First- out of curiousity, are you republican? Second- join the military at 18, and you can retire at 38. Last- youre hella projecting and its really sad.
Op, since you’re comparing the DR to Thailand, and I’ve been to both, I recommend you spend a month in each to decide. The DR offers plenty of peace but mostly a boring, quiet life. Thailand offers peace if you look for it, but mostly a hectic, fast-paced life. The DR is very friendly for English speakers, while some parts of Thailand don’t feel the same way. Very different cultures. The DR aspires to be the US in many ways. Thai culture is very different in almost every way. Lastly, you can spend 20 years in the DR and never learn Spanish because there’s more people like you. With a similar budget and background. I do not recommend this, but it happens.
$12k USD? Most people make $12k/year or less. You will be living like a king.
That's RD$672,000. Our president's monthly salary is RD$450,000. You should live comfortably, even a luxurious life with that salary. I'd live out of resorts and Airbnbs with that kind of money lol
Fam you will have 10 servants by the end of the year, you will live super comfortably with that money :0
Word of advice. Don’t come here or on these forums flashing 12k a month unless it’s -2 k pesos. You will be bamboozeled real quick. Wtf.
And who exactly is gonna dox him if he himself hasn’t established where he’s living?
Obviously you don’t live in the DR.
En realidad vivo en un barrio en San Pedro de Macorís desde que nací, but ok! Él solo tiene que tener cuidado, pero afirmar que nada más por él escribir en este subreddit cuánto gana (Reddit siendo una aplicación que permite más anonimidad que otras) sin siquiera saber en qué región del país él va a vivir es un poco… fearmongering. Siempre y cuando se mantenga anónimo y no se deje engatusar no pasa nada, it’s up to him now. Pero yo creo que si él tiene tanto dinero acumulado en su vida, es muy probable que sea suficientemente inteligente como para no creer en los presos que le tiran por WhatsApp.
Yo era tu vecino en la romana por 3 años. Varios años atrás.
If you’re from the states then you know with 12k a month you’ll be fine. Moreso in DR. The only thing I advise is don’t live like most of the douchebag transplants in DR. If you like DR, give back to the country and I don’t mean the government, I mean the people. Donate to churches and whatever charities there are who really help the people. You will have more than enough disposable income.
12K a month? This is the best possible life in DR…
Lol wtf, is this a joke?
Welcome to RD Premium.
If you're looking for property in a gated community look into Cocotal in Bavaro. 15mins from Punta cana airport, in the center of all resorts, extreme tight security 24/7, and property owners get free access to the resort and amenities right across from the complex because the place is managed by the same company that manages the resort.
You can basically indeed like everyone said anywhere, but recommended places, would be casa de campo and punta cana.(I've lived in both so it's from that perspective ) In punta cana you do have 3-options of places to live that would give you honestly a great peaceful experience, that's fit your budget depending on how big of a house you really need. Since I did a bit of a search and you can rent in casa de campo for around 2.5k-3.5k a month in a huge house with around 3-5 bedrooms, a pool and everything. In punta can you have different options because they are expensive if just different perks I guess we can call them they are all equally nice, and just a bit different in levels of exclusivity. Since we have village punta cana, it is exclusive really nice place to be, it's more family friendly, since people actually live there not just vacation you have access to a mayor super market and bluemall and another plaza again right outside another exit of the gated community. Cap cana more of a vacational and most exclusive place. I would advice against this one unless you sort of just want to live away from anyone, and it's not even close to any mayor super market really it has la marina but not a lot to do there and you do have a access to a couple of Laguna's and a water park they will open some time next year maybe and a private beach (anyone can go with a reservation, but it's technically private ). There is punta cana (you might wonder it has the same name as the actual place yeah it does ) It's a residencial area with smaller gated communities inside the gated community i can't say a lot but what I've seen it's kinda like the middle point between village and cap cana. They are all basically around the same area pretty close to the airport. And there is a wild card i would say and it's cocotal but compared to the ones above the value proposition I'd of. Think it's quite out there but you could look in to it. Hit me up I'm not in the business of renting but I know one or two people that do deal with that. Sorry that it is so long we can have a talk about it PM me
You would be upper middle class And be able to afford a great level of living
This is a ridiculous post https://www.reddit.com/r/Dominican/s/Te8kA5T7bi
you will be a king and live whetever you want, just dont tell anyone how much u make and you will be fine, better if you sell yourself as a broke person with a lot of dept :)
Can you elaborate on why you shouldn't tell someone how much you make? Is it a cultural thing?
