Re: the average budget to live in Dr
Quote:
Originally Posted by
onetosix
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moshy2k
Also if you wouldn't mind posting a sample budget so guys have an idea how you spend your income outside of rent. This really is great info. We appreciate it.
These figures would be averages per month for the year.
The rent of $700/month is quite adequate in the places I go to be very comfortable. I often get a place that includes breakfasts so that is one of my two meals a day covered in the "rent". I also cook myself a fair amount but eat out when I feel like it too. I am in the US at my family's places several times a year and then my lodging and food costs are close to zero for those periods...they love having me visit and don't think I'm mooching off them. I don't wear out my welcome even though they are family.
A number of months I am in one place and not flying anywhere so the $300 travel would not be used that month or for several months...that would leave me $600-1000 for a one-way flight to my next destination or I would use a freebie with my milage plan and accumulate even more $$.
I can live quite nicely on $350/month for food. I usually sleep late in the mornings(wonder why jajaja) and eat a large late breakfast and then I only eat one other regular dinner later in the day with maybe some soup or fruit on the beach inbetween. I definitely don't deny myself...I love to eat! ( I don't drink or smoke so that could be a chunk for those who do)I'd much rather acquire my pleasures in other ways with my budget.
I don't need a lot of new clothes, I have a minimal wardrobe to travel with and if I need a clothing item most of the countries have places to buy clothes very inexpensively. Got a couple very nice shirts in Thailand for example for a total of $12.00. Toiletries are cheap and I even buy dental floss. I like to read and often find used books cheaply. I like to pick up small gifts for the family and chicas so keep my eyes out for intersting things.
Entertainment...mmmmmmm. I seem to have a full schedule on $700/month.
Rent....................................................$700
Food....................................................$350
Travel...................................................$300
Clothes,toiletries,books,gifts,miscelaneous...$150
Entertainment.........................................$700
Hope this general outline is helpful to see how really easy it is to live the good life on what I would think is a fairly minimal amount. One could do it for even less, but I think I live well.
The age factor is missing from this. If a 40 year old retires, he may want more female company or have a larger circle of amigas.
Re: the average budget to live in Dr
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jimmydr
The age factor is missing from this. If a 40 year old retires, he may want more female company or have a larger circle of amigas.
50 or 100 dollars a day on female companoinship would blow the top off those budgets not to mention if he made trips outside the Island of Hispanola on frequent basis.
Re: the average budget to live in Dr
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hillbilly69
50 or 100 dollars a day on female companoinship would blow the top off those budgets not to mention if he made trips outside the Island of Hispanola on frequent basis.
You have to remember that "vacation mode" and "living here mode" are very different. If you have only ever been here on vacation then you would not understand about living here and the differences with regard to expenditures for various items in the budget. I made MANY trips to the DR for a number of years before moving here to live. My trips were usually ten days and I always brought $3000 with me. I spent freely on everything I wanted and usually went home with several hundred dollars.(stayed in hotels) I now live here and my budget is $2200/month. I NEVER pay for a chica what I did on my vacations(1500-3500pesos). I now pay 500-1000 pesos for the same chicas. When I came here on vacation I always felt like I had to be fucking a chica in order to maximize my time before I had to leave for the airport. I spoke less Spanish than I do now, and now the girls know me and know that I live here....that makes a HUGE difference in the bargining power with the chicas. I mostly pay 500-800 pesos. Some days I will see one girl, some days 3 girls, and some days none. I now have 365 vacation days a year...and believe me that puts a whole different perspective and feeling to the game. I have a great apartment for $550/month now. A number of you on this board have seen my apartment and I think would attest that I am living well. The chicas love coming here, I treat them very well and with respect. I get all the sex I could possibly want(and I like a lot of sex). I pay them as stated above...they leave with a smile on their face, and they call ME to come back. Four different girls called me just today, asking if they could come over. This is truly paradise and I am living the GOOD LIFE on $2200/month. I also travel on this budget...in the last year besides living here in Sosua, I have been two months in Colombia, one month in Ecuador, and six weeks in Thailand.
I highly recommend retirement as soon as you can...it truly takes less than most think to live a fabulous life outside the US.
