Quote:
Originally Posted by 2LeftFeet
So what you are saying is that----- La Republica ---AIN"T CHEAP!!!!!
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Is anyplace "cheap" these days??
Obviously there are things that are expensive in the DR, such as gasoline, electricity and some consumer goods. Other things are moderately priced and some, for instance rent and labor, are indeed cheap.
I think most of the complaints here are from folks who remember the "good old days" when you could live like a king on a relatively paltry income. I don't know if places like that exist any more, but if they do, they certainly aren't on caribbean islands!
If you read planner's list, it adds up to less than $800 USD a month. This is on the North coast, not out in the campo somewhere using an outhouse and bathing from a bucket. She's living an expat lifestyle in an apartment with AC, cable TV and high speed internet in a decent neighborhood, with a car and a social life. Not extravagent, but not "living like a Dominican in a poor barrio." I noticed that she put down zero for alcohol. I don't know if that means she doesn't drink or that someone else is buying.
Having met her as well as reading her posts here, I think I'm safe in saying she is happy with her life.
This doesn't mean that those who spend more don't legitimately "need" to spend what they spend. I think we all have our own expectations. A former frequent poster here whose name shall not be mentioned, used to say he "got along fine on $5000 USD a month". Maybe for him that was what he "needed". (Considering the source, it's more likely it was just BS.)