In this report, I share how some of you may be able to retire early on $1014 per month in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
First, I share my estimated cost of living for two people in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Then I will cover my retirement livability factors, such as walkability, food, social considerations, things to do, weather, and real estate.
We will cover the other two cities popular with retirees over the next few weeks, Sosua and Cabarete. Please subscribe so you won’t miss those.
But today, we are talking about Puerto Plata. In a moment, I will discuss the cost of living in Puerto Plata, but first, I want to answer the question, who would love to live in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. How is it different from the other cities we cover in the Dominican Republic?
Who would love to live in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
If you would love to live in the Caribbean in a mid-sized colonial-era city of about 400,000 people, that is not focused completely on tourists, then Puerto Plata might be for you. Since life doesn’t completely revolve around tourists, it is more capable of feeling like a normal town.
It is true that during high season you will be sharing Puerta Plata with 100k tourists, but the town is large enough that there are whole neighborhoods where you will experience a more local life than you will in the smaller towns of Las Terrenas, Sosua, and Cabarete.
And if you are single, there is a larger population of locals for you to fall in love with. Whereas, in the more touristy towns, you are more likely to find other tourists that will be gone in a week or two, and prostitutes (which I caution against).
Also, with a large local population, there are more restaurants that are frequented only by locals which generally means lower prices than the restaurants frequented almost entirely by tourists. There is even nightlife where you will see almost no tourists.
So if you want to live in a town with more locals and fewer tourists, more permanent people to mingle with and get to know, and more businesses that are accommodating the generally lower incomes of locals, then Puerto Plata might be right for you.
Cost of Living Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Here is my estimated cost of living for two people in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Rents: First, here is a furnished apartment I found on Airbnb a few days ago for $397 USD per month. This $397 per month includes the utilities and Internet, but not the commission to Airbnb or the cleaning fee.
But I think if you met the landlord at the property while you were in town you could get it even cheaper if you offer to stay for 6 months or 12 months. They may discount a little because they would eliminate all vacancies while you stay there for 6 to 12 months.
I also met a few ex-pats that have 1 bedroom apartments for $200 to $300 per month plus utilities. But I would wait until I am on the ground there before making any offers, so I could test the Internet speed and check out the neighborhood before making a long-term deal.
But for this estimate of cost of living, I am going to assume you can get a 10% discount on this rent. 10% of $397 is $39. So my estimated rents would be $358 ($397-$39=$358). Remember, that includes utilities. Here is the Airbnb place advertised for $397 on the day I searched.
Just be aware, I am not saying this landlord would take the deal. I haven’t asked. I am saying that if you propose this deal to several landlords, someone is likely to accept terms like these because it eliminates vacancy and they would have a long-term tenant guaranteed.
Groceries: Based upon our time there and the money we spent on groceries, we estimate about $340 USD per month in groceries. Here are the two markets where we bought groceries. Supermarket 1, Supermarket 2.
Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, we would spend about $40 per week or $160 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We could keep it fun and interesting by doing a few picnics on the beach per week, but we would bring food from home so it is included in our estimated costs for groceries.
Cell Phone Data: Mostly we use the Internet at home. But we also need Internet access from time to time when we are out of the house, for Google Maps and other searches. The cost to recharge is about $20 USD per month. My android phone will act as a hot spot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house.
Laundry and Water: For Laundry and water per month Qiang estimates about $40 for the drop-off and pick-up laundry per month and twelve 20 liter water bottles per month for 2 people at $1 USD each is $12 USD per month.
Uber/Taxi: Puerta Plata is spread out so you will need to get bicycles, a scooter, or take an Uber car. Uber averaged $3.50 per ride which is $7 roundtrip. Three trips per week would be $21 per week or $84 per month. If I stayed for 6 to 12 months I would buy a bike to eliminate this expense.
Alcohol: Local beer called Presidente is $0.70 USD for a small bottle and $1.10 USD for a large bottle in stores. In bars and restaurants, those prices are easily double. Bottles of wine start around $4 USD in grocery stores. Not everyone drinks so we show alcohol as an optional expense in the below-estimated cost of living.
|
Puerto Plata |
Expense (USD) |
|
Rent |
358 |
|
Groceries |
340 |
|
Restaurants |
160 |
|
Cell |
20 |
|
Laundry |
40 |
|
Water |
12 |
|
Uber/Taxi |
84 |
|
Recurring Total |
$1014 |
|
|
|
|
Alcohol |
86 |
|
Optional Total |
$1100 |
The above cost of living is for 2 people but is just an estimate on the low end. For a full understanding of what it would cost you to live here, visit Numbeo Puerto Plata and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the table. Our costs of living are generally much lower than new travelers because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live much cheaper than we do.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
Most ex-pats report spending more money per month than the low-end estimate we are reporting here. You will hear more typical living costs in the range of $1200 to $2000 per month. But people spending that much also have higher incomes or pensions. They often spend more on eating out and drinking more alcohol in local bars and restaurants. Many also have cars and more expensive apartments.
