Dominican Living under $1000

There are many different nice neighborhoods you can live in Dominican Republic with your total monthly bills under $1000 month. From personal experience here are examples for you. (All prices in USD)

In North America rent prices have really increased over the past couple of years and show no signs of lowering. Rentals prices are either going to climb up more or they're going to stay balanced for the remainder of the year, and then jump again. Higher rent increases over the years have many people in search of lower rent. Whether it be searching in the same town or across the country. Then you get those who are inquiring about rent cost abroad. Nomads, or working remote living abroad. Many people ask me all the time about rent prices in Dominican Republic and the cost of living. Inquiries about rent prices are asked most of the time. Rent everywhere in the country differs, even in the same area on the same street. It all depends on the landlord pretty much. Real estate in Dominican Republic has a wide ranging of topics. From renting, buying and where to live, we’ll cover all. We know a few different landlords and real estate agents. Plus, we're in the process of purchasing a property in Dominican Republic. For now, let's investigate the renting process. 

I’ll start with the first apartment I rented, to give an idea of what to expect. The renting process in Dominican Republic is simple and straightforward. You’ll need to present your ID (passport), proof of employment, deposits (1st and last month's rent) and a guarantor to pay your rent if you don’t. Not all landlords will ask for everything, but ID and deposits are for sure. We have a 1200sqft, 2 bedrooms apartment with a huge front balcony and a medium size balcony in the back, decent kitchen size and balcony for $300 per month. Located in the South of the country with many convenience stores (colmados) and a few grocery stores within a 5-minute walking distance, so it’s not necessary to drive. Driving though would open up more options for things to do as far as entertainment and definitely more to different restaurants. The area is a very safe, clean, middle/ upper middle-class community, the type of community where everyone looks out for each other. Family orientated, small town vibes, great place if you're looking for peace and quiet.  

Dominican Republic has some of the best grocery stores you'll find outside of US/CAN in Latin America. My personal opinion they’re better than most in North America hands down. Not only the fresher foods, non-processed which is a given, but the options are a foodie (like me) happy place. Not every grocery store either. Look out for Supermercados Nacional, Supermercado Bravo to name a few. These grocery stores are huge and have many popular US brands. They are located throughout the island. Not in my small town, these branches would be found more in the cities and bigger towns like Santo Domingo, Santiago de los Caballeros, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana for example. Even without as many options there’s still a good selection in these small towns. I never thought about it, but the monthly cost of groceries for us 2 would be between $150-$170. Let's throw in some takeout foods with the weekly empanadas, rice and chicken meals, pizza to round it off to $200 (it never gets to that though). 

Electricity bill was something that I was fusing about until I saw the first bill. In my opinion my lady uses a lot of electricity. In her defense she uses it to sleep while having the fan on all night. Lights are on after leaving a room. Being from North America, I have gotten used to monitoring lights and everything that would bring up the electric bill. I was always complaining to her about “you have lights on all the time”. I was anticipating a crazy bill, and once it finally came. I opened it up and it was……….$9.15 (538.20 pesos). Since then, I haven't mentioned anything about the electric bill ever since lol. 

Gas is tricky, we pay what is called a “motoconcho” (motorcycle taxi) 1200 pesos ($24) to fill up our gas tank and bring it back. That gas is only used for the stove, I don't think there's electric stoves used in DR. The gas will last 2 months easily. 

The water bill is 200 pesos ($4) per month. This is paid to the landlord with the rent. Water is cold in DR, no hot water. In order to have hot water, you'll have to turn on the water heater in the home. The water heater uses a lot of electricity.  

The Internet bill is 1684 pesos ($28). It’s high-speed internet 15mbps download unlimited data paid monthly and it runs well, never had any issue with the service. It’s not even the fastest available, but it provides more than enough that we need. 

Leisure is up to you and what you're comfortable with spending. The cost of going out to an expensive restaurant or an event isn't something I could put a monthly tag on. A lot of live band shows are free or at most 200 pesos ($4). Small town living it’s hard to spend a lot of money unless you're putting it into drinking and even that doesn’t cost so much. Cigar shops can be pricey and if you're into cigars, or if not, the atmosphere is quiet in the place. I’m told that in some of the cigar shops you find some really powerful people of the country there. All and all, it depends on where you live and how you live to determine exactly how much you'll spend monthly living. The cost of living in Dominican Republic is pretty low compared with US standards, in order to enjoy a comfortable, fulfilling lifestyle. USA/CANADA dollar goes along way. Rent can vary depending on the apartment, if it’s a house, or location. Regardless in most cases under $1000 a month is enough to live well in Dominican Republic. Our expenses are not penny pinching, nor is it going out the way to break the bank either. It’s just living life as we please. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, feel free to write back friend.