Purchasing in Cabarete

Oh my goodness so much to cover.  Honey your first trip you should be seeinng if this is for you. If you buy and hate it, what then!

No you cannot walk the beach alone at night!  Daytime yes.

I will contact you about residency.

No, you don't need a license.honey if you are not going to drive.

I agree with you. She needs to find out whether she likes the Dominican republic first before she makes a purchase.  I will be retiring from the United States within three years, and I have been to the Dominican republic four times. I love it because it reminds me of how I grew up as a child. I was reading one of your post and you mentioned that you live off $1000 per month if I read that correctly. I was looking at Purchasing a home in Puerto Plata, in a small gated community for about $70,000. Do you find it difficult to live off of $1000 per month? I read an article on how to live off $1000 per month in the DR, but it was an article, and I wanted to hear from someone’s live experience.  My retirement will be substantially more than that, but if I can live off $1000 per month that would be great without having to pay a mortgage or rent.

Welcome to the forums.

I have lived on 1,000 a month.  Currently I am in santo Domingo and my living costs are slightly over this including my rent!

So with no rent you can live on this  - disclaimer - it all depends on your lifestyle. I am not a drinker nor do I go out often for dinners.  I work hard and I go dancing. I don't have expensive hobbies either, no golfing or kite surfing!  I live very comfortably but fairly simply.

i do not know who these people are who need 5000 dollars per month to live in the DR.  what do you need all that money for?

the most consequential cost in the DR is housing, and 400 dollars per month gets you sweet digs...

Thank you for that helpful insite. I am sure l will have to make some adjustments when l arrive there to live, but they are not major ones. Again, thanks.

I am just speaking for myself but often when talking about cost of living the posts use the $ sign and that is associated with US Dollars. If Pesos are being referred to please indicate that as well. All information is certainly appreciated by those of us looking to visit and potentially move there.

As that may have mentioned before, I will be retiring from the United States in four years, and I will be moving to Puerto Plata in the Dominican republic.  I have visited it four times and I love the country because it reminds me of how I grew up working on the farms and in the fields.  I was interested in purchasing a $70,000 home in a little gated community, but I have had friends tell me not to purchase in the Dominican republic, just buy because of the corruption with sellers and lawyers. I know that if I purchase I don’t have to continue to pay taxes like we do in the United States, and if I rent the rent is going to continue to rise. So can you give me your insight concerning what my friends concern were?

Good point on $ be pesos!  I am guilty of not being clear, so thank you!

Buying - things are changing in terms of the corruption involved. Because of new requirements (deslinde) you are more assured of what you are buying. Using YOUR lawyer for your transaction is also a layer of protection.

Buy vs rent is an age old discussion everywhere.  In my opinion it's a lifestyle choice as well as a financial one. I rent.   When I buy it will be a work related commercial location. 

Everyone will decide what works for them.  We always always recommend renting for a while before buying.  Purchasing and then finding out this country is not for you, means you could be stuck with a place for along time. We don't have a really fluid market.

I appreciate the information. I don't have a problem about whether I'll like it or not because l love the place. And l will probably rent instead of  buying. I'll never know, one day l just might want to come back home one day.

It's not just about loving the country but a specific area. 

I moved into a lovely apartment, in a nice development.  I did my homework as much as possible and thought it was a good fit.

I was wrong!  4 months later I ate the cost of moving and left.  There were too many changes in the administration of the project, 3 in 4.months. Security personnel changed every 2 weeks.  And too many Air BNB units who don't care who they rented to!

Thank goodness I did not buy!

The dancing part is when she's not healing from an injured hip....ooops sorry planner my dear

Hahahaha.  Broken butt honey!   Seriously broke my tailbone.  So a couple of my Dominican employees ask why I am not in hospital or.in a cast???!  Really??!  So I ask how do you cast a butt?!!!  Had to laugh through the pain!

Going through sciatic nerve pain myself right now but meds are working and getting more mobile...med costs very low so far...

Make sure to be stretching honey, that helps too!

I have not been to many places in the DR. I spent four Of my vacations in Puerto Plata two weeks at a time. I know Santo Domingo is a very nice place and Santiago De Los Caballeros  it’s a very nice place also. The streets in both places seem to be maintained much better than Puerto Plata. I have to take my time as that time approaches and visit other areas to see which is best for me. But I really like Puerto Plata, and maybe it’s because it’s the only place that I have really visited in the Dominican Republic.