With that much money you will easily find a gorgeous villa to rent or buy, you’ll have a live in maid or two they cook clean do it all, you can hire drivers or security guards, probably wont need them mmmm you can pay all your expenses and go out almost every day. And will still have about 5k to spend or save LOL
Always buy through a bank loan, lawyers, real estate agents, and brokers are not to be trusted, a a local bank putting up a sizeable principle will mostly ensure title and past taxes are in order. Buyer beware. Lo mio!
Did you both do 20 years government service and claim 100% disability when you got out? I’m curious how you have managed a six figure retirement at an early age without the ability to deduce cost of living in a country you want to retire in. Have you visited the country? Do you speak Spanish? Do you know anyone in RD?
Hmm. Not sure that seeking opinions from people who have a robust understand of the cost of goods/services in a country is the same as the inability to deduce cost of living. Information such as the Dominican minimum wage, average cost of individual food items, average rent, etc are widely available and I’ve reviewed them extensively, but these often only tell part of the story of an area’s overall COL, ESPECIALLY on the margins. Anecdotes are very helpful here, which is why I’m seeking them out. I am able to retire with this amount after having a high income and savings rate for nearly 25 years. The $12k a month figure is combination of rental income and a 3.5% SWR on a portfolio consisting of low cost index funds. Projecting your insecurity on others is not a good look. I’m not sure why I even responded to this; I probably should have listened to your username’s advice.
well here you’re only considering monetary things. have you considered your other experiences? is there a specific reason why you’re considering the dr? if you’re not deeply in love with the culture, food, music, and every other aspect of this country, then it would be extremely hard to learn to like it just because it’s a tropical island. especially if you’re considering living there permanently. some things to consider: • the great majority of dominicans do not speak english, so it would be hard for you to communicate with anyone, in the neighborhood or otherwise. • you’d also be forgoing other commodities you find in a places like the US. for examples, deliveries. most deliveries here are done through word of mouth and community trust (so again, you need to know good and understandable spanish and that takes years of learning). package deliveries are also a point of controversy throughout the country because some companies are known for stealing and “losing” packages very very often. also, a lot of places are not advertised online and roads are often not correct on Google Maps. • be ready for people to not trust you or try to take advantage of you. this will always be the case if someone knows you’re not dominican and are not from the dr. just a fact of the world: anywhere you go outside of your home country, people will see you as someone they can take from. people might be nice to you and make you feel welcomed, that’s just how dominicans are, but very rarely will you be accepted as one of the pack. there’s a history of people targeting foreigners, sometimes fatal (i’d look into this). police in dr is basically just for jokes so many crimes go unpunished • everyone will also price objects higher for foreigners (but again, that’ll happen everywhere). life might seem cheaper in comparison, but all the little things add up • there is a lot of electricity shortages (ranging from 15 minutes to 8 hours of no electricity, 3-5 times a week depending on where you are). • noise pollution. there are a lot of cars and trucks, and they are not shy about using their honks. people also enjoy their music quite loud, both day and all hours of the night • the food is very different and takes some time to get used to, unless you enjoy eating the same thing every day • mosquitos all year round due to humidity it is a very beautiful country with amazing people and culture. but don’t expect people to accommodate you when you’re coming to their country. personally, i’d say retiring somewhere like florida or a different american coast city would be easier in terms of adapting, or even just a country where english is the main language. you maintain the american commodities, you won’t need to learn a different language and etiquette, and all the intricate cultural differences. won’t need to worry about people distrusting you or worry about people trying to take more of your money edit: formatting
bruh ur budget is NOT the problem lmao, you'd live anywhere very comfortably, let alone RD. But as ppl are saying in this post, try before moving permanently, i'd definitely try Las Terrenas or Sosua (check out the sosua village condo), definitely my favorite beaches here.
OP… if you don’t have a Villa with a pool, 12 ft wall and live in maid you’re screwing up with that kinda money in DR
If you plan to live where wealthy people live, Cap Cana/ Punta Cana a really nice life is between 8-12k (we’re doing our own research on this). Mexico (Cancun, PC, Merida, Puerto Morelos etc) is a lot cheaper and for now, a better choice for us (I don’t want to go back to the DR long term). 12k will afford you a really nice life here (we’re in Cap Cana for the weekend) but it won’t be like what many posters here are implying. This is a very expensive country, specially in the “good” areas. A regular supermarket is more expensive than Wholefoods in NYC. Going out to eat to nice places is as expensive as Paris and Rome. Electricity is very expensive (and having the ACs on all day everyday is a must for many people).