Re: the average budget to live in Dr
Quote:
Originally Posted by
onetosix
You have to remember that "vacation mode" and "living here mode" are very different. If you have only ever been here on vacation then you would not understand about living here and the differences with regard to expenditures for various items in the budget. I made MANY trips to the DR for a number of years before moving here to live. My trips were usually ten days and I always brought $3000 with me. I spent freely on everything I wanted and usually went home with several hundred dollars.(stayed in hotels) I now live here and my budget is $2200/month. I NEVER pay for a chica what I did on my vacations(1500-3500pesos). I now pay 500-1000 pesos for the same chicas. When I came here on vacation I always felt like I had to be fucking a chica in order to maximize my time before I had to leave for the airport. I spoke less Spanish than I do now, and now the girls know me and know that I live here....that makes a HUGE difference in the bargining power with the chicas. I mostly pay 500-800 pesos. Some days I will see one girl, some days 3 girls, and some days none. I now have 365 vacation days a year...and believe me that puts a whole different perspective and feeling to the game. I have a great apartment for $550/month now. A number of you on this board have seen my apartment and I think would attest that I am living well. The chicas love coming here, I treat them very well and with respect. I get all the sex I could possibly want(and I like a lot of sex). I pay them as stated above...they leave with a smile on their face, and they call ME to come back. Four different girls called me just today, asking if they could come over. This is truly paradise and I am living the GOOD LIFE on $2200/month. I also travel on this budget...in the last year besides living here in Sosua, I have been two months in Colombia, one month in Ecuador, and six weeks in Thailand.
I highly recommend retirement as soon as you can...it truly takes less than most think to live a fabulous life outside the US.
I AM A BIG FAN OF YOURS!
Re: the average budget to live in Dr
Quote:
Originally Posted by
onetosix
You have to remember that "vacation mode" and "living here mode" are very different. If you have only ever been here on vacation then you would not understand about living here and the differences with regard to expenditures for various items in the budget. I made MANY trips to the DR for a number of years before moving here to live. My trips were usually ten days and I always brought $3000 with me. I spent freely on everything I wanted and usually went home with several hundred dollars.(stayed in hotels) I now live here and my budget is $2200/month. I NEVER pay for a chica what I did on my vacations(1500-3500pesos). I now pay 500-1000 pesos for the same chicas. When I came here on vacation I always felt like I had to be fucking a chica in order to maximize my time before I had to leave for the airport. I spoke less Spanish than I do now, and now the girls know me and know that I live here....that makes a HUGE difference in the bargining power with the chicas. I mostly pay 500-800 pesos. Some days I will see one girl, some days 3 girls, and some days none. I now have 365 vacation days a year...and believe me that puts a whole different perspective and feeling to the game. I have a great apartment for $550/month now. A number of you on this board have seen my apartment and I think would attest that I am living well. The chicas love coming here, I treat them very well and with respect. I get all the sex I could possibly want(and I like a lot of sex). I pay them as stated above...they leave with a smile on their face, and they call ME to come back. Four different girls called me just today, asking if they could come over. This is truly paradise and I am living the GOOD LIFE on $2200/month. I also travel on this budget...in the last year besides living here in Sosua, I have been two months in Colombia, one month in Ecuador, and six weeks in Thailand.
I highly recommend retirement as soon as you can...it truly takes less than most think to live a fabulous life outside the US.
A great example of the difference between "vacation" mode and "live here" mode! I'd be confident that most of us, even the 'frequent fliers,' routinely spend as much in a week as onetosix, Robert13212, and our other Sosua expats spend in a month. And the expat has the "home court" advantage; he's around the town, a familiar face, not only at the bars and restaurants but at the local colmado, the grocery, the marketplace. He speaks the language, even the local patois. He doesn't just make the scene, he's part of the scene. The chicas can get to know him, get comfortable about him, and he can get to know them and discover who he can trust....
And think of the difference a chica would feel, comparing "Come on up to my hotel" (smash!) vs. "Come on back to my house, we'll put a couple of steaks on the grill, have a swim in my pool...." Which is the more inviting invitation? If you were a chica, which would you prefer? Then add in the fact that the sex-tourist is anxious to rack up a lot of notches before he goes home to Sex Prison ... whereas the expat can relax about it; he'll still be here next week, next month; if not Maria tonight, maybe Rosa or Conchita tomorrow.
But there's a bad side to the expat's life, too ... it's not all 'carnival' for the guy who lives here. Think of Robert's "POSola", which seems to be spending most of its time and most of Robert's money in the repair shop! And I'm sure the DR is not all that great a place to earn your money.
Back to the point, though - you can actually figure for yourself, how much it would cost to live as a tourist in your home town: hotels, restaurants, taxicabs, your bar bill, whatever. Compare that with your rent or mortgage, your grocery bill, the cost of maintaining and running your car. The proportion between "living at home" and "living here as a tourist" is likely to be ... what? 2 to 1? 3 to 1? Maybe more?
I'd say the amount any of us will spend in a week or ten days, sex-touring in Sosua, is equivalent to what we'd spend in a month living in Sosua or any other "tropical paradise". But, as always, your mileage may vary.