Cost of living

John, I just realized you  are new here. So a belated welcome.  You  might want to psot about yoruself in the "introduce yourself" thread.

As to cost of living it too depends on what you want,  where you  live,  transportation, insurance, food, electricity, internet,  phone and on and on.

$2000 amonth is doable but it  will be very thight at times.  If you are carefule, eat local products and such we find we live here on about 65% less that  what we did in the US with basically the same lifestyle.

Have you been to theDR before?  Living here is much  different then coming on a vacation.  YOu should  plan on a 3-4 month  stay and "live" here for that time and see if hte  country fits for you.

Good luck

Bob  K

It is doable but tight. Bob has given you good advice.

As you are on social security - does that mean you are over 65? If so this effects your ability to get health insurance here.

I forgot about the age. He is over 65 so no insurance here.  Hecwill qualify for medicare but will have to return to the US or Puerto Rico for care.

Bob K

Ive been going over a lot of older posts to get an idea of monthly living costs in DR (north coast preferably) and it looks like $2000/mo (for 2) could be tight .  I was planning on approximately $1000/mo (Canadian funds) having budgeted for rent, utilities (water/electricity/phone) emergency funds and food (Im a vegetarian and eat in most of the time) and health care.  What about home insurance?  Can someone give me a rough idea about what home insurance would cost either if renting an apt or owning a condo?  I plan to use public transport instead of driving or owning a car so thats a big expense out of the way.  What else should I be including?  Id like to know how much would be left over after the essential costs for these funds. I will be living on savings and future pensions from Canada (which arent a lot).

AT $900US (converting from CD as things here are priced in pesos and sometimes dollars) you will have a very hard time existing with any kind of "life"
Rent  - $300-$350 min
Electric - $35 min if you are not using air conditioning and don't have lots of electronics
food - $200 and that is very little with mostly veggies from the trucks and very little goods in the supermarkets
Insurance I have no idea as most folks do not carry insurance here
Health insurance $60 a month
Transport (trips a day ...not round trip) $60
Phone with contract $20  not counting the cost of the phone and not including wi/fi goodies
Internet up to $100 a month depending on speed
Entertainment...? $100 a month (5-6 nights out dinner and drinks)

This all does not include emergencies and other incidentals.

Bob K

Thanks Bob.  An eye opener for sure.  This is what I wanted to find out.  I should have mentioned that I am going to rent at first and if all goes well purchase a condo.  Thats where the $1000CD/$900US comes in.  Id buy outright without a mortgage to worry about which would make my monthly expenses a lot less.  And I plan on at least $320 for food (thats what I pay in Canada).
Why doesnt anyone carry insurance, you mean home insurance dont you?
I dont plan on needing transport every day (weekly shopping is the only constant I can think of now). 
I do plan on health insurance and think that $50 a month would work for me (from info on the forum).
As for entertainment, Im a little embarrassed to say that I must be a real homebody because I rarely go out for dinner and drinks.  Getting together for coffee is more my speed. 
Ive looked at a lot of condos that I can afford and some have the utilities incl in the fee so that would be easier to budget.  But I still find the fees that dont include everything affordable. 
I'm constantly updating my plan according to the CD dollar and my finances.

Most here do not insure their houses or contents.  Condos by law have to have insurance for the buildings.

Bob K

What if you had a fire, water damage or theft?  I have that kind of insurance on my condo in Canada, would I not need that in DR?

contents insurance is virtually useless here.  We rarely have fires as most of us live in concrete block built homes.  Water damage - be careful where you rent.   Theft -  protect yourself by only renting where there is good physical security. If I remember correctly you have dogs - excellent deterrent.  Make sure all windows and doors have  bars,  make sure you lock up and be VERY VERY careful who you let in your home!!!!

Thank you Planner for the information.  One less expense to worry about.  I have one dog but plan to get another when I'm down there (from Judy's pet lodge I hope).