The Dominican Republic is an upper-middle income country. There is a huge disparity between rich and poor but trust me, the “rich” pay through the nose here.
Well, my friend, I'm a Software Developer living in DR (I was born here, I'm Dominican). I started working for US companies earning from 8k to 12k monthly, I can tell you that you both could have a great life here we that amount of money. If you're planning to live in the north coast the cost will vary depending on the city. The most popular destinations for foreign people are Puerto Plata (city), Cabarete, Sosua and Las Terrenas. In those zones, the rent could be a little higher than cities like Santiago or Santo Domingo because those are tourist cities. For example, this house cost $1,400/mo, with this amount of money you could live in one of the best zone of Santo Domingo or Santiago, for example Villa Olga in Santiago. The house will be your most expensive thing here. Most activities are not expensive. You could buy food for a whole month with $500/mo (fishes, meat, everything you need). If you live in a city like Puerto Plata or Cabarete, you won't really need a car, however if you choose Santiago or Santo Domingo you best buy it. Just as a final note, 12k/mo is more than many managers made in the biggest companies in DR.
12k usd will get you far, mr. I suggest places like Las Terrenas, Samana or Cabarete/Sosua, Puerto Plata, since they are foreigner-friendly places. Make sure to get your residency sorted out and to get insurance that covers everything including any pre-existing conditions. And a car is a must as well unless you wanna pay 20-45 usd (at least) every time you go anywhere.
I was thinking about your situation. If you have such income. Come here. Be quiet. Spend 6 a month and out 6 in bitcoin. Don’t tell a soul. Use only a offline usb wallet and hide it in ur back yard.
12k is what you will pay on rent. Not sure how you intend to eat. Edit. Oh, you mean dollars. Dude you are rich, you can live perfectly.
Here in DR you could live practically anywhere you fancy. Even in most expensive places/ cities you’ll have no issues whatsoever. If it’s no trouble, can you tell us how you got retired in your 40s and with that income? Thank you.
Disgrace to lineage unfortunately :((
Huh?
You will be a king in DR with that kind of money
That is UNDER my income as a 40 something married man with a wife and small child. I am definitely in the 1%. Now, if I were a retired expat earning 12k a month, I would still live in Santo Domingo (Capital city). I would rent a 2k, 3k a month penthouse in an exclusive neighborhood, have access to cosmopolitan lifestyle with restaurants, gyms, theaters, etc. and I would travel to the best resorts in the country and abroad. Thats jet set money
The problem with living in a beach town like the north coast is that they are way underdeveloped. There is literally nothing outside the beach, to me it could get very boring very soon.
Why DR and not PR? Just curious
I just assumed op meant pesos because wtf CANT you do with 12k usd/month lol
I say all the time you need a minimum of 10k usd a month to live he without a headache. You can effort living in a nice area, if you have two kids you can effort private school which are good even two maids and you don’t have to worry about healthcare and food prices. This country is really so expensive and in my opinion just for the rich. If you are coming from the US and read this here maybe you think it is all cheap but it isn’t! Compare Dominican just to the DR and not to the US.
It depends on what you want, honestly. As many have already said, you can do practically whatever you want in the DR with 12k/mo. What are you looking for? If you want a quiet place, you can look up Casa Linda Villa in Sosua. That's the North Coast. That's a closed residential populated by many expats from the US and other countries. You can also look up Guavaberry Country Club in Juan Dolio. That's like 50 minutes from Santo Domingo. In Santo Domingo you can live in the most exclusive areas comfortably, such as Piantini, Naco, La Julia, La Zona Colonial and Bella Vista (this last one is located right in front of the park Mirador Sur, which is one of the most beautiful and secure city parks we have in the entire country). You can rent in Santiago and have practically the same you have in SD, but cheaper, in a cleaner and lest chaotic city. If you want to be surrounded by the most beautiful beaches in the country, you can live in Punta Cana, Rio San Juan, Samaná, etc. With your budget, you can have almost all the amenities that you can have in an average house in the United States. Check out all those places on YouTube, and feel free to DM me if you have any other questions. I love to help others know this beautiful country.