Take your time and check out other areas.

Santo Domingo is nice to visit but unless you love big noisy dirty cities OR need to work, then it isn't a great choice.

Santiago is a big city but much nicer.  Also you may want to check Las Terrenas, Cabarete, Cabrera, East coast, La Romana etc.

I hate Santo Domingo.  I do not consider it to be a nice place.  Santiago is better, but I would not live on an island and be inland.  My wife agrees and she is from Jarbacoa.  We greatly prefer the Cabarete area.

Hey, l have a question for you. What about health care there. What health care do you have? And what about the cost.  We have Medicare here in the United States but I don’t know if that’s going to benefit me there. I can’t use it there.

US Health insurance without international coverage won't help you here.  Does Medicare offer such a rider?  If not, it is of no use here. I researched this topic a while ago and then I found out that Medicare is of no use here in the DR and from what I can see by a quick search, that is still true.

If you are over 65, it very difficult to get insurance coverage for the first time here.  There might be a company that allows it. 

I have ARS HUMANO in the DR. Before HUMANO I had ARS PALIC.  Both are good.

There are several clinic right in Cabarete, a larger one in Sosua and 3 good size ones in Puerto Plata. One of the best hospitals in the country, HOMS is in Santiago.

You may want local health insurance. It ranges in cost. The two biggest and likely best companies are Humano and Universal. I have a group package with Humano with two options, currently US 37 and US 50 per person per month.

There is a large group with Universal on the north coast as well.

The OP mentioned he has Medicare.  The usual starting age for Medicare is 65, which greatly complicates starting a plan here.  I have seen some people say they were able to enter a DR plan over 65 years of age, but not sure what, if any, companies allow this.

Palic will enrol an over 65 as part of a group of 3 with 100% paid and no deductible at a good group price. Two on their premium policy and the third on a lesser policy.

Over 65 is brutal to find and my experience with the company offering it was not good.

What was the monthly cost for either of them. Another thing, can l use my credit to obtain loans if l need it?  How does banks determine your Worthiness to obtain a loan?  I am more concerned with healthcare.

Trust me on this, you don't want to take out a loan here at the rates you would be charged.

I have no idea if they would be able to use your credit scores from the US, but loans here are not a great idea.

I take a thyroid, cholesterol and a hypertension  pill. That may not cost me that much. I guess that would fall under prescription and not hospitalization coverage.

Any regular medicines you take would not be under hospitalization. Prescription drugs you take long term can be added to some health insurance policies as a rider.

Credit for expats is tough to get especially if you are new here.  Your credit back home  nothing here.

And rates are ridiculous!

The bottom line is if you can't purchase what you want for cash, or at least find a way to finance it back in the US at the good rates there,  you are not ready to be here.

Very well put!

Are those two insurers expensive, what are you paid you don’t mine sharing?  Are there people who  don’t have insurance? What do they do?

I really appreciate that information it is very good. I have five years left before I retired from the United States and move there. I don’t know whether I want to purchase a whether  I just want to rent. I will probably rent because I don’t know if I am going to live the rest of my life in the Dominican Republic . I will not need credit when I move to Dominican Republic. I just wanted a lot of information about these things because I want to be totally aware.  I don’t want to get there and be misinformed about anything.  Health insurance is going to be the biggest thing for me and everything else will fall in place. I’m sure I will have more questions but as they arise I really appreciate you addressing them thank you

As I stated above under my plan current prices are us 37 and US 50. This will change over time.  It includes good coverage with  prescription and dental.   

Having as much info as possible is good.  Start reading the other threads honey as there is a lot of great info already on the boards.

I am just renewing Plan Royal with Humano  (not Humana like in the US).  Price for my wife and I is about $830 US equivalent for a year with what is like an 80/20 plan in the US.  Has dental but no prescription drug coverage. 

People with no insurance pay out of pocket or use the government hospitals (NOT recommended unless you have no money).

Renting is a good idea.  We have had many people rent from us in Cabarete and some of them decided to stay in the DR in their own places.