« Mexico: Your Health Care Dollar Will Go Much Farther! | Local Internet Service Providers in Panama »

Stretch Those Dollars in Dominican Republic: Your Retirement Paradise

By Jane Goodwin | September 20, 2007

From the Miami Herald, we learn a little more of what makes the Dominican Republic a retirement paradise for so many people.

“The appeal of living or retiring in places where the weather is milder and dollars stretch further is easy to grasp.

But what makes a good retirement spot is often different than what makes a good tourist destination, said Suzan Haskins, the Latin America editorial director of International Living, a publication with 650,000 subscribers aimed at retiring expats.

While isolated beaches and cheap drinks lure tourists, it’s healthcare, accessibility and cheap labor that draw retirees.

”Medical attention and infrastructure are huge factors,” Haskins said. “Then there’s the ability to afford a maid, a gardener and all those things you can’t even think about in the U.S.’

The minimum wage in the Dominican Republic is $99 a month, in line with Mexico and far cheaper than Puerto Rico — the island’s two biggest competitors in the Caribbean, making domestic help affordable.

And the government and private sector are pouring money into new international airports — there are six of them — and multilane highways.

Hidalgo Montesino, 70, and his wife, Sonia, are Miami residents who bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for $117,000 near the town of El Cortecito in the Bávaro-Punta Cana region. ”The floors are marble, the countertops are granite, and the walls are real cement — not the Sheetrock that they use [in South Florida],” Montesino said of the home he expects to move into in a few years.

Just a few miles from an airport, a new shopping center and a modern healthcare facility, the condo has all the comforts of home, he said. And it lacks some of the hassles of South Florida living. Because the house was under $150,000, they don’t have to pay property taxes and insurance isn’t required.

”I know people who have lived in Miami for years who are going broke because of all the insurance and tax problems,” Montesino said.

“And the people there are so much nicer. There’s a reason we’re putting our money [in the Dominican Republic].’”‘

Sphere It

Topics: Transportation, Prices, Food, Utilities, Dominican Republic, Pensionado, Recreation, Culture, Healthcare, Real Estate, Money and Taxes, Lifestyle, Government Incentives, Travel / Relocation, Retirement Overseas |

Comments