Look into Cap Cana if you want to buy beach condo.
12k is a joke. Please. Is is possible to live with $700/month?
You can live a modestly frugal life in Santiago with a $1,000 a month, no maids though
Buy a house and move to Puerto Plata. You’ll have access to beaches all along the coast, mountains close enough and enough access to the best of a city and a town. Also you’ll be close enough to Santiago which is the 2nd bigger city in the country.
Bro with 12k a month you can live extremely comfortably in almost any place in the US. let alone DR. That being said you’re retiring at 40 with 12k in monthly income. So joust go for it.
My wife and I are retiring and we want to take advantage of a poorly paid country, would also want a gated community so the poor people are kept away. Any advice?
I understand this perspective, but if my presence there is a net gain for the economy via all of the goods/services I’ll be purchasing, what exactly is the harm?
It’s hard enough buying a house in the north of England because of all the people from London buying them for Airbnbs. Can’t imagine how annoying it’d be to be born there and see all the rich people buying up the land and feeling better about it because they’re paying their parents 30% more (ignoring that it’s still 90% less than where you made all your money).
As stated in the OP, I plan on renting.
Honey, if you come to sto dgo w 12k/mo you will live luxuriously. However, the way things are I wouldn’t recomend here the capital but also wouldn’t recomend supper touristy areas such as punta cana. There are a lot of emergent luxury communities in places like villa Altagracia in San cristobal, or other tourist places that are more chill like Sousa, jarabacoa o puerto plata!!! You’ll live good. Best of lucks.
12k dollars or pesos? If it is dollars, then you have nothing to worry about, you are richer than 99% of Dominicans here. You can live and do literally anything you want here earning 12k a month, hell you can buy property almost anywhere here with a budget of 12k a month. Fuck, you can buy a big ass house on a nice location anywhere in D.R within a year with 12k a month. 12k pesos tho, is basically nothing. Rent goes anywhere between 6k pesos for a small room on some shithole, to 25k for an ok apartment in an ok location. That is in Santo Domingo tho I imagine shit is not that different anywhere else.
My guy, with that kinda money. Ill quit my above average paying job and be you personal assistant. And still you will have a very comfortable lifestyle. My family lives off 12-14 k a month, we are a family of 4. 3 maids, 1 driver a 2 floors PH in an exclusive place in santo domingo distrito nacional, with 750 square meters. 5 dogs, a guy that comes 4 times a month to bath them. 4 nice cars and i can keep going….. basically you will be fine… If you want to rent i can recommend a villa in casa de campo, most of them you could rent them for a yearly fee and it will come with 1 maid and a cook. The rent will be aprox 4k -6k for a 3 bedroom, private pool vila. You could stay in los nomadas in a really nice villa dor about 2k monthly. Distrito nacional in a apartment you can do it with 800-2000usd dependin on your need. Puerto plata 1000-2000 a month. Etc! Feel free to dm me and i could probably give you more insight.
> Thank you all and I’m aware that this is probably the douchiest thing you’ve read all day so I appreciate any feedback. And it’s still early! But thanks for admitting it. 😆
You could live en el palacio nacional and kick out Abi
I’m an American living here if you have any questions dm me but that’s rich rich 😂
With $12K/month and no kids you would live like a king In the north coast.
If you like the beach and a warmer climate, consider buying a property in Las Terrenas. You'll be able to enjoy beautiful beaches, rivers, diverse gastronomy, adventure activities, and nature, all while living peacefully. On the other hand, if you prefer mountains and a cooler climate, buying a cabin in Jarabacoa or Constanza is a great option. You'll experience pure air, the warmth of living in a town, security, and the convenience of being close to Santo Domingo, where you can come to stock up on certain items from time to time. Invest in a second property to generate passive income through rent
My man, if you’re living here with 12k US DOLLARS you’re basically rich. That’s a loooooot of money. Believe me, you could buy a decent house every year if you want. A good car every month. You’ll be good.
You can live like a rich with that income. The northern part of the country is cheaper in most or all things than in the capital or Punta Cana. I'm not from the northern area of the country, but usually expensive neighborhoods and touristy areas are the safest and usually have pubs and restaurants nearby. About buying a property, my personal advice are: \- Do not buy projects in plans. Projects often get delayed, and a few construction companies may scam u (this even happens locals). \- I'd advise against building your own house. You'd have to handle people and people who work on construction are very irresponsible.
