Monthly Bills in Dominican Republic
The end of the month is upon us and it's time to pay bills.
The cost of living is top of the list for future expats. With the cost of rent being the first topic of discussion. It always felt as if the end of the month arrives faster when I was living in North America. For me, it felt when I just paid my end of the month bills, that shortly after the following end of the month was rapidly creeping up. This was the cycle, did I just except the concept of living to work, was life just solely about paying bills? Maybe I wasn't making enough or maybe I just got tired of thinking about money. I’m not oblivious to the fact that bills are a part of life, but if cost of living keeps going up and pay cheques don't then we have a problem.
The other day I seen an article talking about the average cost for a one-bedroom apartment in New York. Not shockingly to my surprise the average rent cost was $3900 per month. Ironically, that's how much my full years rent cost here in Dominican Republic. I have a big two-bedroom apartment, located in a nice upscale area, not far from the beach and it’s $331 per month. Here the time seems to go slower, month to month that is. The idea that under $4000 could cover rent for a full year makes me think how much money I could save, and now instead of the concept of living to work, it’s become work to live.
The landlord told us that the previous tenant bailed on his last electric bill, leaving the landlord to pay over $100 (usd). That much for an electric bill here is crazy to me, he must have been leaving on lights, AC’s and fans in unoccupied rooms, all day and night. I’m not one to waste power, no matter if it's inexpensive or very costly. We use the electricity for what's needed, and likely the amount of what the average persons would. The Electric bill came in the other day, and I wasn't expecting it to be too much. Well, after hearing what the previous tenant paid, I can't say that I was totally confident that I might not open an envelope with a bit of a surprise. I wasn't sure if being in this location would rise the cost of electricity, in comparisons to our previous location. With the anticipation of opening the first electric bill for this new location. The total cost of the electric bill for this month was $9.62 (usd).
No monthly water bill here at this location, it's included in the rent. In regards to apartments it doesn't seem like water bills are much. Our previous apartment the monthly water bill was approximately $4 (usd) per month. The tap water here in Dominican Republic is not drinkable. It can be used for cooking if boiled out for 5 mins or so, but other than that it's not suitable for drinking. Therefore, every household buys these 5-gallon water jugs. The price for one of these 5-gallon water jugs is between $2 - $3 (usd). Once the water is finished, the jug can be returned to any stores that are selling water (which are majority) and can be used to trade in the empty jug with the addition of $1 (usd) to purchase a new 5-gallon water jug. These jugs last quite a while, of course depending how much water you drink or how many people are in the home, but for 2 to 3 people it should last about 1 week.
As the old saying goes; “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.” This comes in to play when it came to choosing an internet provider. Rather than to cancel our internet provider and shop around to change. It made sense to remain with this more popular company because we are happy with their service. We were able to transfer our internet service from one province to another at no charge. The service provider sent out one of their technicians to set up the internet for the day we scheduled for. They had some new specials and offered to give us more for less the cost. High speed internet, unlimited data at 30mbps/15mbps for $1421.11 (pesos) which converts to $23.54 (usd) monthly.
Groceries are an important part of the bills, for some people this bill comes weekly or biweekly, some folks even daily. Nevertheless, when counted it’s part of the monthly bills. In Dominican Republic I prefer to do grocery shopping in the bigger grocery stores such as Jumbo and La Sirena for example. These grocery store chains tend to be pricier than the smaller regular grocery stores, but much cheaper than what we're used to in North America. What I like about the bigger grocery chains here is that they have such a wide selection of popular US brands, and for around the same prices. Between all the foreigners speaking English and the wide selections of US brands, half of the time when I’m in these bigger grocery stores it doesn't feel like I’m in Dominican Republic lol. These grocery stores in Dominican Republic are not missing a beat when it comes to imported brands. A grocery store that's a one stop shop with butchers, deli, bakery, ice cream shop, cigar shop, wine and liquor, clothes, electronics, ATM etc… and so much fresh fruits and vegetables galore. Of all the groceries, it’s the local Dominican grown fruits and vegetables that have the best prices, the savings are like a steal. The meats and fish also have really good prices. When it's time to tally up the grocery bill, it's usually about 50%-60% less of the cost of what I would have spent in North America.
The lower cost of living gives more room to enjoy more out of life. It also seems as if the time has gone slower, month to month that is. Monthly bills are not looked at as the same. To sum it all up, it’s like getting more out of your money, but for less.
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You’re living your dream. Love the DR.🥰
I love the grocery bill example. This information is priceless. And the apartment is beautiful! Great post, thank you!