If you are going to try to retire cheap offshore, make sure to have emergency funds available should you have some unexpected emergencies. To learn more about that, read my report called, the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore (link provided).
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Livability Factors
Here are some of the factors I think about when I consider a place for retirement potential. These help me decide if I would be able to Retire Early on $1014 a Month in Puerto Plata Dominican Republic. After I discuss each factor I will assign an overall desirability score to Puerto Plata.
Walkability: Medium. If I were to live in Puerto Plata, I would be able to walk to only some restaurants and markets. The area around the central park is very walkable. If I lived in that area, I would only need to take an Uber a few times a week to markets and restaurants. I would also consider getting bicycles for Qiang and me to get around town more quickly but I would still need an Uber for grocery store runs.
Internet: High. We didn’t speed test the Internet but we were able to do zoom calls, watch Netflix movies, and upload YouTube videos while we were in Puerto Plata. If a certain Internet speed is required for your business, I suggest reading my process for finding the perfect apartment which fulfills all of your needs.
Food: Medium. With a town of this size in the Caribbean, I would expect more international food choices. However, the ex-pat grocery stores have a fairly large selection of foreign foods ingredients. So what you can’t find in the restaurants, you may be able to find ingredients for and cook at home.
Weather: High. Puerto Plata has beautiful weather year-round if you like it on the warm side. There are just two main seasons in Puerto Plata, the sunny season or the rainy season. The sunny season is November through April when the nighttime lows average 67 F ( 19 C) and the daytime highs average 84 F ( 29 C). The muggy rainy season is May through October when nighttime lows average 73 F ( 23 C) and daytime highs average 89 F ( 32C). The most rain falls in May and October.
Things to Do: Medium. Swimming, snorkeling, scuba, kayaking, kite surfing, windsurfing, cooking, partying, yoga, restaurants, gyms, cycling, fishing, painting, writing, etc. The wind seemed very good here but we didn’t see as many kite and windsurfers here as in Cabarete. If you are a beach or ocean person, you will not run out of things to do. But if you are also into cultural exploration, there is a little more to do here than the other tourist towns, but you still may get bored here eventually if you have strong cultural exploration tendencies.
Social Considerations: Medium. If you live here year-round, there is more to do socially than in the smaller tourist towns further east along the beach on the north coast. But you will need to pick up some Spanish if you expect to integrate with the locals. That will widen your choices of friends and things to do greatly.
Expats: Medium. There are about 8k members of the Everything Puerto Plata Facebook page (link provided). The group has ex-pats and locals, but it is in English, so there is a good chance there are ex-pats that will see your messages. I often go to these kinds of resources to find answers to questions that only an ex-pat would know where to find. But make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make (link provided).
Real Estate: High. Just walking around Puerto Plata and window shopping, we saw 1 Bedroom condo advertised for sale starting around $60k USD. But I never recommend buying until you have lived somewhere for at least 2 to 3 years. Read Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas, to better understand why I don’t buy outside my home country.
Visa: High. Citizens of many countries are given 30 days visa-free upon arrival in the Dominican Republic. Many of the ex-pats that come to the Dominican Republic, whether long or short term, routinely overstay their visa and just pay a penalty whenever they leave of about $100 USD per year of overstay. Odd sounding I know. I don’t recommend this because I would worry an overstay could end up in some international database and could eventually affect my ability to travel to other countries. Visa rules are always subject to change so check before you buy your flights.
Safety: Medium. With regard to safety, I recommend that you only rent a place if it has bars on the windows and doors. This will help prevent the break-in crime that is known to happen in Puerto Plata and other parts of the Dominican Republic. You also need to be aware of pickpockets. Read my report on how to travel the world safely, including in your home country (link provided). That report explains how ex-pats that get involved in illegal activities such as prostitution put themselves directly in harm’s way no matter where in the world they may be.
Puerto Plata Desirability Score: Medium. If you are a beach or ocean person that prefers to be in a mid-sized city (400k people) on a white sand beach with turquoise water, with many restaurants, places to shop, and things to do, then Puerto Plata might be right for you. So, it all depends on what you are looking for.
We next head further east to explore more of the cities along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Subscribe now and hit the notifications bell so you will see when we post more videos.
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