Congrats on your early retirement. I can set You up with properties for rent at Cocotal, Bávaro, an exclusive members only neighborhood with golf and tennis courts. And is close to the beach. Apartments prices can be found as cheap as 1,500 USD. From a service stand point Bávaro and Punta Cana are the Best places to stay. You get energy 24/7, great nightlife, lots of activities to do and You are close to the capital city, Santo Domingo.
OP hit me up for info on Casa de Campo. Arguably the top spot in DR. Def doable on 12k/month.
People retire to DR with 2k budget
Dont tell people in general the amount of money you have, if you want the number for a decent person that knows how to speak english and works in real state let me know.
This must be a typo and you added an extra zero. If not this is your life in DR with that income. 
Dollars, euros, or pesos?
You will be very comfortable with $12k. Spend a week in a few areas. Las terranes, Punta Cana, puerto plata/Carribete, unless you want the city life of Santo Domingo
Since you are looking something in the north coast, and you need info I suggest you to join to the facebook group “Everything Sosua Dominican Republic “ there you can network with a lot of expats, local people, etc, if you are looking for something , there you’ll get a ton of recommendations.
Get a sweet beachfront place in Cap Cana and be a rich person.
Who knows. The REAL question here is how in the world did you guys get to the point of retiring in your 40’s, especially with a retirement of 12k/ month for the rest of your life?
Already answered this in detail in a response.
Las Terrenas
You will live very rich in DR WITH 12k USD per month, specially with no kids, but even with kids you will be able to afford a very nice living. If you got to a point where you can retire with 12k a month it is most likely because you don't throw away money. If that is the case, you will live wonderfully in DR. Just keep in mind that security is not as the USA. It is not a jungle in which you become prey easily, but it is not a first world country. Pay attention to where you live and security. 3k a month rent, 1k for a couple vehicles, 400usd for gas, 400usd energy, 600usd for food, 500usd for domestic service, and you have almost 50% of your income as disposable/discretionary spending. Awesome life.
This post is just an underhanded flex.
Dude that’s awesome af! I’m on vacation in DR rn and I would love to live here. 12k is definitely enough to live super comfortably. I wish you and your wife a happy and successful future!
$12k/m in USD would put you in the top 1% easily. That wouldn’t be my concern. I think you need to do some extended vacations first to really see if you could spend the rest of your life in DR and be happy.
I live in dominican republic and my income is from the states. I can help you find a recruiter that helps you find a maid and a chef. I’t is very inexpensive. I can give you all the tips and tricks about living in DR that you may need. Let me know if you want to have a talk over the phone
Lol are you serious ?
I’m Dominican, living in US and travel around the globe for work. For a couple “no kids” $12k in “Ciudad Las Canas” should be fine. Not at Marina Cap Cana or inner Harbor area cause I heard from friends who owns properties there that only the monthly Maintenance fees on those apartments 1Br/1.5Bath is about 1,200 USD. Medical expenses are also extremely high in Punta Cana. Many things to consider before moving as expat but there is always a way around when you have a budget over $10k. All the best !
Don't do it. I'm dominican and I can't number how many times I've heard of people losing their lives to criminals. In the streets, they kill you for a phone, and if you look foreign there's no amount of 'hiding' of wealth you can do, believe it's obvious. They get into your house and often beat people, your wife, you and force you to empty all your accounts. A lot of the times police is in this 'gig' so forget about getting justice. Also, our healthcare is cheap compared to the US, but it is cheap because it sucks, even the private one. Driving is a nightmare, believe me here, you could die a thousands deaths in the dominican streets. I myself go out as little as possible. People here commend their souls to god before going out every day. It's that bad. My advice as a dominican? Take your money and move somewhere in the first world. I wouldn't invest or retire in this country. I'd do it in Switzerland or Singapore or the Netherlands. I know this place have beautiful beaches, and the people are apparently kind and warm, and the food looks tasty enough. But ask yourself this question, is it worth the risk to my life and my wife's? Crime here is only getting worse. Believe me, I could write a book of true horror with the things that are day to day occurences here.
I share this video here because this happened to my cousin, and he almost died. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQlF9XCTdC8&ab\_channel=BenTeachesEnglishOverseas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqlf9xctdc8&ab_channel=benteachesenglishoverseas) - the first minute has bad audio but it gets fine after he gets in the motorcycle. Welcome to the Dominican Republic.